2009 BMW 335I problems
NHTSA has received 128 complaints about the 2009 BMW 335I, and 26% of them involve air bags. Next are fuel system (26%) and engine (12%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 128 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Air bags 26% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 1 and 10
- Injuries and deaths
- 1 and 0
- Typical mileage
- 57,000 miles 88 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 | 25 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 9 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 11 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 5 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 13 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 10 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 12 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 0 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 3 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 0 |
| 200k+ miles | 0 |
What the data shows
Of the 88 complaints that include odometer readings, half describe a problem before roughly 56,000 miles. For air bags specifically, the median reported mileage is about 96,000 miles (14 complaints with mileage).
Safety-related details: 1 complaint mentions a crash; 10 complaints mention a fire; 1 injury reported.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 2009 ranks 4th most-complained-about out of 8 model years of the BMW 335I with enough data (43 complaints in that window). It is also covered by 4 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.
Blower motor wiring caught fire and spread throughout remainder of car. Initially saw smoke coming from vents while vehicle was coming to a stop in a staples parking lot. Fire spread into engine and interior of car, burning my hand and bringing car to a total loss. Existing recall number: 17v-676
The contact owned a 2009 BMW 335i. The contact stated that he parked the vehicle in the driveway at his residence and the next morning his wife informed him that the vehicle was engulfed in flames. There was no damage to the residence from the flames. The fire department was called out and arrived and extinguished the flames. A fire report was filed. There was no injury sustained. An investigation was started by the local police department however, a police report was not yet filed.
The contact owned a 2009 BMW 335i. The contact stated that he parked his vehicle in the driveway of his residence and, the next morning his wife informed him that the vehicle was engulfed in flames. There were no damages to the residence from the flames. The fire department was contacted and arrived to extinguish the flames. A fire report was filed. There were no injuries sustained. A police investigation was started however, a report was not yet provided.
I own a 2009 BMW 335. It was purchased in early 2009. Prior to the failure of the part, there was no sign of trouble. While I was driving on the freeway in southern california, my car started to lose power. Concurrent with that power loss, the "service engine soon" light appeared on my instrument cluster. Additionally, an icon (it looked like a transmission) lit up as well. When the power loss first occurred, I was in the fast lane on the freeway.
The car's high pressure fuel pump failed on freeway on-ramp acceleration leading to a near rear-end collision by a following car. This failure was preceded by long-crank starting and engine racing on starting. The hpfp was replaced at 6,000 miles (10/09). At 12,000 miles the software was reprogrammed. (6/10) the dealer says it is replacing the hpfp again. This appears to be an ongoing problem with the BMW 335I engine starting with the 2007 models as reported on this website.