2008 BMW 3 Series
Complaints about this year name bmw 328xi far more often than the other years of this generation — 7% of them, about 3× the usual rate of 2.6%.
Generation 1 of the BMW 3 Series, which began in 2006 and ran to 2011. Everything below compares this year against the others in that generation, not against a different car wearing the same name.
NHTSA opened a defect investigation into this model year.
| Complaints filed | 690 |
|---|---|
| Median for this model | 227 |
| Involving a crash | 15 |
| Involving a fire | 63 |
| Recalls | 3 |
| EPA combined | 20.5 mpg |
What the complaints were about
- key — 7.4% of this year's complaints, against 1.9% across the other years of this generation (3.9×). Owners wrote it as: key, unlock, side door, key fob.
Words owners used for the same problem are counted together, so a fault written four different ways is measured once. Grouped by which complaints they appear in, not by a list anyone wrote in advance.
Also unusual this year
- pressure fuel — 7% of complaints, 3× usual
What owners wrote
ON 11/12, MY 2008 BMW 328XI CAUGHT FIRE IN A PARKING LOT. TWO PRIVATE APPRAISERS DEEMED THIS A [VIN] ERROR BASED ON A FAULTY ELECTRICAL SYSTEM.
## VIN PASSED ## BMW 335 2008 ## PURCHASED CAR W/ 18000 MILES AND MY 2ND FUEL PUMP IS ON ITS WAY OUT (SCHEDULING APPT NEXT WEEK), BRAKES MAKE NOISE WHEN BRAKING (PADS ARE FINE), AND LOW PRESSURE FUEL SENSOR IS NOW THROWING FUEL PRESSURE CODE 29F3.
Verbatim from NHTSA complaint filings, with identifying details removed.
Recalls for this year
- 12E029000 ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING Fixed free of charge.
- 09V257000 AIR BAGS Fixed free of charge.
- 22V119000 ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING Fixed free of charge.
How this was worked out
Every year of the BMW 3 Series was compared against its own history rather than against other cars, which removes popularity and age from the answer — a common car draws more complaints at equal reliability, and an older one has had longer to accumulate them. A year is flagged when it drew at least 2.5× this model's median and at least 50 complaints.
This is a fault record, not a review. Nobody files a federal complaint to say the car was fine, so it shows what tends to go wrong — not whether owners liked it, and not whether it is a good car.
Source: NHTSA complaints, recalls and investigations, retrieved . Look this vehicle up directly on NHTSA's site to check anything here.
Own a 2008 BMW 3 Series? What happened to yours?
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