2011 BMW M3 problems
Owners have filed 41 complaints with NHTSA about the 2011 BMW M3. Engine is the most reported problem area, at 39% of complaints. After that come electrical system (17%) and air bags (15%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 41 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Engine 39% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 0 and 2
- Injuries and deaths
- 0 and 0
- Typical mileage
- 44,000 miles 29 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 | 5 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 5 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 10 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 7 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 1 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 1 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 0 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 0 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 0 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 0 |
| 200k+ miles | 0 |
What the data shows
Among the 29 complaints that report mileage, the typical (median) problem appeared at about 44,000 miles. For engine specifically, the median reported mileage is about 45,000 miles (14 complaints with mileage).
Safety-related details: 2 complaints mention a fire. Its complaints are less severe on average than those of 80% 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 2011 ranks 6th most-complained-about out of 7 model years of the BMW M3 with enough data (16 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.
Tl* the contact owns a 2011 BMW m3. While driving at 55 MPH, the air conditioner stopped functioning and the odor of burning plastic entered the cabin. The contact disconnected the fuses to the air conditioner to correct the failure. Reeves import motorcars dealer located in tampa, florida was made aware of the failure, but the vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The vehicle was previously repaired per NHTSA campaign number: 17v676000 (electrical system).
The problem occurs when you slow down- like for a turn, but do not come to a complete stop. The dct transmission seems to have trouble figuring out what gear to select because when you step on the gas to accelerate, there is a very significant delay in the onset of power- up to 2-3 seconds. By this time, the driver is usually really digging into the throttle. The transmission finally picks a gear, which results in the car suddenly lurching forward, sometimes invoking the anti-skip control.
Ticking noise in the engine gradually got louder. Oil warning that it was low on oil. Added oil, still said it was low, then said it was too much. Then said it was low (particles from bearings were clogged in oil sensor giving false reading). Finally parked car when noise was so great that I thought it was going to blow up. Rod bears disintegrated on cylinders 2 and 5. Had to replace the engine.