Car Problem DataNHTSA records

2003 BMW 318i

Routine

Owners filed 3 complaints about this vehicle with federal regulators, most often about the service brakes, hydraulic › antilock/traction control/electronic limited slip › abs warning light. No safety recall has been issued.

What fails
ComponentReportsCrashesFiresInjuries
Service Brakes, Hydraulic › Antilock/Traction Control/Electronic Limited Slip › Abs Warning Light1
000
Exterior Lighting › Headlights1
000
Engine and Engine Cooling › Engine1
000

What owners reported

Newest filings
Exterior Lighting › Headlights
Filed Dec 31, 2003NJ

I WAS BLINDED TONIGHT BY THE HIGH INTENSITY DISCHARGE HEADLIGHTS ON A CAR 100 OR MORE FEET FROM ME THAT WAS COMING OUT OF A GAS STATION. I WAS IN A PARKING LOT ACROSS THE HIGHWAY FROM THE GAS STATION AND BECUASE O BEING BLINDED I DIDN'T SEE A ROAD DIVIDER. MY RIGHT FRONT WHEEL HIT IT A A LOW SPEED AND BLEW THE TIRE AND BENT THE RIM. OBVIOUSLY THE OTHER DRIVER DIDN'T KNOW I EXISTED OR HAD BEEN FINANCIALLY AND EMOTIONALLY IMPACTED BY HIS HEADLIGHTS BUT IT IS JUST A MATTER OF TIME WHEN SOME UNEXPLAINED FATAL ACCIDENT WILL HAVE THE SAME ROOTS. THANK YOU, DAN STERNBERG

Engine and Engine Cooling › Engine
Filed Jun 23, 20032,900 milesNJ

CONSUMER STATES WHEN VEHICLE IDLES IT SHUTS OFF. DEALER STATES THEY CAN'T DUPLICATE THE PROBLEM.*AK

Service Brakes, Hydraulic › Antilock/Traction Control/Electronic Limited Slip › Abs Warning Light
Filed Jan 29, 2003VA

VEHICLE WAS PARKED IN DRIVEWAY WHEN THE VEHICLE ROLLED OUT INTO THE STREET WITH THE EMERGENCY BRAKES ON. PH

3 of 3 complaints, reproduced as filed.

Across model years

Worst on record: 1995
YearComplaintsRecallsFiresDeathsAssessment
2003 — this page3000Routine
20014000Routine
19988000Routine
19975100Routine
19963100Routine
199514210Routine
199414200Routine
199311200Routine
19928300Routine
19918100Routine

Compare every 318i year →

Other BMW models

All BMW models →
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Reading this record

No unusual pattern of severe incidents in the complaint record.

Complaint counts track how many cars were sold and how long they have been on the road as much as they track quality. A common model from 2013 has had a decade to accumulate reports; a rare one from last year has not. The signal worth weighing is in the severity columns, in whether the same component keeps appearing, and in whether the manufacturer eventually opened a recall for it.

Most recent recall on file: none. Source: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation.