Electrical System Problems of BMW 335 - part 1

What happened: while driving, steering system malfunction warning appeared, power steering felt normal. Within 5 sec the hvac blower quit, a/c shut off, and “transmission not in park” flashed although shifter was untouched (in drive). All cluster gauges began sweeping randomly; idrive screen flickered. Within 10 seconds, I heard a loud pop from passenger-side engine bay; voltage warnings continued. Pulled over immediately, switched ignition off, opened hood: active flames at passenger side of engine bay. Fire spread rapidly. Fire dept arrived within 5 min, but vehicle was fully engulfed. Total loss. No injuries. Suspected root cause: BMW’s pcv valve-heater (“blow-by heater”) or electric coolant-pump connector short-circuited, causing a massive current draw that browned out control modules (explaining the cascading warnings) and started the fire. These parts are the subjects of recalls 22v-119 (pcv heater, build cutoff 10 oct 2013) and 24v-608 (water-pump connector, n20 engines only). My VIN shows no open recalls, yet the failure sequence and fire origin perfectly match the defects acknowledged in those campaigns. Damage & consequences complete destruction of vehicle forward of the firewall and significant damage to cabin. Towing, tow-yard and haz-mat cleanup fees incurred in excess of $1300 I only have liability coverage on the vehicle, so insurance will not get involved. Request to NHTSA please investigate 2014 335i gt (n55) models excluded from 22v-119 and 24v-608. Evidence suggests the same defective components are present and can cause in-motion engine-bay fires. Please advise if I have any recourse on this matter.

See all problems of the 2014 BMW 335 🔎.

There is TSB by BMW where they know there is an issue with there fan. . According to them the fan is a 650w fan which causes a condition where the transmission gets a code. The car all of a sudden gets a dramatic power loss with no warning or check engine light. . I almost got into an accident when my car with no warning lost power… I called BMW of America and they are telling me I’m responsible to bring in the car and pay for the repair.

See all problems of the 2013 BMW 335 🔎.

The component that failed involved 4 wires (pictures available); that somehow grounded against a cross member that wouldn't have been previously visible due to their location hidden by the under car shielding. The car is at the wrecking yard that the police called. I wanted triple a to come and get it, but was told by an officer that they didnt have time for that. I had to go in to the tow company, and sign my title over to cover towing, and avoid further billing. As of 2 weeks ago it was still there. My safety was at risk due to the electrical fire that then caught the shielding on fire, and desperately try to put it out, and no luck. The problem has not been confirmed, by anyone beside me. I have pictures and evidentally showing where the fire started. In the images it shows one and maybe two areas of toning where the wire(s) fused to the cross member about 12 inches back from the firewall in the middle on the underside of the car. The car has only been inspected by me. I retrieved the fire fighters report, and have not been able to get the police report yet due to financial constraints. Though the car is being picked off of; as of the last time I took pictures, the area that caused the incident was still intact. I had been in the car no longer than 7-10 minutes of operating it when it went into limp mode and probably travelled 50 feet until it came to a complete stop; then I noticed smoke coming out from the hood; so I popped the hood, jumped out, and opened it. That when I saw an orange glow obscured by the firewall. I then ran to the passenger side, and saw a relatively small fire. So I took my coat off and tried to smother it, but then my coat caught fire, and it grew from there. When the fire department engaged the fire with water; there were 2 to 4 times that firemen ran up to me asking if it was a hybrid, and I answered no. It flared up several times creating increasing difficulty for the fire fighters; that an educated guess was caused from electrolysis.

See all problems of the 2007 BMW 335 🔎.

Wiring harness in the engine compartment caught fire about 2 weeks after changing a water pump, battery kept being draining even after battery replacement. Locking of the trunk trunk forced usage of a BMW authorized jump start battery charger/start etc. No access to battery when the battery is discharged.

See all problems of the 2011 BMW 335 🔎.

The contact owns a 2015 BMW 335i. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle inadvertently lost motive power. The driver was able to pull to the shoulder of the roadway, where the vehicle was able to be jumpstarted. The battery discharge warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who diagnosed a failure with the water pump and determined that a short in the water pump was preventing the water pump from turning off. The vehicle was not repaired. After investigating the failure, the contact related the failure to NHTSA campaign number: 24v608000 (engine and engine cooling, electrical system); but the VIN was not included. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but provided no assistance. The failure mileage was 88,000.

