2008 BMW M3 problems
Owners have filed 102 complaints with NHTSA about the 2008 BMW M3. Transmission is the most reported problem area, at 29% of complaints. After that come engine (21%) and air bags (9%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 102 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Transmission 29% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 5 and 2
- Injuries and deaths
- 6 and 0
- Typical mileage
- 32,000 miles 80 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 | 39 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 3 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 15 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 6 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 9 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 7 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 1 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 0 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 0 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 0 |
| 200k+ miles | 0 |
What the data shows
Among the 80 complaints that report mileage, the typical (median) problem appeared at about 32,000 miles. For transmission specifically, the median reported mileage is about 6,000 miles (24 complaints with mileage).
Safety-related details: 5 complaints mention a crash; 2 complaints mention a fire; 6 injuries reported.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 2008 ranks 1st most-complained-about out of 7 model years of the BMW M3 with enough data (52 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 m3. While accelerating, the throttle became stuck and caused the rear tires to spin. The contact struck a curb, crashed into a tree, and then a fence. The air bags did not deploy. A police report was filed. The contact sustained a back injury that needed medical attention. The vehicle was towed to a towing lot. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 65,000.
Car = BMW 328 convertible with comfort access option year = 2008 and 2007 (hard top convertible required option = comfort access for remote roof open/close 1) while everyone was standing outside the car with the roof open the salesman demonstrated the remote access option closing the roof. 2) the roof closed. 3) I reached into the rear window to touch something in the back seat area 4) the windows raised up catching my arm between the rear window on the passenger side and the hard-top roof.
I have noticed since the safety recall on the m-dct gearbox: there is a significant lag or hesitation of at least 2 second between applying pressure to the accelerator and the clutch engaging and giving acceleration to the wheels. This results in a complete loss of power and causes the car to just "coast". This does not happen from a stand-still, but occurs primarily when the car is in motion at virtually all ranges of speed, from rolling stop through standard road speeds of any degree .
Whenever the car is moving at slow speeds, there is a lag between the moment the accelerator is pressed and the time the car actually starts accelerating. Thus, during this lag, there is no power to the car! This could be very dangerous!