Power Train Problems of BMW Z3

The BMW e36 Z3 1996-2002 (I have the 1998 1. 9) are prone to having a separation of the rear subframe from the differential causing the drivetrain to hang off the vehicle and/or rip out of the trunk's weak aluminum sheet subframe. BMW germany has acknowledged the problem for a few individuals over the past decade and a half and kept it on the low for them to not spread it further. BMW north America fails to acknowledge the design flaw during their manufacturing process in the north american plant during the late 90s. The spot welds' quality is subpar and worrisome as this catastrophic failure of the subframe to driveline structure has various ways of presenting it self which chiefly includes popped spot welds in the truck which comes hand in hand with a cracked differential ear bracket. * to simply understand why this happens: the issue is that the metal of the trunkfloor is too thin and not adequete at holding up to the forces of the differential tugging at it. There have been documented cases of similarly "repaired" Z3's that end up basically pulling out and/or deforming the entire trunkfloor panel. The metal panel the diff crossmember is structurally tied to (and the trunkfloor itself which is above it) is simply too weak for the forces being applied through it. Adding more welds simply changes where the failure occurs - from pulling out spotwelds, to deforming the trunk floor/crossmember itself if there are too many welds for them to be able to be pulled out. There are a few kits going around that other owners have addressed to their vehicles for a few thousand dollars which includes welding and a re-fabrication of the trunk floor's structure to the subframe/chasis. It has two "caps" that sit on the framerails at either side and a "crossmember" piece which is a strong piece of metal that spans between the two frame rails and sits on top of the "caps". When installed, the differential ends up tugging at the crossmember, which then distributes the forces. . . . .

See all problems of the 1998 BMW Z3 🔎.

The contact owns a 1999 BMW Z3. After the vehicle was started and placed into reverse, a clanking sound emerged from the rear end without warning. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The VIN was excluded from NHTSA campaign number: 99v272000 (power train). The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 140,000.

See all problems of the 1999 BMW Z3 🔎.

I am driving as normal and then the car begins to have problems shifting and the transmission indicator light comes on. The owners manual tell you to pull over and shift the car into park and then apply the parking brake and turn the car off and then back on. It seems to temporarily correct the problem but it still occurs on days when the air temp. Is high. I have had the car on the diagnostic a number of times with no cure. As far as I know there are no recalls on the transmission or ecu. But this could be a major problem at high speeds on the highway or in city traffic if the car stalls or locks up BMW 2001 Z3 2. 5i (steptronic shifting).

See all problems of the 2001 BMW Z3 🔎.

I purchased car 6-4-12 after driving the car I noticed a squeak and a clunking noise coming from trunk, after removing trunk lining the spot welds [4] were broke loose in trunk floor from cross member where rear end is supported. . I took the car to dealer where car was bought hoping the dealer had a service bullition on car I was told they would repair car at my exspence I asked if that was an engineered repair or just a temporary repair there response was its the first time it had ever happened. . After searching the internet I found it was not the first time welds had come loose in the sub frame and if not repaired would cause major damage and possable control issues. This car is in excellent shape no rust issues at all was always garaged never driven in winter I beleave the subframe and rear axle mounting is under designed for this car. ## VIN passed ## BMW Z3m roadster 2000 ##.

See all problems of the 2000 BMW Z3 🔎.

Speedometor is incorrect by 9. 4 miles. Vehicle is going slower than speedometor is reading. Manufacturer will not allow dealers to fix problem. Please provide any further information.

The shifter popped out of first gear and dropped into neutral, and the engine lost power.

See all problems of the 1996 BMW Z3 🔎.

Speedometer shows 6% over actual speed. This is a safty issue due to 1) no accurate speed known, 2) driver's attention is distracted from driving while trying to calculate true speed 3) driver finds himself speeding in other vehicles due to habits of compesating for speedometer error in Z3. BMW refuses to repair.

Speedometer failed to tell exact mileage of vehicle.