See all problems of the 2015 BMW 335 🔎.

BMW has made their early 2011-13 engines(n55) a defective engine, the problem I’ve been experiencing with these engines is there new engine system called the valvetronic system. If the something in the valtronic system goes bad and most likely does when you listen to BMW recommendation of changing oil every 10,000 it becomes very annoying to fix and can also lead to damaging the car ecu/dme so they built a car that would have problems and would also take out your car ecu which would make costly repairs.

The battery light would come on randomly when using the ac. We just took the car out for a 30 minute drive and parked in the garage. When we went back out to get something out of the car 10 minutes later, the car was smoking. We popped the trunk and the battery was on fire! I researched if there were recalls of faulty wiring and came across an article that mentioned this happening when the ac was on. It also mentioned issues with pcv valve heater recalls. After we bought this car, we noticed burn marks around the area near the battery when we replaced it. We wonder if the same thing happened to them but not as much damage. One recall involves the heater for the positive crankcase ventilation (pcv) valve, and the other recall involves wiring and electrical connectors in the system that controls air flow for heating and air conditioning. Can we get help from a BMW dealer to fix this issue? please advise. Thank you.

The contact owns a 2008 BMW 335xi. The contact stated after parking the vehicle at a parking lot, he noticed smoke exiting the center dashboard. The contact detached the plastic kickboard and saw the fire located in the wires. A bystander had a fire extinguisher available and was able to extinguish the fire. The contact burned his left hand but declined medical attention. The fire department arrived at the location and filed a fire report. The fire department informed the VIN was associated with NHTSA campaign number: 17v676000 (electrical system). A police report was not filed. The contact took the vehicle to the local dealer, where they associated the failure with the recall. The contact stated a manufacturer inspector, later on, informed the recall was not associated with the fire. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer had been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 123,000.

See all problems of the 2008 BMW 335 🔎.

Car caught fire in driveway spontaneously. It had not been used since the previous day and had been sitting atleast 16 hours since last use. We woke up and black smoke and flames coming from car taller than our house. Significant damage to other three cars in driveway and side of our house. Car that caught fire is totaled.

See all problems of the 2009 BMW 335 🔎.

I have electrical error codes and I cant seem to find what it is not sure if its wiring.

After the car is shut off, the coolant pump will stop with the car but after a min the car will stay off but the coolant pump will kick on. Runs until battery is drained. I do understand there is a feature to circulate the coolant so help mitigate burn/hot spots but this continues until the battery is disconnected by ecu. Then it won't start because the battery is too low. Ongoing issue for the past 2 years now, happens intermittently. Frequency is random but happens more when it's cold out. But average happens a few times a week when cold out, sometimes it runs well for a few weeks then starts happening again. We had tried to troubleshoot by BMW but no luck. They have replaced battery, alternator, have tried to diagnose about 4 times now but they haven't fixed it since they can't replicate at the BMW shop. I can hear the coolant pump running as well as feel the water moving. Also tested by fluke meter, it drains at about 40 amps (at 12 volts) when this happens, with the car off. Doing anything (opening doors, trunks, locking, unlocking, stops it for a minute but then pump starts again). No errors pop up for it except when the battery is low and then error battery had high discharge pops up.

July 28 2022 while parked and I. The off position my 2007 b. M. W 335xi began bellowing black smoke from under the hood of the vehicle. I quickly discovered the origin was behind was in the housing for the vehicles blower motor. Once I realized I could put the fore out I called emergency services, they responded but the vehicle was completely destroyed.

Positive battery cable heat up cause fire above battery. Blow off wire worked blowing off. Distribution box and power pole connection sparking heating up causing arc fire. No recalls for my specific VIN but 2008 through 2012 recalls this part but not for my vehicle. 2009 335 convertible. ? $1132 to fix. 9 months ago 2021 BMW could not find problem recommended changing my alternator never recommended changing the recalled part that I am now having changed at my own expense. Very scary I have the car returned to me but I was only able to drive limited distances as the cable deteriorated I was limited more and more use of the vehicle until ultimately I drove to BMW to have it fixed and the wire exploded a mile before exiting the freeway very scary.

