4.1

definitely annoying
Crashes / Fires:
0 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
28,550 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 M3 drivetrain problems

drivetrain problem

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2011 BMW M3 Owner Comments

problem #4

Jan 142021

M3

  • 52,000 miles

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

I was driving on the freeway accelerating when I hit approximately 75 mph my car was making a loud revving sound and metal clanking sound in middle and smoke was coming from the front and back of the vehicle very thick white smoke all of a sudden my car slowed down and all the lights were blinking on the dash almost got into accidents while cars avoid hitting! my car wasn't going over 5 10 mph there was so much smoke was getting worried, some how I managed to exit the freeway and parked I was told my english was blown! maintenance was up-to-date only drove it on the weekends only had 52,000 miles nightmare 2011 BMW

- Glendale, CA, USA

problem #3

Oct 302014

M3 8-cyl

  • 44,000 miles
2011 BMW dct M3 engine turns off by it self while driving through intersection. Transmission goes into neutral. "N" pops up on the center cockpit. Steering wheel lock. Brakes work. Had to maintain foot on brakes. Have to push "engine start" button. Car starts up again. Engine stalling and shutting off is a safety hazard, especially if the car is in motion. Could cause death to end users or other people. Can cause property damages as well. This has happen twice within a 8 week period. Most recently on Nov 26,2014 approximately 430pm BMW "auto start stop function" ruled out because the led light above the button is lit, function is disable.

- Las Vegas, NV, USA

problem #2

Oct 012012

M3 8-cyl

  • 8,200 miles
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 trouble figuring out what gear to select because when you step on the gas to accelerate, there is a very significant delay in the onset of power- up to 2-3 seconds. By this time, the driver is usually really digging into the throttle. The transmission finally picks a gear, which results in the car suddenly lurching forward, sometimes invoking the anti-skip control. The danger in this behavior occurs when making a turn into on-coming traffic after slowing down to around 10-15 mph. After the turn, the car is positioned in the traffic lane, but you 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. This situation is most pronounced in the "auto" mode of the dct transmission, but also occurs to a lesser degree while in the manual mode when you select second gear in preparation for the turn. It is also very repeatable in both modes. These problems started occurring after a previous recall on this transmission where the engine would stall under hard braking or not shift under hard braking. The recall fixed that problem, but introduced this problem, which occurs almost every day whereas the previous problem only occurred during a specific situation.

- Hillsdale, NJ, USA

problem #1

Oct 072011

M3 8-cyl

  • 10,000 miles
Clunking noise and vibration when turning right from a stop in cooler temperatures.

- Beaverton, OR, USA

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