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: Apr 6, 2022
The contact owns a 2016 BMW X1. The contact stated that the airbag warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer and the contact was informed that the airbag was faulty and the airbag module might be damaged and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but no further assistance was provided. The approximate failure... Read more
Incident date: Nov 19, 2021
The contact owns a 2015 BMW X5. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 21V907000 (Fuel System, Diesel) 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 parts... Read more
Incident date: Apr 26, 2021
The contact owns a 2008 BMW 328i. The contact stated that the vehicle would frequently surge while in idle position and she was smelling an abnormal oil odor. Upon opening the hood of the vehicle to determine the cause of the failure, the contact's husband noticed that oil was leaking from the valve cover gasket onto the engine compartment. The warning message "Service Due Soon", "Misfire in cylin... Read more
Incident date: Dec 6, 2021
The contact owned a 2006 BMW 330i. The contact stated while her boyfriend was driving 65 mph, he heard an abnormal noise coming from underneath the vehicle. The contact stated no warning light was illuminated. The driver was able to park on the side of the road and exit before the vehicle was engulfed in flames. The driver saw the fire starting under the transmission. The driver stated no one was ... Read more
Fire
Incident date: Mar 25, 2019
My car was just sitting in my driveway and my roommate noticed she said is there is your car supposed to be on fire and we went out there had to break the windows and it was already on fire and totally ruined from any repair. I didn't receive a recall until a year after it had already caught on fire. The car is totaled in my backyard. And is beyond repair because of the fire
Fire
Incident date: Apr 25, 2022
The vehicle accelerates to 5,000 RPM randomly, and unintentionally. This happens when shifting gears(manual transmission), or when in any gear. Braking barely slows the vehicle down. I've nearly crashed due to this issue, multiple times. The floormats are not in the way. This is a case of sudden unintended acceleration.
Incident date: Apr 1, 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 local dealer was contacted and it was confirmed that the part was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacture... Read more
Incident date: Apr 25, 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 not made aware of the issue. The contact had ... Read more
Incident date: Apr 20, 2022
The contact owns a 2011 BMW Z4. The contact stated while driving approximately 55 MPH, the vehicle lost power steering functionality. The contact stated that the steering was locked in a slight left turn and he had to apply the brakes to keep the vehicle on the road. The contact was able to pull off to the left side of the highway. The contact stated that a yellow steering wheel warning light was ... Read more
Incident date: Jan 3, 2022
The contact owns a 2007 BMW 328i. The contact stated while slowing down for traffic signals or signs, the vehicle started to idle roughly. After coming to a complete stop, the vehicle would then lose motive power and stall without warning. The contact was able to restart the vehicle however, the failure would soon recur. The vehicle was not taken to be diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer had n... Read more
Incident date: Mar 16, 2022
The contact owns a 2013 BMW X3. The contact stated that the vehicle was previously serviced at a collision center after it was rear-ended in a collision; however, after the vehicle was repaired, an abnormal sound was coming from the vehicle and a burning odor was detected while driving. The vehicle was taken to the dealer. The dealer's mechanic was test driving the vehicle and it lost motive powe... Read more
Incident date: Apr 25, 2022
The contact owns a 2021 BMW X3. The contact stated that while driving approximately 60 MPH, the sunroof fractured with some pieces of glass detaching from the sunroof assembly. The vehicle was taken to the dealer however, the vehicle had not been diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 7,200.
Incident date: Apr 3, 2022
Vehicle rpm’s rev wildly in park and neutral. When driving vehicle speeds up on its own and rpm’s climbs out of control. When stopped at a light or in traffic, car leaps forward against the break .
Incident date: Apr 3, 2022
Vehicle rpm’s rev wildly in park and neutral. When driving vehicle speeds up on its own and rpm’s climbs out of control. When stopped at a light or in traffic, car leaps forward against the break .
Incident date: Apr 3, 2022
Vehicle rpm’s rev wildly in park and neutral. When driving vehicle speeds up on its own and rpm’s climbs out of control. When stopped at a light or in traffic, car leaps forward against the break .
