While traveling down the interstate at approximately 75 MPH with the cruise control on, the car suddenly veered left and the ABS engaged and slowed the car suddenly to about 40 MPH. My immediate thought was that I had blown a tire, but then recognized the ABS was causing the car to judder. The dsc and ABS lights illuminated and remained on. The mil light did not illuminate. I took the car to a repair shop that diagnosed a faulty rotational rate sensor (yaw). The system recognized that it received erroneous data, but I believe failed in an unsafe manner. I purchased this car for my soon to be 16 year old daughter and cringe to think how she would've reacted to this situation. This failure put the car in the precise situation where you would want the dsc to be working.
The worst 2001 BMW 325 problems
Ranked by number of owner complaints. Mileage and cost come from what owners wrote.
Problems by type
Tap a problem to see which part fails, at what mileage and in which other years.
- Engine14
- Airbags7
- Driver assistance3
- Transmission3
- Electrical2
- Brakes1
- Fuel system1
- Lights1
- Seat belts1
- Suspension1
- Tires1
Specific symptoms reported on the 2001 BMW 325
Recalls 2
Air bags: frontal: driver side: inflator module
- What is wrong
- BMW of North America, LLC (BMW) is recalling certain 2000-2002 325i and 325xi Sedan, and 323Ci, 325Ci, and 330Ci Convertible vehicles. This recall affects certain vehicles that may have had a driver-side air bag module installed as replacement equipment such as after a vehicle crash necessitating replacement of the original air bag, or as a remedy part for a prior recall. The frontal air bag inflator may explode due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to high absolute humidity, temperature and temperature cycling.
- Risk
- An inflator explosion may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants resulting in serious injury or death.
- Remedy
- Owners are advised not to drive their vehicles until the vehicle has been remedied. BMW will notify owners, and dealers will inspect and, as necessary, replace the driver's air bag module, free of charge. The recall began November 7, 2019. Owners may contact BMW customer service at 1‑800‑525‑7417. Note: This recall is an expansion of previous recalls, numbers 17V‑047 and 19V‑015.
Recall number 19V698000 · Recall details
Air bags: frontal: driver side: inflator module
- What is wrong
- BMW of North America, LLC (BMW) is recalling certain 2000-2002 BMW 320i, 323i, 325i, 325xi, 330i, 330xi, 323Ci, 325Ci, 330Ci, M3, 323iT, 325iT and 325xiT vehicles, 2001-2002 525i, 530i, 540i, M5, 525iT and 540iT vehicles, and 2001-2003 X5 3.0i, X5 4.4i, and X5 4.6is vehicles. These vehicles may have had a driver-side air bag module installed as replacement equipment such as after a vehicle crash necessitating replacement of the original air bag, or as a remedy part for a prior recall. These replacement modules contain an air bag inflator that may rupture due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to lower absolute humidity, temperature and temperature cycling.
- Risk
- In the event of a crash necessitating deployment of the driver's frontal air bag, the inflator could rupture with metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants resulting in serious injury or death.
- Remedy
- Owners are advised not to drive their vehicles until the vehicle has been remedied. BMW will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the driver side air bag module, replacing it as necessary, free of charge. The recall began March 15, 2017. Owners may contact BMW customer service at 1‑800‑525‑7417.
Recall number 17V047000 · Recall details
Technical service bulletins for the 2001 BMW 325 4
Bulletins tell dealers how to fix known problems. A warranty extension means the manufacturer pays for that repair for longer.
- The basic conditions for initializing the power windows are not met.
- Bmw: procedure for determining and replacing incandescent and halogen light bulbs under warranty. rm
- Bmw: a new technical process has been created for bmw to identify causes of steering complaints with a...
- Bmw vehicles: fuel level sensor repairs. where it is necessary to replace the right or the left side fuel...
What 2001 BMW 325 owners say
Most recent owner complaints, unedited.
Had just parked the car and a few minutes later it caught on fire. Everything under the hood is burned. Surveillance cameras caught the hole thing.
Daughter driving car, dynamic stability control(dsc) light came on and individual brakes started applying themselves uncommanded. Drove to a local import shop that verified a bad yaw sensor. Part is $1300.00 plus $300.00 labor. Part is only available from bmw who has superseded the part number 3 times. I went to a salvage yard that had 13 cars that had the same part number effectivity and all of the cars had the yaw sensors removed. This is a well known problem and very dangerous unless you disable the dsc system which also disables the anti-lock brake system. Below is just one of many examples of another owner that experienced this part failure. Started the car this morning and drove it for approx 15 miles, no warning light and everything appeared ok. Doing the national speed limit when holy cow, the dsc kicks in and the car pulls violently to one side then the other talk about heart missing a beat, nearly in the central reservation on the a52. I will be getting the fault codes read in the week and will definitely be switching off the dsc in future until fixed.
Specific monitor lights remain on even after being checked and cleared. An asterisk type icon shows up next to the prnd panel and slows down vehicle where as you need to put much pressure on gas pedal to get it to move slightly,pulling over and shutting off engine for 2 mins removes the icon and issue, but mostly these are unpredictable occurrences.the body of car icon lights stay on indicating the cars back lights are not working, even after fixing lights. The car's recall #14v428 ; passenger side front airbag has not been fixed as of yet. Currently all windows are jammed the motor hums but windows do not open unless pushed on, 3 of 4 don't even do that..
Tl* the contact owns a 2001 bmw 325. The contact received a notification of the federal safety agency campaign number: 14v428000 (air bags) however, the part to do the repair was unavailable. The contact stated that the manufacturer 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.
Tl* the contact owns a 2001 bmw 325. The contact received a notification of the federal safety agency campaign number: 14v428000 (air bags). The vehicle was serviced under the recall repair. It was confirmed by the technician that the driver side was installed with a takata air bag. The contact was concerned that the driver side air bag was a safety concern and mentioned that the vehicle was driven in a humid state. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure.
Tl* the contact owns a 2001 bmw 325. The contact stated that the federal safety agency campaign number: 14v428000 (air bag) exceeded the reasonable amount of time for repair. The dealer stated the parts were unavailable and decline to provide an estimated time frame for repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the delay. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact had not experienced the failure. Updated 12/01/14*lj
Abs speed sensors failed. Brakes function but cause for concern.
Rear left turn signal blinking fast indicating bad bulb but all bulbs are good. Rear left turn signal bulb has a lower luminous intensity than the other bulbs. Replacing the bulb with a new bulb makes not difference. Right turn signal intermittently blinks fast indicating a bad bulb but all bulbs are working.
Tl*the contact owns a 2001 bmw 325 wagon. The contact stated that the air bag light on the dashboard illuminated whenever someone was seated in the front passenger seat. A local mechanic informed the contact that there was a recall regarding the air bag light. The manufacturer informed the contact that his year, make, and model vehicle is not related to the recall. The contact stated that the vehicle should be a part of the recall since the later model 3 series has the same platform as the 2001 model. The failure mileage was 87,000.
Compare the 2001 BMW 325
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Questions about the 2001 BMW 325
Is the 2001 BMW 325 reliable?
Owners have filed 31 complaints about the 2001 BMW 325, 3.4 times a typical 325 model year.
What is the most common problem with the 2001 BMW 325?
Engine and cooling, with 14 complaints. Next is airbags (7).
How many recalls does the 2001 BMW 325 have?
2 recalls, covering air bags.
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