2002 BMW 3 Series
Problems, recalls and owner-reported issues
Air bags is the leading concern among 442 owner complaints filed for this model year. This is the 6th highest complaint count among 21 3 Series model years with reports.
Of the 2002 reports, 18 involved a crash and 31 involved a fire. 22 people were injured and 2 people died.
What owners report most often
Recalls and investigations
No safety recalls on file.
Representative owner complaints
442 reports, newest first.
Suspension, Mar 4, 2004
RATTLING NOISE COMING FROM MY BMW CONVERTIBLE 325CIC, BY THE PASSENGERSIDE. CAR HAS BEEN IN THE 3 DIFFERENT AUTHORIZED BMW DEALERSHIPS FOR FIX AND PLUS A FINAL ATTEMPED FIX AT ANOTHER AUTHORIZED BMW DEALERSHIP WHERE THE CAR WAS BOUGHT FROM. TOTAL OF MORE THAN 8 TIMES IN THE DEALER SHIP WITH ONE ATTEMPED FROM BMW FIELD ENGINEER AND DIDN'T FIX THE PROBLEM. *AK
Power train, Mar 2, 2004
MY 2002 BMW 325CI ENGINE STALLED AS I WAS SLOWING DOWN TO EXIT THE FREEWAY. THE DASH LIGHTS LIT UP AND MY ENGINE SHUTOFF. AS I WAS ROLLING TO A STOP (GOOD THING NO ONE WAS IN FRONT OR BEHIND ME), I PUT THE CAR INTO NEUTRAL AND RESTARTED THE ENGINE. THE ENGINE STARTED BACK UP AND I WAS ABLE TO CONTINUE TO DRIVE. I HAVE AN AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION WITH STEPTRONIC. THIS HAS HAPPENED ONE OTHER TIME A FEW MONTHS BACK WHEN LEAVING A GAS STATION WHERE I NEEDED TO COME TO A STOP AND PRESSED THE BRAKE AND THE ENGINE TURNED OFF. I DIDN'T THINK OF IT AS A PROBLEM THEN BUT COMING OFF THE FREEWAY AT 65MPH TO BRAKING AND THE ENGINE SHUTTING DOWN NOW THAT'S A PROBLEM. I HAVE ALSO NOTICED THAT WHEN I PUT THE CAR INTO REVERSE, THAT IT TAKE ABOUT 3-5 SECONDS FOR THE GEAR TO ENGAGE FROM PARK OR DRIVE. MY CAR IS CURRENTLY AT THE DEALER SINCE YESTERDAY; CREVIER BMW IS TALKING WITH BMW NA IN NEW JERSEY ABOUT POSSIBLE FIXES FOR THE TRANSMISSION. I HAVE A SERVICE LOANER IN THE MEANTIME.*AK
Air bags, Feb 2, 2004, crash
RIGHT FRONT PASSENGER SUSTAINED SEVERE EYE INJURY AS A RESULT OF THE DEPLOYMENT OF THE RIGHT FRONT AIRBAG IN A CRASH. PASSENGER SUFFERS PARTIAL BLINDNESS. UNDERGONE SEVERAL SURGERIES. PASSENGER WAS FEMALE AND SMALLER IN STATURE. *JB
Steering, Jan 23, 2004
FOLLOW-UP TO NOVEMBER 20, 2003 CORRESPONDENCE TO MR. SEAN HAGGARD OF BMW OF NORTH AMERICA REGARDING THE STEERING WHEEL LOCKING ON THREE OCCASIONS. *PH THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER ON TWO OCCASION TO RECTIFY THE PROBLEM. EACH TIME THE VEHICLE WAS INSPECTED NO PROBLEM WAS FOUND THEREFORE THE VEHICLE WAS RETURNED TO THE CONSUMER. *NM (NAR)
Steering, Service brakes, Hydraulic, Power train, Structure, Equipment, Jan 15, 2004
BMW 325 CI: I HAVE EXPERIENCED SO MANY PROBLEMS WITH MY 325CI BMW, I BOUGHT THE CAR IN NOVEMBER, THE CAR IS NOT EVEN 1 YEAR OLD AND I HAVE TAKEN TO SERVICE FOUR TIMES ALREADY. MY CAR IS A 2002 AND AT THIS MOMENT IT HAS 10,660 MILES. THE CAR HAS A MAJOR COMPUTER PROBLEM. MY ABS SEEMS TO BE MALFUNCTIONING AS WELL AS MY EMERGENCY BRAKE, AND TO MAKE MATTERS WORSE THE TRANSMISSION HAS BEEN REPROGRAMED AND PIECES ARE COMING OFF IN THE INSIDE. I HAVE TAKEN THE CAR TO SERVICE THE PAST THREE WEEKS FOR THE THE COMPUTER AND THE BODY. LUCKY BMW DOES HAVE GREAT SERVICE AND I HAVENT HAD TO PAY FOR A SINGLE REPAIR. BUT I WOULD REALLY LIKE TO FILE A LEMON LAW ON THE CAR BECAUSE I KNOW THE PROBLEMS WITH THE CAR WILL NEVER STOP.
