Owner-reported complaints naming the engine system, filed with NHTSA
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Reports naming the engine itself — including stalling, misfires, oil consumption, cooling and internal engine components. Every record below is an owner-reported complaint about the 2017 BMW 330I submitted to NHTSA — not a confirmed defect, not a recall and not a manufacturer bulletin. 23 reports on file name it.
Complaints are reports submitted by owners and drivers to NHTSA. They are not verified and do not establish that a defect exists.
Shown in the owner’s own words, exactly as filed
The cooling system is continually failing prematurely. Parts that should be lifetime are needing to be repaired below 100K miles. I have had to repair the following cooling system related items that should be under recall and are not Oil filter housing Thermostat housing Turbo coolant lines Water neck the cost of repairs is significant and BMW is denying responsibility for the premature failures.
The Oil Filter Housing (OFH), the Coolant/Water Pump, and other plastic lines for the cooling systems are well known to fail with this engine early in their lifetime. My service advisor at BMW said, "these are very common issues for a B46 engine.". The Motor Mounts also are extremely prone to failure due to the use of the Auto Start/Stop feature. This has also been noted by my service advisor at BMW. They commented, "these cars come in often before ever hitting 20k miles and needing replacement. I recommend never using the Auto Start/Stop feature ever again.'
My BMW has had multiple repairs (3 incidents - 2 times repaired by BMW and 1 time repaired by a national mechanic garage) to the coolant system since I purchased it in 2018. BMW have verified the leaking coolant as well as the independent garage. Currently, the coolant system has another on going issue where it is still leaking and it's still unable to be fixed. This coolant issue has had catastrophic failures at times and more recently it has thrown a major engine overheating warning that has impacted the safety of my wife, kids and I as well as other individuals on the road as I have had to pull over quickly and turn the car off to allow the engine to cool down. I've had to drive the car at a reduce speed and acceleration which has frustrated many drivers causing them to over take me dangerously. Additionally, I've burnt my hand from opening the coolant expansion tank to add coolant on multiple occasions.
I noticed coolant leaking from under the vehicle. The message to add coolant was displayed. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where the engine was inspected, and was notified of stains of coolant coming from the head gasket. The contact was informed that the head gasket needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but offered no assistance. I believe this is failure is related to NHTSA Campaign Number: Recall 18V755000, October ,24 2018, My car has only 73000 Miles
The contact owns a 2017 BMW 330I. The contact stated that while the vehicle was parked, upon inspecting the vehicle, the contact noticed coolant leaking from under the vehicle. The message to add coolant was displayed. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where the engine was inspected, and the contact became aware of stains of coolant coming from the head gasket. The contact was informed that the head gasket needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact stated there was a software update performed on the rearview camera. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but offered no assistance. The contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 18V755000 (ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING); however, the VIN was not included in the recall. The contact was referred to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was 73,000.
The contact owns a 2017 BMW 330I. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the low coolant warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who determined that the vehicle was consuming and excessive amount of coolant. The contact stated that the coolant reservoir was empty after being refilled the previous morning. The vehicle was not repaired. After investigating the failure, the contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 18V755000 (Engine and Engine Cooling); the VIN was included, and the vehicle was already repaired under the recall. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, a case was opened, and the contact was referred to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was unknown.
Oil filter housing and or oil cooler failed. Leaking internally and externally. May cause fluid to leak on to hot engine and cause potential fire or short circuit wiring.
UNKNOWN, it has problems with stalling and starting up could be issues with the internal drive system that I’ve seen other types of similar models of bmw having these recall issues as well. When starting up after fueling up it over exerts the engine trying to start up. You kind of have to rev it to start it up. And driving it after that it has trouble keeping a solid drive.
The vehicle had a recall on the engine coolant valve line which was taken care of by BMW dealership on November 1, 2024. In less than a month later, an issue has been noted of coolant leak which caused the engine to overheat causing a safety issue on the road while driving my kids to school. The service manager advised that the issue is not part of the open recall that was already done on November 1st. How can a recall for the same concern of coolant leak and engine over heat cover only one hose where the issue could be related to another hose connection?
