2008 BMW M3: sudden loss of power

9 of the 82 complaints about the 2008 BMW M3 describe sudden loss of power.

owner complaints: 9
of this car's complaints: 11%
typical mileage: 11,605
recalls: 0

Is there a fix? 8 service bulletins cover this area of the car. See below

Sudden loss of power by model year

2012
1
2011
1
2010
1
2009
5
2008
9
2006
1
2003
2

What owners say

Filed Oct 3, 2019 · Engine · 65,000 miles · CA

While driving at approximately 70mph on the highway, cel came on, car went into limp mode, before losing power altogether while driving. Vehicle would not turn back on. Report of engine damage requiring an entire replacement.

Filed Dec 15, 2017 · Engine · 68,500 miles · CA

Received a loss of power warning for the car. Took it to the shop, shop was unable to diagnose the problem but stated that it was probably a bent red. Took it to get a second opinion. No compression in the 4th cylinder but there is obvious cylinder wall deformation and small piston shrinkage.

Filed Jun 1, 2017 · Engine · NY · crash

I was driving my car at bout 1am on a clear 45 degree morning. I was driving at about 54 MPH on a freeway. I heard a noise come from my engine, it sound like metal being grind. My vehicle then shut off I lost power steering causing me to run into a ditch. When I finally came to a stop I noticed the vehicle will not re start. I called a tow truck. When the truck moved my car I noticed a lot of engine oil under the car. I had the truck towed to a bmw mechanic. The mechanic told me " one of your rod bearings broke sending a rod through your oil pan". And I have tiny pieces of metal all inside of my engine. He also told me that I will need a new engine.

Filed Jan 6, 2017 · Engine · 53,000 miles · CA

Engine failure resulting in loss of power at speed while driving. Engine failed because of rod bearing issue which is well known in these engines.

Filed Jun 19, 2009 · Transmission · 11,605 miles · NC

I have a 2008 bmw m3 with the dct transmission. Ever since bmw installed a software update to fix a similar the federal safety agency issue with the transmission, my car suffers from a sudden power loss when I slow down to approximately 10mph, and then try to accelerate again. This leads to a very dangerous situation while the car does not move and traffic around me continues to move.

Filed Apr 27, 2009 · Transmission · 2,000 miles · CA

While decelerating in 2nd or 1st gear under light braking then attempting to accelerate the vehicle experiences a loss of power for two to three seconds. My first experience with this happened making a left turn across opposing traffic lane. Had oncoming traffic been closer when the vehicle did not accelerate I would have been hit mid side of the vehicle. Bmw reports that this is normal behavior of this transmission however I feel it is a major safety issue.

Filed Mar 15, 2009 · Transmission · GA

I have a 2008 bmw m3 with a dct transmission. The vehicle consistently has a lag when attempting to accelerate from rolling stops and when merging. I believe this could potentially be a safety issue due to loss of power at the wheels, esp. In high speed situations, ie when trying to merge onto busy highways.

Filed Feb 10, 2009 · Transmission · 10,000 miles · WA

I have noticed since the safety recall on the m-dct gearbox: there is a significant lag or hesitation of at least 2 second between applying pressure to the accelerator and the clutch engaging and giving acceleration to the wheels. This results in a complete loss of power and causes the car to just "coast". This does not happen from a stand-still, but occurs primarily when the car is in motion at virtually all ranges of speed, from rolling stop through standard road speeds of any degree . The problem is acute in "d" mode, but occurs in "s" mode as well in 2nd gear. The result of this is that you can pull out into traffic and rather than increase your acceleration normally, the car will just coast with no power. This is extremely dangerous and I have had several near misses with a chance of a car rear ending me because the gearbox is functioning like this.

Filed Aug 11, 2008 · Fuel system · 8,000 miles · FL

Cruising on the highway, the vehicle starts misfiring and loses power. Afterward the engine is running rough and continues in "engine failure" mode with reduced power. Problem diagnosed as high pressure fuel pump failure. Fuel pump replaced three times in the last month and keeps failing with the same symptoms. The vehicle is 2008 bmw 335i.