Consumer Complaints
| Fail date | miles | occurences | Purchase date |
|---|---|---|---|
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | |||
| 09/04/2012 | 93704 | 1 | |
| Right rear turn-signal lights operate intermittently--sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. i almost got hit by another car from behind when i was changing lanes on the freeway. *tr | |||
| 09/04/2012 | 93704 | ||
| Right rear turn-signal lights operate intermittently--sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. i almost got hit by another car from behind when i was changing lanes on the freeway. | |||
| 07/09/2011 | 130000 | ||
| Tl-the contact owns a 2002 bmw 325i. the contact was driving 30 mph when he smelled a burning odor. the contact was advised by another driver that the exterior tail lights had failed.the contact then disconnected the wires for the tail lights. the vehicle was taken to the dealer who stated they have to replace the complete wiring harness at the owners expense of $1,300. the vehicle was then taken to a local mechanic who repaired the tail lights. the manufacturer was not notified. the failure mileage was 130,000. kmj | |||
| 07/09/2011 | 130000 | ||
| Tl-the contact owns a 2002 bmw 325i. the contact stated while driving 30 mph he smell smoke but did not know where the smoke was coming from. another vehicle stop next to him and informed him the exterior tail lights were not working. he stopped his vehicle went to the rear open his trunk and pulled the wires from the tail lights. the vehicle was taken to the dealer who stated they have to replace the complete wiring harness at the owners expense of $1,300. the vehicle was then taken to a local mechanic shop who repaired the lights for $150. the manufacturer was not notified. the failure mileage was 130,000. mw | |||
| 11/26/2011 | 48000 | ||
| Tl-the contact owns a 2002 bmw 325i. the contact was driving 40 mph when smoke was seen coming from under the instrument panel. the vehicle was merged to the shoulder where the small fire was extinguished. the fire department was not notified. the vehicle was then towed to a local mechanic who inspected the failure and advised the contact that the main wiring harness plug showed evidence of an electrical short, melting the batch of wires that connected the port to the main wiring harness under the hood. the contact's insurance company was notified of the failure who referred the contact to a local mechanic. the manufacturer was notified of the failure and advised the contact that there were no recalls for the failure and offered no further assistance. the vehicle was not repaired. the failure mileage was 48,000. kmj | |||
| 11/26/2011 | 48000 | ||
| Tl-the contact owns a 2002 bmw 325i. the contact stated while driving 40 mph there was smoke coming from the left driver side under the instrument panel. the vehicle was merged to the shoulder and a local mechanic saw the smoke came out and put the fire out. the fire department was not notified. the vehicle was then towed to a local mechanic who inspected the failure and saw the main wiring harness plug located under the driver side showed evidence of an electrical short. this melted the batch of wires that connects the port to the main wiring harness located under the hood. there were no injuries and the insurance company was notified. they referred her to the local mechanic who acknowledges the electrical fire. the insurance company informed her they are not responsible for the failure, she should notify the manufacturer. the manufacturer was notified and stated there are no recalls and offered no other assistance. the vehicle was not repaired. the failure mileage was 48,000. mw | |||
| 12/04/2011 | 143800 | ||
| Recall summary bmw is recalling certain model year 2002-2005 325i, 325xi, 330i, and 330xi vehicles manufactured from september 1, 2001, through march 1, 2005. over time, resistance in the electrical contacts may cause one or more rear lamp functions (tail light, brake light, and/or turn-signal), within the vehicle's body panel, to stop working. consequence intermittent light operation reduces the ability to warn other motorists of the driver's intentions. this could cause a vehicle crash without warning. remedy bmw will notify owners, and dealers will repair the vehicles free of charge. the safety recall is expected to begin during october 2011. owners may contact bmw customer relations and services at 1-800-525-7417. notes bmw of north america, llc read more: http://www.internetautoguide.com/10-12-2002-12-107/2002-bmw-3-series-recalls.html#ixzz1fhegyufc | |||
| 10/14/2009 | |||
| Tl- the contact owns a 2002 bmw 325i. the contact stated that the bracket that held the brake and taillights failed because the wiring was melted. the contact had not taken the vehicle to the dealer but was advised by a personal friend that if he could ground the wires and keep them separated from the harness, the problem could possibly be resolved. the failure mileage was unknown, but the current mileage was 135,000. kmj | |||
| 10/14/2009 | |||
| Tl- the contact owns a 2002 bmw 325i. the contact stated the bracket that holds the brake light and reverse lights has failed. the bracket has failed because the wiring has melted. the contact had not taken the vehicle to the dealer, but was informed by a friend that if you re-ground the wires and keep it separated from the harness the problem would be solved. the failure mileage was unknown, but the current mileage was 135,000.rl | |||
