Consumer Complaints
| Fail date | miles | occurences | Purchase date |
|---|---|---|---|
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING | |||
| 01/26/2010 | 70962 | ||
| Engine vapor separator, hoses, dipstick, and vanos line replacement. this part separates the water vapor from the oil to remove condensation so it doesn't circulate inside the engine. the car was unsafe to drive with a faulty vapor separator and can cause engine vapor lock if it fails. the repair was about $1,400. | |||
| 06/23/2011 | 85257 | ||
| The oil filter housing gasket fails on bmw cars. it is a mesh gasket between the engine and the block where the oil enters/exits the filter. the repair is about $600 and fails frequently on these cars. it causes oil to leak onto the block and gives a strong burning oil smell. oil can accumulate on top of the engine depending on the severity of the leak. oil blows and covers the oil filter housing and the inside of the hood with a spray of sticky oil. | |||
| 01/26/2010 | 70962 | ||
| Engine vapor separator, hoses, dipstick, and vanos line replacement. this part separates the water vapor from the oil to remove condensation so it doesn't circulate inside the engine. the car was unsafe to drive with a faulty vapor separator and can cause engine vapor lock if it fails. the repair was about $1,400. | |||
| 06/23/2011 | 85257 | ||
| The oil filter housing gasket fails on bmw cars. it is a mesh gasket between the engine and the block where the oil enters/exits the filter. the repair is about $600 and fails frequently on these cars. it causes oil to leak onto the block and gives a strong burning oil smell. oil can accumulate on top of the engine depending on the severity of the leak. oil blows and covers the oil filter housing and the inside of the hood with a spray of sticky oil. | |||
| 01/26/2010 | 70962 | ||
| Engine vapor separator, hoses, dipstick, and vanos line replacement. this part separates the water vapor from the oil to remove condensation so it doesn't circulate inside the engine. the car was unsafe to drive with a faulty vapor separator and can cause engine vapor lock if it fails. the repair was about $1,400. | |||
| 06/23/2011 | 85257 | ||
| The oil filter housing gasket fails on bmw cars. it is a mesh gasket between the engine and the block where the oil enters/exits the filter. the repair is about $600 and fails frequently on these cars. it causes oil to leak onto the block and gives a strong burning oil smell. oil can accumulate on top of the engine depending on the severity of the leak. oil blows and covers the oil filter housing and the inside of the hood with a spray of sticky oil. | |||
| 01/26/2010 | 70962 | ||
| Engine vapor separator, hoses, dipstick, and vanos line replacement. this part separates the water vapor from the oil to remove condensation so it doesn't circulate inside the engine. the car was unsafe to drive with a faulty vapor separator and can cause engine vapor lock if it fails. the repair was about $1,400. | |||
| 06/23/2011 | 85257 | ||
| The oil filter housing gasket fails on bmw cars. it is a mesh gasket between the engine and the block where the oil enters/exits the filter. the repair is about $600 and fails frequently on these cars. it causes oil to leak onto the block and gives a strong burning oil smell. oil can accumulate on top of the engine depending on the severity of the leak. oil blows and covers the oil filter housing and the inside of the hood with a spray of sticky oil. | |||
| 01/26/2010 | 70962 | ||
| Engine vapor separator, hoses, dipstick, and vanos line replacement. this part separates the water vapor from the oil to remove condensation so it doesn't circulate inside the engine. the car was unsafe to drive with a faulty vapor separator and can cause engine vapor lock if it fails. the repair was about $1,400. | |||
| 06/23/2011 | 85257 | ||
| The oil filter housing gasket fails on bmw cars. it is a mesh gasket between the engine and the block where the oil enters/exits the filter. the repair is about $600 and fails frequently on these cars. it causes oil to leak onto the block and gives a strong burning oil smell. oil can accumulate on top of the engine depending on the severity of the leak. oil blows and covers the oil filter housing and the inside of the hood with a spray of sticky oil. | |||
| 08/07/2010 | 33500 | ||
| Our 2003 bmw 325i has had repeated stalling events occurring at increasing frequency. while idling at stop lights or at highway speed warning lights on the dashboard (eml, hazard and brake) light and the engine loses power, and rpm's drop. after the first occurrence, the bmw was taken to advantage midtown bmw in houston, tx for diagnosis/repair. bmw replaced the throttle controller which they said was defective. 1-2 months later the problem began occurring again with increasing frequency. the car stalled at a traffic light with the same warning lights/symptoms. the car was returned to advantage bmw and left for several days. initially the service staff at advantage bmw told us that the computer had failed and needed to be replaced and was under waranty. however, after discussions with the bmw corporate office, advantage bmw did not replace the computer instead stating the that the problem may be due to low voltage in the system. i asked them what would cause this since i did not want to drive the car when it intermittently could stall. advantage kept the car a few more days and then returned it to us with the explanation that the low voltage was due to insufficient charge on the battery. i was advised to purchase a float charger. since then the car has been kept fully charged via a ctek float charger. however last weekend the engine stalled repeatedly while my family and i were driving on interstate 10 at freeway speeds. this forced me to pull to the shoulder of the highway and drive with reduced power. after stopping the car and restarting, the engine reset and functioned again for a while. since this time the problem has repeated itself 5 times in 1 week. i feel that bmw returning the car to me in the condition where intermittent stalling is occurring is unsafe - i stated this to advantage bmw when i had it in for service during the second instance of these problems. i have service scheduled again at advantage bmw for august 14, 2010. | |||
