8.4

pretty bad
Crashes / Fires:
0 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
3,900 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.

2009 BMW M3 drivetrain problems

drivetrain problem

Find something helpful? Spread the word.
Get notified about new defects, investigations, recalls & lawsuits for the 2009 BMW M3:

Unsubscribe any time. We don't sell/share your email.

2009 BMW M3 Owner Comments

problem #3

Jun 272009

M3

  • 4,600 miles

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

I was driving on a two-lane street (one-lane each direction) and as I was approaching a stoplight I turned on my left turn signal and started to move into the dedicated left-hand turn lane. As I did this I needed to downshift as I slowed down for the stopped traffic ahead at the light. When I shifted to second gear and pressed the accelerator to move into the turn lane my car would not engage into gear. I was almost rear-ended from the cars behind me but luckily my car's transmission engaged at the last second and I cleared the lane I was in. But because I was pressing the accelerator so hard to try to get the clutch to engage, when it finally did I shot off across the left-hand turn lane into the lane of on-coming traffic. I was able to steer clear before being hit head-on by on-coming traffic but the experience left me very uncomfortable with the transmission in my vehicle.

- Chicago, IL, USA

problem #2

Jun 122009

M3

  • 5,900 miles
Hello. I have a 2009 BMW M3 with the dct transmission. I am experiencing significant delays when down shifting from one gear to a lower gear. The problem occurs when you slow down, like for a turn, but do not come to a complete stop. The dct transmission seems to have a serious problem figuring out what gear to select because when you step on the gas to accelerate, there is a very significant delay in the power engaging. I would say about 2-4 seconds. By this time, I am really stepping on the gas pedal. The transmission finally picks a gear, which results in the car suddenly lurching forward, sometimes engaging the anti-skip control. This problem becomes most apparent when making a turn into on-coming traffic, slowing down to around 10-15 mph. After the turn, the car is positioned in the traffic lane, but I have no power to accelerate into the flow of traffic. The oncoming cars are now closing in on your car at a fast rate, and you're basically stuck.

- Ventura, CA, USA

problem #1

Apr 102009

M3

  • 1,200 miles
There's a significant lag for the transmission to engage in my car which at times prevents me from getting out of the way of a potential conflict.

- Enid, OK, USA

Search CarComplaints.com for these popular complaint phrases...

Not what you are looking for?