| 08/17/2002 | 30375 | ||
| The left blinker started malfunctioning and, as a result, rear tailight bulb outage appeared on dashboard all other lights were ok. bmw dealership mechanic diagnosed tail light ground wiring issue: inspection revealed that wires were melted inside rear tail light housing and could cause fire. recommended replacing both tail light components by adding an additional ground, carrier replacements for bulbs. replacement supplies on work order included sockets, insulation housing, connectors, shrinking hose. after research on consumer websites, i found out many complaints about the same issue. my bmw 325i is only 9 years old (2002) with only 30,250 miles on it. this kind of fundamental flaw should be correct at bmw's expense, not ours. bmw needs to have a recall on this common and potential deadly issue. | |||
| 07/15/2010 | |||
| 2002 bmw 325i sedan, 48,ooo miles when brown wire at plug on rear right turn signal assembly corroded out and formed black burned residue, after re attaching the wire, symptom resurfaced at 74,000 miles. i understand this is a recurring problem. please investigate before someone gets hurt in a fire. | |||
| 07/01/2010 | 93000 | ||
| I had gotton rain on my hazard and lock button on my 2002 bmw 325i. at first i had the hazards goings off at night up to fifteen times per night for a week straight. i had to run oiutside and hold down the hazard button until the lights turn off. now the lights judt blink throughout the day and night once or twice while ignition is off or while driving. also not to mention the locks go off repedetly on its own while driving or parked. i will be taking it to the shop to see what should be done next. | |||
| 04/07/2010 | 104900 | ||
| Car was driven approximately 50 miles and parked in a restaurant parking lot. weather was wet and rainy, the defroster was running on the car for most of the trip. after sitting 25-30 minutes a resident near the restaurant called to notify that the car was on fire. employees of the restaurant attempted to put out the fire with hand held extinguisher but was unable to completely do so. emergency personel showed up on the scene a short time later to unpower the car and put out the flame. police and fire teams were on the scene. the fire seems to have originated from the auxiliary a/c fan in front of the condensor as that is where the heaviest damage is. | |||
| 11/12/2009 | 10100 | 1 | |
| 2002 bmw 325i rear taillights have failed on both sides due to the wiring on both sides of the harness have either melted and ground to the other wires or melted the tabs off of the male plug. *tr | |||
| 09/19/2003 | 11/29/2002 | ||
| From day one , i already experieced a problem with the car, at first the headlights flickering, shelly bmw took care of it for over a week , they said there is a electrical problem that they had to change the computer, after a couple of days, the alarm goes off while driving ,i took the car to cunningham bmw because i livedhere in san diego it took them almost a week but they never fixed the problem they're saying that theyneed more time to figure what really the problem and what causing the alarm siren goes off while driving .i took it to different bmw dealer to san diego bmw, after two days same problem occured alarm siren goes off every 4 minutes of driving. next problem is the brake light comnes on , they changed the brakepad and rotor, they kept the car for three , then a day after the dsc light comes on , the eml light comes on , the brake light comes on, and the car have no power not responding, its feel like theres some blocking on the wheel when i accelerate, so i took it again to the dealer , they kept it for three days, the day after the engine service light comes on steady . i am very frustrated and disappointed with the performance of this car and yet it's not even a year since i bought this car. presently the car has 34,000 milage.it has 20,000 milage when i first bought it. | |||
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM - IGNITION | |||
| 11/03/2009 | 68000 | 1 | |
| The key can be removed from the ignition while the car is in drive. *tr | |||
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM - IGNITION - ANTI-THEFT CONTROLLER | |||
| 03/01/2002 | 1 | 01/03/2002 | |
| Door locks without prior warning. engine check light appears on dashboard. dealership is aware of problem.*ak the vehicle was damaged while in service at the dealer. when the consumer purchased the vehicle, he was told the vehicle was equipped with alarm system, but it is missing now. *yh | |||
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM - IGNITION - MODULE | |||
| 04/06/2002 | 100 | 04/01/2002 | |
| Apparently my car has a programming defect with the computer. it only relates to 2002 325xi's with sport pkg, manual trans. at one time i was told there were only 4 with my set up in the us. all cars with my exact computer set up i'm told are having this failure. they claim to be working on my problem in germany but i really feel my car is unsafe. what happens is there is a 1 second delay when when you stop accelerating to when the care stops accelertating. low gears at high rpm's the car basically goes out of control for a second. i think because so few cars have my set up that bmw is not resolving this quick enough. two e-mails to the bmw on line customer care site. my car has been driven by the regional after market rep from bmw who confirmed the problem. where else do i take this to get my car operating safely?*ak | |||