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 2014 record →
ONE OF THE REAR RIDE HEIGHT SENSORS CONTROLLING THE ADAPTIVE XENON HEADLIGHTS FAILED (BOLT BROKE). THIS CAUSED THE HEADLIGHTS TO AIM DOWN AT THE LIMIT OF THEIR ADJUSTMENT, EFFECTIVELY GIVING THE DRIVER ONLY 20 OR SO FEET OF VISIBILITY AT NIGHT. WE HAD TO USE THE HIGH BEAMS TO GET ANY REASONABLY VISIBILITY TO DRIVE SAFELY. *TR
I WAS MERGING ONTO THE INTERSTATE AND GOT INTO THE PASSING LANE. I THEN SHIFTED FROM 3RD GEAR TO 4TH AND THE CAR STARTED TO SHAKE AND LOSE POWER (LIMP HOME MODE). THE DISPLAY SAID DRIVETRAIN MALFUNCTION, DRIVE MODERATELY, ETC. AND THE CHECK ENGINE LAMP CAME ON. I SHIFTED TO 5TH GEAR TO SEE IF IT WOULD HELP AND HAD THE SAME LOW POWER ISSUE. I THEN CHANGED TWO LANES TO GET ONTO THE SHOULDER. I TURNED THE CAR OFF AND WAITED BRIEFLY AND RESTARTED THE CAR. THE LAMPS WERE OFF AND THERE WAS NO ISSUE. I PHONED THE DEALERSHIP AND THEY STATED THEY GET THIS TYPE OF CALL OFTEN AND IT IS A 'NORMAL GLITCH.' I SHOULD DRIVE IT AND SEE IF IT HAPPENS AGAIN AS IT USUALLY DOESN'T OR I COULD BRING THE CAR IN. *TR
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 2014 BMW 328i → · Every 328i year → · How the figures are calculated →