2008 BMW 328I Engine Problems

RECALL OMISSION & SAFETY DISPUTE (Case #10683843): I am reporting two documented safety defects in my 2008 BMW 328i (N51 engine) that are identical to existing Federal Safety Recalls but have been omitted from the recall VIN list for this model year. 1. AIRBAG SYSTEM FAILURE (Recall 17V-428): The vehicle has a confirmed Fault Code 93C3 (Passenger Seat Occupancy Mat). This is the exact failure mode described in Recall 17V-428. This defect has deactivated the front passenger airbag system, as indicated by the red SRS warning light. The manufacturer has refused to address this as a safety recall, despite the component failing in the identical manner described in the 2006 model year recall. This creates an immediate risk of injury or death to front-seat passengers in the event of a crash. 2. ENGINE STALL RISK (Recall 23V-707): This vehicle utilizes the same aluminum VANOS housing bolts that are currently under Safety Recall 23V-707 for 2010–2012 models. These bolts are known to loosen and shear, causing sudden engine stalling while in motion. Despite the high risk of a high-speed stall and loss of power steering/braking, the manufacturer is excluding 2008 models from the recall remedy. DEALER/MANUFACTURER RESPONSE: The vehicle was inspected by a dealer in October 2024 (Invoice #156201), but the safety warning light was not documented on the repair order. A subsequent formal request for assistance (Case #10683843) was denied verbally by the manufacturer's regional management, who stated the vehicle is excluded from the recall based on its VIN, regardless of the active safety system failure. I am requesting a formal investigation into this Recall Omission to ensure these safety-critical repairs are provided to all affected vehicles.

NHTSA ID

11721868

Incident

Feb 1, 2023

The contact owns a 2008 BMW 328I. The contact stated while driving 40 MPH, the check engine warning light illuminated. An independent mechanic was contacted. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the PCV heater needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V119000 (ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING); however, the VIN was not included in the recall. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but offered no assistance. The contact was referred to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was unavailable.

NHTSA ID

11669558

Incident

Jun 19, 2025

My vehicle was not included in BMW Recall "23V-707: Replace Vanos Adjustment Unit Screw Connection" but has suffered the same failure described in this recall. My VANOS adjustment unit screws came loose and caused my engine to completely stall in the middle of traffic on a very busy road [XXX] ). I lost some braking ability and narrowly avoided a major collision. I've been having issues with misfires related to my VANOS system and today I found that despite being told my vehicle wasn't affected by the recall, it is experiencing the same issue as the recall above mentioned. My vanos adjustment unit bolts on both exhaust and intake sides of the engine were all much more loose than factory specification, so much so that I was able to remove 6 of them with my fingers alone. I think there should be a full safety recall on this issue as it seems to affect a much wider variety of cars than initially thought. I was able to re-tighten them to factory specs, but I have no confidence that it will stay that way. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ID

11616928

Incident

Sep 27, 2024

My vehicle engine cooling fan caught fire one evening while following behind someone to make sure they made it to a parking lot safely due to their own vehicle having problems requiring them to stay under around 20mph. Once we made it to a parking lot, i exited my vehicle to check on the other person, and realized there was smoke starting to come out from under my hood. My husband waited for me to pull the hood release and then proceeded to lift the hood, only to discover my car was on fire, and it was coming directly from the cooling fan. After almost a minute we were able to put the fire out, and discovered the whole electrical area for the fan was melted and destroyed. There was never any type of warning light or any information at all that would have told me a problem was imminent. Im thankful it wasn;t myself alone or with my kids just driving down the highway because it would have taken over the whole vehicle before i would have known it was having any issues at all. The part is still on the vehicle, which has become inoperable and now any attempts to check the vehicle out have realized that another issues with BMW's is also causing problems with my vehicle. It appears an actual recall was never issued for my actual VIN, rather a collection of years and makes. Any further information or remedy that might get me the ability to actually use my vehicle again would be greatly appreciated. I can also include photos and witness statements if needed,. Thank you for your time.

