2004 BMW 3 Series problems
The 2004 BMW 3 Series has 93 complaints on file with NHTSA. The largest share (46%) concerns lighting. Next are air bags (16%) and electrical system (13%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 93 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Lighting 46% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 1 and 4
- Injuries and deaths
- 3 and 0
- Typical mileage
- 80,000 miles 61 complaints with mileage
Source: NHTSA owner complaints
Where the complaints are
Share of this model year's complaints by the part of the car involved. One complaint can name more than one part, so the shares can add up to more than 100%.
When problems show up
View the numbers
| Mileage | Complaints |
|---|---|
| 0k to 20k miles | 1 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 9 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 11 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 8 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 11 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 8 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 6 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 5 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 1 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 0 |
| 200k+ miles | 1 |
What the data shows
Of the 61 complaints that include odometer readings, half describe a problem before roughly 80,000 miles. For lighting specifically, the median reported mileage is about 89,000 miles (27 complaints with mileage).
Safety-related details: 1 complaint mentions a crash; 4 complaints mention a fire; 3 injuries reported.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 2004 ranks 8th most-complained-about out of 12 model years of the BMW 3 Series with enough data (19 complaints in that window).
What owners wrote
A few complaints as filed, shortened and with personal details removed. The first ones are among the most serious reports for this model year; the rest are typical.
My vehicle unexpectedly started on fire as my daughter was driving to school. It was determined that it was an electrical fire, and resulted in the car being totaled. The 2004 models need to be included in the recall (not that it will help with the loss of my car).
New defective brake pads caused a traffic accident with total loss of the vehicles involved. Brake pads are contaminated and embedded with a slippery substance. Pads are from prime choice auto parts 42832 state route 12, alexandria bay, ny, 13607-2216 can you investigate and analyze the brake pads in order to stop the selling of defective and dangerous brake pads? I am able to ship to you a brake pad sample. The vehicle was in motion, but unable to stop before turning on a city street.
Tl* the contact owns a 2004 BMW 330. The contact stated that the plastic reflector bowl used for the headlights were burned and scorched by the heat of the bulbs used on the vehicle. The contact replaced the covering before and within a year, it burned through again. The contact stated that the brand covering that was failing was the zkw brand. The vehicle was not inspected by the dealer or repaired. The failure mileage was unknown and the current mileage was 71,000.
The vehicle came equipped from the factory with bi-xenon auto leveling headlights manufactured by zkw. The past couple months, the light output has steadily decreased. Brown scorch marks are visible in the projector when the headlight is on. On the driver's side, the xenon bulb burned off all the reflective material in the projector bowl. The light output from the projectors has been reduced to a thin beam of light. It is becoming very difficult to see while driving at night.
The power door lock on passenger side cannot be unlocked either via remote or inside button. Worse, often when this happens, the door cannot be opened even by pulling on the handle from the inside! A passenger cannot get out of the car via the door. Furthermore, repeatedly attempts to have this fixed all fail within a short time.