1998 BMW 318Ti

Routine

Owners filed 11 complaints about this vehicle with federal regulators, most often about the tires. No safety recall has been issued.

What fails
ComponentReportsCrashesFiresInjuries
Tires4
101
Visibility › Power Window Devices and Controls2
000
Visibility › Glass, Side/Rear2
000
Vehicle Speed Control1
000
Power Train › Automatic Transmission › Control Module (tcm/Pcm/Tecm)1
000
Engine and Engine Cooling › Engine1
000

What owners reported

Newest filings
Visibility › Glass, Side/Rear
Filed Dec 28, 200767,000 milesVA

1. WINDOW MOVEMENT STOPPED 2. WINDOW FELL INTO THE DOOR AND THE TINT GOT SCRATCHED 3. THE DEALER QUOTED 300 TO FIX IT, REPLACED REGULATOR AND BRUSHING. *TR

Visibility › Power Window Devices and Controls
Filed Mar 23, 200784,000 milesCA

BMW318TI - BOTH DRIVER-SIDE AND PASSENGER-SIDE WINDOW REGULATORS HAVE HAD PROBLEMS . REPLACED THE PASSENGER-SIDE REGULATOR TWICE ALREADY IN THE LAST FEW YEARS. FORTUNATELY ONCE WAS WITHIN THE ONE-YEAR WARRANTY OF WHEN IT BROKE THE FIRST TIME SO THE EXPENSE WAS JUST THE LABOR, STILL EXPENSIVE. JUST THIS WEEK THE DRIVER'S SIDE REGULATOR FAILED. NOT A CHEAP FIX, AND QUITE A SCARE WHEN IT ACTUALLY HAPPENED. AN UNEXPECTED LOUD CRACK AND THE WINDOW CRASHED TO THE BOTTOM OF THE DOOR, JUST A FEW SECONDS AFTER THE WINDOW BUTTON WAS DEPRESSED. WOULD LOVE TO HEAR THAT THERE WAS A RECALL. THIS WAS GETTING TOO BE VERY EXPENSIVE.*AK

Visibility › Power Window Devices and Controls
Filed Jul 28, 2006144,000 milesMA

3 SERIES MODELS (E36) AND NOTABLY THE 318TI BMW AUTOMOBILES HAVE AN EXTREMELY HIGH FAILURE RATE FOR THE WINDOW REGULATORS. ITS NOT UNCOMMON TO HAVE TO REPAIR THEM ANNUALLY AT A COST OF APPROXIMATELY 300 DOLLARS PER DOOR. THE FAILURE OCCURS WITHOUT WARNING CAUSING THE WINDOW TO JAM, OR FALL INSIDE THE DOOR. THIS IS A WELL KNOWN DOCUMENTED PROBLEM AMONG THE OWNER COMMUNITY AND REACTIONS AT DEALERS IS "OH YEA HAPPENS ALL THE TIME." I PROPOSE THIS COULD PRESENT AN EGRESS ISSUE IN EVENT OF AN EMERGENCY. *JB

TiresCrash1 injured
Filed Feb 8, 2006136,000 milesIN

PIRELLI P205 60R 15 TIRE BLOW OUT RESULTING IN SERIOUS INJURY TO CLIENT. *JB

Tires
Filed Jul 10, 2001CA

CAR HAS A SAFETY DESIGN FLAW. SPARE TIRE MOUNT DESIGN ALLOWS THE SIDEWALL OF THE SPARE TIRE (MOUNTED UNDER THE TRUNK) TO RUB AGAINST THE BOTTOM OF THE TRUNK DURING NORMAL DRIVING. UPON TAKING OUT THE SPARE, THE TIRE WAS FOUND TO HAVE PRONOUNCED MARKS AND GROOVES ON THE TIRE SIDEWALLS FROM THE RUBBING. THE MARKS WERE DEEP ENOUGH THAT THE BELTS IN THE TIRES COULD BE SEEN AND FELT ON THE SIDEWALLS. THE TIRE CAN NOT BE USED. MAJOR SAFETY PROBLEM IF THE SPARE (SMALL SPARE) IS USED WITH POTENTIAL SIDEWALL FAILURE DUE TO POOR SPARE TIRE MOUNT DESIGN.*AK

Power Train › Automatic Transmission › Control Module (tcm/Pcm/Tecm)
Filed Apr 13, 1999CT

VEHICLE LACKS TIRE ROAD GRIP ON SOME TURNS AND THE REAR OF THE CAR SLIDES OUT.

Vehicle Speed Control
Filed Feb 3, 1999CA

UNINTENTIONAL ACCELERATION: I WAS STOPPED AT A RED LIGHT, WITH MY FOOT ON THE BRAKE PEDAL. I EASED THE PRESSURE ON THE BRAKE TO LET THE CAR ROLL FORWARD SLIGHTLY, THEN INCREASED THE BRAKE PPRESSURE AGAIN, THE ENGINE IMMEDIATELY BEGAN TO REV FAST, CAUSING THE REAR WHEELS TO SPIN AND PROPELLING THE CAR FORWARD APPROXIMATELY FOUR FEET, EVEN THOUGH I HAD FULL PRESSURE APPLIED TO THE BRAKES. I NARROWLY AVOIDED A COLLISION WITH TURNING TRAFFIC BY SHIFTING TO A LOWER GEAR, WHEREUPON THE RPM DROPPED. SHORTLY AFTER THIS, AS I WAS SLOWLY EASING INTO A PARKING SPACE, THE SAME THING OCCURRED. I HAD MY FOOT ON THE BRAKE, GENTLY APPROACHING THE PARKING STOP, EASED THE PRESSURE SLIGHTLY THEN INCREASED IT AGAIN, AND THE ENGINE IMMEDIATELY REVVED FROM BELOW 1000 RPM TO IN EXCESS OF 3500 RPM, AND THE CAR TRIED TO LUNGE FORWARD, EVEN THOUGH I STILL HAD FULL PRESSURE APPLIED TO THE BRAKE. I IMMEDIATELY SHIFTED INTO PARK, AND THE RPM DROPPED AT ONCE. I SUBSEQUENTLY CALLED THE DEALER, WHO ARRANGED FOR THE VEHICLE TO BE PICKED UP. AT PRESENT IT IS IN THE REPAIR SHOP. *AK

Tires
Filed Feb 1, 1999CA

MICHELIN TIRE (P205/R15 MXV) BLEW OUT ON FREEWAY. YH

Engine and Engine Cooling › Engine
Filed Feb 1, 1999CA

GASKET WEAR CAUSED GASOLINE LEAKING. YH

Tires
Filed Dec 10, 1998CT

TIRES AND SUSPENSION OF VEHICLE ARE INADEQUATE RESULTING IN REAR OF VEHICLE SLIDING DURING TURNS AND BUMPY RIDE.

Visibility › Glass, Side/Rear
Filed Aug 19, 1998NY

DRIVER'S WINDOW GLASS PLATE CAME OUT OF THE DOOR CHANNEL.

11 of 11 complaints, reproduced as filed.

Across model years

Worst on record: 1998
YearComplaintsRecallsFiresDeathsAssessment
19991000Routine
1998 — this page11000Routine
19971100Routine
19968100Routine
19953100Routine

Compare every 318Ti year →

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.