Consumer Safety Complaints
Search 2,215,138 safety complaints filed by vehicle owners with NHTSA — including 138,663 crashes, 56,255 fires, and 8,561 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 2,215,138 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 40,555 complaints for BMW
Incident date: Apr 10, 2022
My husband bought a BMW through the military sales program, had it delivered to the United States, and we took it with us to Germany where we currently live. The car is made to U.S. specifications and I had been driving the car weekly in Germany to keep the battery running while he is away on a deployment. On April 11, 2022, as soon as I pressed the ignition button, the dashboard flashed a strang... Read more
Incident date: Apr 10, 2022
My husband bought a BMW through the military sales program, had it delivered to the United States, and we took it with us to Germany where we currently live. The car is made to U.S. specifications and I had been driving the car weekly in Germany to keep the battery running while he is away on a deployment. On April 11, 2022, as soon as I pressed the ignition button, the dashboard flashed a strang... Read more
Incident date: Apr 10, 2022
My husband bought a BMW through the military sales program, had it delivered to the United States, and we took it with us to Germany where we currently live. The car is made to U.S. specifications and I had been driving the car weekly in Germany to keep the battery running while he is away on a deployment. On April 11, 2022, as soon as I pressed the ignition button, the dashboard flashed a strang... Read more
Incident date: Apr 22, 2022
The contact owns a 2014 BMW 328D. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 21V907000 (Fuel System, Diesel) 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 contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the check engine warning light illuminate... Read more
Incident date: Dec 1, 2021
The contact owns a 2008 BMW X3. The contact stated that while at a stop there was an abnormal plastic burning odor coming through the vent. Additionally, the vehicle lost motive power with the check engine warning light illuminated. An independent mechanic was called to her home for maintenance, and the mechanic made minor repairs and reset the computer; however, the failure returned soon after re... Read more
Incident date: Dec 1, 2021
The contact owns a 2008 BMW X3. The contact stated that while at a stop there was an abnormal plastic burning odor coming through the vent. Additionally, the vehicle lost motive power with the check engine warning light illuminated. An independent mechanic was called to her home for maintenance, and the mechanic made minor repairs and reset the computer; however, the failure returned soon after re... Read more
Incident date: Jul 25, 2021
The contact owns a 2011 BMW 328i. The contact stated while driving approximately 30 MPH, the vehicle overheated. The contact stated that the check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who diagnosed the failure to be the heater coil. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 2... Read more
Incident date: Apr 20, 2022
Driver seatbelt fails to engage with latch. Latch does not positively lock when inserted. Safety risk is obvious and has rendered the car undrivable. This just happened and has not been inspected by dealer. I personally looked at it and compared with other belt points. to me, it looks like the small metal clip failed.
Incident date: Apr 18, 2022
The contact owns a 2015 BMW X3. The contact stated that while the family was sitting inside the vehicle with the engine idling, there was smoke coming from underneath the hood. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer and diagnosed with an EGR valve failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact stated that the failure was related to NHTSA Campaign Nu... Read more
Fire
Incident date: Aug 1, 2021
The contact owns a 2009 BMW 328i. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle stalled. There was an unknown warning light illuminated. 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 manufac... Read more
Incident date: Apr 14, 2022
My car was brought in to the BMW dealership for knocking noises, a fire smell, and shaking. I was told my car could not be repaired due to engine failure.l was informed that replacing the engine would cost me more than the vehicle is worth. He recommended l sell it for parts. Currently there are no lights/ indicators present on my dash board indicating that something is even wrong . l did not rec... Read more
Incident date: Apr 14, 2022
My car was brought in to the BMW dealership for knocking noises, a fire smell, and shaking. I was told my car could not be repaired due to engine failure.l was informed that replacing the engine would cost me more than the vehicle is worth. He recommended l sell it for parts. Currently there are no lights/ indicators present on my dash board indicating that something is even wrong . l did not rec... Read more
Incident date: Apr 1, 2022
The contact owns a 2007 BMW Z4. The contact stated that after driving in the vehicle for approximately 20 minutes, he would become disoriented, experienced headaches, and blurred vision. Upon inspection, it was discovered that the muffler welding material had deteriorated and was damaged. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who was unable to determine the cause of the failure and indicated t... Read more
Incident date: Apr 20, 2022
The contact owns a 2007 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 dealer was made aware of the issue. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The contact had not experienced a failure. Parts distribut... Read more
Incident date: Nov 15, 2021
In early August 2021, the fuel pump on our BMW X3 failed in the middle of an intersection and the car stopped completely. No way to move to one side until a flatbed wrecker came. Fuel pumps will fail after 100,000 miles and we above that figure, Which is why it was surprising then to have the same problem four months later when we had multiple error codes come up on the same car. At least this ti... Read more
Incident date: Jan 25, 2022
The contact owns a 2007 BMW X3. The contact stated while driving approximately 35 MPH, the vehicle overheated. The contact noticed smoke coming from under the hood. There were no warning lights on the instrument panel. The contact pulled over safely. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number... Read more
Incident date: Apr 20, 2022
2008 BMW XI. CONSUMER WRITES IN REGARD TO THE PVC EMISSIONS SYSTEM. THE CONSUMER STATED A BURNING THICK SMOKE INTO THE CABIN OF THE VEHICLE EMITTED. THE DEALERSHIP DECLINED TO COVER THE REPAIRS UNDER RECALL CLAIMING THE VALVE COVER WAS NOT ORIGINAL TO THE VEHICLE. BUT, THE CONSUMER STATED THE VALVE COVER WAS ORIGINAL. THE CONSUMER STATED THE VEHICLE WOULD NOT PASS THE STATE'S EMISSIONS TEST.
