RoadVitals

1998 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.
3
Latest Dec 31, 2017
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 Nov 12, 1998

What this page shows

Our database holds 3 NHTSA owner-reported complaints for the 1998 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 1–3 of 3

AirbagsElectrical
Filed Dec 31, 2017

THEY HAVE NOT HAD ANY PARTS TO SERVICE THE RECALL ANY TIME I HAVE TAKEN MY CAR IN FOR REPAIRS OR HAVE CALLED ABOUT THE RECALL.

NHTSA ID
11057747
Incident
Apr 5, 2017
Airbags
Filed Oct 4, 2016

AT APPROXIMATELY 4:45 P.M. CT ON FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2016, I WAS DRIVING MY 1998 BMW M3 CONVERTIBLE HOME FROM WORK. I WAS ON STATE HIGHWAY 75 IN TULSA, OKLAHOMA, HEADING SOUTH. I DON'T HAVE A SPECIFIC RECOLLECTION OF MY SPEED AT THAT EXACT MOMENT, BUT WOULD ESTIMATE IT TO BE IN THE AREA OF 55-60 MILES AN HOUR, AS THERE WAS SOME TRAFFIC, BUT IT WAS NOT HEAVY. I WAS IN THE RIGHT-HAND LANE ON A PART OF THE HIGHWAY WHERE THERE IS NO CURB. I DID NOT SWERVE OFF THE SHOULDER. TULSA ROADS ARE NOTORIOUSLY BAD, BUT THIS PARTICULAR STRETCH OF HIGHWAY WAS REPAVED RELATIVELY RECENTLY. MY PASSENGER DOOR AIRBAG DEPLOYED SPONTANEOUSLY. I WAS NOT INVOLVED IN A COLLISION. I DID NOT HAVE A FLAT TIRE. BMW OF NORTH AMERICA HAS ASSURED ME THAT THE AIRBAG OPERATED APPROPRIATELY AND THERE MUST HAVE BEEN SOME STIMULUS TO CAUSE ITS DETONATION. I STRUGGLE TO ACCEPT THAT THERE WAS ANY STIMULUS AT THAT SPEED THAT WOULD CAUSE DETONATION OF JUST ONE AIRBAG WITHOUT CAUSING SOME DAMAGE TO THE VEHICLE.

NHTSA ID
10913816
Incident
Sep 30, 2016
Mileage
125,000 mi
Suspension
Filed Nov 12, 1998

THE CONSUMER IS EXPERIENCING PROBLEMS WITH FRONT END SUSPENSION. EVERY TIME THAT VEHICLE IS DRIVEN OVER A BUMP, A LOUD RATTLING NOISE OCCURS. THE CONSUMER HAS TAKEN THEIR VEHICLE TO BE FIXED FOR THE SAME PROBLEM, BUT IT WAS NOT FIXED PROPERLY BECAUSE THE PROBLEM STILL REMAINS. THE MANUFACTURER HAS BEEN CONTACTED. *AK

NHTSA ID
830609
Incident
Oct 23, 1998

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 .