| 06/21/2004 | 3 | ||
| While driving 60 mph vehicle stalled. dealership could not duplicate the problem. *ak | |||
| 800 | 1 | 10/26/2002 | |
| When pulling out the dip stick after vehicle was sitting for a while consumer was unable to read the dip stick. oil spread in various places on the dip stick. dealer was contacted. *ak | |||
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING - COOLING SYSTEM | |||
| 12/01/2008 | 90000 | 1 | |
| Own a bmw 3251, rear end started making popping noise when put in reverse and when turning curves. when on interstate rear end locked up while driving causing my car to skid through all lanes of traffic. after having car inspected the rear end had broke, we replaced the rear end. also having trouble with head lights staying on and blinkers. right rear tail light over heated and burnt items in trunk. radiator has broke and driverside window regulator and clutch fan. *tr | |||
| 01/04/2010 | 75536 | 1 | |
| 1-air bag warning light would not turn off after start up. took vehicle to local bmw dealer. was informed that i needed to fix this problem so air bag would deploy properly on passenger seat . was told this is a 'common' problem on e46 models! very costly to repair..not to mention that the parts that needed replacement are well stocked at all bmw dealers that i called..very rarely has anyone sat on passenger seat..the defect in the seat sensor is discussed in internet web sites as far back to the e39 series models as well as the e90 series models. 2- radiator expansion tank fails too often on this series model. i developed a anti-freeze leak on a return vacation trip. no warning was given.. parked car in garage in the evening, noticed a fair amount of anti-freeze on ground. again, was told this is common on this series e46 model.. since when is equipment failure a standard for the safe operation of any motor vehicle? the parts that fail in this vehicle can cause great injury to its occupants especially the passenger in the case of air bag deployment. in the case of the radiator expansion tank,for this part to fail without warning can be catastrophic to the engine, which will cause severe damage. if engine is not operational, one can lose power steering or brake capability, or both. *tr | |||
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING - ENGINE | |||
| 01/22/2011 | 70000 | ||
| Car ran perfectly, then i turned off, then i restarted 5 seconds later to reposition in garage. engine then revving from 800 to 1200 rpm rhythmically, approx once per second, eml light on, brake light on, service engine light on, very hard to stop car, had anyone been close i would have hit them. engine revving continued for 2 days, then went away on own. i then took off airbox to inspect maf, filter. codes on 3rd day: p1632 throttle, pending: p0102, iats. there have been other incidents over the years of restarting engine to have extremely rough idle, also cleared on its own, but never surging like this. | |||
| 12/01/2005 | 13000 | 15 | 08/17/2003 |
| The engine has been stalling intermittently while driving since 11/2004, and has had 6 documented services. after last service on 11/18/05, it stalled again on 12/01/05 when driving on freeway. i had not driven it since then and had it towed and returned to the dealer on 12/10/05. *jb | |||
| 04/04/2003 | 1600 | 6 | 03/08/2003 |
| 1. transmission: after transmission repair, constant hard downshifting of automatic transmission when coming to a stop in d and s d modes. vehicle jerks forward when decelerating between speeds of 42 to 35 mph (usually when driven before with speeds in excess of 50 miles an hour). also, after transmission repair, constant loud thumping noise when coming to a stop 2. engine:intermittent loud engine revving and immediate torque loss occurring when taking off from a stop.intermittent delayed engine start of up to 3 seconds after turning key in ignition .intermittent prm idle fluctuation resulting in vehicle shuddering 3. brakes:loud break squeaking when coming to a stop 4. fuel tank / fuel pump:after defective fuel tank/pump replacement, recurrence of loud whining noise ( confirmed with bmw of north america) 5. cd player: intermittent built-in business cd player skipping 6.steering wheel: steering wheel creaking when turning.*ak | |||
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING - ENGINE - GASOLINE - BELTS AND ASSOCIATED PULLEYS | |||
| 09/10/2007 | 37763 | 1 | 10/31/2003 |
| Four times since i buy a 2003 bmw 325i , i have to get the auto to guarantee service for replacement of the struct front bushing, now , after replace them at 32,000 miles about four month ago, my car at 37,000 miles request a new bushings. they said me that bmw was no longer replace them by guarantee because of the road conditions in puerto rico. when i buy the car i paid for a guarantee and i think that is impossible that a car like this , the ultimate drive machine require every four month to replace that parts. they should install a good reinforced genuine parts and not a remanufactured. i always try to avoid the holes, but i ask when it's raining it start a red light that indicated please avoid this hole . *tr the dealer stated replaced lens and cover disc for both headlights, noises coming from both rear shock absorbers, replacing alternator drive belt tensioner, tensioner and pulleys, and removing and installing left or right rubber strip. updated 10/24/07 *tr | |||