10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
1 / 15
Injuries / Deaths:
4 / 0
Average Mileage:
53,978 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.

2008 BMW 328 engine problems

engine problem

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2008 BMW 328 Owner Comments (Page 1 of 5)

problem #96

Aug 012021

328

  • 114,000 miles

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

The contact owned a 2008 BMW 328I. The contact stated while driving at an undetermined speed, there was smoke coming from the vehicle. The contact stated that the vehicle overheated. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The contact stated that the engine was misfiring. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that the PCV valve heater was melted. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact stated that the failure was related to NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V119000 (Engine and Engine Cooling). The contact stated that the vehicle had since been sold. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 114,000.

- Virginia Beach, VA, USA

problem #95

Oct 012022

328

  • miles
The positive battery fuse cable under the glovebox is placed into a plastic space causing melting. This leads to the vehicle going dead and not even emergency lights will work. This recall has been placed on very few BMWs however it is affecting way more then they are saying. You can see in UK where a man was killed for the vehicle going dead in the middle of the road and emergency lights cannot be used to warn other drivers. How has their not been taken car of already. I am extremely disappointed in our system, and in BMW. My mind is completely blown that this is not cared about.

- Stanardsville, VA, USA

problem #94

Sep 102022

328

  • miles
Due to the CRANKCASE VENTILATION (PCV) VALVE HEATER problem and BMW claiming they have no remedy for it yet, this has caused my engine to overheat smelling like burning electrical, The Container holding reserve antifreeze has broken off plastic components that may somewhere be in the cooling system. The valve cover gasket that was replaced only 3 years ago is beginning to fail and is leaking oil into the brand new spark plugs and coils. This is unacceptable. They say to stop driving the car if you smell burnt electrical. Heck, I have smoke coming from the engine at times. How are people who only have this 1 car suppose to get places when BMW delays repairing people's vehicles. They are wasting our money! They should have to repair all of the parts that this issue has caused damage to while they have us wait for remedy that seems to never come!

- Acworth, GA, USA

problem #93

Aug 182019

328

  • miles

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

I have had continuous issues with the electrical system in the front drivers side headlight with burnt plastic housing to the main headlight and the plug for the blinker system. Sometimes it will work and most of the time it won't. I cant tell you the amount of times it has stopped working in the middle of using the blinker. Every time I attempt to change it out, the bulb ends up still in good shape after looking it over. I have always inserted a new one but the issue remains. I have had to replace the whole headlight unit because of the melted plastic not holding the plug any longer and the issue remains. The passenger side seatbelt light has been on for the past several years and will not go off. It shows a light stating the airbag is off. Every time I use the AC unit, I end up with a whole lot of AC condensation pouring out each side of my console soaking the floor of the vehicle and smelling horrible the next day. I don't understand how such a supposedly high quality car can have such stupid problems that cant seem to be fixed. I have had this car since 2013 and barely drive it as I have only put approx 9000 miles over the last 9 years.

- Acworth, GA, USA

problem #92

Mar 082022

328

  • miles
My car will not start up to show ignition lights-€¦ blinks fast then shuts off / will not crank / after flashing lights on dash service engine light appears & car has smoking from under hood

- Calhoun, GA, USA

problem #91

Apr 282022

328

  • miles
The car was over heating and not starting as well as fuel pump error on my dash. There is an open recall on my vehicle starting March of 2022 it is now June and BMW says they don-€™t know when they will have a remedy for this and it could be months but I need my car.

- Fort Wayne, IN, USA

problem #90

Apr 022022

328

  • miles

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

Keep getting the p0015 code changed all sensors that come with code and I keep getting a high pitched noise once car gets hot.

- Madison, IL, USA

problem #89

Mar 042022

328

  • 102,000 miles
The contact owns a 2008 328i. The contact stated while driving 30 MPH, the vehicle was making abnormal sounds. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact stated he smelled a burning odor and parked the vehicle. The contact looked under the hood and did not see any damage. The contact restarted the vehicle to drive home and heard a loud noise coming from the engine and vehicle started overheating. After arriving home, the contact opened the hood and became aware that the hood insulation was missing, and the PCV hose was leaking oil. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic and the vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 102,000.

- Daly City, CA, USA

problem #88

Feb 182022

328

  • 147,675 miles
The contact owns a 2008 BMW 328XI. The contact stated that while driving at 60 MPH on the highway, the engine failed. The contact pulled over to the emergency lane. There were no warning lights illuminated. The contact restarted the vehicle and drove home safely. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where the failure code was not able to be generated and another appointment was made for further testing. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact was also informed that his vehicle could be related to a fuel injection issue. No further information was available. The approximate failure mileage was 147,675.

- Chico, CA, USA

problem #87

Nov 092021

328

  • 129,000 miles
The contact owns a 2008 BMW 328i. The contact stated that he had parked and turned off the vehicle, but about 20 minutes later he saw smoke coming from underneath the hood of the vehicle. The contact stated that as he opened the hood of the vehicle he saw flames of fire and was able to extinguish the fire with a fire extinguisher. The contact stated that he removed the battery from the vehicle. There were no injuries sustained. A police report was not filed. The vehicle was towed to the contact's residence. The dealer was notified of the failure and advised the contact to tow the vehicle to their location for diagnosis. The vehicle was towed to the dealer, however, the dealer informed the contact that they could not diagnose the vehicle as the vehicle had caught fire. The dealer referred the contact to NHTSA. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 129,000.

