Consumer Safety Complaints
Search 2,245,377 safety complaints filed by vehicle owners with NHTSA, including 140,173 crashes, 56,794 fires, and 8,580 deaths.
What is a NHTSA consumer complaint?
A consumer complaint is a free-form report filed by a vehicle owner directly to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) describing a safety concern about their vehicle. NHTSA collects these reports through its Vehicle Owner Defect Report (VOQ) system and publishes them publicly. Each complaint includes the affected component, the date and circumstances of the incident, whether the failure caused a crash or fire, and any reported injuries or deaths. The owner's full narrative description is included verbatim, NHTSA does not edit or moderate the descriptions.
The database below contains over 2,245,377 individual complaints. NHTSA's investigators monitor it for clusters of similar reports, when enough owners describe the same failure mode on the same vehicle, NHTSA may open a Preliminary Evaluation that can lead to a recall. Many of the largest recalls in U.S. history, including the Takata airbag recall and the Hyundai/Kia engine fire recalls, started as patterns visible in this complaint database years before they became formal recalls.
How to interpret what you read
A few principles for reading consumer complaints usefully:
- One complaint is anecdote; a hundred similar complaints is data. NHTSA does not investigate the truthfulness of any individual report, that's the job of the Office of Defects Investigation, which looks at the full pattern. When evaluating a vehicle, look for whether multiple owners describe the same chain of events.
- Crash, fire, injury, and death flags are owner-set. They are not verified by NHTSA. They are still useful as a filter, because owners who tick those boxes are typically reporting more serious incidents than those who don't.
- Component categories are NHTSA-assigned, not owner-assigned. NHTSA standardizes the component field so that complaints can be aggregated. The owner narrative often goes into more detail than the component category captures.
- Complaint volume scales with sales volume. A best-selling model will accumulate more raw complaints than a niche model even at the same defect rate. To compare across vehicles, look at complaints per 100,000 units sold, not raw counts.
If you've experienced a defect
File a complaint. NHTSA's investigators rely on this database to detect emerging defects, and useful complaints, specific, concrete, with dates and mileage and clear descriptions of what happened, feed directly into the agency's pattern detection. The form takes about 10 minutes and is at nhtsa.gov/recalls under "Report a Safety Problem." Your complaint becomes part of the same public record that this page is built from. Owners filing detailed VOQs are how recalls get triggered.
Read more from our blog
Showing 41,082 complaints for BMW
Incident date: Jul 13, 2022
DRIVERS DOOR WOULD NOT OPEN. Couldn't get out of the car. Had to get assistance to get out of car.. Had car towed to BMW dealership.. The spent hours trying to get door open. They had to go down through the convertible top to remove the drivers seat in order to get panel off to remove parts to get door to open. This is major safety hazard which should be addressed. See what was repaired below.... Read more
Incident date: Dec 9, 2022
Warning message appears on dash every time you stop and start car - Secure Vehicle from Rolling, Dealer saying no active recall on it. But there should be.
Incident date: Dec 9, 2022
Warning message appears on dash every time you stop and start car - Secure Vehicle from Rolling, Dealer saying no active recall on it. But there should be.
Incident date: Dec 9, 2022
Warning message appears on dash every time you stop and start car - Secure Vehicle from Rolling, Dealer saying no active recall on it. But there should be.