The engine and all electrical components including power steering spontaneously cutout while driving, usually while engine isnt being stressed at all, sometimes while idling. If the car is rolling, I have to restart the engine while driving and using manual power to steer. Obviously, this is a huge safety problem. I've just had the alternator and battery replaced, and they test fine. This has happened at least 50 times and I've reduced time driving vehicle until I solve the issue, which has persisted at least 6 months. I asked the BMW dealer about the following recall, and they claim they already performed it years ago after I already owned the car, without my recalling being told it was done. However, the symptoms are back, and BMW refuses to do anything about it at this time: report receipt date: Feb 07, 2013 NHTSA campaign number: 13v044000 component(s): electrical system potential number of units affected: 504,545 all products associated with this recall details 2 associated documents manufacturer: BMW of north America, llc summary: BMW is recalling 2007-2011 3-series sedans manufactured March 2007 through October 2011. The connector for the positive battery cable connector and the corresponding terminal on the fuse box may degrade over time. Over time, the high current flow and heat from electrical resistance may lead to a breakage of the connection, and a loss of electrical power to the vehicle. Consequence: if there is a loss of electrical power to the vehicle, the vehicle may unexpectedly stall, increasing the risk of a crash. Remedy: BMW will notify owners, and dealers will replace the positive battery cable connector and secure it with an improved method, free of charge. The recall is expected to begin in March 2013.

I bought a 2007 BMW 335i convertible on March 10th 2022. On March 18th I left my house and as I was pulling out of my neighborhood the vehicle cut off at about 25 miles an hour and as I pulled over I noticed black smoke coming out from under the hood. There were no warning lights on with the exception of a random airbag light that came on the day after I bought the car and a tire pressure monitor light. My wife and I pulled over and I ran to a nearby house and took a case of dasani water from painters who were working (with their permission). I got the fire put out within minutes of its starting but the wiring harness is completely melted together along with all of the induction piping to the turbos and the intake manifold and fuel line. I told the car home and had my insurance agent look at it. She said because it was a fire it would be a mechanical issue and needed to go to the BMW dealership. I paid to have it towed there that day. The dealer called me about an hour after the car showed up there and said that they would not service or inspect the vehicle for damage because I have the wrong insurance company. I was forced to tow the car back home after being turned away by several other dealerships and collision centers due to the high volume of mechanical work already on their lots. BMW has open recalls on 3 series vehicles because they can have engine fires. My car for some reason is not one of the ones they cover under that recall. Still have no resolution from my insurance company on what to do because the car hasn't been officially inspected by a BMW technician. I've now towed the car three times and I'm exactly where I was at the beginning of this claim.

The coating on the angel. Eye wiring is made to deteriorate (environmental purposes) but leads to shorting out. Now my angel eyes don't turn on. Wiring needs to be replaced. Could possibly cause a fire I would assume as the live wires have no coating. Multiple forums talk about this issue and lots of drivers experience this. It is a hazzard and possible fire instigator the same as the blower motor wiring which does have a recall.

2011 BMW 335i sedan: please attempt to get my car included in the current recall. I have contacted BMW USA and my local dealership. Both said that my car does not qualify for repair. On a weekly basis, the car produces large amounts of smoke from the engine compartment and enters the passenger compartment through the vents. BMW has stated that there is a fire risk for this year, make, and model but will not address it for my car: wbapm5c59be577894 the check engine light turns on while engine smokes. The BMW dealership will not inspect the car unless it appears on the recall list. In addition, occasionally, the entire electrical system dies preventing all electronics including the starter from working.

Loss of power failure, it lights up several times when turning corners and then accelerating.

Loss of power/won't rev over 2500rpms no fault codes displayed on dash radiator fan goes to max and cuts off consistently every 30sec-45sec very dangerous situation when pulling out in front of traffic. I've only owned this car for 3 months! I need to get this fixed ASAP. Also, this problem occurs at random times in all different conditions. It will also "reset" after turning car off and restarting. It has happened to me 7 - 8 times in 3 months!.

