Structure › Body › Roof and Pillars
Filed Oct 1, 1997CA
CONVERTIBLE TOP FAILED.
1996 BMW 325
Routine
Owners filed 4 complaints about this vehicle with federal regulators, most often about the latches/locks/linkages › hood › latch. No safety recall has been issued.
What fails
| Component | Reports | Crashes | Fires | Injuries | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Structure › Body › Roof and Pillars | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Seat Belts › Front › Buckle Assembly | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Latches/Locks/Linkages › Hood › Latch | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Fuel System, Gasoline › Storage | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
What owners reported
Newest filingsSeat Belts › Front › Buckle Assembly
Filed Jul 16, 1997AZ
CONSUMER SAYS WHEN DRIVING VEHICLE THE SEAT BELT UNLATCHES, SOMETIMES IF HE TAPS ON MACHANISM IT WOULD RELEASE THE RESTRAINT BELTS. *AK
Fuel System, Gasoline › Storage
Filed Jan 28, 1997CA
FUEL RAIL FAILED, CAUSING FUEL LEAK IN THE ENGINE COMPARTMENT.
Latches/Locks/Linkages › Hood › Latch
Filed Nov 5, 1996NJ
HOOD LATCH ASSEMBLY FAILED WHILE DRIVING, HOOD FLEW UP BREAKING THE WINDSHEILD. *AK
4 of 4 complaints, reproduced as filed.
Across model years
Worst on record: 2001| Year | Complaints | Recalls | Fires | Deaths | Assessment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | Routine |
| 2011 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | Routine |
| 2010 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | Routine |
| 2009 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | Routine |
| 2008 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | Routine |
| 2007 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | Routine |
| 2006 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | Routine |
| 2003 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Routine |
| 2002 | 26 | 2 | 1 | 0 | Do not drive |
| 2001 | 31 | 2 | 5 | 0 | Do not drive |
| 2000 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | Do not drive |
| 1999 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Routine |
| 1998 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Routine |
| 1997 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Routine |
| 1996 — this page | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Routine |
| 1995 | 23 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Routine |
| 1994 | 25 | 1 | 0 | 0 | Routine |
| 1993 | 8 | 3 | 1 | 0 | Routine |
| 1992 | 23 | 3 | 0 | 0 | Routine |
| 1991 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 0 | Routine |
| 1990 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 0 | Routine |
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.