2003 Bmw E36 problems, complaints & recalls

2008-01-21 · Electrical System:ignition · 77,000 mi · 💥 crash

“i recently purchased a 2003 bmw 325i in december 2007. today (january 21, 2008), my wife drove the car to work and parked said vehicle in her required parking space. than about two hours later a local police officer came in and informed her that the bmw started by itself and crashed into the police department. the vehicle was in first gear and s…”

2008-01-15 · Power Train:automatic Transmission · 30,000 mi

“delay in transmission engagement (20-30 seconds) when cold. hazard on hill and entering traffic. *tr…”

2007-11-13 · Engine And Engine Cooling:exhaust System · 37,500 mi

“double vanos system on several models of bmw from 1999 to 2006, have defective vanos systems. the e39 double vanos (variable valve timing unit) has a malfunction problem. this double vanos can be found on 6-cyl engines m52tu, m54, and m56, found in several model cars, e39, e46, etc, years 99-03. the malfunction symptoms are almost all subtle and mo…”

2007-10-22 · Seats:front Assembly:seat Heater/Cooler · 56,030 mi · 🔥 fire

“2003 bmw 525i with 56k miles. driver seat heater was turned on while the engine was warming up and few seconds later, one spot on the seat started smoking and burning a whole. the engine and heater was turned off immediately which prevented the fire from spreading. notified bmw north america and dealer agreed with full seat replacement. *tr …”

2007-08-20 · Wheels:rim · 63,000 mi

“tl*the contact owns a 2003 bmw s10 (na). the contact purchased aftermarket chrome rims online. while driving 75 mph, the rims separated from the tires and shattered into several pieces. the vehicle was towed to the dealer, where it currently remains. the vin and engine size were unknown. the current and failure mileages were 63,000. …”

2007-08-13 · Electrical System:wiring · 73,000 mi

“there is a serious electrical problem on many bmw e46 models (newer cars). the tail light harness on both sides has what seems to be a faulty, incomplete, or insecure grounding wire and the result is that the wire overheats and corrodes, and in some cases arcs, which can ignite a fire. the problem is often identified by intermittent or persistent…”

2007-08-01 · Power Train:automatic Transmission:torque Converter · 85,000 mi

“my 2003 bmw 330i has 85k miles and is in very good condition. recently, however, a "service engine soon" light came on. the dealer diagnosed a problem and informed me that i needed a new torque converter because the gasket was leaking, however, the car was driving just fine. they told me that if i didn't replace it now then down the road the who…”

2007-04-25 · Seat Belts:front · 💥 crash

“my 2003 bmw 325i was involved in an accident. the driver of my bmw rear ended another vehicle at approx. 35 mph. there was extensive damage to my bmw. in fact, the insurance co. is considering a total loss as we speak. the amount of damage to the front end exceeds $18,000.00 to include some structural damage. my complaint is that neither the front…”

2007-03-24 · Structure:body:hatchback/Liftgate

“the bmw x5 has a defect. the tailgate stoppers routinely failed on both the electro-mechanical soft close and the normal mechanical. these stoppers failed, causing erroneous tailgate open warnings to appear on the instrument panel. also, because the stoppers failed there was a constant rattle. bmw knew about this problem...at least the loc…”

2007-03-02 · Tires:sidewall

“on march 2nd 2007 around 10:30am i was driving my 2003 bmw m3 east bound on interstate 40 from chapel hill nc to raleigh nc. approaching exit 292 my rear tire which was a michelin pilot sport size 255/35zr ripped on each sidewall inner and outer. the center of tire came completely separated while the outer of the tire was still connected to the inn…”