The oil filter housing gasket, the mechatronic transmission and the electrical system failed. Yes, it is available for inspection. My safety and the safety of others were put at risk as a result of my vehicle losing power suddenly while I was driving on the highway. I was driving at the highway speed limit and my vehicle malfunctioned and lost power while others were at high speeds. I had to abruptly stop almost causing an accident. The problem has been reproduced and confirmed by the BMW service center. The vehicle has been inspected by the BMW dealer service department. The warning lamps that came on my dashboard were the check engine light, oil level light, and the transmission light. The car was running poorly. The engine wouldn’t crank and then it would jolt after driving. I would smell oil occasionally. The symptoms first appeared in 2011. I had my vehicle serviced at BMW regularly. In 2016 the symptoms got worse despite having my vehicle serviced for the same issue. I had the repairs done at BMW and when I drove it for the first time after getting it repaired it still failed.

The contact owned a 2009 BMW 335i. The contact stated that he parked the vehicle in the driveway at his residence and the next morning his wife informed him that the vehicle was engulfed in flames. There was no damage to the residence from the flames. The fire department was called out and arrived and extinguished the flames. A fire report was filed. There was no injury sustained. An investigation was started by the local police department however, a police report was not yet filed. The local dealer was contacted and informed the contact that the VIN was not under recall. The vehicle was deemed a total loss by the fire department. The insurance company was contacted however, informed the contact that there was no fire coverage included on his policy. The contact mentioned NHTSA campaign number: 17v676000 (electrical system) as a possible solution to the failure however, the VIN was not included. The manufacturer was notified of the failure however, not further assistance was offered. The failure mileage was approximately 138,000.

Earlier this year in February I have replaced the alternator and some other major part right after purchasing from dealership and I have seen all the other recent recalls for the vehicle also it appears to have recalls that have not been worked on by manufacture . There also were no signs that came on also the wheel tightened up and stopped on me out of no where while driving. This being the second time this has happened as on new years I was on the freeway on my way home and the car did the same when I first replaced the alternator.

Hello, I wanted to bring to attention the failing footwell modules in e9x generation Bmws. The modules have a high failure rate and when they become inoperable you lose your headlights, turn signals, locking and unlocking doors, power window control and the ability to move your mirrors. It is a serious safety concern that BMW has hidden from its customers as it is a known extended warranty but there is no recall for such an important component. I recently had my vehicle in to have it replaced and was declined as it had not failed enough. Essentially they want me to have an unsafe vehicle before the repair will be performed. I do have documentation that the unit is in the early stages of failing but BMW still refuses to honor the extended warranty.

1 day I drove the car all the door lockes except for the rear left stoped working and I got stuck in the car for 30 minutes then the door unlocked and then stoped working car doors have to be opens with the key hole or from inside the car major death hazard. All happened in one day in a parking garage.

So I got a paper saying I had a recall on my air bags so I called and got my car takin to BMW in bellevue. BMW's road side assistants gave the wrong address to the tow company and would not answer the phone tow for them> I even attempted to call and was placed on hold for approximatyely 40 minutes to fix this problem. Finally I spoke with the tow companys dispatcher who was so frustrated he started accusing me of playing games and threatened to have my vehicle dropped at the wrong dealership then extorted me for another 80 dollars just to drop my car off his truck and leave it at my house. Hours later after finally getting a hod of roadside assistance the exact same company returned and delivered my vehicle to the right location. After all of this we are being jerked around by bellevue BMW on the recalls they asked me for 3 hours of labor and promised us to get the vehicle started after approximately a week they said my dme is bad an it would cost 8000. 00 to fix it and said it wasn't worth fixing because it was old never mentioned anything about a recall until I finally brought it up the last time I spoke with BMW in bellevue which was Monday the15th of March 2021. I was told the wire harness was repaired not replaced and the airbag recall was replaced. Then said my bill was over 600. 00 > after doing my research thru thenhtsa website I found out my recalls were not fixed and I took photos with the dates and time showing my recalls were not fixed which I feel upset and very worried and concerned for my safety now I am not sure where to go from hear because my family and I are being placed into a hardship and to make it worse we are in the middle of a pandemic please help us. I don't know if anything was done to the car I think we need to talk to an attorney.

Central locking issue. The doors neither lock nor unlock with key fob, and the central locking button inside the car does not unlock the doors. The double pull method also does not unlock the doors. Seems like a huge safety issue especially when I have 4 other people in the car and get t-boned, flip the car and it catches fire, and now all of us have to get out of the passenger door. Not sure where to go from here !.