Incident date: Apr 20, 2022
******* DELETE VOQ ******* THIS COMPLAINT IS BEING MARKED FOR DELETION BECAUSE THE CONSUMER PLACED THE REQUEST.*DJR ******* DELETE VOQ *******
Incident date: Apr 17, 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 unavailable. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, a fuel odor began to emit from the vehicle without warning. Upon inspection, the contact discovered that a grayish smoke had emitted from the rear valve... Read more
Incident date: Apr 16, 2022
The vehicle's engine caught fire approximately 13 1/2 hours after last having been driven. I parked it in my driveway at 9pm on April 15, 2022. I was alerted to a fire in the engine by my neighbor at 10:30am on April 16, 2022. The entire engine was engulfed in flames, melting all of the plastic components. It burned through my hood and affected every part of the engine. We were able to get the fir... Read more
Fire
Incident date: Apr 16, 2022
The vehicle's engine caught fire approximately 13 1/2 hours after last having been driven. I parked it in my driveway at 9pm on April 15, 2022. I was alerted to a fire in the engine by my neighbor at 10:30am on April 16, 2022. The entire engine was engulfed in flames, melting all of the plastic components. It burned through my hood and affected every part of the engine. We were able to get the fir... Read more
Fire
Incident date: Mar 1, 2021
The contact owns a 2011 BMW 328i. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, there was smoke coming from the vehicle and a burning rubber odor was detected. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic and diagnosed with engine failure. The mechanic informed the contact that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact later received notificat... Read more
Fire
BMW
328XI
(2007) — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:EXHAUST SYSTEM:EMISSION CONTROL:CRANKCASE (PCV)
Apr 19, 2022
Incident date: Jan 19, 2022
The contact owned a 2007 BMW 328i. The contact stated that upon pulling into the driveway, he saw smoke coming out from underneath the hood. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact immediately exited the vehicle. The contact stated that the fire started inside the hood and extended to the rest of the vehicle. The contact stated that there were explosions of fire with objects flying al... Read more
Fire
Incident date: Nov 8, 2021
The contact owns a 2011 BMW 328i. The contact stated that while her son was driving at approximately 70 MPH the vehicle began to emit smoke from under the hood. The contact's son was able to safely pull off of the highway, there was no fire and the smoke abated after the vehicle was turned off. The contact stated that her son did not notice any warning lights being illuminated. The contact had the... Read more
Fire
Incident date: Apr 7, 2022
The contact's wife owns a 2012 BMW Z4. The contact stated while driving approximately 70-75 MPH, the vehicle overheated and started decelerating independently. The contact depressed the accelerator pedal but the vehicle failed to respond. The warning message "Engine Overheat; Pull Over and Turn Off Vehicle" was illuminated. The contact veered to the side of the road and turned off the vehicle. The... Read more
Incident date: Jun 1, 2021
The contact owns a 2009 BMW 328i. The contact stated while driving 35 MPH, the vehicle went into limp mode and the engine overheated. The contact stated that several unknown warning lights were illuminated. The contact was able to park on the side of the road. The vehicle was not drivable. The contact towed the vehicle to her residence. The contact then towed the vehicle to the local dealer, where... Read more
Incident date: Jun 1, 2021
The contact owns a 2009 BMW 328i. The contact stated while driving 35 MPH, the vehicle went into limp mode and the engine overheated. The contact stated that several unknown warning lights were illuminated. The contact was able to park on the side of the road. The vehicle was not drivable. The contact towed the vehicle to her residence. The contact then towed the vehicle to the local dealer, where... Read more
Incident date: Mar 2, 2022
The contact owns a 2009 BMW X3. 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 made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. VIN tool confirms... Read more
Incident date: Dec 1, 2021
The contact owns a 2008 BMW 528i. The contact stated there was an abnormal burning odor in the vehicle. The contact detected smoke in the vehicle. There were no warning indicator lights illuminated. 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. ... Read more
Fire
Incident date: Apr 19, 2022
The contact owns a 2008 BMW 328i. The contact received a notification for NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V119000 (Engine and Engine Cooling) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The dealer was not notified of the issue. The manufacturer had been notified of the issue. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The ... Read more
Incident date: Apr 14, 2022
The contact owns a 2015 BMW X5. The contact stated that while his wife was driving 65 MPH, the front driveshaft detached and damaged the transmission. The contact stated that no warning light was illuminated. The dealer stated that the U-joint had dislodged and caused the failure. The vehicle was towed to the dealer. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was informed of the failure. The f... Read more
Incident date: Jan 20, 2022
The contact owns a 2011 BMW 328i. The contact stated while driving 40 MPH, the vehicle started smoking from the hood. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact stated that the smoke extinguished by itself. The contact drove the vehicle home and called the dealer. The contact drove the vehicle to the dealer but the vehicle was not repaired. The mechanic was unable to duplicate the failure... Read more
Incident date: Apr 2, 2022
The contact owns a 2008 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: Apr 16, 2022
glass sun roof exploded spontaneously while driving at freeway speeds.