Power train, Other or unspecified, Jan 15, 2004
I PURCHASED THIS VEHICLE 2 WEEKS AGO. ONE NIGHT WHILE DRIVING ON THE BELTWAY ABOUT 70 MPH THE CAR STARTED LOSING POWER. ALMOST ALL THE SENSORS WERE ILLUMINATED ON THE DASH BOARD. I BARELY MADE IT OVER TO THE EMERGENCY LANE. TO MAKE MATTERS WORST BMW ROADSIDE ASSISTANCE STATED THEY ARE NOT ALLOWED TO ASSIST ANYONE ON ROUTE 495. BMW WOULD NOT ALLOW ME TO RETURN THE VEHICLE, BUT IT IS IN THE REPAIR SHOP.
Engine and engine cooling, Power train, Equipment, Jan 15, 2004
MY BMW M3CI IS AGAIN IN THE SHOP. IN THE LAST 23K MILES, THE CAR HAS SEEN THE SHOP MORE THAN ANYONE'S IMAGINATION. NOW THE ENGINE REVS HIGH AT IDLE, TRANSMISSION LIGHT (SMG 2 OF M3) CAME ON, WHICH NO ONE SEEMS TO KNOW WHY, AND MYSTERIOUSLY DISAPPEARED. THE CAR NOW VIBRATE TRHOUGH OUT THE CABIN AND AT STEERING WHEEL IT VIBRATES ABNORMALLY. THE DEALER TRIES TO DOWN PLAY IT. IT'S BEEN IN TH SHOP FOR THE LAST 14 DAYS, AND STILL NO ENDING INSIGHT
Engine and engine cooling, Jan 15, 2004
WHILE DRIVING, THE VEHICLE LOST POWER. THECONSUMER MANAGED TO PULL OVER AND HAD THE VEHICLE TOWED TO THE DEALER, BUT THE PROBLEM WAS NOT RESOLVED. *AK *JB *NM
Equipment, Jan 12, 2004
I HAVE A 2002 330CI. I HAVE HAD SO MANY ISSUES WITH THE NAVIGATION SYSTEM FROM THE TIME I DROVE IT HOME I GET A POPPING NOISE WHEN THE NAVIGATION TRIES TO MUTE THE RADIO. I ALSO CANNOT ADJUST THE NAVIGATION VOLUME AT ALL. IN ADDITION WHEN I TURN THE RADIO POWER OFF THE NAVIGATION VOLUME COMES ON AT A VERY HIGH VOLUME LEVEL. I HAVE BEEN ROUND AFTER ROUND WITH THE BMW DEALERSHIP AND CUSTOMER RELATIONS THE EXECUTIVE OFFICE, ETC. BMW HAS BEEN USELESS. AFTER REPLACING NUMEROUS PARTS AND MULTIPLE WEEKS IN SERVICE BMW HAS ONLY MADE IT WORSE. THE BMW REGIONAL REP HAS NOW OFFICIALLY CALLED THIS "A NORMAL FUNCTION OF THE SYSTEM." BMW HAS GIVEN THE RUN AROUND BECAUSE THEY SAY THEY DO NOT HAVE A FIX. I HAVE SPOKEN TO SO MANY PEOPLE MOST WHO HAVE PROMISED TO FOLLOW UP AND NEVER DID. I HAVE TRIED EVERYTHING BUT HAVE JUST BEEN GIVEN THE RUN AROUND. THE TECHNICIANS HAVE HEARD IT AND ADMIT IT IS BAD. MY CAR HAS BEEN LOGGED IN AT THE DEALERSHIP FOR OVER 35 DAYS OVER TWO YEARS TO TRY TO RESOLVE THE ISSUE. I HAVE EVEN ASKED BMW TO 1. REMOVE THE SYSTEM AND GIVE ME CREDIT FOR IT, THEY HAVE REFUSED OR 2. UPDATE THE SYSTEM TO A NEWER VERSION THAT DOES NOT HAVE THE ISSUE, THEY HAVE REFUSED. I AM NOW TWO YEAR INTO A THREE YEAR LEASE AND NEED THIS RESOLVED ONCE AND FOR ALL. *LA
