2011 BMW 328I: engine failure

Filed Sep 3, 2026 · Engine · WA

I took my car to the Tigard Oregon bmw dealership for my three recalls that were needing addressed. I turned my car over to them in good working order. After picking it up after the repairs my service engine light came on. My car started knocking and rattling louder and louder. I returned to the dealership and requested they fix the issue. After a few days they contacted my and told me it needs a new engine. They say they checked over their work and the problem isn't their fault. I disagree. They say they found metal shavings in my oil. They did an oil change a week earlier and mentioned no metal in my oil.

Filed Oct 6, 2025 · Engine · 126,657 miles · FL

The contact owns a 2011 BMW 328I. The contact received notification of the federal safety agency Campaign Number: 23V707000 (ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING). The recall repair was completed; however, on the drive home after the vehicle was retrieved, while driving 60 MPH, the engine seized. The contact stated that the vehicle was sluggish and hesitated before stalling in the middle lane of the highway. The oil pressure warning light was illuminated. The contact attempted to restart the vehicle, and after several attempts, the vehicle failed to restart. The contact was able to coast to the side of the road. The vehicle was towed to the dealer, where it was determined that the incorrect oil filter was installed on the vehicle. The vehicle was repaired. The contact towed the vehicle back to the residence. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and offered the contact a 10% discount on a new engine. The failure mileage was 126,657.

Filed Apr 30, 2025 · Airbags, Engine · LA

RE: Recall on 2011 328i Vin# [XXX] I drove the car to run an errand, car was running ok but had a miss. During my drive home, the car stalled. I had to quickly coast to a parking lot in order not to get hit by the car behind me. I tried to restart the car, but it acted as if it needed a jump. Tried to jump the car but it turned over slowly without starting. Ended up getting it towed to Metairie very early the next morning, due to parades. Had a friend of mine, a BMW shop owner, take a look at the car. He told me that he found out that it had a few recalls and he thought that may be the problem. I spoke with a service advisor at BMW dealer that checked the vin and said the recalls would be taken care of along with anything it caused. I made the appointment and had it towed to BMW dea;er. I was assigned to Erin C, Service Advisor, when I made my appointment. My appointment was for 7:30 AM on the 28th of March. I heard from Erin at 4:30 that afternoon with an update. She told me that I had a seized engine and it was going to cost ten thousand or more to replace the engine. I asked if the recall was done on it, because the recall stated that one of the indicators of the Vanos issue was that it would not start any more. I also found information saying that stalling, engine seizing, and oil starvation can be dangerously caused by the recall. Erin stated that they would take the valve cover off to confirm. Didn’t hear from her on Friday, or over the weekend. I got her on the phone Monday evening at 5:30 PM. Erin told me the same information that after they took off the valve cover and videoed it (have not seen that video yet). That my engine was seized. She assured me that they hooked up the car to communicate with the engineers who confirmed, from all the evidence, that the engine seizing was not caused by the recall but lack of oil circulation. If she had a diagnostic done on the car, she had not shared any codes found with me at this INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATIO

Filed Jan 22, 2025 · Engine · 122,000 miles · TX

The contact owns a 2011 BMW 328I. The contact received notification of the federal safety agency Campaign Number: 23V707000 (ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING). The contact stated while driving 15 MPH, the vehicle failed to accelerate as intended while depressing the accelerator pedal before the vehicle stalled. The Safe Mode message was displayed. The contact was driving uphill when the vehicle stalled. The contact helped to push the vehicle before coasting downhill. The vehicle was towed to a dealer where it was diagnosed and determined that the engine had seized. The vehicle was not repaired. The dealer stated that engine damage was not part of the recall. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure but offered no assistance. The vehicle remained at the dealer and had not been driven since the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 122,000.

Filed Apr 22, 2024 · Engine · 94,000 miles · CA

The contact owns a 2011 BMW 328I. The contact received notification of the federal safety agency Campaign Number: 23V707000 (Engine and Engine Cooling) 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 while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle began making an abnormal sound and the vehicle stalled. The contact stated that the vehicle could not be restarted. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed with complete engine failure. The dealer was made aware of the failure but confirmed that parts were not yet available. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 94,000. VIN tool confirms parts not available.

Filed Apr 17, 2024 · Engine · 119,000 miles · MI

The contact owns a 2011 BMW 328I. The contact received notification of the federal safety agency Campaign Number: 23V707000 (Engine and Engine Cooling) 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 and oil warning lights illuminated prior to the vehicle abruptly stalling. The vehicle was able to be restarted shortly before the failure recurred. The vehicle was towed to the local dealer. The dealer was made aware of the failure and diagnosed the vehicle as engine failure and having fragments in the oil but confirmed that parts were not yet available. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 119,000. VIN tool confirms parts not available.

