BMW 3 Series Engine problems
1.38 vs. all vehicles Rising
69 of the 225 complaints about the BMW 3 Series (30.7%) concern Engine, making it the model's largest problem area. That share is 1.4× the Engine share across all tracked vehicles.
69Complaints · Engine
30.7%Share of complaints
1.38×vs. all vehicles
32Last 12 months
23.2%Share involving a crash or fire
0Related recalls
Analysis
32 Engine complaints were filed in the last 12 months versus 17 in the 12 months before — up 88%.
16 of these reports (23.2%) describe a crash or fire, with 6 injuries and 0 deaths mentioned.
No recall campaign addresses Engine for the tracked model years.
By model year
When complaints were filed
Last 12 months: 32 · Previous 12 months: 17
What owners report
While parallel parking in a parking structure; my car accelerated full throttle backing up hitting the back wall ; then I tried going forward to straighten the car up, it accelerated full throttle forward hitting the front wall. I had an doctors appt.
Before the collision, my 2025 BMW 330i stalled when I tried to accelerate, so I moved into the right slow lane. The vehicle also stalled during the collision. My VIN lookup shows an unrepaired recall involving the starter-generator.
My car was on for about 5 minutes. I didn’t mean to step on the gas but I did and the car wouldn’t stop accelerating. Like the car is in park and I took my foot ass the gas but it’s still an uncontrolled acceleration issue.
Uncontrollable acceleration that caused a crash, bmw checked the vehicle and claimed nothing wrong even tho i have video proof recreating the problem.
I am getting error code 21A50A and 216115 which Starter Overheating that can cause fire. Similar error code were coming on other cars and BMW have recalled it the recall number is 26V056.
On XXX approximately 2:02am my car was seen on fire parked in driveway on [XXX] . INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
Excerpts from complaints filed with NHTSA, trimmed for length. The ODI number is NHTSA's record identifier.
Related recalls
No recall campaign addresses Engine for the tracked model years.
Problem areas · BMW 3 Series
Related reading
- Why modern engines burn oil, and what owner complaints revealDesign choices linked to oil consumption in recent engines, the warning signs owners describe, what counts as normal, and which tracked models currently have the highest engine share in their complaints.