10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
4 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
3 / 0
Average Mileage:
26,050 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.

2013 BMW 328 engine problems

engine problem

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2013 BMW 328 Owner Comments

problem #13

Dec 282018

328

  • 65 miles

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

The vehicle was going down a hill (straight forward) on a ca city street when the driver shifted from auto to manual gear. Instead of working as expected, the car underwent a sudden acceleration and braking proved ineffective. Through a couple seconds of attempted braking with no response, the car kept on accelerating instead. Finally, after making two turns on the hill, the car spun completely out of control and swerved to the other side of the street where it crashed through five trees and eventually stopped. The driver loss of consciousness and delivered to er. The weather condition was good. The failure mileage was 79,541. Policy report filed.

- Orange, CA, USA

problem #12

Oct 032018

328

  • 106,000 miles
3 days after receiving an oil change and brake pad change, while driving on a city street at approximately 25mph my car spontaneously switched into neutral and I could no longer accelerate. My dashboard stated that I had a drivetrain malfunction and that maximum output was not available. I proceeded to take my car into BMW in order to get a diagnosis. When I received the diagnosis I was told that my engine was non operable and I would have to pay ten thousand to change engine. The technician stated it was because of an internal engine failure, and that the reason for the failure was unknown but it was more than likely a bad oil filter. My vehicle has had two recalls concerning oil and I am concerned that it is a manufacturing defect. Thank you

- Gaithersburg, MD, USA

problem #11

May 012018

328

  • 80,000 miles
Vehicle began not responding to gas input and turbo started going out. Diagnostic appeared to reveal waste gate operator malfunction, but further analysis showed complete turbo replacement required. Vehicle began making high pitched noise at various points (idle and acceleration). Less than 90K miles on vehicle.

- Raleigh, NC, USA

problem #10

Jun 082018

328

  • 38,000 miles

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

Error - "drivetrain malfunction: Drive moderately. Maximum drivetrain output not available. Consult service center." This was taken to the dealer (BMW of silver spring, md) at first. They said it was thermostat issue. So, they installed a new thermostat and I paid my $100 deductible. The same error started appearing again just a few days later. The car suddenly shudders, jolts and shifts from eco mode to comfort mode if driving on freeway. If the error appears when the car is parked, the car does not switch from park mode to drive mode until you totally you shut down the engine, then restart and drive out immediately. Instantly, it shows "drivetrain malfunction" error on screen. The engine make a groaning noise. You can feel the power of the engine is significantly reduced. You have to hit the accelerator pedal deep to extract power out of the engine. The tachometer (the right dial on dashboard) moves up in the region of 3X1000 to 4X1000 /min range even to get to a speed of 30 miles/hour. So, when driving moderately, it can suddenly stall. This is a huge safety risk on city roads as one can get hit and be rear-ended by a car from behind with your family inside the car. I feel much unsafe driving this car now. BMW should fix this drivetrain error on install a new engine altogether. My car is still under warranty. This is a recurrent error, and it does not go away. I am losing faith in BMW.

- Germantown, MD, USA

problem #9

Mar 232017

328

  • 46,000 miles
On three separate occasions, when my car was stopped at a light or stopped in bumper to bumper traffic, the car reved to 6 or 7000 RPM and then accelerated on its own. I could not stop the car and I hit the car in front of me. There was very little damage to my car, and little damage to the othei do not feel safe in this car as I know there is a problem and will happen again.

- Houston, TX, USA

problem #8

May 162017

328 4-cyl

  • 20,000 miles
The contact owns a 2013 BMW 328I. While the vehicle was parked in the driveway, it independently accelerated at a high rate of speed. As a result, the vehicle crashed into the back wall of the garage. There were no warning indicators illuminated. The air bags did not deploy. No injuries were sustained. The vehicle was taken to the dealer for diagnostic testing. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified and the contact was informed that they would send an engineer out to further inspect the vehicle. The approximate failure mileage was 20,000. Updated 05/31/17 updated 06/02/2017

