Consumer Complaints
| Fail date | miles | occurences | Purchase date |
|---|---|---|---|
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | |||
| 02/26/2013 | 60000 | ||
| My car suddenly stopped, engine turned off, started the car again and it work. came back after dropping the kids and after the car in park, removed the key and fan was on. tried starting the car and white smoke started coming out of engine compartment. now the battery drain, car wont start, the dashboard flickers. called bmw and told them and said the symptons point to recall issue, no response. | |||
| 07/30/2012 | 40000 | ||
| Tl* the contact owns a 2008 bmw 328xi. the contact stated that while driving 10 mph, smoke started to emit into vehicle. the contact mentioned that an electrical fire started in the engine compartment. the vehicle was destroyed. the fire department was contacted and no injuries were reported. the manufacturer was made aware of the failure who did not offer any assistance since the vehicle was no longer under warranty. the failure and current mileage was 40,000. | |||
| 05/20/2012 | 52000 | ||
| I was trapped in the car. the cars locks would not unlock using the unlock button or using the key fob, nor would pulling the handle unlock or open the door. i called bmw assist and they indicated that they had heard of several similar issues and that the only option may be climbing out the window. vehicle was purchased as a cpo from a bmw dealership approximately 2 months prior. | |||
| 07/06/2011 | 29142 | ||
| Drove my 2008 bmw 328xi sedan to work site about 54 miles away from my home town with no issues. after a long day of work, got into car and started engine. noticed smoking coming out of engine compartment. open hood and noticed small fire coming from underneath the intake manifold near some wiring. small but still on fire. put out fire by blowing on. car started up fine with no error codes. tried starting again, same result. a electrical short with smoke and flame. i put it out again with water. had the car towed to my local bmw dealer to have a repair. bmw dealer checked it out and said that the car had a electrical wiring harness fire and no other issues. they said it would cost $2700 dollars to repair and was not covered under bmw's warranty. this car has 29000 miles on it. how in the world is this not covered by their warranty. this was a vehicle fire! it is not normal for a car to catch on fire by itself is it not? | |||
| 03/09/2010 | 19500 | ||
| Bmw 328xi sportwagon car power lost sporadically while car is in use. 1st time, car stopped at stop sign, when attempting to pull off, car turned off. all power lost only available function - brakes. 2nd time, same day as 1st incident, car moving approx 50mph, hit a bump, all car power lost. only available feature, brakes. car would not restart for approx 2.5 hours. occurred in construction zone, so car and driver sitting in traffic lane. unsure what was fixed. supposedly some part near gas pump hole that leaked - corrosion on computer - replaced. 3rd time - car cut off while travelling 10 mph making right hand turn. brakes worked only. d/t loss of power steering, car stopped in oncoming traffic lane. replaced fuel/air intake modulator? not sure of the name. old part was at dealership. 4th time - car cut off while making left hand turn in busy intersection at approx 15 mph. entire onboard computer replaced. 5th time - travelling approximately 25mph. while crossing railroad tracks, car cut off - restarted immediately. has not yet been repaired. all repairs done under manufacturers warrantly. parts may still be available at dealership. each incident between 2-4 weeks apart. dealership kept car during last repair for 6 weeks. still unable to repair. regional rep called and serviced car as well. numerous parts replaced at this point, without resolution. very big safety issue for obvious reasons. date of 1st incident 3/9/2010. date of most recent incident 5/26/2010. | |||