2004 BMW M3 problems
Owners have filed 38 complaints with NHTSA about the 2004 BMW M3. Air bags is the most reported problem area, at 24% of complaints. After that come wipers, windshield & visibility (18%) and drivetrain & axles (11%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 38 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Air bags 24% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 0 and 0
- Injuries and deaths
- 3 and 0
- Typical mileage
- 69,000 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 | 0 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 3 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 5 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 7 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 7 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 4 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 2 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 0 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 0 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 0 |
| 200k+ miles | 0 |
What the data shows
Among the 28 complaints that report mileage, the typical (median) problem appeared at about 69,000 miles.
Safety-related details: 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 7th most-complained-about out of 7 model years of the BMW M3 with enough data (2 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.
Hadn't driven the car in 2 weeks, was out of town. Drove it to work on monday and monday evening or tuesday morning noticed what looked like a bubble at the top of my rear view mirror. By tuesday noon, the bubble was in the center of the mirror and when I came out to the car at about 5:30 that afternoon, there was a liquid substance on my center console that leaked out from the mirror. It was in the mid-90s monday & tuesday. The liquid was caustic as it ate the paint and melted into the plastic console.
I was driving my car on lake shore drive and I hit a pot hole near lawrence ave. I ended up getting flat on both of my right tires. It possibly bent my rim, suspension issues, and tire have been flat.
Vehicle drops out of gear randomly. As I was taking a left turn, the vehicle dropped into 0 gear and on coming traffic almost ran into me head on. I had no way of moving the car due to transmission being shifted into neutral. This is due to a defective temperature sensor on the smg pump. BMW ignores the issue.
Takada recall: notified by BMW july 2015 driver-side air bag module defective. In may 2016, BMW advised they did not know when air bag would befixed. Since then another person has died. Concerned about safety and length of time waiting for fix.