RoadVitals

1997 BMW 3 Series Owner Complaints

Reports submitted to NHTSA by owners and drivers, shown in full

Data refreshed

Complaints on fileComplaints are reports submitted to NHTSA by owners and drivers. NHTSA does not verify most reports before publishing them, and a complaint does not establish that a defect exists. Volume is influenced by how many of a vehicle were sold, how long it has been on the road, and how much attention an issue has received.
5
Latest Nov 26, 2015
Crash or fire reportedComplaints whose submitter recorded that a crash or a fire occurred. These are the reporter's own answers on the NHTSA form, not verified findings.
0
Filed in the last 12 monthsReports filed with NHTSA in the trailing 365 days. Recent volume reflects attention and vehicle age as much as anything else.
0
Reports on file since Mar 9, 2005

What this page shows

Our database holds 5 NHTSA owner-reported complaints for the 1997 BMW 3 Series. Each one is a report filed by an owner or driver and published by NHTSA without most of them being verified. A complaint is not a confirmed defect, not a recall and not a manufacturer bulletin. Narratives are shown exactly as filed.

Complaints are reports submitted by owners and drivers to NHTSA. They are not verified and do not establish that a defect exists.

Complaints, most recent first

Showing 1–5 of 5

Airbags
Filed Nov 26, 2015

IT SHOWS SEATBELT SIGN AND AIRBAG SIGN

NHTSA ID
10807082
Incident
Sep 20, 2015
Engine
Filed Aug 14, 2015

WHEN I WAS AT A STOP LIGHT, MY ENGINE BEGAN TO ACCELERATE WITH MY FOOT ON THE BRAKE. WHEN THE LIGHT TURNED GREEN THE ENGINE CONTINUED TO REVVE HIGHER. IT DID NOT TAMPER DOWN UNTIL I PUT THE CAR IN NEUTRAL. THE ENGINE CONTINUED TO REVVE WHEN I BEGAN TO DRIVE AGAIN UNTIL I CAME TO MY DESTINATION AND PLACED THE CAR IN PARK AND SHUT THE ENGINE OFF. IT DROVE FINE WITHOUT FURTHER INCIDENT THAT DAY. BEFORE THE INCIDENT I HAD TURNED ON THE A/C. ON TUESDAY (2 DAYS LATER) IT UNINTENTIONALLY ACCELERATED AGAIN AT HIGHER REVOLUTIONS AT THE SAME STOP LIGHT. I REPEATED WHAT I DID BUT THIS INCIDENT, THE CAR DID NOT THROTTLE DOWN. IT WAS AS IF IT WAS IN MANUAL MODE WITH THROTTLE FULLY OPENED. I HAD TO PUT THE CAR IN NEUTRAL THEN PARK. MY DESTINATION AT BOTH TIMES WAS 10 MIN AWAY. IT DROVE FINE EVER SINCE. I HAD THE CAR ABOUT A WEEK. I DID TEST DRIVE THE CAR AND IT DID NOT HAVE ANY HISTORY OF THIS.

NHTSA ID
10748626
Incident
Aug 9, 2015
Mileage
199,000 mi
Body & structureSuspension
Filed Mar 31, 2006

REAR SUSPENSION FAILURE ON E36 BMW.. I HAVE READ ABOUT THIS ON EVERY BMW FORUM.. THE REAR SUBFRAME MOUNTS TEAR THE FLOOR SHEET METAL AS THEY ARE NOT PROPERLY REINFORCED. I HAVE OWNED 4 SEPARATE CARS WITH THIS SAME PROBLEM AND I KNOW COUNTLESS OTHERS. HTTP://WWW.UNOFFICIALBMW.COM/PHPBB/VIEWTOPIC.PHP?T=10859. *NM

NHTSA ID
10154313
Incident
Jan 1, 2003
Mileage
55,000 mi
Electrical
Filed Jun 13, 2005

SUDDEN AND COMPLETE FAILURE OF IGINITION SWITCH. AFTER ROUTINE DRIVE FROM WORK TO THE GYM, I TURNED THE IGNITION SWITCH TO THE OFF POSITION, AND THE ENGINE DID NOT STOP. I WAS ABLE TO REMOVE THE KEY BUT THE ENGINE KEPT RUNNING. THERE WAS NO WAY TO TUN OFF THE ENGINE USING THE KEY. DROVE CAR TO THE DEALERSHIP.

NHTSA ID
10125085
Incident
Jun 10, 2005
Mileage
74,000 mi
Visibility
Filed Mar 9, 2005

IT IS COMMON KNOWLEDGE THROUGH CAR CLUBS, PARTS SUPPLIERS AND THE MECHANICS PROVIDING REPAIRS THAT THE ELECTRONIC CLIMATE CONTROL UNIT OFTEN FAILS COMPLETELY OR BECOMES INTERMITTENT IN OPERATION. WHEN IT FAILS THERE IS NO CONTROLS OR CHANCE OF CHANGING FUNCTIONS. THIS ALLOWS THE CONDITION TO EXIST THAT THE VEHICLE OPERATOR CAN NOT SELECT THE WINDSHIELD DEFROSTER FUNCTION AND POSSIBLY IMPAIRING THE DRIVERS ABILITY TO VIEW THROUGH THE WINDSHIELD. I HAVE TWO CARS OF THIS BUILD TYPE AND THEY BOTH HAVE THIS PROBLEM. THE MECHANICS REPAIR BILLS OFTEN AMOUNTS TO AN EXCESS OF $400 PER REPAIR. HERE IS A QUOTE FROM A REPUTABLE PARTS SOURCE, WWW.BAVAUTO.COM WEBSITE: THIS IS THE DIGITAL CLIMATE CONTROL COMPUTER. THESE ARE A COMMON FAILURE ITEM ON ALL 1996-1999 3 SERIES. WHEN THESE FAIL, THE LCD SCREEN WILL GO DIM/BLANK (USUALLY IINTERMITTENTLY AND EVENTUALLY PERMANENTLY) AND THE VENTILATION & AIR SYSTEM WILL NOT FUNCTION." PART NUMBER: 64 11 8 379 521 DESCRIPTION: CLIMATE CONTROL COMPUTER MODULE - IN-DASH RICE: 74.95. *AK

NHTSA ID
10112786
Incident
Mar 8, 2005
Mileage
61,200 mi

Higher-selling and older vehicles accumulate more reports. Counts are not failure rates and are not directly comparable between vehicles that sold in very different numbers.

Data sources

Data on this page last refreshed .