Incident date: Dec 9, 2022
The contact owns a 2009 BMW X5. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V119000 (Engine and Engine Cooling) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The dealer and manufacturer were made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure.... Read more
Incident date: Dec 8, 2022
BMW front cup holders have hole in bottom and it allows condensation/liquid to migrate through bottom to air bag sensor located directly underneath cup holders. Consumers are at risk of air bags going off unintentionally and/or not going off at all. Sensor should not be directly under a cup holder and/or the cup holder should not have a hole directly above safety sensor. BMW design defect. Con... Read more
Incident date: Oct 22, 2022
The contact owns a 2013 BMW X1. The contact stated that the vehicle was previously taken to an independent mechanic, who diagnosed that there was knocking in the engine and the timing chain needed to be replaced. The vehicle was then taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed that the temperature gauge was faulty and needed to be replaced. No repairs were performed. The contact stated that after ... Read more
Incident date: Mar 2, 2022
The contact owns a 2010 BMW 528I. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V119000 (Engine and Engine Cooling). The contact stated that after she scheduled an appointment at the local dealer, she was later made aware that parts were not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was n... Read more
Incident date: Aug 28, 2022
I have a 2013 BMW 528I with 160,299 miles. I bought it 4 months prior to the incident with 145,000-150,000 miles on it. First the beginning of the month, the blower motor from the ac/heating stopped working. This was not covered under the extended service warranty I purchased. Then last that month my girlfriend is driving on the interstate merging onto another interstate when the BMW'S DRIVETR... Read more
Incident date: Oct 1, 2022
The contact owns a 2009 BMW 128I. The contact stated the vehicle overheated. There was a hole in the radiator. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who informed him that the radiator needed to be replaced. The local dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The contact stated the failure was related to NHTSA Campaign ... Read more
Incident date: Apr 1, 2022
The contact owns a 2006 BMW 325I. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V119000 (Engine and Engine Cooling) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer was contacted. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The contact had ... Read more
Incident date: Dec 6, 2022
When car comes to stop and driver or left rear passenger attempts to open the door, the door will sometimes not open. It remains locked. Right side door lever, when pulled, will unlock the door and you can open. The only way to open the door is to press the unlock button in the center console twice. This unlocks the doors and you can exit. This is of concern since the car has power locks.... Read more
Incident date: Nov 22, 2022
The contact owns a 2011 BMW 335I. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle lost motive power and stalled with the check engine warning light illuminated. The contact inspected the vehicle and discovered that the bolts used to secure the housing for the camshaft timing adjustment (VANOS) unit had loosened over time, causing the vehicle to stall. Upon investigation, the c... Read more
Incident date: Dec 6, 2022
The contact owns a 2008 BMW 528I. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V119000 (Engine and Engine Cooling) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer was contacted. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue and confirmed that pa... Read more
Incident date: Nov 23, 2022
11/21~11/24: Transmission shift from D to N while driving and the vehicle lost power. system down and change to Charging Mode, which shows when power off. Need to push the start button couple of times to turn X5 on. These things happen 3 times. 11/28~12/2: BMW service tech updated software. I pick it up on 12/3 12/4: There was error message that "Four wheel drive limited" and engine stops and sy... Read more
Incident date: Nov 30, 2022
We were involved in a car accident. We were traveling through a traffic circle. The other car that was entering the circle failed to yield or even slow down and hit my car. The rear passenger side door was hit. I was driving and thrown into the driver door and my hip is injured. My son was riding in the back seat behind the driver and he was knocked into the window and was knocked unconscious. I w... Read more
Crash
2 injured
Incident date: Sep 9, 2022
JMC BMW 4622 Marine Ave Lawndale CA [XXX] September 7 - 9, 2022 auto repair. I suspected my mechanic of over 10 years was tampering with my vehicles telematics vehicle tracking software I was being tracked, stalked and followed. On 9/7/2022 I dropped off my car there was no tracking activity on my phone. I retrieved my vehicle the following day when I arrived I saw 3 other mechanics that I hav... Read more
Incident date: Oct 25, 2022
The timing chain went out. Warranty was extended to 70,000 miles or 7 years, but this is outside the range of many of the incidences, including mine. I'm getting multiple misfires and you can hear the timing belt when the engine starts, if it starts.
Incident date: Dec 5, 2022
2015 BMW X3. CONSUMER WRITES IN REGARD TO BMW DESIGN DEFECTS. THE CONSUMER STATED THE DEALER INFORMED THE REPAIRS FOR THE VEHICLE REQUIRES BUYING A NEW ENGINE. THE CONSUMER STATED THE REPAIRS WERE MADE AT THE OWNERS COST BUT THEY WANT TO BE DISCUSS REIMBURSEMENT FOR REPAIRS.
Incident date: Dec 5, 2022
2015 BMW X3. CONSUMER WRITES IN REGARD TO BMW DESIGN DEFECTS. THE CONSUMER STATED THE DEALER INFORMED THE REPAIRS FOR THE VEHICLE REQUIRES BUYING A NEW ENGINE. THE CONSUMER STATED THE REPAIRS WERE MADE AT THE OWNERS COST BUT THEY WANT TO BE DISCUSS REIMBURSEMENT FOR REPAIRS.