NHTSA ID

11581845

Incident

Jun 1, 2023

The vehicle, stopped while driving, overheating, no heat/ ac. It's winter, car stopped at night in an unknown location fory safety. Had it inspected by 2 different auto shops and was confirmed of the issue. Warning lights came on right before the car failed.

NHTSA ID

11579798

Incident

Mar 22, 2024

The contact owns a 2008 BMW 328I. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V119000 (Engine and Engine Cooling) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. An undisclosed dealer was contacted and confirmed that parts were not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. Parts distribution disconnect.

NHTSA ID

11551066

Incident

Mar 20, 2022

ON ALL E90 SERIES 3 (2008 BMW 328i), the PCV VALVE FAILS AND IS WELDED INTO THE VALVE COVER, THUS IF IT LEAKS OR GETS CRACKS IN THE ORANGE MEMBRANE, IT WILL CAUSE CAR TO STALL.. I ALMOST CRASHED 2x and this part should be recalled..IT AFFECTS THE FUEL AIR RATIO IN BMW E90, AND THE CAR WILL RUN LEAN AND NOT RECEIVE ENOUGH GAS AS AIR IS LEAKING FROM THE BROKEN MEMBRANE IN THE PVC VALVE. BMW WILL THROW ENGINE CODES WITH LIT CHECK ENGINE LIGHT ON DASH. THIS SHOULD BE A RECALL AS THE WHOLE VALVE COVER HAS TO BE REPLACED TO REPLACE A DEFECTIVE $10 PCV VALVE WHICH IS LUDICROUS...THE DEALER CHARGES thousand dollars and up to replace a ten dollar part. THE CAR HAS ROUGH IDLE AND WILL STALL, CREATING A DANGEROUS DRIVING SITUATION AND FATAL ACCIDENT . PLEASE RECALL to HAVE BMW DEALER FIX ThESE PLASTIC PVC VALVES ON E90S...I HAVE ENCLOSED PIC OF THE VALVE ..IT ALSO HAS A SPRING BUT THE PLASTIC ORANGE MEBRANE CRACKS, BREAKS AND LEAKS AIR INSIDE VALVE, CAUSING CHECK ENGINE CODES, ROUGH IDLE AND STALLING OF VEHICLE.. THE VALVE IS LOCATED ON TOP OF VALVE COVER, WELDED INTO VALVE COVER. PLEASE HELP..THANK YOU STATE FLORIDA P.S. HEAT CAUSES THE PCV MEMBRANE TO CRACK MORE~~PIC ENCLOSED OF PCV VALVE ITS WELDED INTO TOP VALVE COVER..NO OTHER CAR HAS A PCV VALVE MOUNTED THIS WAY SO WHOLE VALVE COVER NEEDS TO BE REPLACED~ THANK U

NHTSA ID

11535228

Incident

Jun 8, 2023

The contact owns a 2008 BMW 328I. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, she noticed an abnormally strong burning odor coming from under the hood. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact stated that an independent mechanic had previously repaired the vehicle for a similar failure. The contact later received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V119000 (Engine and Engine Cooling) that she related to the failure. The local dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 100,000.

NHTSA ID

11521668

Incident

May 12, 2019

Mileage

100,000 mi

The contact owns a 2008 BMW 328I. The contact stated that after starting the vehicle, the check engine warning light illuminated. There was smoke coming from the engine compartment while the vehicle was shuddering. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, where it was diagnosed that the PCV stem seals and cap needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The contact then received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V119000 (Engine and Engine Cooling) and took the vehicle to a local dealer for the repair; however, the contact was informed he would be responsible for the cost of the recall repair. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue and advised the contact to seek legal advice to have the repair completed. The approximate failure mileage was 170,000.

