2002 BMW M3 — reported problems

What owners report: issue areas

Owner complaints are classified by the system they concern: 48 classifications in all. One complaint can concern several systems, so these add up to more than the number of complaints.

• Engine13 (27.1%)
• Powertrain (transmission & drivetrain)8 (16.7%)Official recall records for this system: 3, covering model years 2008–2017.
• Air bags (restraint system)7 (14.6%)Official recall records for this system: 9, covering model years 1997–2015.
• Body & structure5 (10.4%)Official recall records for this system: 1, covering model years 2015–2017.
• Electrical system4 (8.3%)Official recall records for this system: 3, covering model years 2006–2023.
• Suspension4 (8.3%)

Other / uncategorized: 1 classifications (2.1%) were not assigned to a specific system by the source. They are counted but not treated as an issue area.

These are counts of records held by CarFaultIQ, not a failure rate. More records can simply mean more vehicles were sold or more owners reported. No vehicles-in-service figure exists in this data, so no reliability or risk score can be derived from it.

What the records are about, by source

Each source is kept separate: owner complaints, recalls, manufacturer communications and investigations are different kinds of record and are never added together. All model years.

• Owner complaints (884 records, model years 1995–2025) are most frequently classified under: powertrain (transmission & drivetrain), air bags (restraint system) and engine.
• Safety recalls (94 records, model years 1995–2023) are most frequently classified under: air bags (restraint system), seat belts and electrical system.
• Manufacturer communications (2,109 records, model years 1995–2026) are most frequently classified under: equipment & accessories, electrical system and engine.
• Investigations (27 records, model years 1999–2013) are most frequently classified under: air bags (restraint system) and lights.

"Most frequently classified under" reports how the records are filed by the source. It is not a finding about causes, and a record can be filed under more than one system. Read the individual records

Mileage reported when the issue occurred

• 26reports included a mileage
• 102,431average of those mileages

This is the mileage owners recorded at the time they reported, not an expected failure mileage and not a prediction for any individual vehicle. The lowest and highest figures on record are not shown: they are unverified odometer entries that include zeros and implausibly high readings, so they would not describe a real range. A median is not shown either, because the stored figures are group totals and a median cannot be recovered from them.

Evidence by model year

Records held per model year. Select a year to narrow this page to it.

1. 1995 20 records for 1995 20
2. 1996 11 records for 1996 11
3. 1997 28 records for 1997 28
4. 1998 26 records for 1998 26
5. 1999 17 records for 1999 17
6. 2001 41 records for 2001 41
7. 2002 69 records for 2002 69
8. 2003 85 records for 2003 85
9. 2004 63 records for 2004 63
10. 2005 45 records for 2005 45
11. 2006 34 records for 2006 34
12. 2008 215 records for 2008 215
13. 2009 178 records for 2009 178
14. 2010 152 records for 2010 152
15. 2011 146 records for 2011 146
16. 2012 121 records for 2012 121
17. 2013 120 records for 2013 120
18. 2015 212 records for 2015 212
19. 2016 198 records for 2016 198
20. 2017 167 records for 2017 167
21. 2018 64 records for 2018 64
22. 2021 70 records for 2021 70
23. 2022 48 records for 2022 48
24. 2023 24 records for 2023 24
25. 2024 15 records for 2024 15
26. 2025 12 records for 2025 12
27. 2026 2 records for 2026 2

Counts are not adjusted for how many vehicles were sold in each year, so a taller year is not necessarily a worse year.

Reports mentioning outcomes

• 2mention a crash
• 1mention a fire
• 1mention an injury

These are counts of records whose report mentioned the outcome. They are not a severity rating and not a safety assessment of this vehicle.

Official records held

• Safety recalls NHTSA 5
• Manufacturer communications NHTSA 22
• Investigations NHTSA 2
• Owner complaints NHTSA 40

Explore the underlying evidence records