Owner reports filed with NHTSA about this vehicle, newest first and reproduced as filed. They are unverified accounts: one proves nothing, and a pattern across many is the thing worth reading. Back to the full 2004 record →
CONSUMER COMPLAINT REGARDING BMW 3 SERIES HIGH FAILURE RATE OF THE EMERGENCY FLASHER SWITCH. *TS (11/08/05) THE CONSUMER SUGGESTED THAT THE EUROPEAN DESIGN BE MODIFIED WHERE THERE IS NO CUP HOLDER ADJACENT TO THE EMERGENCY FLASHER AND SWITCH TO THE USA DESIGN WHERE THE EMERGENCY FLASHER IS LESS THAN 1 INCH FROM THE CUP HOLDER. *SC
I BOUGHT BMW 325XI 2004 ON 03/04 AND I NOTICED THAT IT HAS PROBLEM WITH COLD START. IN THE MORNING, WHEN I PUT THE CAR IN "D", IT DOESN'T MOVE AND THEN SUDDENLY LURCHES WITH A JERK. FIRST I THOUGHT, ITS JUST BECAUSE ITS A NEW CAR BUT WHEN I DIDN'T DRIVE IT FOR 3 DAYS AND STARTED IT, IT WAS WORSE. IT WOULDN'T MOVE AT ALL FOR LIKE A MINUTE AND THEN SUDDENLY LURCHED FORWARD WITH A JERK ALMOST HITTING THE CAR IN FRONT OF ME. I TOOK THE CAR TO THE DEALERSHIP AND THEY TOLD ME THAT ALL 3 SERIES MANUFACTURED BETWEEN 03-03 TO 11-03 HAVE THIS PROBLEM AND IT IS DUE TO THE TRANSMISSION . WHAT I DON'T UNDERSTAND IS IF THERE IS A RECALL ON THAT. THEY DIDN'T TELL ME ABOUT THIS PROBLEM AT ALL WHEREAS NOW I READ THE MESSAGE BOARDS AND THERE HAVE BEEN A LOT OF SIMILAR COMPLAINTS. I WONDER WHAT MY OPTIONS ARE? I BOUGHT THE CAR BECAUSE THERE WAS A SPECIAL DEAL ON THIS CAR. MAY BE THE DEAL WAS BECAUSE OF THIS ISSUE. *JB
I PURCHASED A 2004 BMW 330XI AND HAD TWO PROBLEMS THAT SURFACED IMMEDIATELY. WHEN CALLING THE DEALERSHIP, THEY BRUSHED OFF THE COMPLAINT STATING THAT THE CAR WAS NEW AND IT WOULD "SETTLE" GIVEN TIME. HOWEVER, AFTER THE PROBLEMS CONTINUED, I BROUGHT THE CAR INTO A DEALERSHIP WHO, UPON INSPECTION, TOLD ME I SIMPLY NEEDED SOME NEW PARTS. ONE BEING A TRANSMISSION (WHICH I THINK IS MORE THAN JUST A PART). APPARENTLY, THERE IS A DIRECTIVE TO BMW DEALERSHIPS HIGHLIGHTING THE PROBLEM, BUT TO DEAL WITH IT ONLY UPON CUSTOMER COMPLAINT. I FIND THIS VERY TROUBLING GIVEN THE NATURE OF THE PROBLEM(S) AND THE POTENTIAL SAFETY ISSUE SHOULD THE TRANSMISSION COMPLETELY FAIL. THE ISSUES ARE AS FOLLOWS: 1. AFTER ONLY 2,000 MILES, I HAD PUT AN ADDITIONAL 7 QUARTS OF OIL IN THE VEHICLE. APPARENTLY, THE OIL VALVE IS DEFECTIVE AND NEEDS TO BE REPLACED. 2. WHEN FIRST OPERATING THE VEHICLE, THE VEHICLE OFTEN WOULD NOT BEGIN TO MOVE UNTIL THE RPM'S REACHED ANYWHERE FROM 3-5K RPM'S. IN BOTH INSTANCES, THE BMW DEALER STATED THIS WAS DUE TO A DEFECTIVE "PART". THE REPLACEMENT OF THE OIL FILTER MAKES SENSE AS IT IS A PART. THE COMPLETE REPLACEMENT OF A TRANSMISSION, HOWEVER, DOES NOT. ALTHOUGH I DID NOT HAVE AN ACCIDENT, I BELIEVE THAT THESE ISSUES CAN POTENTIALLY LEAD TO A MAJOR PROBLEM AND THEREFORE RESPECTFULLY REQUEST AN INVESTIGATION. *JB
