2002 BMW 330CI problems
The 2002 BMW 330CI has 55 complaints on file with NHTSA. The largest share (49%) concerns air bags. Next are electrical system (9%) and lighting (9%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 55 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Air bags 49% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 3 and 7
- Injuries and deaths
- 7 and 0
- Typical mileage
- 94,000 miles 28 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 | 0 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 4 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 6 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 8 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 5 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 3 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 0 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 0 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 0 |
| 200k+ miles | 1 |
What the data shows
Of the 28 complaints that include odometer readings, half describe a problem before roughly 94,000 miles.
Safety-related details: 3 complaints mention a crash; 7 complaints mention a fire; 7 injuries reported. Its complaints are more severe on average than those of 90% of model years in our database.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 2002 ranks 3rd most-complained-about out of 5 model years of the BMW 330CI with enough data (8 complaints in that window). It is also covered by 3 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.
Car was driven daily. Parked in garage at 6:30pm. At 7:20am the following day it was noticed that a white vapor/smoke was coming from the front grill of the BMW 330ci. The car had not been started since being parked the evening before. Within minutes, the white vapor turned into heavy black smoke and the entire engine compartment became engulfed in flames.
After driving my 2002 BMW x 5 five blocks from my home, I smelled something burning and parked the car. From the time it took me to get out and walk to the rear of the car, it was filled with black smoke and in short order the car burned. My insurance company declared it a total loss and hired an independent professional company that specializes in vehicle fires and causation. The conclussion of the report was that it was an electrical short, originating in the center of the dash.
Struck a vehicle in front of me. The ABS did not engage when I tried to stop in the rain. The vehicle in front of me did not have any damage but my car had over $5700 worth of damage.
Tl* the contact owns 2002 BMW 330ci. The contact stated that while driving approximately 65 MPH, the driver's side air bag and the roof air bag deployed erroneously and without warning. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who stated there was some type of impact made with the undercarriage of the vehicle, which triggered the air bag deployment. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified the problem. The approximate failure mileage was 99,000.