- Los Angeles, CA, USA

problem #86

Oct 142020

328

  • miles

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

Mileage Rollback

- Jackson, NJ, USA

problem #85

May 282021

328

  • 131,000 miles
The contact owned a 2008 BMW 328xi. The contact stated while driving 35 mph, she saw smoke exiting the front passenger side of the vehicle. The contact stated that there was no warning light illuminated. The contact parked and exited the vehicle safely and called 911. The contact stated 25 seconds after exiting the vehicle, the vehicle exploded and caught on fire. The fire department arrived and extinguished the fire. A fire report was filed. The contact stated that there was no injury. A police report was not filed. The vehicle was towed to a towing lot. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired. A dealer was not contacted. The manufacturer was not informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 131,000.

- Kingston, NY, USA

problem #84

Apr 122020

328

  • miles
My vehicle started shutting down from the radiator where it can only be started manually.

- Suffolk, VA, USA

problem #83

Aug 272020

328

  • 186,441 miles
Engine camshaft(vanos) adjustment units failing. BMW na never sent out a recall when knew of it in 2018( see attached Feb 2018 service bulletin). On 8/27/20, tisha of BMW NJ office claims dealer is responsible but says there is no recall outstanding. I took it to dealer critz of savannah, ga on 8/27 who claim that there was no recall for this manufacturer defect and that BMW are not built to last 12 years. It cost at least $4000 if not more to fix a recall item that BMW issued Feb 2018 for this and never sent to us. In 2018, they recalled this car for other safety issues (see attached) but hid this major defect they knew about in 2/2018. I am attaching a recall that my auto repair gave me that was never ever given to me by dealer nor sent from BMW na. I need your help to have BMW na extend the recall and pay for for this life threatening manufacturer defect. This was hidden from the public and should be investigated immediately. I was told by critz yesterday prior to my planned trip across the us on 9/4 that the engine could drop at any time as the bolts could be loose but there is no way to tell without spending $1,500 with no end in sight. This car is not an out of town car anymore according to david of critz and was never built to last until 2020. I now have no assurance that I am driving safely in this car and have to add several days to my trip.

- Tempe, AZ, USA

problem #82

Apr 042020

328

  • 10 miles
While driving and vehicle in motion even during acceleration, with no warnings vehicle just stalls. Engine shuts off and loss of power steering. Power to rest of vehicle still works fine and not interrupted. This has happened on city streets but luckily was able to muscle off the street into safety as car still glided. Unknown to components causing issue as check engine light goes off after being able to restart vehicle. Had vehicle scanned and nothing comes up. All recalls have been performed according to BMW website.

- Phoenix, AZ, USA

problem #81

Dec 272019

328

  • 140,000 miles
While car was parked in a strip mall parking lot and shut off, car ignited in flames and is now a total loss

- Bonney Lake, WA, USA

problem #80

Apr 222019

328

  • 140,000 miles
Was driving on highway going 80 and the car just shut down, was unable to steer, left me and my 9 year old stranded for about 30 minutes untill it started back up, everyday everytime I drive it no matter what the speed it shuts down and have to pray that I don't get hit by a car or am able to glide to safety, very unsafe not knowing when the car will shut down on me, took to mechanic there were no codes no check engine light or anything, therefore couldn't be fixed, something is not right with car, car only started doing this from April 2019 to present, it doesn't matter if I'm on highway, street, stopped has always happened, like I said I don't know when it's going to happen.im going to get killed one of these days or seriously injured

- West Islip, NY, USA

problem #79

May 152019

328

  • miles
Takata recall. The contact owns a 2008 BMW 328I. The contact stated that the VIN was included in NHTSA campaign numbers: 16V071000 (air bags), 17V683000 (engine and engine cooling), and 17V676000 (electrical system). The previous owner had not had the recall repairs performed prior to the contact purchasing the vehicle. The contact stated that the ABS and emergency brake indicators were flashing. In addition, the air bag warning indicator flashed and then remained illuminated. The contact also stated that the vehicle stalled more than once. The contact was unsure if the vehicle would restart after it was shut off. Kovacs motors (707-996-4149, located at 19190 sonoma hwy, sonoma, ca 95476) was notified of the failures. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failures. The failure mileage was not available.

- Sonoma, CA, USA

problem #78

Mar 272019

328

  • 159,684 miles
My vehicle while driving will shut off but with power at least two times. Once I restart the car and continue to drive the car then shuts off completely and loses all power. The vehicle then will not have any head lights, turn signals or hazard lights won't work either. To try and remedy the problem, the power adapter had been replaced only for the vehicle to have the same issues.

- Detroit, MI, USA

problem #77

Oct 252017

328

  • miles
The contact owns a 2008 BMW 328xi. The contact received notification of NHTSA campaign numbers: 17V683000 (engine and engine cooling) and 17V676000 (electrical system). The contact stated that the manufacturer exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair as the recall notice was received over a year ago. The dealer (hendrick BMW, 6950 E independence blvd, charlotte, nc 28227, (704)-321-4851) was contacted and confirmed that the parts were not available for the recall remedy. The manufacturer was not contacted to confirm if the parts were available. The contact had not experienced a failure. The VIN was unknown.

- Charlotte, NC, USA

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