Filed Feb 28, 2024 · Engine · 230,000 miles · TN

The contact owns a 2011 BMW 328I. The contact stated while driving the vehicle, there was a clicking noise coming from the engine. No warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic who informed the contact that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired and was towed to the residence. The contact later took the vehicle to a BMW Specialist, who disassembled the engine to determine if the engine needed to be repaired or replaced. The mechanic found the VANOS bolts had loosened and sheared off into the oil pan and damaged the cylinders, pistons, and the head. The contact was advised to do an engine swap but declined due to the cost. In December 2023, the contact received the federal safety agency Campaign Number: 23V707000 (Engine and Engine Cooling) and towed the vehicle to the dealer to have the recall repair performed. The dealer looked under the hood and saw parts of the engine opened from the previous mechanic and stated the contact had pay to have the engine put back together and diagnosed, but the previous mechanic stated he would do it for free. The independent mechanic did not put the engine back together, and the dealer stated they would call the contact before starting any repairs on the vehicle. The dealer put the engine together and stated the contact needed to purchase coil packs and a battery. The contact provided the coil packs and a battery to the dealer and the parts were installed. The dealer stated that the vehicle was not test-driven but ran smoothly and returned the vehicle to the contact. The contact drove the vehicle 10 miles from the dealer and the engine seized. Upon arriving home, the contact received an email from the dealer itemizing repairs performed on the vehicle. The dealer stated that the oil pan was removed and there was a liter of water from the engine, primed the engine with oil, and cleared the fault memory. The contact called the dealer, regarding the seized engine and the dealer refused to provide further assistance. The manufacturer was not no

Filed Feb 26, 2024 · Electrical, Lights · NY

Previously reported on February 20, 2024. the federal safety agency #1157301 RDC failure caused complete loss of all dashboard functions except the radio - loss of lights/turn signals/ speedometer/ tachometer/ HVAC etc. Received a call from BMW customer service today February 26,2024 at 4:38 EST duration 17 minutes. BMW informed me the conversation was recorded. I request that the federal safety agency obtain the transcript for that telephone call. This note will be sent to BMW with request to send a transcript of the call to the federal safety agency. BMW Custom Relations representative was polite. Her purpose for the call - "to inform me that BMW is cooperating with the federal safety agency".The person assigned had no useful information nor could she obtain any information to answer questions. Though BMW documents all reported parts failures and complications, she had no ability to provide information relevant to the RDC module problems.The call was useless from an owners viewpoint. It did not improve Customer Relations. The VANOS recall was also discussed.the federal safety agency: #23V‑707 Recall notification October 2023 BMW has not provided a date when the repair will be available. Vanos Bolt problems were identified for my vehicle in 2014!!! A 10 year warranty without mileage limitation was created but BMW owners were not notified - unless engine failure occurred and the car presented to a BMW dealership. I am more than frustrated that repairs have not been initiated. The local BMW dealership would like to repair the car but cannot proceed without corporate approval. Parts are indeed available locally. BMW has been aware of the problems for a DECADE. Furthermore, the valve cover gasket has been replaced twice since 2014. The VANOS bolts were never inspected. The valve cover was replaced last at 149,000 miles. A mechanic advised replacing the VANOS bolts but did not inspect them. Cost of repair $1500. I declined. Abysmal customer service!

Filed Feb 21, 2024 · Engine · CT

There is a known issue with my vehicles Vanos assembly (bolts). BMW issued recall 23V‑707 in October 2023. To date both local dealerships and bmw North America will not make the necessary repairs to the vehicle as they claim parts are not available. My vehicle is sporadically experiencing the issues related to this recall which includes sudden power loss while driving which is a major safety issue. Continued driving could result in complete engine failure. As the vehicle is needed and self cost of repair is cost prohibitive it also leaves owners with no choice but to drive the vehicle.

Filed Jan 10, 2024 · Engine · FL

I reported this failure to the federal safety agency at the time of the incident as well. You should have a record of it. The engine failed under the exact circumstances as the recall it's under. Upon inspection our BMW dealer service department determined that our engine experienced extensive damage and would need repairs beyond that of simply replacing the VANOS bolts or mechanism. BMW NA is refusing to repair my vehicle under the guise of the "remedy is not available" it is almost a year that we have been without the use of our car so please instruct them to begin repairs now as the new bolts will surely be available by the time the rest of the engine is either repaired or replaced. Thank you.

Filed Dec 26, 2023 · Engine · 138,000 miles · MS

The contact owns a 2011 BMW 328I. The contact stated that while attempting to start the vehicle, the vehicle failed to start. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed that a bolt had fractured in the engine. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic, who replaced the engine. While at the local dealer, the inspector noticed that the mechanic had fractured another bolt. The manufacturer was not notified about the failure. The contact stated that the failure was related to the federal safety agency Campaign Number: 23V707000 (Engine and Engine Cooling). The failure mileage was approximately 138,000.

Filed Dec 21, 2023 · Engine · 98,000 miles · CO

The contact owns a 2011 BMW 328I. The contact stated while driving approximately 65 MPH, the check engine warning light illuminated. The contact stated that the vehicle stalled, and he lost motive power. The contact stated that the power steering and power brakes were not functioning. The contact to pulled off the highway and attempted to restart the vehicle; however, there was only a clicking sound coming from the vehicle. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic who determined that the engine had seized and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was not informed of the failure. The contact had recently received notification of the federal safety agency Campaign Number: 23V707000 (Engine and Engine Cooling) and thought that the failure might be related to the recall. The failure mileage was approximately 98,000.