Engine and engine cooling, Jan 10, 2004
MY SERVICE ENGINE SOON LIGHT BEGAN APPEARING IN NOVEMBER 2003. I BROUGHT MY CAR IN THE FIRST TIME AND GLOBAL IMPORTS IN ATLANTA GA INFORMED ME THAT THERE WAS NOTHING WRONG. AGAIN, IN LATE DECEMBER 2003, THE LIGHT CAME ON AGAIN. ON 1/6/2004, I BROUGHT MY VEHICLE INTO GLOBAL IMPORTS. THEY INFORMED ME A VALVE WAS REPLACED AND I WAS ON MY WAY. TWO DAYS LATER ON 1/8/04, WHILE DRIVING DOWN GA 40 AT APPROXIMATELY 70 MPH, MY VEHICLE SHUT DOWN ON ME. LITERALLY, THE WHEELS WOULD NOT TURN AS I STRUGGLED TO MAINTAIN CONTROL OF MY VEHICLE. I SWERVED IN AND OUT OF LANES. IT WAS FORTUNATE MYSELF OR OTHERS ON THE HIGHWAY WERE NOT INJURED. WHEN MY VEHICLE CAME TO A STOP IN THE MIDDLE OF THE HIGHWAY, IT WOULD NOT MOVE. AFTER SEVERAL ATTEMPTS, THE VEHICLE MOVED AT ONLY 2 MPH WITH A LOUD, UNPLEASANT NOISE. THERE WERE NO WARNING SIGNALS AT ALL TO ALERT ME OF AN UPCOMING MALFUNCTION. BMW ROADSIDE ASSISTANCE RESPONDED WITH A TOW TRUCK TO ASSIST ME A LITTLE OVER AN HOUR LATER. I WAS TOWED INTO GLOBAL IMPORTS. THE CAR IS STILL PRESENTLY THERE AS I AWAIT A NEW DIFFERENTIAL. THIS CAR WAS PURCHASED AS A NEW VEHICLE IN FEBRUARY OF 2003 FROM BRIAN HARRIS BMW IN BATON ROUGE, LA. THE CAR PRESENTLY HAS 17,000 MILES. LESS THAN ONE YEAR OLD! *AK
Steering, Jan 8, 2004
THE STEERING WHEEL HAS LOCKED DURING OPERATION OF THE VEHICLE ON THREE SEPARATE OCCASIONS. THE CAR BECOMES COMPLETELY INOPERABLE. MY VEHICLE, A BMW 325I, WAS PURCHASED BRAND NEW ON MAY 7, 2002. *LA
Tires, Dec 29, 2003
IN LESS THAN TWO MONTHS TWO CONTINENTAL TIRES WERE DAMAGED BY NAILS. THE TIRES WERE NOT REPAIRABLE. THE CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP ACCOUNT MANAGER INFORMED ME THAT THE ROADS IN THE US ARE NOT AS CLEAN AS THEY ARE IN EUROPE AND LOW PROFILE TIRES ON LUXURY CARS WILL ALWAYS BE PRONE TO PUNCTURE OR RUPTURE BY SHARP OBJECTS. CONSUMERS NEED TO BE INFORMED OF THIS RISK BY THE "LUXURY" CAR DEALERS AND THE TIRE VENDORS. IN TERMS OF THE STATE OF THE ROADS IN THE US COMPARED TO