2009 BMW 3 Series
Problems, recalls and owner-reported issues
Air bags is the leading concern among 388 owner complaints filed for this model year. This is the 7th highest complaint count among 21 3 Series model years with reports.
Of the 2009 reports, 15 involved a crash and 19 involved a fire. 17 people were injured.
What owners report most often
Recalls and investigations
Engine and engine cooling, exhaust system, emission control, crankcase (pcv)Mar 2, 2022
BMW of North America, LLC (BMW) is recalling certain 2008-2013 1 Series Coupe (128i); 2007-2013 3 Series Coupe (328i, 328xi, 328i xDrive); 2007-2010 X3 SAV (X3 3.0si, X3 xDrive30i); 2008-2013 1 Series Convertible (128i); 2006-2011 3 Series Sedan (325i, 325xi, 328i, 328xi, 328i xDrive, 330i, 330xi); 2006-2012 3 Series Wagon (328i, 328i xDrive); 2007-2013 3 Series Convertible (328i); 2006-2010 5 Series Sedan (525i, 525xi, 528i, 528xi, 530i, 530xi); 2006-2007 5 Series Wagon (530xi); 2007-2010 X5 SAV (X5 3.0si, X5 xDrive30i); 2006-2008 Z4 Coupe (Z4 3.0si); and 2006-2011 Z4 Roadster (Z4 3.0i, Z4 3.0si, Z4 sDrive30i) vehicles. The heater for the positive crankcase ventilation (PCV) valve may short circuit.
An electrical short can cause the PCV valve heater to overheat, increasing the risk of a fire while driving or, soon after driving when parked.
This recall supersedes and expands previous NHTSA recalls 17V-683 and 19V-273. Dealers will install an electrical wiring harness with fuse protection for the PCV Valve heater in potentially affected vehicles, free of charge. This recall supersedes and expands previous NHTSA recalls 17V-683 and 19V-273. Vehicles previously repaired under the prior recalls will need to come back for the new recall remedy. The remedy is currently being developed. Interim owner notification letters informing owners of the safety risk were mailed on April 1, 2022. Owner notification letters were mailed on July 22, 2022. Owners may contact BMW customer service at 1-800-525-7417.
Campaign 22V119000 on NHTSA.gov
Engine and engine cooling, cooling system, fanAug 10, 2012
This recall involves aftermarket parts sold by Valeo. Valeo is recalling certain engine cooling fans, part numbers 696121, 696273, and 696275, used as service replacement parts for model year 2008-2011 BMW 1-Series, 2006-2011 BMW 3-Series, 2000-2009 BMW 5-Series, 2004-2005 BMW 6-Series, and 2006-2007 BMW 7-Series vehicles. A metal-oxide semiconductor may overheat due to insufficient screwing of the semiconductor on the aluminum heat sink. This primary failure could cause adjacent components on the fan assembly motor circuit board to overheat and short.
This condition could cause the fan motor to become inoperative, or cause the motor circuit board in the assembly to overheat, potentially leading to a fire in the engine compartment.
Valeo will notify owners and replace the fans free of charge. The safety recall began on August 22, 2012. This recall is being conducted by Valeo, not by BMW. For further information, owners may contact Valeo at 1-888-718-2536.