Incident date: Mar 5, 2022
The contact owns a 2010 BMW 528I. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V119000 (Engine and Engine Cooling) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount time for the recall repair. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, he attempted to operate the heater and... Read more
Incident date: Dec 5, 2022
The contact owns a 2007 BMW X3. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V119000 (Engine and Engine Cooling) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The dealer was made aware of the issue. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact ha... Read more
Incident date: Nov 18, 2022
On November 18, 2022, around 9:45 a.m. on Rt. 462 in South Carolina. I was driving my 2021 BMW X1 when “boom.” I thought I’d been shot at with a shotgun. I nearly lost control of the car. As it turns out, by sunroof exploded. (See attached photo). My BMW dealer is covering it under warranty, but I thought I should let NHTSA know. It has been replaced, so inspection is not an option. There we... Read more
Incident date: May 1, 2020
My car hasn't start up for 2 years now. 1st it started with a dead starter, then alternator, then the radiator and water pump bursted, and as i was standing outside of my car the passenger air bag deploys while the car was off and key out of the ignition. Luckily no one was in my car but now my car doesn't and wont crank or turnover, it makes a buzzing noise for a split second when i hit the start... Read more
Incident date: May 1, 2020
My car hasn't start up for 2 years now. 1st it started with a dead starter, then alternator, then the radiator and water pump bursted, and as i was standing outside of my car the passenger air bag deploys while the car was off and key out of the ignition. Luckily no one was in my car but now my car doesn't and wont crank or turnover, it makes a buzzing noise for a split second when i hit the start... Read more
Incident date: May 1, 2020
My car hasn't start up for 2 years now. 1st it started with a dead starter, then alternator, then the radiator and water pump bursted, and as i was standing outside of my car the passenger air bag deploys while the car was off and key out of the ignition. Luckily no one was in my car but now my car doesn't and wont crank or turnover, it makes a buzzing noise for a split second when i hit the start... Read more
Incident date: Nov 22, 2022
The OEM plastic 90° quick discount fitting on top of the fuel pump started spraying fuel. I started smelling fuel on the interstate highway 10 and by the time I could pull over safely off the interstate I was covered with fuel. The fuel was running down on the hot exhaust pipe’s on the front left side of the motorcycle and spraying all over my face and legs. I could have been set on fire and bu... Read more
Incident date: Jan 12, 2022
Serious highway accident in Chicago suburbs whereby car was totaled. Engine came away from chassis after ramming into and taking out 50 feet of guardrail and coming to a screeching halt. Left front wheel came away from vehicle in its entirety. No front, side or overhead airbags deployed whatsoever. Traveling at 50MPH at time of accident. I have pictures if required.
Crash
2 injured
Incident date: Apr 7, 2021
The contact owned a 2007 BMW X3. The contact stated that while driving at mid-range speed, another vehicle ran a two-way stop sign and hit the front end of the vehicle. The air bags did not deploy upon impact. A police report was filed. The contact and his wife were taken to the hospital where his wife was treated for an injury to her foot (foot location unknown) and the contact was treated for th... Read more
Crash
2 injured
Incident date: Apr 1, 2022
The contact owns a 2011 BMW 328I. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V119000 (Engine and Engine Cooling) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer was not contacted. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact had ... Read more
Incident date: Mar 2, 2022
The contact owns a 2011 BMW 328I. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V119000 (Engine and Engine Cooling) however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. VIN tool co... Read more
Incident date: Nov 17, 2022
This is to report an incident with a recently purchased 2023 BMW 330e. Model: BMW | Make: 330e | Color: white Purchase: 17th Sep, 2022 | Dealer: BMW of San Antonio Incident date: 17th November, 2022 | Time: 9AM (approx) | Place: Parking Garage, MD Anderson Blvd, Houston, TX 77030 Incident description: When turning in to park in the parking spot in the garage, the car suddenly shot forward an... Read more
Crash
Incident date: Apr 7, 2022
The contact owns a 2011 BMW Z4. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V119000 (Engine and Engine Cooling) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer was contacted. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact had not ex... Read more
Incident date: Nov 24, 2022
Recently purchase this vehicle from BMW of Greenwich. Drive it less than 200 miles - the odometer at the time of purchase had 55,000 miles, the engine looked perfect upon visual inspection. The fax report had a failed emissions inspection in the record and a second inspection days latter as apassed. I detected burnt smell coming from the engine, and immediately stopped driving it and called the ve... Read more
Incident date: Nov 24, 2022
Recently purchase this vehicle from BMW of Greenwich. Drive it less than 200 miles - the odometer at the time of purchase had 55,000 miles, the engine looked perfect upon visual inspection. The fax report had a failed emissions inspection in the record and a second inspection days latter as apassed. I detected burnt smell coming from the engine, and immediately stopped driving it and called the ve... Read more
Incident date: Nov 30, 2022
Sunroof drains - front and back overflow and drone down the pillars into the front and rear electronic boxes. A KNOW PROBLEM for this BMW. I want BMW to repair and fix this problem. Water damaged control boxes are thousands of dollars. This problem should be a recall! BMW was sued in 2018 and settled the case. I am unable to file a claim for this now. I recently moved from Southern CA to New Orlea... Read more
Incident date: Nov 30, 2022
Sunroof drains - front and back overflow and drone down the pillars into the front and rear electronic boxes. A KNOW PROBLEM for this BMW. I want BMW to repair and fix this problem. Water damaged control boxes are thousands of dollars. This problem should be a recall! BMW was sued in 2018 and settled the case. I am unable to file a claim for this now. I recently moved from Southern CA to New Orlea... Read more
Incident date: Nov 30, 2022
Sunroof drains - front and back overflow and drone down the pillars into the front and rear electronic boxes. A KNOW PROBLEM for this BMW. I want BMW to repair and fix this problem. Water damaged control boxes are thousands of dollars. This problem should be a recall! BMW was sued in 2018 and settled the case. I am unable to file a claim for this now. I recently moved from Southern CA to New Orlea... Read more
Incident date: Oct 1, 2021
Oil leak leads to car smoking (but not overheating( while driving or parked. Leak was not caused by owner and same oil leak without car overheating apparent in partner's BMW car. This suggests fundamental issue with BMW not the ower, which BMW should repair without cost to the owner.
