Vehicle Data Hub

2008 BMW M3 engine problems

Owners reported engine problems in 21 complaints for the 2008 BMW M3, 21% of the complaints on file. It is the 2nd most reported problem area for this model year.

At a glance

Complaints
21 21% of this year's complaints
Typical mileage
80,000 miles 19 complaints with mileage
Crashes and fires
1 and 1
Injuries and deaths
0 and 0

Source: NHTSA owner complaints

When engine problems show up

Engine complaints by mileage, 2008 BMW M3 Complaints by odometer reading in 20,000-mile steps. The median is about 80,000 miles. 0k to 20k miles: 1 complaints 20k to 40k miles: 0 complaints 40k to 60k miles: 4 complaints 60k to 80k miles: 4 complaints 80k to 100k miles: 6 complaints 100k to 120k miles: 3 complaints 120k to 140k miles: 1 complaints 140k to 160k miles: 0 complaints 160k to 180k miles: 0 complaints 180k to 200k miles: 0 complaints 200k+ miles: 0 complaints 040k80k120k160k200k miles Typical: 80,000 miles
Based on 19 complaints that include mileage. 26% were reported before 60,000 miles. The amber marker shows the median: half of these complaints happened before that mileage.
View the numbers
MileageComplaints
0k to 20k miles1
20k to 40k miles0
40k to 60k miles4
60k to 80k miles4
80k to 100k miles6
100k to 120k miles3
120k to 140k miles1
140k to 160k miles0
160k to 180k miles0
180k to 200k miles0
200k+ miles0

What the data shows

Of the 19 engine complaints that report mileage, the median is about 80,000 miles, and 26% were reported before 60,000 miles.

These complaints mention 1 crash, 1 fire.

What owners wrote

I've been driving BMW for over 12 years. My absolute favorite car to drive. I've had my m3 for a year. My dream car. I took the upmost care of her. Coming home from work late monday driving around 65-70 miles per hour. I heard a loud noise from my car and an engine malfunction notification on my car. Almost hit an 18 wheeler as my car lost control before I swerved into a ditch. Had it towed to my mechanic where he confirmed a piece of a rod poking out the lower part of my block.

Reported at 102,000 miles, January 2018 Fire

I have a BMW e92 chassis. I have spoken to many, many owners of the same BMW and they have said the same thing. The throttle body actuators are defective on these bmws. When the malfunction takes place the BMW goes into limp mode. The car is not able to rev above 3k RPM nor go a speed of over 55 MPH. This is incredibly dangerous on the interstate when your car does this. I did not feel safe as well as many people I've talked to and this has happened to them. It is a known issue on the e92 BMW around 79,000 miles.

Reported at 80,100 miles, December 2017

Other problems reported for the 2008 BMW M3

Engine problems in other years

  • 2027
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Engine problems across all BMW models