Campaign 12E029000 on NHTSA.gov
Representative owner complaints: engine and engine cooling
33 reports, newest first. Show all
Engine and engine cooling, Fuel system, Gasoline, Aug 25, 2011
ON THURSDAY, AUGUST 18, 2011, MY 2009 328I SHUT DOWN WITHOUT NOTICE IN THE MIDDLE LANE OF I-90 AT MILE MARKER 80.002 ABOUT A MILE FROM OHARE AIRPORT IN CHICAGO. IT WAS UNABLE TO RESTART AND I WAS LEFT TO CALL 911 AND SPEND 10 MINUTES WAITING FOR DOT TO TOW ME OFF THE MIDDLE OF THE HIGHWAY AND TO A RESIDENTIAL NEIGHBORHOOD TO WAIT ANOTHER HOUR FOR AAA TO TOW MY CAR TO PERILLO BMW IN CHICAGO TO ASSESS THE ISSUE. JUNE 15TH 2011: ABOUT 3 HOURS AFTER BRINGING MY CAR INTO THE ZIMBRICK BMW SERVICE FACILITY TO HAVE A SET OF AFTER-MARKET LED LIGHTS INSTALLED AT COST, THE SERVICE ENGINE SOON LIGHT APPEARED ILLUMINATED ON MY DASHBOARD. AS I HAD NEVER SEEN THIS LIGHT APPEAR ON MY LESS THAN 2 YEAR OLD CAR BEFORE, I IMMEDIATELY CALLED THE PERSON WHO WAS HEAD OF YOUR SERVICE DEPARTMENT TO DISCUSS HOW THIS LIGHT COULD APPEAR FOR THE FIRST TIME AFTER HAVING MY CAR IN HOURS EARLIER ON A SERVICE APPOINTMENT THAT SHOULD NOT HAVE TOUCHED THE ENGINE. A LOANER CAR WAS PROMPTLY DRIVEN TO MY OFFICE, TO CHECK INTO THE ISSUE AND TAKE MY CAR BACK TO THE DEALERSHIP FOR FURTHER INSPECTION, IF NECESSARY. THE FOLLOWING IS THE CONVERSATION THAT TRANSPIRED BETWEEN THE SERVICE REP AND I, UPON HIS REVIEW OF MY VEHICLE, USING A COMPUTER CONNECTION TO PULL DATA FROM MY CARS ONBOARD COMPUTER SYSTEM: SA: WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU FILLED THE CAR WITH GAS? ME: (CHECKING THE ODOMETER, AS I RESET IT WITH EACH FULL TANK OF GAS) ABOUT 97 MILES AGO. SA: WELL, THE COMPUTER IS REPORTING THE ISSUE HAS SOMETHING TO DO WITH YOUR FUEL PUMP, HOWEVER, I THINK IT MIGHT JUST BE THAT YOUR GAS CAP MAY HAVE BEEN UNSCREWED. ME: I CAN'T SAY THAT MAKES MUCH SENSE, AS I FILLED IT UP 97 MILES AGO AND HAVEN'T SEEN AN ISSUE UNTIL NOW. SA; WELL, LET ME JUST TURN THE INDICATOR LIGHT OFF AND LET ME KNOW IF YOU RUN INTO THIS ISSUE AGAIN.
Engine and engine cooling, Jun 3, 2011
ENGINE WILL SHUT OFF WHEN CLUTCH IS DEPRESSED. THIS SITUATION HAPPENS WHEN EXITING THE HIGHWAY ON HOT DAYS WITH THE AC RUNNING. IT HAS HAPPENED MULTIPLE TIMES UNDER THE SAME SCENARIO. *TR
Engine and engine cooling, Jan 19, 2011
2009 BMW 335I HAS HAD ENGINE RUN AT HALF POWER NUMEROUS TIMES. ONLY ONCE WAS IT ABLE TO BE TAKEN TO THE DEALERSHIP IN TIME FOR THEM TO RETRIEVE ANY DIAGNOSTIC INFORMATION AND ACT ON IT AT THAT POINT IN TIME, HOWEVER IT HAS SUFFERED SIMILAR BEHAVIOR SINCE THIS POINT AND SUPPOSEDLY THEY ARE UNABLE TO RETRIEVE DATA, EVEN WITHIN A WEEK OR TWO OF THE EVENT OCCURRING AND STATE THAT NOTHING IS WRONG WITH IT. THE FIRST TIME THIS HAPPENED I WAS MAKING A LEFT TURN AND WAS RELYING ON THE ACCELERATION OF THE VEHICLE TO MAKE A TURN AT A REASONABLE SPEED PRIOR TO TRAFFIC ARRIVING AND THE CAR SIMPLY GAVE OUT AND REDUCED ITSELF TO HALF POWER (PER THE ERROR ON THE SCREEN). QUITE NEARLY GOT ME IN AN ACCIDENT. THE FILING DATE ON THIS IS THE MOST RECENT, TO MY KNOWLEDGE, OF THE INCIDENT OCCURRING. I WASN'T AWARE OF THIS SITE UNTIL NOW SO IT'S POSSIBLE THE DATE IS OFF BY AS MUCH AS 4-6 WEEKS. *TR