Incident date: Apr 29, 2022
The contact owns a 2009 BMW 328I. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V119000 (Engine and Engine Cooling) however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The contact stated there was a burning odor coming from under the hood of the vehicle. The manufacturer... Read more
Incident date: Nov 12, 2022
The contact owns a 2011 BMW 328I. The contact stated that upon driving from a complete stop, the vehicle lost motive power and stalled. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was towed the dealer where it was diagnosed that the camshaft adjuster bolts had backed out, causing the camshaft VANOS failure. Additionally, it was diagnosed that the camshaft VANOS and camshaft adjuster bolts ... Read more
Incident date: Nov 12, 2022
- Passenger Airbag and passenger restrain system malfunction. - Malfunction of passenger airbag not deploying during accident even passenger seat is occupied with recommend weight. - Issues has been reported to Dealer. In turn dealer responds to as "External Factors" with issue could be presence of moisture in the seat. - Passenger Airbag light illuminates - Warning was never consistent. After... Read more
Incident date: Nov 12, 2022
- Passenger Airbag and passenger restrain system malfunction. - Malfunction of passenger airbag not deploying during accident even passenger seat is occupied with recommend weight. - Issues has been reported to Dealer. In turn dealer responds to as "External Factors" with issue could be presence of moisture in the seat. - Passenger Airbag light illuminates - Warning was never consistent. After... Read more
Incident date: Nov 1, 2022
Been smelling burning plastic/or oil thru air vents. as if the pvc valve was melting per recall description on probles, it fits the description, the only thing that happened to the car recently is one of the windows regulator anti trap functions it says antitrap function window disabled, then slowly started noticing burning smell for the first 10 minutes of everyday drive, my safety and many o... Read more
Incident date: Nov 1, 2022
Been smelling burning plastic/or oil thru air vents. as if the pvc valve was melting per recall description on probles, it fits the description, the only thing that happened to the car recently is one of the windows regulator anti trap functions it says antitrap function window disabled, then slowly started noticing burning smell for the first 10 minutes of everyday drive, my safety and many o... Read more
Incident date: Mar 28, 2022
The contact owns a 2007 BMW 328I. The contact received notification of the NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V119000 (Engine and Engine Cooling) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The local dealer was made aware of the issue and confirmed that parts were not yet available. ... Read more
Incident date: Nov 26, 2022
I put my car in reverse this evening and the screen kept clicking and unclick the back up assistance button. The steering wheel was moving on its own. I was not controlling it. The brakes were hard and I could not press down more than 1/5-1/4 of the way. The car was not in my control. After an hour on the phone with support and reporting the issues they advised they would tow it. I was able to p... Read more
Incident date: Nov 26, 2022
I put my car in reverse this evening and the screen kept clicking and unclick the back up assistance button. The steering wheel was moving on its own. I was not controlling it. The brakes were hard and I could not press down more than 1/5-1/4 of the way. The car was not in my control. After an hour on the phone with support and reporting the issues they advised they would tow it. I was able to p... Read more
Incident date: Nov 26, 2022
I put my car in reverse this evening and the screen kept clicking and unclick the back up assistance button. The steering wheel was moving on its own. I was not controlling it. The brakes were hard and I could not press down more than 1/5-1/4 of the way. The car was not in my control. After an hour on the phone with support and reporting the issues they advised they would tow it. I was able to p... Read more
Incident date: Nov 26, 2022
On vacation road trip driving for about 3 hours. Instrument cluster completely shuts off and goes to black. Screen, vehit speed and rpm and all adas systems stop working. Sometimes turning the car off and on will address the issue other times it will constantly restart the instrument cluster when driving.