2001 BMW 325i Engine Problems

Which parts fail

• Cooling system › Fan
  7
• Cooling system
  3
• Engine › Gasoline
  2
• Engine
  2
• Exhaust system
  1
• Exhaust system › Emission control › Crankcase (pcv)
  1

Components named in complaints (engine, cooling system, oil leaks, timing chain, exhaust).

Mileage when the problem started

• Under 25k
  229%
• 25k–50k
  00%
• 50k–75k
  114%
• 75k–100k
  114%
• 100k–150k
  114%
• 150k+
  229%

Owner reports

Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2001 BMW 325i owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).

The contact owns a 2001 BMW 325i. The contact stated that while the vehicle was parked overnight and off, the vehicle caught on fire. The contact was alerted by her father that the vehicle was on fire. There were no occupants at the time of the fire. The entire front end of the vehicle was engulfed in flames. The fire department was called to the scene. It was unknown if there was a fire report was filed. There were no injuries sustained. The father of the contact had a truck parked in front and due to the flames of the vehicle fire, it melted the front of the parked vehicle causing damage. The dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The vehicle was not driveable after the fire. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 188,000.

The contact owns a 2001 BMW 325I. The contact stated that while the vehicle was parked, the air bag warning light illuminated. The contact stated that the vehicle was scanned using a hand-held diagnostic machine. The DTC code 02: Ignition Decay 1/Belt Tensioner Driver was retrieved. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 195,000.

While my foot was firmly on the break, my 2001 BMW 325i seemed to speed up and caused me to crash into the building I was parking in front of. Severe damage across the bottom of my right foot( a bruise the shape of the brake pedal } along with other foot and ankle injuries indicate my foot was indeed on the brake and not on the accelerator as one might think. The damage to the car $ 5,000.00. No answer for what happened from dealer. Approx seven months later, while on an open road approaching stop light again with my foot on brake, car revved up to 4,000 rmp then back down and stalled. Car would not start after this. Towed to different BMW dealer who claimed faulty gas sensors were to blame. Sensors told engine car needed gas when indeed it did not.

Tl* the contact owns a 2001 BMW 325i. While driving 45 MPH, the contact noticed smoke coming from the engine compartment. The contact pulled over to a safe area and inspected the vehicle. The contact noticed that the cooling fan failed and the vehicle overheated. The vehicle was able to restart after numerous attempts, but the failure recurred. The vehicle was towed to the contact's residence and then to brian harris BMW (12336 airline hwy, baton rouge, la 70817, [phone]). The dealer stated that there were no recalls for the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was unknown.

Ever since I've had the car I have had overheating problems after replacing the water pump all the hoses HVAC hoses under the manifold the car still wants to overheat I've been in traffic I've had this problem having a I'm cars behind me and my temperature gauge going to age and I can't crank the car because I don't want to ruin the motor I've had to let the car cool be late for jobs work and other things appointments are the car cool down and I've had to add coolant in it at $20 a piece by the coolant runs right back out

I have a 2001 BMW 2.5 automatic with about 55K miles. The service engine soon light came on around 12K and the dealer replace the coil. It came on again several time later over the course of 2 years for few days. Every time by the time I took the car to the dealer, the ses disappeared and dealer can't find any thing wrong. However, I notice that when the light is on, the engine run rough and acceleration is slow. My car is out of warranty now at 55K and the light is on for the last few days. Also, BMW is famous for problem with the windows regulator. Dealer replaces three of the four windows regulators on three doors during warranty but now the fourth one has failed. What this means is that now all the windows regulator on all the four doors has failed. Please have BMW recalled the issue with ignition coil and fix the windows regulator. Thank you very much

Tl* the contact owns a 2001 BMW 325i. While driving at 45 MPH, the fans began running unusually loud. The contact stated that the engine was also extremely loud. The vehicle would also make a beeping sound intermittently. No repairs were made to the vehicle. The failure mileage was 140,000 and the current mileage was 160,000.

Consumer parked vehicle in garage at work. 5 minutes later, consumer was called downstairs, and told engine vehicle on fire. Front part was totaled. Cooling fan and other electrical wires were possible cause of fire.

Purchased the car used, in January 2011, with approximately 110,000 miles. Vehicle had several stored engine codes, po0300,171,174,1345,1351,1353; mostly relating to oxygen sensors and the maf. All engine hoses, the maf, all 4 oxygen sensors and the ignition coil packs were replaced by a certified mechanic. Within 2 months of normal driving, all codes had returned. Mechanic is unable to determine the points of failure for these issues and BMW denies any existing problem the passenger side airbag light, turns on and off, randomly, whether someone is sitting there, or not. Failure of the sensor could cause the ab not to deploy during an accident, causing serious, if not fatal, injury. BMW is aware of the issue, does not replace/repair. Door lock/window/windshield wiper control module, known as gm5, fails randomly and often. It has failed several times, while I was in the car. …

The car overheated and had to be towed. I was told on June 4th that BMW was aware of the problem and had isolated it to a specific batch of bad fans and that the replacement fan was from a good car. The replacemnet fan failed on July 4th at 711 miles. There is still no recall notice from BMW. If they and you are aware of the issue why is nothing being done? Cars that can break down are a safety issue as well as an inconvenience. There is also a report in your database of a car fire on the same model car from the same problem. Do people have to die before action is taken? If this were an aircraft incidence they would be ground and corrected. I am interested in what the procedure is when there is a known defect in a car.

Related recalls

Engine complaints in other 325i years