2019 BMW 3 Series
This year drew an ordinary 80 complaints for a BMW 3 Series — the model's median is 279. What they were about is the unusual part: 27.5% of them mention module, against 10.8% across the model's other years.
First year of a new generation. The BMW 3 Series was redesigned for 2019. A first year carries problems nobody has found yet, and they are found by the people who buy it — which is worth knowing before you become one of them.
NHTSA opened a defect investigation into this model year.
| Complaints filed | 80 |
|---|---|
| Median for this model | 279 |
| Involving a crash | 4 |
| Involving a fire | 10 |
| Recalls | 0 |
| NHTSA crash rating | 5/5 |
| EPA combined | 27 mpg |
What the complaints were about
- module — 27.5% of this year's complaints, against 10.8% across the model's other years (2.6×). Owners wrote it as: module, oil, filter, assembly.
- internal — 17.5% of this year's complaints, against 6.2% across the model's other years (2.8×). Owners wrote it as: internal, four, within, season.
- potential — 17.5% of this year's complaints, against 6.2% across the model's other years (2.8×). Owners wrote it as: potential, design, action, turned off.
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.
What owners wrote
The issue at hand is the oil filter housings on the B 58 and B 48 motors that BMW manufacturers. These oil filter housings are known to break after four years or 60,000 miles. can range from the engine overheating to oil leaks. The engine overheating can total…
ONE OF THE FOUR ORIGINAL TIRES, PIRELLI CINTURATO P7 ALL SEASON 225 /45 R18 95H XL BSW BM RF, HAD BLOWOUT ON THE INTERNAL WALL WITHIN ONLY 15,000 MILES. THE TIRE BLEW OUT AT REST. NO NOTIFICATION OF FAILURE ON THE MONITORING SYSTEM. NO DAMAGE TO THE TIRE RIM.…
Verbatim from NHTSA complaint filings, with identifying details removed.
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 2019 BMW 3 Series? What happened to yours?
Loading comments…