Engine Problems of BMW M3

There are no visual signs of this falure unless the valve cover to the engine is removed. Upon removal there is a metal fragment that is running loose underneath the valve cover. When this metal piece falls out it can enter the timing chain and cause the engine to seize and the vehicle to have catastrophic engine damage. This part breaks off due to a faulty design of the adjustable timing mechanism (vanos). A rediesign of the system or removal and replacement of parts is needed to solve the issue from happening again. As a temporary solution I have replaced the $1000 dollar part which has the possibility of failing again. Please address this issue as it is a widespread issue on the s54 engine on thousands of high end BMW's and leads to a ridiculous fee to fix that can range from $1000-$8000 depending on severity.

See all problems of the 2005 BMW M3 🔎.

Car is well maintained everything run smooth except one day it starts sounding like a tractor. Vanos bolts come loose. BMW needs to recall the vanos of the e46 M3 ASAP happened to 50 percent of people I know who have this car and I know about 100.

See all problems of the 2006 BMW M3 🔎.

I own a 2002 BMW M3. There are six camshaft bolts behind a plate cover. BMW speced bolts that were too soft until 2004 when they changed bolt spec to a hardened steel with loctite. Prior to this the bolts had no loctite. The issue is starting to surface all over the web. The failure is that the bolts do not stay screwed in. They back out and stop against the plate cover. Eventually they shear off and if this happens it causes catastrophic failure to your engine. In my case I was going 15mph so the damage was only $10,000. The car hammered to a stop. BMW is refusing to acknowledge the issue suggesting out of warranty. My concern is that I have 60k on the car when the issue occurred first. A p0011 camshaft timing fault comes up. A BMW service center cleared the fault and replaced some coils and sparkplugs ($663) and sent me on my way. Three days later the bolts sheared. The dealership said they "had never seen this before". They also said BMW had issued no bulletins to address the bolts. Every independent BMW facility I interviewed in portland was well aware of the issue and already doing engine rebuilds for their customers. I think this is gross negligence on BMW's part for not acknowledging the issue and dealing with it. I also think the dealer is guilty of clearing the fault without checking further. The bid on my work is $10,000 (two valve heads and a vanos system plus 50 hours of labor). This is an estimate until they pull the engine apart more. Online you can see on you tube my issue by watching this video. On all the forums there are threads to see the issue. . Read more...

See all problems of the 2002 BMW M3 🔎.

Upon slowing down, then attempting to resume power, the electronic throttle lags for several seconds . When turning left across traffic, this lag leaves the vehicle in the path of oncoming traffic. This occurs every time the vehicle is slowed.

See all problems of the 2008 BMW M3 🔎.

Multiple problems with the vehicel. The engine was replaced at 16000, the transmission (smg) was re[;aced at 20000, now the engine rev high at idel and send stron vibration to the cabin and steering column. BMW of houston north, a local dealer in houston, TX, were less than helpful in trying to solve the current problem. It appears that they want to keep the problems with M3 quiet.

Engine destroyed by rod bearing failure.

Latent defect in body causing wheel mounts to tear away from car.

See all problems of the 1997 BMW M3 🔎.