BMW

BMW • Airbags • "Certified, pre-owned" BMWs • Cooling fan failure • Flaming seats • Flooded trunk • Paint problems • Steering failure • Transmission problems • Warranties • BMW Financial Services • Miscellaneous problems • 740 Series • 740 cell phones --- News • BMW Owners Suffer Reversal of Fortune • BMW Plans Price Hike • Transmission Failures Plague BMW Owners • New BMW to Burn Hydrogen and Gasoline • Gay Automotive Website Takes on BMW

Big Money Wasted? We think that's going a little far. The BMW is a great car -- if you like high-strung racing cars in street garb. Unfortunately, lots of everyday consumers buy these things thinking that because they're expensive, they must be reliable and trouble-free, which is about as far from the truth as Stuttgart is from Santa Monica.

All cars require maintenance and high-performance cars require lots and lots of very expensive routine maintenance. Also they're notorious for being afflicted with all kinds of exotic problems. If you're really into cars, understand them and are willing to lavish time, money and attention on one, the BMW may be for you. If you're looking to raise your self-esteem by buying something really expensive, we recommend real estate.

A few of the more recent complaints ...

Edward of Westampton, NJ July 2, 2009

My wife was driving her 2009 328i (only had it a few months). Was pulling into a parking space at a shopping center, applied the brake and the car lurched forward with a sudden unintended acceleration. The car jumped the curve, hit a store door and kept going until it hit a lamp post and finally came to a stop. Trying to ascertain if this is a defect with the car??

SL of Flushing, NY July 1, 2009

325i's engine was suddenly on fire within 15 mins. of driving.

Ayaz of Riverdale, GA June 10, 2009

Apart from still experiencing bad reverse shift on my 2000 323i BMW (106k) I have had problems with almost everything else in the car as well.. you name it. some of the things that I had to replace on this car: all 4 power-window regulators, alternator, radiator, water pump, power-steering motor (which I still haven't replaced), windscreen-washer pump, A/C doesn't work, heating doesn't work. so on and so forth. WILL NEVER BUY ANOTHER BMW AGAIN!

Ryan of Miami Beach, FL June 27, 2009

Immediately after my software upgrade in my 2006 X5, the cars shifts hard down going from 2-1 as I slow to a light. It sounds like the transmission is bottoming out. Any downshift whatsoever the car jerks hard forward.

Car has been in the shop for 2 months. According to BMW USA, it is a computer software issue which is hampering them from determining problems for the car. Meanwhile, I'm driving around in a POS loaner while I continue to make large monthly payments on the car.

The car has 4 months left on its lease - the dealership won't give me a new car, only end my lease early. That doesn't work for me as I put a large sum down just to enter the lease in the first place. Florida statutes only cover the lemon law for 2 years. I'm screwed.

After scouring the web, I have seen others that have had the same exact issue and some that have had transmission problems in general.

Alex of altoona , PA June 27, 2009

after reading all of the negative posts about bmw i think that i should contribute my positive feelings toward this company. The two that I have (1998 bmw 328i sdn and 2003 bmw 325xi sdn) have collectively cost me about 700 in the past 4 years...combined(not including reg. preventative. actions e.g. oil changes, brake pads, etc.)They are fun cars to own and among the most reliable vehichles I have ever driven.

To those of you who have had bad experiences with the vehichle-not the dealers (including a family member of mine who finally finished off his 1200/mo. 6 series payments to find himself paying about 2k/month just to keep it running), think about how you treat the car. These types of cars are not rugged ford trucks, they are delicate examples of engineering that fill a very unique niche in the automotive world. You wouldn't hit a curb with your face would you? well then, don't complain when you hit one with your car and the steering rack replacement yeilds a 700 bill-not including 6 hrs of labor. I have heard that BMW owners are among the worst drivers on the road...something to think about.

