1997 BMW Z3 problems
NHTSA has received 66 complaints about the 1997 BMW Z3, and 24% of them involve air bags. After that come seats (21%) and seat belts (17%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 66 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Air bags 24% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 4 and 6
- Injuries and deaths
- 10 and 0
- Typical mileage
- 88,000 miles 11 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 | 2 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 1 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 2 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 1 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 1 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 2 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 0 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 0 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 2 |
| 200k+ miles | 0 |
What the data shows
Among the 11 complaints that report mileage, the typical (median) problem appeared at about 88,000 miles.
Safety-related details: 4 complaints mention a crash; 6 complaints mention a fire; 10 injuries reported. Its complaints are more severe on average than those of 90% 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 1997 ranks 1st most-complained-about out of 6 model years of the BMW Z3 with enough data (40 complaints in that window). It is also covered by 1 safety recall campaign.
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.
After vehicle was vacuumed it would not start; the vehicle was pushed to the side and the driver turned the key again to start it, and a puff of smoke came from the steering column. The driver quickly tried to turn the key to the off position,then the lights dimmed. The key became immovable in the start position, and smoke began to pour from all the vents. Stunned, the driver opened the door to run from the vehicle, but the air bag deployed and knocked the driver unconscious.
Seat rails do not lock properly thereby allowing seat(s) to slide forward during braking. Can potentially lead to loss of control of vehicle.
The seat tracks of both the driver and passenger side of the vehicle allowed the seats to move at least 10mm forward and rearward under braking and acceleration. This movement causes a partial loss of control of the vehicle.