NHTSA ID

11518311

Incident

Jan 1, 2023

Mileage

170,000 mi

2008 BMW 328I. CONSUMER WRITES IN REGARD TO LOSS OF POWER AND STEAM COMING FROM THE ENGINE. THE CONSUMER HAD THE VEHICLE TOWED TO THE NEAREST BMW TO PERFORM A RECALL. ON MARCH 13, 2023 THE VEHICLE WAS PICKED UP AFTER REPAIRS AND THE RED WARNING LIGHT ILLUMINATED AND ENGINE WAS STEAMING ONCE AGAIN.

NHTSA ID

11516276

Incident

Apr 10, 2023

You guys have aluminum bolts that hold down the cylinder head they corrode or become loose thus pulling up the cylinder head and the head gasket is protruding out the front of the cylinder head causing oil and coolant to leak on to the belt causing the serpentine belt to slip off while it's raining and eventually causing a blown head gasket it's because of the aluminum bolts on the top of the engine that hold the cylinder head down the head gasket protrudes out the sides on the front where the camshaft sensors are and leaks onto the belt plus causing the belt to come off the track and possibly get sucked into the engine it's not something easy to get to or to fix for a person with low income

NHTSA ID

11514696

Incident

Mar 11, 2023

Mileage

208,000 mi

The contact owned a 2008 BMW 328I. The contact stated while driving at an undetermined speed, there was smoke coming from the vehicle. The contact stated that the vehicle overheated. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The contact stated that the engine was misfiring. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that the PCV valve heater was melted. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact stated that the failure was related to NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V119000 (Engine and Engine Cooling). The contact stated that the vehicle had since been sold. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 114,000.

NHTSA ID

11511586

Incident

Aug 1, 2021

Mileage

114,000 mi

The contact owns a 2008 BMW 328I. The contact stated while driving 45 MPH, there was a burning odor coming through the A/C vents. There was also smoke coming from underneath the hood of the vehicle. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The contact veered to the side of the road and turned off vehicle. The contact then added coolant to the vehicle. The contact stated upon restarting the vehicle, the check engine warning light remained illuminated. The contact was able to continue driving. The contact stated that the failure had been reoccurring. Additionally, the contact stated that the vehicle was losing motive power while driving at various speeds. The contact stated that the failure occurred intermittently. The contact stated that the vehicle was towed to the dealer several times. The dealer performed unknown repairs on the vehicle; however, the failure persisted. The contact later received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V119000 (Engine and Engine Cooling) which she related to the failure. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 130,000.

NHTSA ID

11510659

Incident

Mar 7, 2020

Mileage

130,000 mi

The contact owns a 2008 BMW 328I. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V119000 (Engine and Engine Cooling); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer was contacted. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The contact stated that the vehicle was making abnormal sounds. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 78,000. Parts distribution disconnect.

NHTSA ID

11510413

Incident

Nov 6, 2022

Mileage

78,000 mi

The contact owns a 2008 BMW 328I. The contact received notification of the NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V119000 (Engine and Engine Cooling) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The local dealer was notified of the issue and confirmed that parts were not yet available. The manufacturer was not notified of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. Parts distribution disconnect.

NHTSA ID

11503578

Incident

Mar 25, 2022

The contact owns a 2008 BMW 328I. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V119000 (Engine and Engine Cooling) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The contact stated that the vehicle had previously been at the dealer for an unknown service, where it was diagnosed with an oil leak in the valve cover gasket that the valve over gasket needed to be replaced. An independent mechanic was made aware of the failure and advised the contact not to replace the valve cover gasket due to the recall. The vehicle was not repaired. The dealer was made aware of the issue and confirmed that parts were not yet available. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue and confirmed that parts were not yet available. The failure mileage was approximately 55,000. Parts distribution disconnect.

NHTSA ID

11503364

Incident

Mar 2, 2022

Mileage

55,000 mi

The contact owns a 2008 BMW 328I. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V119000 (Engine and Engine Cooling) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The dealer was not made aware of the issue. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. VIN tool confirms parts not available.

