Owners have filed 27 complaints on the BMW 325iS, covering 1992–1995. The system named most often is Structure (8 reports). Worst years by volume: 1993, 1992, 1994; cleanest: 1995, 1994, 1992. 1 reports describe a crash, 1 a fire. On average the car was 9.0 years old when the problem happened.
What breaks on BMW 325iS
Grouped by the system owners named — percentages are shares of all 27 325iS complaints. Open any row for the full reports in owners' own words.
Structure 8 Read
Outside door handles on both doors became inoperablewithin a month of each other also trunk latch broke due to the way it is attatched to trunk lid ie two screws thru sheet metal, sheet metal broke around both screws
The rear subframe mount points have ripped in at least one place from the unibody resulting in not being able to safely drive the car. I caught it early so no injury has resulted. This is a common (unacceptable) problem with these cars (bmw e36)
My 1993 bmw 325is has a failure of the chassis mounting points for the rear subframe of the car. The car had been feeling funny for weeks prior to this until one day the car started to shudder when taking a turn and accelerating out of it. From that day on the car felt completely detached from my steering inputs, it…
Engine And Engine Cooling 5 Read
Cars RPM will not stay stable . Go up @down when idling. Check engine light comes on goes out when accelerating. Replace thermostat . Radiator. Fan and fuel pump prior to this due to car over heating then came failure of cracked cylinder in engine. Still no mechanic can diagnosis even with computer scope help
Consumer received recall 98V178000/ manufacturer's recall # same/ coolant system. Consumer took vehicle to ferma bmw on us19 in safety harbor, florida where they denied doing recall work. A mechanic looked at vehicle and engine had cracks from being overheated. Also, consumer stated that vehicle can't be moved to home…
After taking vehicle through a carwash engine hydrolocked and caused fuel to inject into engine. Dealer said engine has to be replaced.*ak consumer states dme shorted out causing it to hydrolock and causing engine and fuel components to be damaged internally
Power Train 3 Read
Owner of a 1994 325is. Was driving on highway and transmission suddenly died down (slipped out of gear) almost causing the vehicles behind to almost crash into me. In illinois. Called the national bmw customer center and they say they have no active recall despite numerous complaint of incidents with the transmission…
The 1994 bmw 3 series has a clutch lining problem that will cause the car to buck and throw itself forward when stuck in stop and go traffic for any amount of time. Although this is called a minor incomvenience by bmw, it can cause a low impact accident if the clutch and dual mass fly wheel are not replaced.... $2000…
Original limited slip rear differential assembly was faulty at 14,347 miles and replaced at 18,700 miles by dealer for original owner. Second owner complained of similar problems at 70,000 miles and second replacement of limited slip rear differential is in process at 76
Suspension 2 Read
The contact stated while backing up out of a driveway at 5 mph, a noise was heard. The contact inspected the vehicle and noticed the rear passenger side wheel separated from the control arm support. The bolts that attached the wheel were fractured. Prior to the incident, there were no warning lights to alert the…
Strut that holds the rear wheel is pulling from frame, consumer is not able to drive vehicle
Exterior Lighting 2 Read
Brake lights work intermittently! Display on dash reads"brake light failure". (also, intermittently!) dealer has informed us that defective brake switch has already been replaced. They will replace switch for $100.00. Would this be a normal failure rate on a 6 year old vehicle?
Headlights have turned a yellow milky color. I have observed this in other cars of similar type and been told by a bmw mechanic that this is a common occurence with the bmw's. The interior door panel has come unglued and is bubbling. I have also been told by a bmw mechanic and an upholstery repairman that this is a…
Fuel System 2 Read
Left gas tank fuel sending unit has gone bad/is cracked underneith the rear seat, causing fumes/odor to enter into the passenger compartment. Consumer has contacted dealer. Please provide any further details
Gas fumes filled passenger compartment
Air Bags 1 Read
The vehicle was involved in a frontal collision, and the air bags failed to deploy, the consumer was injured
Electrical System 1 Read
Two night ago I noticed that the instrument lights on my vehicle would shutoff immediately after turning off the headlights. They next morning I went to my car and noticed that not only were the instrument lights on but also the rear license plate lights. I went through the day with both on when I remembered I changed…
325iS years to avoid — and the clean ones
Complaints per model year. More reports usually means more cars on the road as well as more trouble, so read the crash and fire columns alongside the count.
| Model year | Complaints | Top system | Crashes | Fires |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | Air Bags | 1 | — | |
| 1994 | Engine And Engine Cooling,electrical System | — | — | |
| 1993 | Electrical System | — | 1 | |
| 1992 | Fuel System, Gasoline | — | — |
The same model year, different builds
Every complaint carries the first 11 characters of the VIN — plant, year, body and engine. That is a production series, and complaints are spread across them very unevenly.
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Distinct production series | 21 |
| Average complaints per series | 1.3 |
| Worst single series | 3 complaints |
| Average age at failure | 9.0 years |
A model average of 1.3 hides a worst series at 3. Enter a VIN above to see the numbers for that exact build instead of the model as a whole.
Owners reported these. Find out if yours is one of them.
- Complaints matched to the exact production run, not just the model
- What the car is worth given what tends to fail on it
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How we count
Every figure here comes from complaints owners filed with NHTSA — 1,100,006 of them, covering 1,982 models built between 1981 and 2026.
A complaint is an unverified report: someone wrote down what happened to their car. It is not a confirmed defect and not a recall. What makes the volume useful is the pattern — when thousands of owners of the same build describe the same failure, that is a signal no marketing brochure will give you.
Two things we do that the source does not. First, we compute the age of the car at the moment of failure from the incident date and the model year. Second, we group complaints by the first 11 characters of the VIN — the production series — so a bad plant run does not disappear into a model-wide average.
Frequently asked questions
What are the worst years for the 325iS?
By complaint volume, 1993, 1992, 1994 drew the most owner reports. Bear in mind that popular years put more cars on the road, so check the crash and fire columns too.
Which 325iS years are the cleanest?
1995, 1994, 1992 have the fewest complaints on file. For recent years that can simply mean the cars are young.
How many complaints does the BMW 325iS have?
27 owner complaints filed with NHTSA, covering 1992–1995. Of those, 1 describe a crash and 1 a fire.
Are these complaints verified?
No. They are unverified reports from owners. NHTSA publishes them as filed and investigates only a fraction. The value is in the pattern, not in any single report.
Can I check complaints for one specific car?
Yes — enter its VIN above. We match the first 11 characters, which identify the plant, year, body and engine, so you get complaints on that exact production series rather than the whole model.