2008 BMW 328I problems
NHTSA has received 375 complaints about the 2008 BMW 328I, and 25% of them involve air bags. After that come engine (23%) and electrical system (23%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 375 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Air bags 25% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 12 and 35
- Injuries and deaths
- 16 and 0
- Typical mileage
- 85,000 miles 215 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 | 13 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 15 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 33 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 41 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 24 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 38 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 24 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 9 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 12 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 4 |
| 200k+ miles | 2 |
What the data shows
Among the 215 complaints that report mileage, the typical (median) problem appeared at about 85,000 miles. For air bags specifically, the median reported mileage is about 89,000 miles (48 complaints with mileage).
Safety-related details: 12 complaints mention a crash; 35 complaints mention a fire; 16 injuries reported.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 2008 ranks 9th most-complained-about out of 15 model years of the BMW 328I with enough data (38 complaints in that window). It is also covered by 5 safety recall campaigns.
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 owns a 2008 BMW 328I. While driving 40 MPH, smoke appeared under the glove compartment. The contact stopped at a fuel station and the vehicle caught fire. The fire was extinguished by the fire department. A police report was filed. The contact suffered injuries from excessive smoke inhalation. There was no medical attention required. The vehicle was towed to the contact's residence. The manufacturer and dealer were not made aware of the fire.
After sitting over night the BMW 328I was driven approximately 2 miles and then parked. About 10 to 15 minutes later the car caught fire.
March 14, 2014. While starting the car, I heard a laud snapping sound coming from the engine compartment at passenger side. A moment later when taking a left turn I heard another strange noise form the same area. After that the engine started to sound differently with a small noticeable vibration. Turns out that all 4 engine mount bolts on the passenger side were snapped. It cost more than $1000 to fix it. This was very unexpected.
Use of the right front (rf) passenger seat would cause an air bag and seat belt malfunction indicator light. The lights would go out after a number of ignition cycles if there was no rf passenger, but would reappear after a passenger used the seat. The vehicle was taken to a BMW dealer on 10/12/18 and they found that the "oc3 mat" was faulty and they recommended that it be replaced and programmed.