Page 3 of 3 · complaints 101–112 of 112

2000 BMW 328i complaints

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 2000 record →

Air Bags1 injured
Filed Nov 16, 2002CA

WHILE DRIVING AT 70 MPH ON THE HIGHWAY THE DRIVERS SIDE AIR BAGS DEPLOYED WITHOUT ANY CRASH OR ANY OBVIOUS REASON. WE DROVE THROUGH SOME ROCKS & DEBRIS ON THE SHOULDER GETTING THE VEHICLE UNDER CONTROL AND STOPPED. THE PASSENGER SIDE TIRES WERE PUNCTURED AND LEAKING AIR (APPARENTLY FROM THE DEBRIS) AND SUBSEQUENTLY WENT FLAT A WEEK LATER. WE RECEIVED A SAFETY RECALL NOTICE FROM BMW REGARDING THE POSSIBILITY OF INADVERTANT SIDE AIRBAG DEPLOYMENT. EVEN IN LIGHT OF THE RECALL, BMW IS INSISTING THAT WE WERE "INVOLVED IN AN UNDER-BODY CRASH" AND THAT THIS SHOULD NOT BE A WARRANTY REPAIR. THE ONLY DAMAGE TO THE VEHICLE APPEARS TO HAVE OCCURRED ONLY *AFTER* THE AIR BAGS DEPLOYED. DT

Suspension › Front › Control Arm
Filed Sep 19, 2002IN

PREMATURE FAILURE OF BOTH FRONT LOWER BALL JOINTS, RESULTING IN RAPID EXTREME FRONT TIRE WEAR DUE TO EXCESSIVE TOE-IN. BALL JOINT RUBBER MOUNTING IS BONDED TO THE ALLOY LOWER CONTROL ARM. THE BALL JOINT FAILS DUE TO FAILURE OF THE RUBBER BONDING. BOTH FRONT LOWER CONTROL ARM ASSEMBLIES MUST BE REPLACED. BMW DEALER DID NOT DETECT THIS DEFECT AT BMW INSPECTION I PERFORMED AT 29,000 MILES. *AK

Air Bags › Side/WindowCrash1 injured
Filed Sep 4, 2002DE

WHILE DRIVING 40MPH HIT A CURB TIRE BLEWOUT, AND DRIVER'S SIDE AIR BAG DEPLOYED, CAUSING INJURIES.*AK

Service Brakes, Hydraulic › Antilock/Traction Control/Electronic Limited Slip
Filed Jul 11, 2001MD

PADS/ DISC, AND ROTORS WILL RUST IF VEHICLE IS NOT DRIVEN FREQUENTLY, CAUSING SYSTEM TO MALFUNCTION. CONSUMER HAS OWNED THIS VEHICLE FOR 1 1/2 YEARS AND DIDN'T DRIVE IT FOR 3 WEEKS STRAIGHT. PADS RUSTED ONTO THE ROTORS. THE DEALER WOULD NOT REPAIR ABS SYSTEM UNDER WARRANTY BECAUSE IT WAS NOT A DEFECT.*AK *SLC

Engine and Engine Cooling › Cooling System › Radiator Assembly
Filed Jan 5, 2001VA

THERMOSTAT FAILED CAUSING THE THERMOSTAT NEEDLE TO SWING FROM BLUE TO RED, EML AND CHECK ENGINE LIGHT ALSO ILLUMINATED. NLM

Air Bags › Frontal
Filed Nov 21, 2000PA

PASSENGER AIRBAG DEPLOYED AFTER TOUCHING A CURB AT APPROX 40 MPH.*AK

Air Bags › Side/Window
Filed Nov 14, 2000PA

SIDE AIRBAG ON PASSENGER'S DOOR DEPLOYED FOR NO REASON.VEHICLE WENT OVER SOME REPAIR PATCHS IN THE ROAD AT 40MPH & IT DEPLOYED. DEALER WAS INSPECTING VEHICLE, BUT BLAMED CONSUMER THAT HE MUST HAVE HIT SOMETHING.*AK

Engine and Engine Cooling › Cooling System
Filed Sep 25, 2000CA

COOLING SYSTEM LEAK FROM THE FRONT OF THE ENGINE. *SLC

Tires
Filed Jun 16, 2000MA

CAR CURRENTLY AT SHOP AFTER NOTICED BUBBLES IN EACH TIRE (ALL FOUR)ONE CONSQUENTLY CAUSED TIRE TO FLATTEN. THIS IS THE SECOND TIME ALL TIRES HAVE BEEN REPLACED. FIRST TIME AIRBAGS DEPLOYED DURING NORMAL OPERATION. CAR WAS TOWED BACK TO DEALERSHIP. ALL AIRBAG COMPONENTS REPAIRED AND/OR REPLACED VEHICLE ALSO HAD TIRES REPLACED CAR WAS OUT OF COMMISION 14 DAYS THAT TIME. PRESENTLY OUT FOR THREE DAYS . *AK

Vehicle Speed ControlCrash
Filed Jun 8, 2000CA

VEHICLE WAS AT A STAND STILL WITH FOOT ON BRAKE AND VEHICLE STARTED RACING & MOVING. CONSUMER SHIFTED GEAR INTO PARK , BUT VEHICLE WAS STILL MOVING. THEN, CONSUEMR REAR ENDED ANOTHER VEHICLE. THERE WERE NO DAMAGES. WILL BE CONTACTING DEALER TODAY. *AK

Vehicle Speed Control
Filed Apr 26, 2000IL

THROTTLE - ENGINE CUTS OUT, THEN THROTTLE PEDAL ACCELERATES BY ITSELF, I.E. NO FOOT PRESSURE. GARAGE TRACED TO FAULTY THROTTLE ASSEMBLY. AIR CONDITIONER? - CAR MADE HISSING NOISE FOLLOWED BY THE PASSANGER COMPARTMENT BEING FILLED WITH THICK WHITE SMOKE. GARAGE (PERILLO BMW) INVESTIGATING. *AK

Engine and Engine Cooling › Engine › Gasoline
Filed Nov 28, 1999MD

SEVERE ENGINE VIBRATIONS AT COLD START, CHECK ENGINE LIGHT COMES ON

Reading these

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 2000 BMW 328i → · Every 328i year → · How the figures are calculated →