EUROPE AND THE DEPRIS OF NAILS AND SHARP OBJECTS ON OUR ROADS, I THINK THIS STATMENT IS OFFENSIVE AND THE TIRE VENDORS ARE JUST NOT TAKING RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE QUALITY OF THEIR PRODUCTS. IS THERE A RATING SYSTEM FOR MEASURING THE SAFETY OF OUR ROADS AT AN INTERNATIONAL LEVEL? IS SO, HOW DO OUR ROADS COMPARE TO THOSE OF EUROPE AND HOW DO LUXURY CARS HANDLE SAFETY CONDITIONS ON OUR ROADS. THANK YOU. *AK
Electrical system, Dec 5, 2003
A/C BLOWS EXTREMELY HOT WHEN SET ON MAXIMUM COOLING POWER ABOUT 40% OF THE TIME (INTERMITTENTLY). PROBLEM SEEMS TO BE INHERENT IN THE MODEL...BMW SAYS IF THEY CANT DUPLICATE THE PROBLEM AT A SERVICE CENTER IN FRONT OF A TECHNICIAN, THEN IT MUST NOT EXIST. *JB
Tires, Dec 4, 2003
VEHICLE HAD 2 GOODYEAR TIRES, WHERE THE SIDEWALL HAD BLOWN OUT WHILE DRIVING AT A MODERATE SPEED. OLD TIRES WERE THROWN OUT, THEREFORE THE D.O.T. # FOR THE TIRES WERE UNAVAILABLE. PROVIDE FURTHER DETAILS. *PH
Air bags, Nov 25, 2003, crash
THE CONSUMER REAR-ENDED ANOTHER VEHICLE AT AN ESTIMATED SPEED OF 5 MPH. THE AIR BAGS DEPLOYED EVEN THOUGH THERE WAS NO BODY DAMAGE TO EITHER VEHICLE. THE FRONT PASSENGER WAS INJURED DUE TO THE PASSENGER AIR BAG DEPLOYING. PLEASE PROVIDE ANY FURTHER INFORMATION. *NLM
Structure, Nov 23, 2003
WATER LEAKS INTO THE REAR DRIVER'S SIDE PASSENGER COMPARTMENT, FLOODING THE CARPET UNDERNEATH THE FLOOR MAT. HAPPENS NEARLY EVERY TIME IT RAINS HEAVILY OR WHEN I WASH THE CAR. HAVE ALREADY TAKEN CAR BACK TO DEALER FOR REPAIR. THEY REPLACED THE LEFT REAR DOOR SEALS, BUT SAME WATER LEAKS CONTINUE TO HAPPEN. *LA
Electrical system, Sep 25, 2003
FROM DAY ONE , I ALREADY EXPERIECED A PROBLEM WITH THE CAR, AT FIRST THE HEADLIGHTS FLICKERING, SHELLY BMW TOOK CARE OF IT FOR OVER A WEEK , THEY SAID THERE IS A ELECTRICAL PROBLEM THAT THEY HAD TO CHANGE THE COMPUTER, AFTER A COUPLE OF DAYS, THE ALARM GOES OFF WHILE DRIVING ,I TOOK THE CAR TO CUNNINGHAM BMW BECAUSE I LIVEDHERE IN SAN DIEGO IT TOOK THEM ALMOST A WEEK BUT THEY NEVER FIXED THE PROBLEM THEY'RE SAYING THAT THEYNEED MORE TIME TO FIGURE WHAT REALLY THE PROBLEM AND WHAT CAUSING THE ALARM SIREN GOES OFF WHILE DRIVING .I TOOK IT TO DIFFERENT BMW DEALER TO SAN DIEGO BMW, AFTER TWO DAYS SAME PROBLEM OCCURED