Table 1 shows one common suspension related problems of the 2004 BMW M3.
| Problem Category | Number of Problems |
|---|---|
| Suspension problems |
I inspected the trunk floorpan and noticed buckling, cracking of the trunk floor and welded seams coming apart. The rear subframe mounts were cracked on both sides. The rear subframe is ripping itself out of the car and I'm very lucky I found this while the car was at rest and not driving at speed. BMW knows this is faulty engineering but somehow their lawyers fanagled a way to only cover the repairs for the e46 cars for 1 year (2010), everyone else is screwed. These cars should be outlawed, or at least a giant sign should have to be placed in the windshield explaining this problem to potential buyers and they should be forced to sign a waiver if they are dumb enough to buy it anyways. I bought the car 2 months ago under the impression M3s had re-enforcement in this area above and beyond the regular e46, I was wrong to the tune of 3500. 00 repair bill (and I got off light). What a mess, that little baby chassis can't even handle 333hp without ripping itself apart. My Buick gn makes 550hp and the frame holds together just fine.
Had my car inspected by a mechanic and he noticed a tear in the subframe near the rear drivers side. Tunes out this is a known problem for e46 Bmws. BMW will only cover 50% of the repairs and has admitted that this is a defect in their design. It's now a safety issue as the car is out of alignment and the floor has dropped, rubbing on the rear axle.