1998 BMW M3 problems

Filed Nov 10, 2008 · Tires · 82,943 miles · CA · crash · 1 injury

On october 13th at approximately 1800hrs the left rear tire of my 1998 bmw m3 "rapidly deflated" resulting in a rollover crash. Approximately 1/4 of the inner sidewall was left shredded. Weather was sunny and warm, with no debris or contamination on the road surface(sr-62). The tire was installed by a bmw service center 5/7/08 at 68,814 miles, accident occurred at 82,943 miles. The dunlop 8080e p245/40 zr-17 dot# dmc903y1607 was determined to have good tread at the time of the accident by the california highway patrol and the tire pressure was checked three days prior.

Filed Oct 11, 2006 · Suspension · 66,590 miles · WY

1) normal vehicle operation 2) left rear strut-tower failure resulting in penetration of strut and spring and failure of rear suspension. Could have resulted in loss of control and accident. 3) repairs pending. Known issue w/ bmw e-36's.

Filed May 8, 2005 · Suspension · 110,000 miles · PA

The shock wells rusted and cracked making shocks protrude out of it's mounts.

Filed Nov 23, 2004 · Transmission · 7,200 miles · FL

Repeated failure of the shift gate. Tranny sticks in 5th gear position, causing dangerous shift delays while in traffic. See: http://www.brazeauracing.com/tech/transmissions.htm for a partial listing of those affected.

Filed Nov 17, 2004 · Visibility · 70,000 miles · IN

Problem1: rear defogger not working. Checked the system, fuses okay, voltage correctly supplied to rear window heating contacts. Heating elements in the window itself are failing. Afety issue: no visibility through the rear window when fogged.*ak problem2: automatic environmental controls are quitting erratically leaving driver without windshield defogger, air blower, heating or air conditioning. Car has no safety default or manual override option. Safety issues: occupants can get frost bites or freeze to death in harsh winter conditions or suffer from heat stroke during hot weather. Fogging of the windshield and side windows with disfunctional blower.

Filed Jan 23, 2004 · Transmission · 73,000 miles · PA

The gear shift in my manual transmission, 1998 bmw m3 (4 door), sticks under fifth gear and often I am also unable to shift into fifth gear. The issue with this is well known by bmw of north america. The danger here is that when I want to shift into fifth gear I cannot, and more importantly, it is extremely difficult to downshift from 4th to 3rd because the gear shift naturally wants to go into fifth. This can be a very serious problem when going into a turn or needing to downshift to control engine speed rather than using brakes when conditions may be too slick to safely apply the brakes.

Filed Sep 19, 2001 · Engine, Lights · CA

Vehicle has been through at least four separate dealers with brake light failures. Problem continues to remain unresloved. Dealers cannot locate fault and continues to replace bulbs or bend connectors on sockets. Engine, transmission, oil pan gaskets all failing with only 41,000 miles on vehicle. Inlet leakage on fuel valve failing for second time. Major alternator problem for second time. Despite repeated reports of rough shifting, with problems engaging and disengaging gears, no answer other than everything is fine. This issue has been compared with other m3 vehicles and drivers all have stated and experienced issues with my vehicle. Stereo, temperature control failing. Front bumbper assembly consistently losing parts. No accidents involved with vehicle. Vehicle has been at various dealers over 8 times in past year with significant out of pocket for rental car expenses.

Filed Jul 7, 2001 · Airbags · UT

The dealer fix for this problem across the country has been to reset the code and say, "oh, don't worry about it." apparently its a sensor in the seat, and lots of bmw's are having these problems. Safety system faults should not be tolerated.

Filed Sep 24, 2000 · Acceleration · GA

Intermittently vehicle would suddenly accellerate. Problem has occurred on four occasions. Been in dealer's shop on three occasions, and was unable to locate the cause. Please feel free to provide any further details.

Filed Aug 11, 2000 · Body, Electrical · CA

Horn stopped working on 3 different occasions. Dealer attempted to remed problem. But, after 3 months horn would go out again. Last time dealer replaced the contact points. Also, half of the spoiler came off, bolts had fallen apart without warning, causing spoiler to fall off immediately while driving.