NHTSA ID

11493924

Incident

Apr 20, 2022

The contact owns a 2008 BMW 328I. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V119000 (Engine and Engine Cooling) however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. VIN tool confirms parts not available.

NHTSA ID

11493510

Incident

Mar 2, 2022

The contact owns a 2008 BMW 328I. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V119000 (Engine and Engine Cooling) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The dealer was made aware of the issue and confirmed that parts were not yet available. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The contact had not experienced a failure. VIN tool confirms parts not available.

NHTSA ID

11489785

Incident

Apr 1, 2022

Due to the CRANKCASE VENTILATION (PCV) VALVE HEATER problem and BMW claiming they have no remedy for it yet, this has caused my engine to overheat smelling like burning electrical, The Container holding reserve antifreeze has broken off plastic components that may somewhere be in the cooling system. The valve cover gasket that was replaced only 3 years ago is beginning to fail and is leaking oil into the brand new spark plugs and coils. This is unacceptable. They say to stop driving the car if you smell burnt electrical. Heck, I have smoke coming from the engine at times. How are people who only have this 1 car suppose to get places when BMW delays repairing people's vehicles. They are wasting our money! They should have to repair all of the parts that this issue has caused damage to while they have us wait for remedy that seems to never come!

NHTSA ID

11487117

Incident

Sep 10, 2022

The contact owns a 2008 BMW 328I. The contact stated that oil was leak from the vehicle. The contact then received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V119000 (Engine and Engine Cooling) however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where she was informed that the oil leak was related to the PCV valve. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and was informed that the part for the recall repair was not available and she was given an estimate for the repair. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the repair. The failure mileage was approximately 84,000. VIN tool confirms parts not available.

NHTSA ID

11485907

Incident

Oct 14, 2021

Mileage

84,000 mi

I have had continuous issues with the electrical system in the front drivers side headlight with burnt plastic housing to the main headlight and the plug for the blinker system. Sometimes it will work and most of the time it won't. I cant tell you the amount of times it has stopped working in the middle of using the blinker. Every time I attempt to change it out, the bulb ends up still in good shape after looking it over. I have always inserted a new one but the issue remains. I have had to replace the whole headlight unit because of the melted plastic not holding the plug any longer and the issue remains. The passenger side seatbelt light has been on for the past several years and will not go off. It shows a light stating the airbag is off. Every time I use the AC unit, I end up with a whole lot of AC condensation pouring out each side of my console soaking the floor of the vehicle and smelling horrible the next day. I don't understand how such a supposedly high quality car can have such stupid problems that cant seem to be fixed. I have had this car since 2013 and barely drive it as I have only put approx 9000 miles over the last 9 years.

NHTSA ID

11484359

Incident

Aug 18, 2019

My car will not start up to show ignition lights… blinks fast then shuts off / will not crank / after flashing lights on dash service engine light appears & car has smoking from under hood

NHTSA ID

11479341

Incident

Mar 8, 2022

The contact owns a 2008 BMW 328I. The contact received a notification for NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V119000 (Engine and Engine Cooling) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, an abnormal plastic burning odor was coming from the vehicle. The contact stated that there was white colored smoke coming from the engine while starting the vehicle. The dealer was made aware of the issue and confirmed that parts were not yet available. The manufacturer had been notified of the issue. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the repair. The failure mileage was unknown. VIN tool confirms parts not available.

NHTSA ID

11470304

Incident

Jun 7, 2022

The contact's wife owns a 2008 BMW 328I. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, a burning rubber odor was coming from the vehicle. There was no warning light illuminated. Additionally, light gray smoke was intermittently coming from the passenger’s side hood. The contact then received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V119000 (Engine and Engine Cooling) however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The dealer was notified of the issue and confirmed that parts were not yet available. The manufacturer was notified of the issue. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The failure mileage was approximately 48,000.

NHTSA ID

11469309

Incident

Mar 1, 2022

Mileage

48,000 mi