Car Problem DataNHTSA records

1998 BMW E36 Series

Routine

Owners filed 1 complaints about this vehicle with federal regulators, most often about the electrical system. No safety recall has been issued.

What fails
ComponentReportsCrashesFiresInjuries
Electrical System1
000

What owners reported

Newest filings
Electrical System
Filed Dec 20, 2010145,000 milesCA

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 1998 BMW E36. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHENEVER IT RAINS THE WATER LEAKED INTO THE ELECTRONIC CONTROL MODULE AND CAUSED THE COMPUTER TO MALFUNCTION. THE COMPUTER WAS REPLACED THREE TIMES IN THE PAST YEAR. THE DEALER HAD TO REPLACE THE COMPUTER AND REPROGRAM THE VEHICLE IN ORDER FOR IT TO FUNCTION NORMALLY. THE DEALER WAS UNABLE TO FIND OUT HOW THE WATER WAS GETTING INTO THE COMPUTER. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 145000 AND THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 155000.

1 of 1 complaints, reproduced as filed.

Other BMW models

All BMW models →
X5 3,129328i 2,576X3 1,986325i 1,368Z4 1,2803 Series 842528i 830330i 813335i 809X1 666

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.