1998 BMW 323I problems
Owners have filed 27 complaints with NHTSA about the 1998 BMW 323I. Air bags is the most reported problem area, at 41% of complaints. Next are engine (11%) and cruise control (7%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 27 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Air bags 41% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 10 and 1
- Injuries and deaths
- 7 and 0
- Typical mileage
- 103,000 miles 13 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 | 0 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 0 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 0 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 2 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 4 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 1 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 3 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 3 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 0 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 0 |
| 200k+ miles | 0 |
What the data shows
Of the 13 complaints that include odometer readings, half describe a problem before roughly 103,000 miles.
Safety-related details: 10 complaints mention a crash; 1 complaint mentions a fire; 7 injuries reported. Its complaints are more severe on average than those of 99% of model years in our database.
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.
Tl* the contact owned a 1998 BMW 323I. While driving 35 MPH, another vehicle moved into the contact's lane and crashed into the driver's door of the contact's vehicle. The contact then crashed into a brick wall at the center of the road and the vehicle came to a complete stop. The contact noticed smoke coming from the front of the vehicle. Only the driver's side air bag deployed. A police report was filed. The contact was not sure whether the vehicle was towed to the dealer. The vehicle was destroyed.
Police report states that vehicle ran into an expedition. Most of the report was unclear. Driver had suffered a heart attack on the way to hospital, and could not remember any other details at this time. Vehicle was totaled. Upon impact, air bags did not deploy.
I was backing out of a driveway, and the vehicle rpm's - on their own - suddenly increased to a very high RPM. The vehicle accelerated as I was backing up, causing me to rear end a parked car across the street.
The brake light switch fails which prevents the brake light to illuminate when the car is brake. Subsequently, cruise control cannot be disengaged by the brake anymore because of this problem. Instead when in cruise control with the brake the depressed the car speeds up compensating for the lost speed. This greatly increases the chance for a high speed crash because of the inability to disengage cruise control.