THE BMW 325XIT (AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION) WHICH I PURCHASED ON 2/5/2004 DEVELOPED A PROBLEM WITH FORWARD GEAR NOT ENGAGING ON A COLD START. THE VEHICLE HAD LESS THAN 1000 MILES ON IT WHEN I FIRST NOTICED THE PROBLEM. TYPICALLY ON A MORNING WHEN I BACK THE CAR OUT OF THE GARAGE, AND THEN SHIFT THE GEARS FROM REVERSE TO DRIVE, THE VEHICLE FAILS TO MOVE FORWARD FOR 3 TO 4 SECONDS UPON RELEASING THE BRAKE. I WOULD HAVE TO PRESS DOWN ON THE GAS PEDAL AND WATCH THE ENGINE REVV TO ANYWHERE BETWEEN 3-5K RPM BEFORE THE GEAR WOULD ENGAGE. THE VEHICLE CREEPS FORWARD UNTIL THE GEAR FULLY ENGAGES. THE PROBLEM HAS NO FAR BEEN RATHER CONSISTENT - IT HAPPENS QUITE PREDICTABLY EVERY MORNING. I HAVE NOT HOWEVER NOTICED A PROBLEM WITH GEAR ENGAGEMENT ONCE THE CAR IS ABLE TO START.*AK
I FILED A PETITION FOR A DEFECTS INVESTIGATION AS WELL AS A COMPLAINT ABOUT PROBLEMS WITH A 2004 BMW 325XI WITH A DEFECTIVE TRANSMISSION, RESULTING IN DELAYED ENGAGEMENT AS WELL AS "LURCHING" OF THE VEHICLE WHEN ACCELERATING AND/OR BRAKING. VEHICLE WENT BACK FOR REPAIR - AFTER HAD SLIGHT DELAYED ENGAGEMENT AGAIN, PART FELL OUT OF THE STEERING COLUMN, LOUD FLAPPING NOISE STARTED IN THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE DASHBOARD, THE TRANSMISSION FAILURE WARNING LIGHT HAS BEEN COMING ON - 2300 MILES ON IT AND HAS BEEN OUT OF MY POSSESSION 4 WEEKS OF THE 3 MONTHS. THE VA OFFICE OF CONSUMER AFFAIRS HAS SUGGESTED PURSUING THE STATE'S LEMON LAW. THE BMWBOARD ON-LINE HAS MANY SIMILAR COMPLAINTS AND A PORTION OF MY PETITION (THE ADDENDUM) WAS POSTED, GIVING THE IMPRESSION THAT BMW IS VOLUNTARILY RECALLING THE AFFECTED VEHICLES ... I WAS TOLD THAT MIGHT HAPPEN, BUT I AM NOT AWARE THAT IT ACTUALLY HAS HAPPENED. I HAVE ALSO BEEN TOLD THAT CARS MANUFACTURED AFTER DECEMBER 2003 ARE FREE OF THE DEFECT ... FROM WHAT I HAVE BEEN READING ON THIS AUTO SAFETY HOTLINE AND THE BMWBOARD, THAT IS NOT TRUE. BEWARE. IF I AM THE ONLY ONE WHO HAS FILED A PETITION, BUT YOU ARE READING THIS AND YOU ARE HAVING SIMILAR PROBLEMS WITH YOUR 3 SERIES OR X5, FILE A PETITION, TOO ... THAT'S THE ONLY WAY TO GET SOME ACTION FROM BMW ... THIS IS A POWDER KEG. I BOUGHT THE CAR ON DEC. 15, 2003 AND HAVE HAD PROBLEMS FROM DAY 1. THIS IS NOT GOING AWAY ... I HAVE GIVEN IT TIME; BMW HAS HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO CORRECT THE PROBLEM ... W
NHTSA publishes every complaint as the owner wrote it and investigates only a fraction. Spelling, capitalisation and judgement are the filer’s own. What carries weight is repetition: the same component failing the same way across many filings, and whether the manufacturer eventually opened a recall for it.
Full record for the 2004 BMW 325Xi → · Every 325Xi year → · How the figures are calculated →