RoadVitals

2001 BMW 318 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.
6
Latest Aug 17, 2001
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.
1
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 Apr 20, 2001

What this page shows

Our database holds 6 NHTSA owner-reported complaints for the 2001 BMW 318. 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 1–6 of 6

Engine
Filed Aug 17, 2001
Fire reported

NEW BMW COMBUSTED -- ELECTRICAL FIRE DUE TO DEFECT IN FAN ASSEMBLY ALREADY KNOWN TO BMW. HAD I BEEN DRIVING THE CAR AT THE TIME, IT WOULD HAVE RESULTED IN A FATALITY.

NHTSA ID
750648
Incident
Aug 4, 2001
Engine
Filed Jun 15, 2001

MY CAR WAS SIMPLY IDLING IN A PARKING LOT WITH THE A/C ON FOR A FEW MINUTES WHEN I RETURNED TO FIND MY CAR WITH SMOKE BILLOWING FROM UNDER THE HOOD. I IMMEDIATELY RAN TO THE CAR AND TURNED IT OFF. I NOTICED THE TEMPERATURE GAUGE WAS ALL THE WAY TO THE RED ZONE. I THEN NOTICED RADIATOR FLUID SPILLING TO THE GROUND. I OPENED THE HOOD OF THE CAR AND NOTICED THE FLUID WAS RELEASING FROM THE RADIATOR CAP. MY CAR WAS TOWED TO THE DEALER AND THEY REPLACED THE COOLING FAN. THIS IS NOT AN ISOLATED INCIDENT. I HAVE READ NUMEROUS INCIDENTS ON THE INTERNET OF PEOPLE'S COOLING FANS FAILING AND THEIR BMW'S OVERHEATING. I'M SURPRISED BMW HAS NOT YET ISSUED A RECALL. THIS NEEDS TO BE DONE. MY CAR WAS NOT SOME CAR WAITING AT A DEALERSHIP TO BE BOUGHT. I ORDERED IT AND IT WAS ASSEMBLED IN A PLANT IN GERMANY. THEY ARE INSTALLING FAULTY FANS INTO NEW CARS. THEIR PROBLEM IS THAT THEY DO NOT KNOW WHICH FANS ARE THE BAD/FAILING FANS. THEY SHOULD RECALL ALL 3 SERIES BMW 2001 FANS AND REPLACE THEM. THIS UPSETS ME. MY CAR IS RUNNING FINE, BUT WHO KNOWS WHAT IF ANY, UNKNOWN LONG TERM DAMAGE WAS SUSTAINED IN MY ENGINE FROM OVERHEATING!!!!!. *AK

NHTSA ID
746872
Incident
May 31, 2001
Engine
Filed Jun 7, 2001

MULTIPLE COMPLAINTS OF OVERHEATING FOR SAME MODEL DUE TO FAILURE OF AUXILIARY COOLING FAN AS NOTED ON INTERNET BULLETIN BOARD WWW.BIMMER.ORG IN RECENT WEEKS/MONTHS

NHTSA ID
746574
Incident
Jun 5, 2001
Engine
Filed May 17, 2001

NO SUMMARY LISTED FOR ABOVE VEHICLE. *AK

NHTSA ID
745437
Engine
Filed May 16, 2001

COOLING FAN FAILURE CAUSED ENGINE TO OVERHEAT - VEHICLE UNDRIVEABLE. *AK

NHTSA ID
745425
Incident
Apr 30, 2001
Suspension
Filed Apr 20, 2001

AFTER HEARING UNUSUAL NOISES COMING FROM THE FRONT SUSPENSION, THE DEALER REPLACED THE CONTROL ARMS. SIMILAR NOISES ARE NOW COMING FROM THE BACK BUT THE SOURCE HAS NOT BEEN DETERMINED YET. I AM CONCERNED WITH SAFETY AND RELIABILITY OF THIS PRODUCT.*AK

NHTSA ID
744294
Incident
Feb 23, 2001

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 .