Owners have filed 199 complaints on the BMW 335i, covering 2011–2015. The system named most often is Air Bags (59 reports). Worst years by volume: 2011, 2013, 2012; cleanest: 2015, 2014, 2012. 10 reports describe a crash, 2 a fire. On average the car was 6.3 years old when the problem happened.
What breaks on BMW 335i
Grouped by the system owners named — percentages are shares of all 199 335i complaints. Open any row for the full reports in owners' own words.
Air Bags 59 Read
Driver airbag did not deploy. I hit the steering wheel with enough force to break the steering column
The airbags is displayed as not working/off. The blind spot warning, and the lane keeping assistance does not function. There was an incident that happened where I hit a pot hole and ended up hitting a construction cone. No warning signs went off and my car wasn’t assisted yo avoid the cone
The contact owns a 2011 bmw 335i. While driving at an unknown speed, the contact's vehicle collided into a tree without warning. The air bags deployed. A police report was filed. The contact declined assistance from the emt, but went to an urgent care. Facility for cuts to the right hand, fracture to the right pinky…
Engine 32 Read
On saturday 8/8/15, I was parking my bmw 335i car to get groceries, and while entering the parking spot, the engine began racing out of control. I hit the brakes hard, but the car would not stop. I tried to shift into neutral, but the shift control was locked in drive and would not move. Lastly I finally hit the stop…
Car exhaust rattles on start which is caused by a broken/loose exhaust flap
The contact owns a 2014 bmw 335i. The contact stated that the engine malfunctioned and the engine warning indicator illuminated. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The failure mileage was 32,800
Electrical System 30 Read
The car died without warning on highway. Lost control because of no power. Car was towed. No codes found. Car died again on highway, lost control no power to brakes and steering. Car was hit trying to got off into breakdown lane. High pressure fuel pump no good
Wiring harness in the engine compartment caught fire about 2 weeks after changing a water pump, battery kept being draining even after battery replacement. Locking of the trunk trunk forced usage of a BMW authorized jump start battery charger/start etc. No access to Battery when the battery is discharged
I have had two door lock actuators fail in my car. At best, this presents as a case where the door lock is physically slow to lock/unlock, or at worst, the passenger cannot open the door from inside. This could present a safety or other adverse situation when the passenger needs to exit the vehicle. This is a known…
Power Train 16 Read
While parking car turning wheels to left, car suddenly accelerated on it's own without any warning, causing car to jump over parking bumper, through concrete block wall and continued to ram into private home, making home unsafe to enter. All this caused $14000.00 damage to the car, not including the cost of damage to…
Driving on 4 lane road at 40mph when 2104 bmw 335i xdrive vehicle experienced total failure-starting with the navigation screen then the entire dashboard went black and engine shutdown (all in few seconds). There was no shoulder (concrete curb) so vehicle came to stop in the right lane. Headlights were "stuck" on but…
The symptom: the car misses or shutters under load. The problem started as intermittent but is becoming worse. The dealership has informed me today that the car needs a new transfer case. The vehicle is a just over 6yrs old with 82k miles. This is a major drivetrain failure in my opinion for a car of this age with…
Fuel/propulsion System 13 Read
The contact owns a 2015 bmw 335i. After filling the vehicle with fuel, the contact noticed fuel was leaking out of the fuel tank area. The vehicle was driven to the dealer (garlyn shelton bmw, 5700 sw h k dodgen loop, temple, tx 76504) where it was diagnosed that the fuel tank was fractured and needed replacement. The…
I was driving on the highway and the car was reading that it had gas, then suddenly it came to a stop, on the highway, the car was towed to the dealer, and it was found that the fuel level sensor had died making the car think it had gas when it in fact had none. The dealer wants to replace the entire tank for $2700,…
This vehicle's fuel pump had an issue which would cause a stall, and it was eventually replaced by bmw just like a recall, but they made sure to emphasize that it was a "limited warranty extension" and was 'not' a recall. Stalling and fuel leaks seem like a recall issue especially with respect to "defects in materials…
Steering 10 Read
The car Hydroplaned while driving on the interstate, spun out of control and slammed into a tree in the rear end. My son was going approximately 65 mph and upon impact no airbags deployed and the steering wheel was in his hands after impact. His seat broke and collapsed into a laying position. His head sustained a…
My car randomly stiffens steering in a turn which made me nearly hit a parked car and lit up a warning light stating “Drive Moderately”. The car recently also began to have symptoms of clunking and grinding when turning the wheel at low speeds. While this issue has recently arrises, my forward collision warning, blind…
I recently was advised by BMW that my valve cover had a leak as well as a rear axle. I feel that after only 8 years and less than 80,000 miles those component should NOT be failing so soon. My biggest complaint is that I recently had my power steering system completely fail on me. I was able to limp my car home and…
Engine And Engine Cooling 6 Read
The contact owns a 2015 BMW 335I. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle inadvertently lost motive power. The driver was able to pull to the shoulder of the roadway, where the vehicle was able to be jumpstarted. The battery discharge warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken…
Rattle noise coming from engine compartment or inside of dash upon acceleration (2000-2500rpm) on cold starts. Can change noise based upon acceleration. Goes away after motor warms up (usually 15 minutes) so getting diagnosed at the dealer is difficult. Repeatedly get "can't reproduce problem" back from the dealer.…
The contact owns a 2013 BMW 335i. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the check engine warning light illuminated. The contact stated that the following day, while attempting to start the vehicle, the vehicle failed to start. The contact stated that after several attempts, the vehicle…
Fuel System 5 Read
Sudden and complete loss of power while vehicle is running/moving (brand new 335i 2014). High pressure fuel pump malfunctioned(complete failure) while merging on to lane at busy airport gate ramp. There were no warning lights (check engine light) or partial loss of power but, I did get a total and complete loss of…
Was driving in rain, stopped at a red light with start/stop enabled and in standby mode. When signal turned green vehicle struggled to come to life and stalled with message on I-drive saying drivetrain malfunction and after a few attempts to bring the engine back to life was able to drive through the intersection and…
"limp mode" is a very well known issue affecting 2012-2014 bmw 335i models with the m sport package. After accelerating from a stop to 60-65 mph, and merging into traffic, I experienced limp mode. The car would not accelerate, the rpms would not rise above 2500 or fall below 2000. The oil temperature was approximately…
335i 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Electrical System | — | — | |
| 2014 | Air Bags | 2 | 1 | |
| 2013 | Air Bags | 4 | — | |
| 2012 | Air Bags | 2 | — | |
| 2011 | Air Bags | 2 | 1 |
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 | 140 |
| Average complaints per series | 1.4 |
| Worst single series | 6 complaints |
| Average age at failure | 6.3 years |
A model average of 1.4 hides a worst series at 6. 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 335i?
By complaint volume, 2011, 2013, 2012 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 335i years are the cleanest?
2015, 2014, 2012 have the fewest complaints on file. For recent years that can simply mean the cars are young.
How many complaints does the BMW 335i have?
199 owner complaints filed with NHTSA, covering 2011–2015. Of those, 10 describe a crash and 2 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.