10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
1 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
1 / 0
Average Mileage:
49,015 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 drivetrain problems

drivetrain problem

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2008 BMW 328 Owner Comments

problem #15

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 #14

Feb 252022

328

  • miles
The driveshaft connection to the differntial has unusual movement that causes a clunking noise when changing low gears. This means the internal differential parts are subject to fail in the long term and can cause injuries to the driver if not fixed and vehicle gets out of control

- Cordova, TN, USA

problem #13

Apr 182019

328

  • 70,000 miles
4/19/2019 driving at varying speeds in traffic, probably between 35-45mph on hwy 280 northbound in the fastest of 4 lanes 5pm with my passenger during rush hour the vehicle stalled and the power steering and engine power stopped. Trying to restart, the engine made noise but no power returned. Fortunately, traffic had slowed and we were on a down hill slope and I managed to hit the warning flasher button-and moved thru 3 lanes of traffic to stop on the shoulder. The wonderful highway patrolman was behind me in minutes and pushed the vehicle to a hwy rest stop. The vehicle had things flash up and the windows and locks worked but there was no return of power. I had no prior problems. Fortunately nobody was hurt in 4 packed lines of hwy 280 traffic. Car was towed to BMW auto service shop.

- Portola Valley, CA, USA

problem #12

Apr 082018

328

  • miles

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

Hello theres two recall for BMW 3 series that need to done asap but when I check the parts are not yet available and it's a safety issue that need to fix immediately

- Suffern, NY, USA

problem #11

Jun 152016

328

  • 91,000 miles
Vehicle downshifts to a complete or near complete stop on turns or when coming to a stop. The issue is dangerous when turning as the transmission stops mid turn which can cause someone to rear end you. It then kicks into gear suddenly. I have had it checked out at BMW dealer service and another BMW re-seller shop and both have advised it is fine but it is not.

- Philadelphia, PA, USA

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problem #10

Jul 132017

328

  • 25 miles
Driving 65mph in highway when engine turned off. Safely pulled over. Restarted. Drove another 5 miles, engine turns off again. Restarted. Instrument panel had reset except clock and odometer. Following day car started and ran. While making a left turn in local road, the engine turned off, steering locked, almost hitting another vehicle which was turning right.

- Mohegan Lake, NY, USA

problem #9

Jun 012016

328 6-cyl

  • 100,000 miles

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

The contact owns a 2008 BMW 328I. While driving 60 mph, the vehicle's speed decreased and forced the contact to pull the vehicle onto the side of the highway. The vehicle was towed to the contact's residence. The dealer and manufacturer were not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 100,000....updated 05/03/17 updated 09/21/2017

- Corpus Christi, TX, USA

problem #8

Dec 272016

328

  • 108,000 miles
The contact owns a 2008 BMW 328xi. While attempting to shift the vehicle into reverse, it was unable to move. There were no warning indicators illuminated. The issue recurred several times, but the contact was able to shift the vehicle into park. When the vehicle was restarted, it returned to normal. The vehicle was taken to a dealer, but was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 108,000. The VIN was unavailable.

- Kinderhook, NY, USA

problem #7

Nov 032014

328

  • 40,000 miles
This is well-documented on BMW forums. The adaptive driver memory logic causes a throttle lag of up to 1 second. This lag can be temporarily eliminated by resetting the throttle body adaption. The unnecessary throttle lag causes an unnecessary safety hazard by delaying the car's throttle response. BMW should issue a software update that allows owners to permanently disable or lock down the feature. The problem happens mainly when the car is stopped an in-gear. When the driver depresses the accelerator pedal, the computer delays the signal to the throttle body by up to 1 second. This delay increases the likelihood of a collision by causing an the car to unnecessarily respond in a manner that is different from the driver's intent. There is a 5-step procedure that owners can follow to temporarily reset the throttle body adaption, but the computer eventually re-learns the unsafe behavior. BMW has refused to acknowledge the problem even though it has been documented in several BMW models, engines, and model years, including the 328I, the 528I, the 750li, and others. In my case, I was stopped in traffic and attempted to accelerate and change lanes quickly in order to avoid an obstacle. The driver behind me interpreted the car's delay as inaction and performed the same maneuver, subsequently causing a rear-end collision when another car in front also accelerated and moved into the other lane and caused several cars to stop. If my car had responded appropriately when I applied the accelerator pedal, the tow truck behind me might have delayed his action.

