Consumer Complaints
| Fail date | miles | occurences | Purchase date |
|---|---|---|---|
| SUSPENSION | |||
| 07/01/2012 | 133000 | 1 | |
| Heard a squeaking noise from near my rear differential. lifted the car and found that the subframe had pulled the mount from the body causing the car to become difficult to control and nearly sideswiped a person in the next lane. *tr | |||
| 07/01/2012 | 133000 | ||
| Heard a squeaking noise from near my rear differential. lifted the car and found that the subframe had pulled the mount from the body causing the car to become difficult to control and nearly sideswiped a person in the next lane. | |||
| 11/13/2011 | 150000 | ||
| Tl- the contact owns a 2000 bmw 328i. the contact stated that while driving 10 mph, the gears started to exhibit an abnormal popping noise. the vehicle was taken to a local mechanic who inspected the vehicle and informed the contact that the sub frame was cracked. the dealer was then notified who stated there are no recalls for the failure. the manufacturer was notified who offered no assistance. the failure mileage was 150,000. kmj | |||
| 11/13/2011 | 150000 | ||
| Tl-the contact owns a 2000 bmw 328i. the contact stated the sub frame was cracked. while driving 10 mph the gears started to make a popping noise. the vehicle was taken to a local mechanic who inspected the vehicle and informed her the sub frame was cracked. the dealer was then notified who stated there are no recalls for this failure and the vehicle was out of warranty. the manufacturer was notified who offered no assistance. the failure mileage was 150,000. mw | |||
| 11/12/2011 | 135000 | ||
| I had heard that subframe failure was extremely common on bmw e46 models (1999-2006) but had no problems, until today. i was driving my 2000 bmw 328i when suddenly there was a loud pop, the steering became lose and there was a constant knocking noise. once i got it home i looked under the car and sure enough the sub-frame had ripped completed away from the body, the entire drivers side was ripped out leaving two big hole in the under body of the car. i did some research and found there was a successful class action lawsuit against bmw na but that claims had to be filed by 2010. they are not refusing to fix it. this is a clearly dangerous situation and there are 10's of thousands of others in online boards who are experiencing the exact same thing. | |||
| SUSPENSION - FRONT - CONTROL ARM | |||
| 04/01/2006 | 80000 | 4 | |
| Dt*: the contact stated a vibration was heard and felt while driving on normal road conditions. the vehicle was taken to the dealer who determined that the front control arm needed to be replaced. the vehicle was serviced but continued to have similar problems. a loud clunking sound was heard while making a turn at 10mph. the noise was continuous. the vehicle was taken to the dealer who determined that the rear sub frame had fractured and needed to be replaced. the manufacturer was contacted and determined the same solution as the dealer. | |||
| 09/13/2002 | 2 | 08/01/2001 | |
| Premature failure of both front lower ball joints, resulting in rapid extreme front tire wear due to excessive toe-in. ball joint rubber mounting is bonded to the alloy lower control arm. the ball joint fails due to failure of the rubber bonding. both front lower control arm assemblies must be replaced. bmw dealer did not detect this defect at bmw inspection i performed at 29,000 miles. *ak | |||
| SUSPENSION - FRONT - CONTROL ARM - LOWER ARM | |||
| 09/13/2002 | 2 | 08/01/2001 | |
| Premature failure of both front lower ball joints, resulting in rapid extreme front tire wear due to excessive toe-in. ball joint rubber mounting is bonded to the alloy lower control arm. the ball joint fails due to failure of the rubber bonding. both front lower control arm assemblies must be replaced. bmw dealer did not detect this defect at bmw inspection i performed at 29,000 miles. *ak | |||
| SUSPENSION - REAR | |||
| 02/01/2011 | 140000 | ||
| Product failure of a 2000 bmw 328i. the rear sub-frame assembly of the car is separating from the car. i am the new owner of the car, but history does not show any signs or accidents that would lead to this failure. this is also a known issue with this model of bmw. there has been previous law suits involving this failure. this is also a potential problem for all 1999 - 2002 model cars built on the e46 body type. possibility of the entire rear sub-frame assembly ripping off while driving is possible. bmw knows of this issue, as they have fixed the issue with newer models. the problem is due to improper thickness in the floor pan where the sub-frame assembly is mounted to. total failure of this part could lead to serious injury or death of not remedied properly. this should be handled as a recall, and not in a individual basis. if you search online, you will see many reports of others with this problem. bmw has offered to pay up to 50% of the repair costs for some individuals, which shows they know it is an issue. however, getting it repaired at a bmw dealership, with only having to pay 50%, is usually more expensive then having it done at a local body shop. | |||
| 05/02/2007 | 51500 | 1 | 04/18/2003 |
| I had been hearing a noise for a couple of months and thought it was the clutch, i took the car into a bmw-approved body shop and they pointed out the flaw in the subframe and rear differential and how the metal had torn due to stress. *jb | |||