10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
1 / 2
Injuries / Deaths:
1 / 0
Average Mileage:
31,058 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.

So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.

2011 BMW 135 engine problems

engine problem

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2011 BMW 135 Owner Comments

problem #13

Aug 022021

135

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Sudden catastrophic engine shutdown After 3weeks of investigation came back as bad crank posisition sensor

- Powell, TN, USA

problem #12

Mar 232020

135

  • 88,000 miles
Rod bearings failure which could cause engine seizing while driving.

- Macomb, MI, USA

problem #11

Jan 042020

135

  • 56,300 miles
Vehicle hesitates when pressing the accelerator when passing vehicles or merging into traffic on the highway nearly causing collision with other vehicles. Check engine light comes on when when vehicle is accelerating 99% of the time. When vehicle is stopped vehicle will try to surge forward. Extremely dangerous vehicle. Shame on BMW for not recalling allof these models!

- Pahoa, HI, USA

problem #10

Nov 232018

135

  • 92,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

The car was moving at highway speed with ac running. Smoke plumed from vents and under front passenger footwell. Electrical fire stemming from blower motor final stage unit and wiring harness.

- Westlake Village, CA, USA

problem #9

May 162018

135

  • 0 miles
Water pump and much more

- Matthews, NC, USA

problem #8

Apr 022018

135

  • 10,000 miles
Asd

- Newyork, NY, USA

problem #7

Oct 172015

135

  • 90,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

The contact owns a 2011 BMW 135I. While driving 60 mph, the vehicle overheated and lost power. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed that there was a water pump failure. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The failure mileage was 90,000.

- Hickory, NC, USA

problem #6

Jul 182015

135

  • 31,679 miles
The vehicle is a 2011 BMW 1M coupe. While passing another vehicle on a rural 2 lane country road outside of houston, tx, engine completely lost power in the middle of the pass, almost causing what would have been a major accident. It took almost two hours for a tow truck to pickup the car and temperatures were in the mid 90's with heat index of over 100 degrees, and I had no water or access to water or shade resulting in a very dangerous situation. The preliminary indication from the dealership is that this was a failure of the charge pipe, and this is the third time this component has failed in less than 32K miles. This is an ongoing issue and failure suffered by most if not all owners of this particular model, and is most likely to occur during periods of hard acceleration, such as when passing another vehicle, and as such result in a potentially dangerous situation for the driver and other vehicles.

- Houston, TX, USA

problem #5

Jun 012011

135 6-cyl

  • 80 miles
The car has stalled over 600 times in 4 years. The car has failed to start 4 times. BMW failed to replace the battery cable for 2 years -- even after the battery caught on fire at a gas station pump. The car can only be moved with wheel trollies, since you cannot put the car in neutral or even open the trunk (battery in trunk) due to no manually key override tumble for either. BMW has charged me for labor and two batteries, even though they admit to failing to honor the recall and performing said repairs. The car is dangerous, and my wife is afraid to drive the car. The car chugges between 4,000 to 6,000 RPM, and bolt forward uncontrollably if the engine stall does not occur upon pressing the accelerator. I have almost hit several pedestrian, and have been sworn at and honked at due to crazy behavior of the accelerator. BMW 2011 135I M sport is a dangerous car. I am a senior mechanical engineer and work at spacex on the raptor rocket engine for mars. I am designing the valves that throttle the rocket engine, and in the past I consulted at the steering gear division at another automotive manufacturer in Tennessee. I am not interested in money; I want them to be held accountable to the law and fix the problem before more people get hurt. I am researching this matter, and I've found incident where people have been hurt. I am putting together a video of the stalls, and the BMW repair invoices showing the failed and absent repairs over 4 years. Thank you... sincerely, [xxx] information redacted pursuant to the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).

- Torrance, CA, USA

problem #4

Jan 012014

135 6-cyl

  • 30,000 miles
Vehicle will "jolt" forward. This issue has happened to me over 100 times. The issue is best described like this. I will drive through a fast food drive-thru line and there will be 1 other vehicle in front of me. I will pull up and brake to a complete stop to order. The other vehicle is at the restaurant window paying so that car is only about 20 feet in front of me. Since the gap between me and the other car are so close I will not give my vehicle any gas, I will only lift my foot off the brake and move forward at idle speeds. Once I reach the vehicle in front of me, I proceed with pressing the brake (usually "pulsing" the brake pedal to scoot forward safely once I'm very close). At that point my vehicle will jolt forward as if I pressed the gas pedal all the way in and out quickly. Since my foot is on the brake "scooting" safely, my vehicle does not have a chance to really move. This drive-thru example has happened countless times. I've also been pulling into a parking space with a side walk in front of it. When pulling into the space with my foot on the brake and moving at idle speeds my vehicle tried to jump forward and someone happened to be walking by and thought I was going to hit them in my car.I've had the issue happen in reverse gear as well. This problem is consistent on BMW forums such as www.bimmerpost, com and www.1seriesonline.com and I've talked with BMW dealerships and they have no fix for it and claim there is nothing wrong with my vehicle. The problem feels to be a fault in the dct transmission. When my vehicle jolts forward, it almost seems like its trying to shift up and then shift down quickly causing it to jolt forward. The problem worsens if I have my A/C on at all.

- College Station, TX, USA

problem #3

Oct 302011

135 6-cyl

  • 5,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

The vehicle hesitated when the light turned green and I was hit in the rear. Starting to believe this is what cause the accident and still the dealership can't fix it and lies about what they are doing and I'm really close to the lemon law I think. BMW N America customer service won't let me pass anyone other than the call center. Don't know where to go from here. Also I have asked for a factory representative 3 times and they will not comply. The dealership only fixes things I never asked them to fix and can't fix what wrong. The rear window defroster also still does not work.

- Oakland Park, FL, USA

problem #2

Sep 012011

135 6-cyl

  • 100 miles
Crossing the street---I had the gas peddle all the way to the floor (twice yesterday) and the car literally did not move and traffic was approaching. The car eventually moved forward. Problem---hesitation in the engine when applying the gas as I pull out to cross the intersection, slow down to make a turn, or just try to move forward with traffic after stopping. Also, as I applied the brake, when approaching a stop light, the car surges forward toward the car in front of me. These two characteristics happen frequently and are very scary. I do not trust the cars response to either the acceleration or the braking. It has been in the repair shop several times and I continue to be told "car is performing normally". this cannot possibly be correct.

- Fort Myers, FL, USA

problem #1

Nov 302011

135 6-cyl

  • 600 miles
Engine acceleration lag. The car hesitates when the gas pedal is pushed down. This occurs when it is moving at a slow speed of 5 to 10 mph and at a halt. It creates a dangerous situation if you are merging with traffic or trying to enter traffic from a side street. When the gas pedal is depressed it can be as long as 2 to 3 seconds before the engine accelerates.

- Austin, TX, USA

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