Engine and engine cooling, Fuel system, Gasoline, Oct 13, 2010
10/8/2010 - WHILE TRAVELING ON ALLIGATOR ALLEY IN SOUTHERN FLORIDA, 2009 BMW 335I EXPERIENCED A SEVERE LOSS OF POWER WITH ENGINE LAMP TURNING ON. LOSS OF POWER WORSENED FOR THE NEXT SEVENTY FIVE MILES UNTIL THE CAR COULD NOT GO OVER FORTY MILES PER HOUR AND HAD INSUFFICIENT TORQUE TO GO UP ANY INCLINED HIGHWAY OFF RAMPS. TOOK CAR BACK TO BMW DEALERSHIP AND WAS INFORMED LOSS OF POWER WAS DUE TO FAILURE OF HIGH PRESSURE FUEL PUMP, AND WAS INFORMED THAT THE PUMP WOULD BE REPLACED AND ENGINE SOFTWARE UPDATED. CAR HAD APPROXIMATELY 10,000 MILES AT THE TIME OF INCIDENT. *TR
Engine and engine cooling, Fuel system, Gasoline, Oct 12, 2010
TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2009 BMW 335XI. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING 50 MPH, THE VEHICLE COMPLETELY LOST ACCELERATION POWER. THE CONTACT HAD TO DRIVE AT A LOW SPEED TO REACH HIS DESTINATION. THE CONTACT TURNED THE VEHICLE OFF AND RESTARTED; AFTER THE RESTART, THE VEHICLE FUNCTIONED PROPERLY. WITHIN TWO TO THREE DAYS, THE FAILURE OCCURRED AGAIN. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO AN AUTHORIZED DEALER WHERE THE CONTACT WAS INFORMED THAT THE TURBO HIGH PRESSURE FUEL PUMP NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE VEHICLE WAS REPAIRED BUT THE FAILURE CONTINUED. THERE HAD BEEN NO FURTHER REPAIRS. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 18,681 AND THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 25,000. UPDATED 01/28/11*LJ THE CONSUMER STATED THERE WAS A DESIGN PROBLEM WITH THE FUEL PUMP. UPDATED 03/23/11
Engine and engine cooling, Jul 19, 2010
MY BMW TURNED OFF ON THE HIGHWAY. ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON AND CAR STOPPED. *TR
Engine and engine cooling, Fuel system, Gasoline, Apr 14, 2010
INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6) I AM THE OWNER OF A 2009 BMW 335I PURCHASED AUGUST 2009. ON APRIL 6, 2010, I STARTED THE ENGINE IN THE MORNING AND WAS GREETED WITH LONG CRANKS AND THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT TURNED ON WITH AN ERROR MESSAGE OF ENGINE FAILURE, REDUCED POWER. THE CAR HAS BEEN FINE BEFORE THIS MORNING AT 7,200 MILES APPROX. I CONTACTED THE DEALER AND WAS TOLD TO BRING IT IN. THE CAR WAS STILL DRIVABLE. ON THE WAY TO THE DEALERSHIP, THE CAR STALLED AND COMPLETELY LOSE POWER ON THE HIGHWAY AND ON THE INSIDE STREET CAUSING ME TO HAVE TO QUICKLY PUT THE GEAR IN P AND RESTART THE CAR. I INFORMED THE DEALER ABOUT THE STALL AND ENGINE FAILURE BUT WAS MET WITH NO REGARDS. THE DEALER INFORMED ME THAT IT IS A HIGH PERFORMANCE FUEL PUMP FAILURE. PLEASE INVESTIGATE THE ISSUE AS I DO NOT WANT TO BE DRIVING ON THE HIGHWAY AND HAVE THE ENGINE COMPLETELY STALL AND SHUT DOWN AGAIN. [XXX] *TR
Engine and engine cooling, Fuel system, Gasoline, Apr 9, 2010
VEHICLE LOST POWER, ENGINE LITE CAME ON. TOOK FOR REPAIR, WAS TOLD SINCE IT WASN'T DOING IT @ TIME I BROUGHT IT IN BMW WOULDN'T REPAIR. A COUPLE MONTHS LATER> SAME THING HAPPENED BUT IT DIED THIS TIME & LEFT ME STRANDED. MY NEW CAR NOW HAS 7,000 MILES AND I DON'T TRUST IT! CALLING THEM TO COME GET IT TODAY. *TR