2015 BMW 328I Powertrain (other) Problems

My 2015 BMW 328i xDrive (VIN [XXX] ) experienced an engine-compartment fire that began shortly after coolant sprayed from the front of the vehicle. This incident occurred before BMW’s official recall announcement for NHTSA Campaign 24V-608 / BMW 24V-608:474 (Safety: Engine Coolant Pump Electrical Connector). The fire originated near the coolant pump area, consistent with the recall’s described defect involving electrical shorting and overheating at the pump connector. The vehicle was declared a total loss by my insurance company. I believe this event was caused by the same defect identified in the recall and request that this incident be investigated and documented under campaign 24V-608. Supporting photos and insurance documentation are available upon request. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ID

11695569

Incident

Oct 20, 2023

Virtually all parking brake cable attachment clips fail on this BMW product years 2012 to 2019. Complaints are easy to find online. Upon failure, the parking brake cable drops down onto the drive shaft creating a safety hazard for the brake system as well as the drive shaft mechanism. The piece that fails (breaks) costs less than $20, but replacement costs $1200 due to labor intensive access. I have repeatedly contacted BMW of North America, but they refuse to own this serious issue. Even the people at the BMW dealership here are surprised that there has been no recall. Please advise.

NHTSA ID

11689985

Incident

Jan 10, 2024

Engine coolant pump recall (August 2024) with no remedy to this day. Has caused major smoking issues from exhaust and engine. The turbocharger has been affected and deemed inoperable. Fluid leaks from chassis and engine bay. The car is inoperable. Prior to being unable to drive I was experiencing transmission issues, went for a few repairs but would experience the car coming to a complete stop on its own at highway speeds. Experienced this on the bridge, being left stuck and almost causing a wreck. Made the bridge very unsafe for others. I had a “drive train malfunction” warning& check engine light that I thought was fixed with multiple mechanic trips but problems have only gotten worse. No inspections have been done in regards to the recall. The car has sat unable to drive for 2 full months now.

NHTSA ID

11668307

Incident

Oct 13, 2024

The parking brake cable bracket is a cheap piece of plastic that fails on every single BMW model like mine from this era, which means the parking brake cable comes in contact with the drive shaft. Mine has broken. Dealers charge $1,100 to replace with an equally cheap 30 dollar plastic bracket. Replacement is labor intensive which explains the high fee (I guess). BMW mechanics as well as BMW owner internet forums tell me that this fails on every single car. This is a real hazard, as it can cause parking brake failure and drive shaft damage. Owners are very upset with BMW for not taking care of this obvious design flaw. My car has all of 52,000 miles on the odometer. This needs to be a recall!! BMW refuses to take care of this, just as they have refused to take care of the existing water pump recall. Thanks in advance for taking care of this safety issue.

NHTSA ID

11652662

Incident

Feb 5, 2025

I own a 2015 BMW 328i xdrive with 86k miles. While reversing out of my driveway, onto a main road during rush hour, my vehicle unexpectedly stopped working with the message “drivetrain malfunction”. I had the car towed to a BMW dealership and was told there was a fault found in VANOS intake and that my car needed a timing chain replacement. I called BWM NA and was informed that there is a VANOS recall, but not for my car. They did however tell me that BMW would compensation for timing chain repairs for my 2015 328i if the car fell within certain parameters, low miles and within 7 years. While my car has low miles, I was told that my recall for the part had been “cleared” because I’m outside of the 7 year allotment for compensation on timing chain repairs. BMW will not help fix the timing chain nor compensate in anyway. I was informed they sent a letter in 2017, I purchased the car in 2017 and did not receive a letter. My vehicle had been serviced multiple times at BMW dealerships and I was never informed about a timing chain recall, not even in 2018 when my car was serviced at BMW for check engine light on. BWM has purposely avoided fixing a major vehicle flaw that they’ve known about.

NHTSA ID

11576125

Incident

Feb 29, 2024

My drivetrain malfunction light comes on and my vehicle stalls while I’m driving it.

NHTSA ID

11555553

Incident

Jan 3, 2023

After consulting many others that own or previously owned 328i bmw from around the same years (2015-2017); a common issue was found and assumed to be the timing belt. when i press on the accelerator moderately/ as per usual, my RPMs and speedometer hesitate for a solid second then it will catch up and start shaking. i suspect its the timing belt.

NHTSA ID

11540161

Incident

Aug 16, 2023

Driving to work and the engine oil pressure warning came up and the car began to decelerate and once completely stopped the power train malfunction warning popped up and I couldn’t restart the engine. Towed to BMW of Toledo and was Told the timing chain broke and destroyed the engine.

NHTSA ID

11482766

Incident

Aug 23, 2022

The drivetrain malfunction light came on and my car stopped on the main highway while I was driving out and it wouldn’t start back so a wrecker tow it then maybe 5 days later it just crank again but then it started to do it again. There was a recall for this but it had expired before I bought the car

NHTSA ID

11465134

Incident

Mar 16, 2022

Vehicle smells like gas. Drivetrain malfunction light comes on, car sputters and shakes, goes off after a couple of days and then comes back on and shakes 4 months or more later. Loses power or won’t accelerate while traveling more than 50 mph

NHTSA ID

11447442

Incident

Jan 13, 2022

At random the car will display “Drivetrain Malfunction” which causes the car to shift into neutral and begins to slow down until it doesn’t move anymore. There is no check engine light or any other indicator of what might be the problem. The message just pops out of no where. It’s happen in the freeway making me scare to cause an accident because it so random. I’ve had to quickly turn my hazards and beginning switching lanes to avoid any accidents.

NHTSA ID

11427667

Incident

Aug 3, 2021

2015 BMW 328. CONSUMER WRITES IN REGARDS TO POWER TRAIN SAFETY RECALL.*LD THE CONSUMER STATED THE MANUFACTURER EXCEEDED A REASONABLE AMOUNT OF TIME COMPLETING THE RECALL REPAIR. THE CONSUMER REFERENCED RECALL 20V185000. THE CONSUMER REQUESTED TO BE REIMBURSED THE CAR PAYMENTS FOR THE MONTHS THE VEHICLE WAS NOT IN USE.*JS

NHTSA ID

11352630

Incident

Mar 27, 2020

WHILE ATTEMPTING TO PASS AT APPROX 50 MPH ON A TWO LANE MOUNTAIN HIGHWAY, THE CAR SUDDENLY LOST POWER, WARNING LIGHTS AND BUZZER SOUNDED. THE MESSAGE ON SCREEN REPORTED 'DRIVETRAIN MALFUNCTION, DRIVE MODERATELY'. THE CAR CONTINUED TO OPERATE, VIBRATING BADLY WHENEVER I GAVE IT GAS. WE LIMPED HOME, SHUT IT OFF. TWO HOURS LATER I RESTARTED IT AND ALL THE ERROR WARNINGS DISAPPEARED AND THE CAR IS RUNNING NORMALLY AGAIN.

NHTSA ID

10919977

Incident

Oct 28, 2016

Mileage

15,900 mi