B. of Phoenix, AZ June 8, 2009

I live in Phoenix, AZ and leased car in San Diego, through BMW Financial Services in May 2006. Two weeks later, "Finance Manager" called my place of business to notify me that "new contract" was being sent & I had to sign it due to error on their part calculating sales tax. I (stupidly) offered to pay the difference over the phone but she snapped, "If only it was that easy." I realized, "this is not right" and wrote a letter to GM of dealership & to BMW FS. Thought it was settled. After years of making same monthly payment on-line through banking, I noticed in January of this year that amount due had increased. Turns out, they'd raised it in December and I was "overdue." Had I not caught this, what about my credit? Second, they never notified me of payment change. Third, again, they changed it after "internal audit" showed they had me living in Mohave not Maricopa County (where tax is apparently higher.) So, still THEIR error, comes back to bite me AND they never notified me of the change. They send me lease-end "itemized bill" and it includes "remaining payments due" and a balance. Completely incorrect. So, of course, a phone call and I'm told, "I don't know why that's showing." I DO NOT TRUST BMW Financial Services with my credit. BMW is a beautiful vehicle and drives like a dream but it's a vehicle that requires more attention that an infant. (Don't even ask me about the mechanical issues on this and my previous beemer, both with major issues before 40,000 miles.) If you want to own a "status" car, to be bullied by a company, put your credit on the line, then BMW is for you.

Kathy of Fort Collins, CO June 3, 2009

I was told that it is typical, normal, to be expected that a BMW battery on a 2008 Z4 can be dead after 3 weeks of not driving the car. I am SO angry with this dealership!

Pete of Los Gatos, CA June 4, 2009

I purchased a new 2001 BMW model # 325i from this dealer. I had the car serviced on a regular basis. I spent over 4,000 last year getting the brakes to work. Six months later, the car still shakes when the brakes are applied. Now I have a additional problem, the transmission is broken. This car has only 103,000 miles on it. This car is a lemon.

Transmission failure - estimated cost to repair 4,000 - 6.500 Window regulators going out on all 4 windows - cost to repair 1,600 Brake repair - 4,000

Thomas of San Jose, CA June 10, 2009

I bought a brand new 2009 BMW 528i less than a week ago, drove home in a bumper-to-bumper traffic (therefore never exceeded 30-40 MPH). My son took the car to a tennis tournament some 20-miles away the following day, came home complaining about the handling on the freeway. I kinda ignoring him as I thought the car was a little "too nice" for him. I never got a chance to drive the car for 2-3 days until this Sunday afternoon.

Took my wife to shopping and drove on Fwy 85. After a few minutes at a speed of 65 give or take, I felt something was terribly wrong, but did not want to admit so I continued driving. A couple of minutes later, feeling worse, I looked at my wife, and she looked a little pale. Almost simultaneously, we both said "did you feel something wrong?" The car felt like zigzagging forward, instead of going straight, enough to cause some dizziness just travelling 10 miles on the freeway, also to the point I started to feel unsafe. Luckily the dealership was only a few blocks away, I decided to get off the freeway and brought the car to the service night drop.

I suspected perhaps the assembly worker forgot to screw the bolts all the way in when mounting the tires at the factory in Germany, and would accept that scenario as it would be easily rectified by the dealership without further complications. The service department found nothing wrong with the car, but only until the service foreman test drove the car with me on the freeway, when he witnessed the exact same problem. The foreman told me he also had similar complaints with the same model mounted with the same Continental tires. Current mileage of the car: 200 (came with 50 miles in the showroom).

Yuet of NY, NY May 30, 2009

I had been paying my BMW loan for 6 months until I wrote a check for greater than the normal amt in Jan 09. After that I had stopped receiving the bills. Not realizing the time that's passed (2mths) my account became delinquent. They called me and I gave them my checking acct # 3 times and they still screwed it up. Of course I don't find out I as still delinquent until a week later in the mail. At the end I just signed up for autopymt out of my bank acct. They refused to admit they screwed up the invoices even though the rep admitted many people have been complaing about not receiving the bills. They are totally irresponsible with people's credit..they reported me to the three credit agencies, the damage is: I am in the middle of a refinance and they totally messed up my credit, resulting in a much higher rate.

Report Your Experience
If you've had a bad experience -- or a good one -- with a consumer product or service, we'd like to hear about it. All complaints are reviewed by class action attorneys and are considered for publication on our site. Knowledge is power! Help spread the word. File your consumer report now.

Back to the top |