ALARM SIREN GOES OFF EVERY 4 MINUTES OF DRIVING. NEXT PROBLEM IS THE BRAKE LIGHT COMNES ON , THEY CHANGED THE BRAKEPAD AND ROTOR, THEY KEPT THE CAR FOR THREE , THEN A DAY AFTER THE DSC LIGHT COMES ON , THE EML LIGHT COMES ON , THE BRAKE LIGHT COMES ON, AND THE CAR HAVE NO POWER NOT RESPONDING, ITS FEEL LIKE THERES SOME BLOCKING ON THE WHEEL WHEN I ACCELERATE, SO I TOOK IT AGAIN TO THE DEALER , THEY KEPT IT FOR THREE DAYS, THE DAY AFTER THE ENGINE SERVICE LIGHT COMES ON STEADY . I AM VERY FRUSTRATED AND DISAPPOINTED WITH THE PERFORMANCE OF THIS CAR AND YET IT'S NOT EVEN A YEAR SINCE I BOUGHT THIS CAR. PRESENTLY THE CAR HAS 34,000 MILAGE.IT HAS 20,000 MILAGE WHEN I FIRST BOUGHT IT.
Tires, Sep 12, 2003
WHILE DRIVING AT 60 MPH, THE REAR LEFT TIRE BLEW OUT WITHOUT WARNING, ROAD HAZARD CAUSE. *AK *SCC *JB
Fuel system, Gasoline, Aug 7, 2003
BMW, R1150R, 2002; THE CONSUMER STATED UPON COLD START, THE MOTORCYCLE LEAKED 2 OUNCES OF FUEL ONTO THE EXHAUST. THE DEALER SAID THE PROBLEM WAS THE O RINGS ON QUICK DISCONNECT FUEL LINES. *AK *CB *JB
Electrical system, Jul 10, 2003
THE SEAT BELT LATCH TRIGGERED THE AIR BAG DEFAULT AND THE AIR BAG HAD BECOME INOPERATIVE. THE SERVICE CHECK FAILED TO CORRECT THE PROBLEM. EVEN THOUGH THE SYSTEM WAS CLEARED, DEFAULT/INOPERATIVE AIR BAG OCCURRED WITH THE NEXT SEAT BELT LATCH. (MODEL 325XI) *JB *SCC *JB
Tires, Jun 17, 2003
DRIVING ON INTERSTATE-95 IN NEW YORK I FELT A VIBRATION START IN THE BACK OF THE CAR WHICH GREW VERY QUICKLY. I PULLED OVER TO FIND THE RIGHT REAR TIRE FLAT. I FOUND THE TIRE HAD A SLIT IN THE SIDE WALL HALF WAY AROUND THE TIRE WITH A GAP BETWEEN THE TREAD AND THE BODY CORE OF THE TIRE. IT APPEARS THAT THE TREAD STARTED TO SEPARATE FORM THE TIRE. I CHECK THE TIRE PRESSURES REGULARLY AND KEEP THEM AT THE MANUFACTURES RECOMMENDED PRESSURES. *JB
Tires, May 12, 2003
THE TIRE DEVELOPED A BUBBLE ON THE OUTER SIDE OF THE TREAD. THE CONSUMER HAS REQUESTED REIMBURSEMENT. MR SCC *NLM
Electrical system, May 1, 2003
ELECTRICAL HARNESS FAILURE
Tires, Feb 17, 2003
TROUBLE WITH CONTI-SPORT TIRES
Engine and engine cooling, Jan 24, 2003
CONSUMER STATES WHILE DRIVING THE VEHICLE 50MPH WITHOUT WARNING THE VEHICLE WOULD INCREASED SPEED 10MPH THE VEHICLE WOULD SHUT OFF. TS