I went to start my car and there was a red warning light that is a steering wheel with a padlock. I am not able to start my car or do anything with it for that matter, so I am stuck. Thank goodness I was home and parked in the driveway or worse, driving and it lock on me! so now I am stuck without a car and hard telling what its going to cost me! ive been reading that a lot of other people are having or have had the same issue.

There is a failure in the door actuators that when happens prevents the door from being opened using the internal door lever and in some cases also affects the external handle. Not being able to open the door by pulling the internal or external levers may cause a safety issue in case of emergency (crash, flood, fire). BMW is aware of this issue because lots of 3 series cars have failed and they have been repairing or replacing the defective parts in cars under warranty, but refuses to cover the expenses out of warranty period. BMW na must take care of this problem despite the warranty period since it's a safety issue. . Read more...

The contact owned a 2009 BMW 335i. The contact stated that he parked his vehicle in the driveway of his residence and, the next morning his wife informed him that the vehicle was engulfed in flames. There were no damages to the residence from the flames. The fire department was contacted and arrived to extinguish the flames. A fire report was filed. There were no injuries sustained. A police investigation was started however, a report was not yet provided. A local dealer was contacted and the contact was informed that the VIN was not under recall. The vehicle was deemed a total loss by the fire department. The insurance company was contacted however, informed the contact that fire protection was not included in his policy. The contact mentioned NHTSA campaign number: 17v676000 (electrical system) as a possible solution to the failure however, the VIN was not included in the recall. The manufacturer was notified of the failure however, no further assistance was provided. The failure mileage was approximately 138,000.

I loved my BMW until I realized it has a faulty engine. I noticed the drive train malfunction light once when I went through a car wash. I turned off when I restarted the car. My car was up to date on all oil changes etc, I take it to BMW specialist only. I noticed a light tick sound and reported it to BMW at my last oil change. They disregarded it and said they did notice oil on the gasket. No changes requested at that time. My car never showed signs of leaking oil and the oil pressure at times showed to be low but would always return to normal. I was told it was because the hybrids work differently. On my way home on the frontage road of i35 my car just shut down and never restarted. I was able to guide it into a parking lot and the engine just stopped turning and the drive train malfunction light turned on. I had it towed to a mechanic and they basically said they had to replace the entire engine. A new engine cost $18000 and a used is around 13000. That does not include labor!!! I had to then have my car towed home to just park it. This is the only car I have, I owe thousands on it and the engine completely broke! as I'm doing research I see multiple complaints with the same issues and same result, complete engine failure!!! this needs to be investigated! from what I gather it is related to the drivetrain malfunction light sending a signal to the engine & stopping oil from reaching the top of the motor, leading to vanos complications and leading to metal in the engine leading to a complete damage to the engine. Cheap issue leading to failure of the entire vehicle. I've also gathered there is a fault with the start/stop that causes this issue. I am left with no car, I'm a full time nurse and now in debt with no working car! this could have been prevented had a recall been done a few years ago with all the initial complaints!! several forums including on this site!!.

Randomly while driving and sometimes when stationary my car's electrical system started going haywire including my gauges and the passenger airbag as well some other safety features with tthe seatbelt were disabled with & without a passenger in the car. I keep getting a warning screen that tread as follows: "restraint system malfunction. Fault in passenger-restraint system affecting airbag, belt tensioner or belt-force limiter. Continue to wear the safety belt. Have the system checked by the nearest BMW center. " after looking online it is a common problem but for some reason my VIN isn't included on the recall.

Blinker lights and windows not working. I was not driving when I noticed the problem. I was pulling out of my driveway but did not proceed when I noticed the windows and lights weren't working. Both blinker and high beams are not working.

Every time I go from i93 mass to i90 hwy on the exit my car shuts off for 3sec and restarts the electronics. Not sure what defect or sensors are in the area that causes this malfunction. But this only happens when I take the same exact exit every single time.

A/c cooling intermittent reduction of air flow: complaint of reduced air flow when the air conditioning system is operated for an extended time, usually longer than 30 minutes. The evaporator starts to freeze up. Here is a blog from multiple owners reporting the same issue. . Read more...

Encountered difficulty exiting the car. Manufacturer's dealer had to install "updated door latch on both front" doors. At the time the vechicle was stationary in my driveway.