- Glen Allen, VA, USA

problem #7

Apr 212015

328 4-cyl

  • 10,000 miles

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

The contact owned a 2013 BMW 328I. While driving 25 mph, the vehicle accelerated on its own to 40-50 mph. All the warning indicator sensors blinked on and off. The contact depressed the brake pedal; however, the brakes failed and locked up. In addition, the steering failed. The vehicle drove over the sidewalk and the seat belt released automatically. The air bags failed to deploy. A police report was filed. The struck her head on the steering wheel and injured her neck and lower back. Medical attention was received. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic where it was deemed destroyed. The failure mileage was approximately 10,000....updated 12/14/16 updated 12/20/16

- Bakersfield, CA, USA

problem #6

Aug 182014

328

  • 8,000 miles
On August 18, 2014, my 2013 BMW 328I with automatic transmission, suddenly and unintentionally accelerated as I slowly pulled into a parking spot at work. It happened as I prepared to stop. ( my foot was on the brake.) it failed to stop or slow down in response to brake pressure. Pumping the brakes was totally ineffective however it did eventually stop approx. 6ft over the curb. The car moved so quickly and so suddenly the driver pulling in behind me for an instant didn't know where I had gone. That this happened in a parking spot and not on the road at a stop light or a children crossing is a miracle. This automobile was purchased new and has approx 8000 miles.

- Scottsdale, AZ, USA

problem #5

Nov 152013

328 4-cyl

  • 11,109 miles
Had similar problem as previously reported incident (09/30/2013), the loss power. This was the second time for me. The first incident occurred on October 29, 2013. When I put foot on gas, the car would not accelerate. I took car to dealer and two days later was told the auxiliary power supply needed to be replaced, but the replacement part was unavailable: There were no parts in the country nor could they tell me when the part would be available. I was told I could continue operate the car and I should not be concerned. The loss of power occurred again November 15. I also noticed similar to the previously reported incident a change in the engine temperature - the temperature dropped from about 250 deg to about 205 deg.

- Penn Valley, PA, USA

problem #4

Nov 022013

328

  • 8,200 miles
Transmission problem resulting in violent shuddering of the vehicle body and abrupt engine stops resulting in dangerous driving conditions. Fluctuations in the tachometer when the car attempted to stop and the car would automatically change gears to neutral or park.

- Iselin, NJ, USA

problem #3

Jul 192013

328

  • 1,825 miles

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

As I was approaching the on ramp for the highway, I sped up in order to merge into oncoming traffic. I depressed the gas pedal completely to the floor but the car picked up extremely slowly as if it did not have any power. I also noticed at the same time that my engine temperature seemed to be unusually low for a vehicle that had been running for over an hour. There had also been an extremely loud fan noise that would come on every 2 minutes or so. As a result of the lack of power, I nearly caused a collision between myself and the vehicle behind me because the oncoming vehicle did not anticipate someone merging onto the highway at such a slow pace. I continued to drive without power for about 20 minutes as if the car was a naturally aspirated vehicle even though it was clearly turbo charged but the turbo never kicked in. When I got off of the highway and was able to pull over to restart my vehicle, the car started to run as normal.

- Forest Hills, NY, USA

problem #2

Feb 052013

328 4-cyl

  • 7,200 miles
While slowly coming to a stop, the brake pedal became hard yet the car would not stop and seemed to glide for 10-15 feet before finally stopping at which point the engine revved to 6000 RPM, but did not accelerate. The pedal became so hard that I could not press any harder, yet was still slowly moving. Turned the car off and restarted the car and drove to the dealer. The dealer could not find anything wrong. On 7/15/2013 the exact same thing happened again as I was pressing the brake pedal I could feel the car continuing to move forward and the brake pedal became very hard yet still did not stop the car. As soon as the car finally stopped the engine revved to 3500 RPM, at which time I shut it off. Car is back at the dealer and bmwna has been notified of both episodes.

- Prairie Grove, IL, USA

problem #1

Jan 272013

328 4-cyl

  • 2,250 miles
The subject vehicle accelerated unexpectedly when the car was slowly turning into a parking space in a parking lot. The driver had to suddenly press very hard on the brake in order to stop the car.

- Mclean, VA, USA

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