Reports submitted to NHTSA by owners and drivers, shown in full
Data refreshed
Our database holds 5 NHTSA owner-reported complaints for the 1994 BMW 318IS. 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.
Showing 1–5 of 5
CONSUMER NOTICED ANTIFREEZE ON THE GROUND IN THE GARAGE, TOOK VEHICLE TO THE DEALER, AND IT WAS DETERMINED TIMING CASE PROFILE GASKET WAS DEFECTIVE.*AK...THIS GASKET HAS CAUSED PROBLEM UNTIL IT WAS REPLACED IN MIDDLE OF 1994. THIS WAS A FREQUENT FAILURE ON 318 VEHICLES. BMW WAS AWARE OF THE PROBLEM. THEIR REPRESENTATIVE INDICATED SHE WAS NOT ALLOWED TO DISCUSS THE PROFILE GASKET PROBLEM. *AK
AFTER VEHICLE WENT THROUGH A CAR WASH VEHICLE WOULD NOT START. CONTACTED DEALER, AND DEALER STATED THAT DME UNIT WAS SOAKED.*AK
NO SUMMARY LISTED FOR ABOVE VEHICLE. *AK
I PURCHASED THE CAR IN NOV. 1994 FROM GEARHART BMW IN DENVILLE, NEW JERSEY. FOUR MONTHS AFTER THE PURCHASED DATE, I DISCOVERED A NOISE THAT WAS COMING FROM BEHIND ME WHILE I WAS DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 50 MPH. I WENT BACK TO THE DEALER TO COMPLAIN THE SITUATION AND THEY SAID THE NOISE YOU HEARD WAS PROBABLY THE TIRE NOISE. I STOPPED AT ONE OF THE NEAREST TIRE'S DEALER AND HAD THEM CHECKED MY VEHICLE. THEY SAID THAT THE NOISE WAS COMING FROM THE DRIVE TRAIN. I REQUESTED THE TIRE'S DEALER TO TYPE UP A SUMMARY FOR MY RECORD. I SHOWED IT TO THE GEARHART DEALER THEN THEY DENIED IT. HOWEVER, I STILL HEARD THE NOISE SO I KEPT GOING BACK TO THE DEALER AND TRIED ANOTHER DEALER FOR A SECOND OPINION. I EVEN TRIED TO CALL THE CUSTOMER SERVICE OF BMW HEADQUARTER, .. NO SOLUTION ! ! !.... FINALLY WHEN THE MANUFACTURER'S WARRANTY OF MY VEHICLE ALMOST CAME TO BE EXPIRED, THE MORRISTOWN BMW REVEALED THE PROBLEM TO ME AND TOLD ME THERE WAS NOTHING THEY COULD DO. AT THAT TIME, I WAS SO ANGRY BECAUSE FOR ONLY ONE REASON THAT I AM 100% BELIEVE THAT THE DEALER HAD THE KNOWLEDGE ABOUT THE NOISE, HOWEVER, FAILED TO DISCLOSE THE INFORMATION TO ME AS THE CUSTOMER. AT THIS MOMENT AS I AM WRITING THE LETTER, I ONLY HAVE ONE HOPE THAT MAYBE YOU WANT TO INVESTIGATE TO SEE IF THERE IS ANY SAFETY HAZARD. IF YOU NEED FURTHER ASSISTANCE PLEASE FEEL FREE TO CALL ME AT MY WORK #: (973) 966-2501. I GREATLY APPRECIATE FOR YOUR TIME IN INVESTIGATING THIS MATTER. BEST REGARDS, ELIA IMAN , QUALITY ENGINEER.
THE PROFILE GASKET FAILURE IS APPARENTLY A COMMON PROBLEM ON THIS MODEL ENGINE...AND WHILE BMW ACKNOWLEDGES IT IS BECAUSE OF BA MATERIALS USED FOR THIS GASKET, NO RECALL NOR OFFER TO REPAIR FREE OF CHARGE HAS APPARENTLY BEEN MADE.
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 on this page last refreshed .