Incident date: Mar 2, 2022
The contact owns a 2008 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 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. VIN tool confirms... Read more
Incident date: Mar 15, 2022
this vehicle is dangerous and I cannot drive it without it smoking and overheating, exhaust or fumes get inside the vehicle not safe for my family, I bought it last year and have had problems since and I cant get it fixed. I tried to call the BMW office last year to no avail and no returned calls, I constantly had to fill coolant when driving and afraid to drive no more because smoke from engine a... Read more
Incident date: Mar 15, 2022
this vehicle is dangerous and I cannot drive it without it smoking and overheating, exhaust or fumes get inside the vehicle not safe for my family, I bought it last year and have had problems since and I cant get it fixed. I tried to call the BMW office last year to no avail and no returned calls, I constantly had to fill coolant when driving and afraid to drive no more because smoke from engine a... Read more
Incident date: Mar 15, 2022
this vehicle is dangerous and I cannot drive it without it smoking and overheating, exhaust or fumes get inside the vehicle not safe for my family, I bought it last year and have had problems since and I cant get it fixed. I tried to call the BMW office last year to no avail and no returned calls, I constantly had to fill coolant when driving and afraid to drive no more because smoke from engine a... Read more
Incident date: Apr 24, 2022
Water pump keeps going bad 2nd time replacing in 2 years rough idle and failed part problems that BMW service team does not understand. Vehicle has stalled at 0 rpm I'm thinking there is an issue with the engine also reported by previous owner and I also have the same complaints, as well the foot release which I was was told was an option never worked. Please search vin [XXX] for all incident repo... Read more
Incident date: Apr 24, 2022
Water pump keeps going bad 2nd time replacing in 2 years rough idle and failed part problems that BMW service team does not understand. Vehicle has stalled at 0 rpm I'm thinking there is an issue with the engine also reported by previous owner and I also have the same complaints, as well the foot release which I was was told was an option never worked. Please search vin [XXX] for all incident repo... Read more
Incident date: Apr 24, 2022
Water pump keeps going bad 2nd time replacing in 2 years rough idle and failed part problems that BMW service team does not understand. Vehicle has stalled at 0 rpm I'm thinking there is an issue with the engine also reported by previous owner and I also have the same complaints, as well the foot release which I was was told was an option never worked. Please search vin [XXX] for all incident repo... Read more
Incident date: Apr 24, 2022
The sunroof shadescreen failed to close: it is a safety issue because it is impossible to close the shade anymore and the sun is hitting your head and eyes all the time: when I first noticed it I was driving and a sound came from the sun roof and if I looked it would have been a crash. Taking to the dealership iwould cost 2000 dollars to replace. It is a manufacturer defect that that something th... Read more
Incident date: Apr 24, 2022
The sunroof shadescreen failed to close: it is a safety issue because it is impossible to close the shade anymore and the sun is hitting your head and eyes all the time: when I first noticed it I was driving and a sound came from the sun roof and if I looked it would have been a crash. Taking to the dealership iwould cost 2000 dollars to replace. It is a manufacturer defect that that something th... Read more
Incident date: Apr 20, 2022
Error message displayed: "Secure vehicle against rolling" This message is displayed due to a broken spring in the gear selector mechanism. Because of the broken spring, the car's computer cannot detect whether or not the gear selector is in park. This creates a safety hazard because the gear selector can be shifted into Drive without having your foot on the brake. Note that a very large numbe... Read more
Incident date: Feb 1, 2022
The BMW E36 Z3 1996-2002 (I have the 1998 1.9) are prone to having a separation of the Rear subframe from the differential causing the drivetrain to hang off the vehicle and/or rip out of the trunk's weak aluminum sheet subframe. BMW Germany has acknowledged the problem for a few individuals over the past decade and a half and kept it on the low for them to not spread it further. BMW North Americ... Read more
Incident date: Feb 1, 2022
The BMW E36 Z3 1996-2002 (I have the 1998 1.9) are prone to having a separation of the Rear subframe from the differential causing the drivetrain to hang off the vehicle and/or rip out of the trunk's weak aluminum sheet subframe. BMW Germany has acknowledged the problem for a few individuals over the past decade and a half and kept it on the low for them to not spread it further. BMW North Americ... 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 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: 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 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 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 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: 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: 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: 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 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: 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: 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: 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: 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