- Palm Harbor, FL, USA

problem #6

Nov 162015

328

  • 80,000 miles
My wife was driving home from work on the highway at night and her entire car just shut off without warning nearly causing her to be killed by a tractor trailer we had car towed to BMW dealership and they say valvetronic sensor/seal issue...but this was scary and nearly killed my wife so I felt compelled to report this issue

- Sandy Hook, CT, USA

problem #5

Jul 182014

328 6-cyl

  • 76,000 miles

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

I was going over a small bump in the road at 30 mph and my engine mount failed. All four aluminum bolts sheared off and the engine dropped. This drop snapped my passenger drive shaft (half axle) in two pieces. I think BMW has a serious problem with the strength of the engine mount hardware. The engine mount bolts should be stronger. The failure mode is dangerous.

- Stoneham, MA, USA

problem #4

Aug 112013

328

  • 61,200 miles
Heard a loud bang from engine compartment, passenger side. Subsequent left turns resulted in a thud with each revolution of the tire from the same area. Suspected cv joint. Took it into shop, and mechanic found that two right side engine mount bolts had corroded and sheared. Bolts are aluminum and engine block is magnesium which resulted in dissimilar metal corrosion. Engine fell and came to rest on frame.

- Alpharetta, GA, USA

problem #3

Aug 082012

328 6-cyl

  • 65,000 miles
I have had my car in at least three separate occasions for my 2008 BMW 328xi E90 sedan losing all power randomly! the latest incident, in the first weeks of August, almost got me killed! a transportation bus stopped suddenly in front of me on a 3 lane highway and I went into the middle lane to pass the bus. I had slowed from the speed limit of 55 down to about 30 miles an hour, switched lanes and then punched the gas in order to resume speed of the rest of traffic. The car stalled with no power whatsoever for about three seconds. An 18 wheel truck came within 50 feet of me or so and almost killed me, then the car suddenly regained all power and I was able to avert the collision! it is so frustrating that there are at least three other owners out there that have reported this issue online and BMW has done nothing to fix this problem. There are no codes, no lights, nothing. I just had my car in the dealer for two weeks and they ran fuel pressure tests, drove the car, etc. The car stalled once on them, but then they could not duplicate the problem again. I read on www.E90post.com some others had the learning computer in the transmission reset to attempt to resolve this problem. Seems the computer gets confused on driving habits of owner and forgets what gear to be in when driving, so it stalls. I had dealer reset computer to zero so it relearns my driving habits and I will see if this fixes the problem. I will say, the hesitation issue does seem to be a transmission issue to my observations. Seem like tranny is figuring out what gear to be in. I think there is a glitch in the sw/tranny where the ECU gets confused and does not know what gear to put the car into, then it hesitates until the algorithm figures out what to do. The problem is that this 2-3 second loss of power, when passing, getting onto a highway or pulling in front of traffic can kill you!

- Mount Laurel, NJ, USA

problem #2

May 112009

328

  • 5,000 miles
The contact owns a 2008 BMW 328I. The contact stated that the transmission would shift abnormally hard in second gear. The contact also stated that when the weather was below freezing, the vehicle could not be shifted into reverse. The contact stated that the failure was a random occurrence. The vehicle was taken to the dealer several times, but the dealer was always unable to determine the failure and advised the contact that the reverse failure was a normal occurrence in colder temperatures. The failure mileage was 5,000 and the current mileage was 48,000.

- Mineola, NY, USA

problem #1

Aug 012011

328

  • 39,000 miles
The contact owns a 2008 BMW 328xi. The contact stated that while driving 60 mph, the vehicle suddenly stalled. The vehicle was taken to an authorized the dealer and was awaiting diagnosis. The manufacturer had not been notified. The failure and current mileages were 39,000. The VIN was unavailable.

- Brighton, MI, USA

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