This is my second BMW 3 series. Both of my BMW 3 series have flaws in cooling system. Within 7-year of purchase, it has more than 7 leaking issues. In 2019, it has water pump issue In 2020 it has evaporative emissions vent purge valve issue In 2022, it has cooling system hoses leaks In 2023, it has cylinder head leak In 2024, it has coolant leaks, oil filter leaks, and front struts leaks. All these are related to a failed cooling system and overheating engine.
In November of 2023 I was driving my vehicle on the highway when my vehicle's control panel notified me the engine was over heating and I needed to stop driving the vehicle immediately. All the engine coolant had leaked from my vehicle. I had to pull over on the highway and have my vehicle towed. My mechanic identified the problem as the coolant vent line and made the repair. Total cost was $2,052.16 including the tow. A few months later a message from BMW came up on my vehicle's computer display saying there was an "Important recall or campaign", a service action for the exact repair I paid $2,052.16. They now refuse to reimburse me because it is not labeled a "recall". This issue is widespread and needs to be labeled a recall for consumers. A known defect since 2022 that I was never notified prior to the incident and now they refuse to reimburse me for a know defect in their product. I believe this violates my rights under federal consumer protection laws. Please help the consumers and force BMW to label this safety issue a recall and stop hiding behind their euphemisms
Persistent Low coolant warning issue, Coolant leak was discovered to be coming from Oil filter housing. This is a $3000 repair on something that should last at least as long as the engine. If there are others with this problem, Then maybe a recall is due. Dealer is repairing now at my expense.
BMW B48 engine. Coolant started leaking and the engine overheated. Unbeknownst to me caus the bottom of the car is covered. I had a mechanic look at it. Found the leak coming from the "oil filter housing unit". When he removed it it was broken at one of the 6 ports inside with the pieces missing presumably fell into the interior of the engine. BMW manufactured these units out of a composite material and not aluminum I assume to save costs and weight. This composite material has failed in many of their engines including the mini cooper. When I looked on line googling it I was shocked at how wide spread it was. It's a costly repair about 2000-2500 for parts and labor. This composite material is also used in their failing water pumps all the failing coolant hose connectors and more I believe.
The plastic oil filter housing assembly developed a crack as we all should know heat and plastic do not do well with each other. Cause my coolant at first to slowly leaked and never gave me a warning of low coolant. Driving 60+ mph then all of a sudden cars goes into limp mode so the person behind me lucky swerved to the left to avoid hitting me. So filled up coolant and same thing happens again about a week later. No visible leaks no dashboard warning of low coolant levels. So I fill up and go. Mind you my engine is already overheating when it tells me on dashboard while going into limp mode at the same time so continuously overheating engine seems to cause more problems water pumps starts leaking and pipes start developing holes. Safety comes into play while driving down a highway when car goes into limp mode causing the driving that’s not paying attention ram into you. Quite a few safety concerns. Never had a chance or opportunity to pull over to self diagnose, car goes into limp mode with no warning. There are several thousands of this reporting the same with oil filter housing assembly. As I am writing this my mechanic is in the process of taking the part off and replacing it with a metal one. This first happened around thanksgiving 2023 and progressively got worse with each week
Coolant Leak from oil filter housing caused a major repair. The Car has about 109,000 miles. Parked it after work on a Thursday went to drive it to a family dinner Friday, i turned the car on and immediately get a low coolant light. I drove 2 miles down the road, Suddenly the coolant started pouring out and the coolant light comes on again, i return home and have to take my girlfriends car. On the invoice it states, “entire oil filter housing part was replaced”, the plastic used to seal in the coolant had either been destroyed or broken off, not a gasket but a piece from the oil filter housing part. The dealer charged $4500 for the repairs, which they said were “optional” but the engine couldn’t hold coolant. This item is not on the recommended service list, as it’s not an item listed for “wear and tear” However the B48/58 engines are so new that finding enough over 100K miles is not easy to replicate the issue, although message boards have recently discovered this issue occurring with more regularity. Please investigate and help consumers who potentially could be left stranded by this defect.