Incident date: Sep 1, 2021
The contact owns a 2015 BMW X5. The contact received a notification for NHTSA Campaign Number: 21V907000 (Fuel System, Diesel) however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. Neither the dealer nor the manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The contact had not experienced a failur... Read more
Incident date: Jan 1, 2022
The contact owned a 2006 BMW 328XI. The contact stated while his son was driving approximately 50 MPH on a slick road, the vehicle made a loud boom sound. There were no warning lights on the instrument panel. The driver depressed the brake pedal and the vehicle skidded into a telephone pole where the front of the vehicle caught on fire. All air bags deployed. The vehicle was destroyed by fire and ... Read more
Crash
Fire
1 injured
Incident date: Apr 14, 2022
I was rear-ended during a traffic slowdown in freeway, while driving my 2014 BMW 328i sedan. Due to the collision, my vehicle’s safety system got invoked, which made the gear automatically go into neutral and the flashers turned on. However, my seatbelt (driver, left-front seat) unbuckled automatically. This caused me to hit the steering wheel during the accident. I didn’t suffer major injury ... Read more
Crash
Incident date: Jan 23, 2022
I like to report the incident with the sudden collapsing of the ECU car electronic on 01/23/2022 during night, which had raised my serious concerns regarding the car safety in general. During driving the car in the nighttime of Sunday 01/23/2022, my wife was on her way to return from Pompano, FL to her home in Plantation, FL, using the Turnpike, she experienced that ECU engine speed control had re... Read more
Incident date: Jan 23, 2022
I like to report the incident with the sudden collapsing of the ECU car electronic on 01/23/2022 during night, which had raised my serious concerns regarding the car safety in general. During driving the car in the nighttime of Sunday 01/23/2022, my wife was on her way to return from Pompano, FL to her home in Plantation, FL, using the Turnpike, she experienced that ECU engine speed control had re... Read more
Incident date: Dec 15, 2021
The contact owns a 2011 BMW 328i. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, she smelled a strong burning odor inside the vehicle. The warning message "Service Engine Soon" was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the service brakes, spark plugs, and radiator needed to be replaced. The contact stated that the vehicle was repaired; however, the failu... Read more
Incident date: Apr 15, 2022
I hear a whining noise coming from the engine and sounds like the timing chain is getting ready to snap. this is a common problem in this type of engine, resulting in a damaged engine.
Incident date: Feb 17, 2022
I turned my car on an out of nowhere a seatbelt and airbag light came on. I did not get into a bump up or disconnect any sensors it just popped up one day.
Incident date: Feb 17, 2022
I turned my car on an out of nowhere a seatbelt and airbag light came on. I did not get into a bump up or disconnect any sensors it just popped up one day.
Incident date: Apr 8, 2022
Warning on dashboard “Secure vehicle against rolling” appear when vehicle is on parking mode and hand brake on.
Incident date: Apr 8, 2022
Warning on dashboard “Secure vehicle against rolling” appear when vehicle is on parking mode and hand brake on.
Incident date: Apr 12, 2022
Positive battery cable heat up cause fire above battery. Blow off wire worked blowing off. Distribution box and power pole connection sparking heating up causing arc fire. No recalls for my specific Vin but 2008 through 2012 recalls this part but not for my vehicle. 2009 335 convertible. ? $1132 to fix. 9 months ago 2021 BMW could not find problem recommended changing my a... Read more
Fire
Incident date: Apr 12, 2022
Positive battery cable heat up cause fire above battery. Blow off wire worked blowing off. Distribution box and power pole connection sparking heating up causing arc fire. No recalls for my specific Vin but 2008 through 2012 recalls this part but not for my vehicle. 2009 335 convertible. ? $1132 to fix. 9 months ago 2021 BMW could not find problem recommended changing my a... Read more
Fire
Incident date: Apr 12, 2022
Positive battery cable heat up cause fire above battery. Blow off wire worked blowing off. Distribution box and power pole connection sparking heating up causing arc fire. No recalls for my specific Vin but 2008 through 2012 recalls this part but not for my vehicle. 2009 335 convertible. ? $1132 to fix. 9 months ago 2021 BMW could not find problem recommended changing my a... Read more
Fire
Incident date: Apr 14, 2022
Hello why you send me letters saying that , you guys gonna take my car away for what or why if its my car .If I don't have any warning or letters with the Police that say my car gonna be taking away for no reason !? that doesn't make sense to me cuz I'm not the only person who's driving a BMW car .My car is in good conditions, few days ago I did the smoke check. the car pass everything clean. Like... Read more
Incident date: Apr 14, 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 dealer had been notified of the issue and the contact was informed that parts were not yet available. The manufacturer had been notified of the issue. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exc... Read more