Coolant Leak caused a major repair. The Car has about 90,000 miles. Suddenly the coolant started pouring out. As you see in the attached invoice, entire heat exchanger, water pump, and other several parts were to be replaced. The dealer first estimated the repairs at $5,400 and they agreed to do it at warranty price rates. However, we believe other BMW models have had similar recalls for Coolant leak and suspect same on this model too. Please investigate and help consumers who are ending up paying exorbitant amounts to service shops. BMW may be hiding this problem from NTSB to avoid recalls by agreeing to repair at vehicle warranty rates.
out of nowhere with only 1 day warning car requested coolant refill. After refill within 10 minutes car engine ran hot and completely stopped on the expressway. I’ve read hundreds of reviews online and youtube where this exact same thing has happened to others with this same car.
The contact owns a 2017 BMW 330I. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, an unknown warning light illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the dealer where it was diagnosed that an unknown rubber hose needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired; however, the failure recurred. The contact stated that the coolant light was illuminated. The contact stated that the oil housing base was replaced; however, a week later, the vehicle started to overheat. The vehicle was taken back to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the engine failed, and the cylinder and head gaskets needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and the contact was informed that the vehicle was out of warranty. The failure mileage was approximately 55,000.
The contact owns a 2017 BMW 330I. The contact stated while driving approximately 70 MPH, the check engine warning light and "Stop Immediately" message was displayed. The contact pulled off the highway and noticed white smoke coming from underneath the hood. The contact safely placed the vehicle in park(P), turned the vehicle off, exited the vehicle, and lifted the hood. The contact stated that a large amount of white smoke was coming from the engine. The contact had the vehicle towed to an independent mechanic who diagnosed that the expansion tank hose had ruptured. The expansion tank hose was replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The contact received a technical service repair notice from the manufacturer after the failure had occurred which had detailed information about the failure of the expansion tank hose and to set an appointment with a dealer as soon as possible. The manufacturer had been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 55,000.
When I was driving on suburban roads with speed limit of 45 mph, I received a waring from my vehicle saying "engine high temperature, drive moderately". After sometime, it said "engine overheated stop carefully". During the first warning, I felt loss of acceleration power and during the second warning I felt completely no power in acceleration that too when I was yielding for a left turn which was life threatening, luckily the oncoming traffic slowed down. Otherwise I would have ended up in life threatening crash. During both warnings, I checked the engine temperature gauge in the instrument cluster and the engine temperature was not even 50% of the maximum temperature in the gauge. After the warning, I slowly made it to a nearby parking lot and opened the hood and did not physically feel any excessive heat for an engine not to function. I regularly service my vehicle and my vehicle is not due for any kind of service for the next 2000 mile as per the onboard vehicle status. The next day I started the vehicle to help it to climb the tow truck ramp and at that time, for the very first time I received a warning saying engine coolant is very low. I have never received this warning since I have owned the car until then. I have two concerns, 1. The temperature gauge did not show a high temperature, only 24 hours after the electronic engine high heat notification, the low coolant warning came in which is weird and my vehicle isn't due for any service. 2. None of the above should result in a sudden loss of acceleration power which could have resulted in a fatal crash in my case. I'm a mechanical engineer with a strong background in automotive occupant safety (airbags/seatbelts) and that's why I see this a very serious incident that needs to be looked into so that it doesn't occur for anyone else in the future.
Water pump keeps going bad 2nd time replacing in 2 years rough idle and failed part problems that BMW service team does not understand. Vehicle has stalled at 0 rpm I'm thinking there is an issue with the engine also reported by previous owner and I also have the same complaints, as well the foot release which I was was told was an option never worked. Please search vin [XXX] for all incident reports with this vehicle. INFORMATION Redacted PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).
EVERYTIME I START UP THE ENGINE, THE IDLE IS IN HIGH RPM LIKE 1200-1300RPM EVEN IT IS WARMED AND THEN GRADUALLY GOES BACK TO NORMAL AFTER A MINUTE. AND IN COLD START THERE IS A LOUD THUD SOUND UNDER THE CAR AND SEEMS LIKE THE CAR ENGAGE AND THEN DISENGAGE, ONLY IN COLD START.
WATER PUMP HAD TO BE REPLACED. HOWEVER, LIQUID FROM THE WATER PUMP CAUSED THE FILER TO BE DAMAGED AND RESULTS IN A FIRE SMELL THROUGHOUT THE CARE. *TR
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.
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