BMW M235i Reliability by YearBest & worst years, problems & recalls — NHTSA data

Our M235I has a transmission leak "thru the wall of the case" (i.e. THROUGH THE METAL CASE) as determined by a local BMW Dealer. They are not able to provide any Technical Service Bulletins or etc. from BMW for this "leaky case" issue. But they are saying this is a KNOWN problem with the transmission cases. They are advising a new transmission for $10K. Only alternative is to install used transmission and take old electronic valve module out of existing trans and place into used transmission and hope for the best. Loss of transmission fluid could cause unit to malfunction or fail!!!

BMW 2 series cars from about 2015-2018 have faulty wiring and brake light assemblies. BMW has admitted this design flaw in the harness and light - they extended the warranty for one year. As you know, brake light failures represent a real risk. It is unreasonable for BMW to charge $900 per light to fix a safety issue caused by a design flaw that they have admitted. THE CONSUMER STATED THE PASSENGER TAIL LIGHT HAS FAILED, ALSO.

Rear brake light failure due to faulty wiring. Identical to the details located in this article (https://www.autoblog.com/2011/09/01/bmw-recalling-241-000-3-series-models-over-faulty-tail-lights/) for which the NHTSA had issued a recall for older BMW models in the past. This issue is common and wide-spread amongst bmw models produced between 2014 - mid 2016. After which BMW modified the wiring harness for the brake lights to fix the electrical shorting failures. This failure renders the entire housing inoperable - Brake light, turn signal and reverse lamp. Summary: OVER TIME, RESISTANCE IN THE ELECTRICAL CONTACTS MAY CAUSE ONE OR MORE REAR LAMP FUNCTIONS (TAIL LIGHT, BRAKE LIGHT, AND/OR TURN-SIGNAL), WITHIN THE VEHICLE'S BODY PANEL, TO STOP WORKING. Consequence: INTERMITTENT LIGHT OPERATION REDUCES THE ABILITY TO WARN OTHER MOTORISTS OF THE DRIVER'S INTENTIONS. THIS COULD CAUSE A VEHICLE CRASH WITHOUT WARNING. I have attached a BMW TSB (SI_B63_05_17) which outlines that BMW was aware of this issue as early as October 2017 but did not issue a voluntary recall for an issue that warranted a recall in the past. My brake light housing failed as a result of the faulty ground wire 8 months after the extended warranty on these parts lapsed resulting in an estimated $1140 in repairs for a critical safety component for which I cannot operate the vehicle safely without. The vehicle is currently with a BMW dealership for inspection and repair. Warning messages appeared after the component had completely failed while driving. Incident occurred in early August 2021.

DRIVER SIDE SEATBELT IS SLOW TO RETRACT AND KEEPS GETTING TWISTED WHEN RETRACTING. YOU HAVE TO CAREFULLY HELP FEED THE BELT INTO THE B PILLAR FOR IT NOT TO DO THAT. IF NOT, IT WILL ALMOST GET JAMMED IN THE B PILLAR AND GET STUCK AND BECOMES NON-FUNCTIONAL. IT TAKES A LOT OF STRENGTH AND EFFORT TO PULL TO PULL IT BACK OUT. VERY UNSAFE BECAUSE YOU HAVE TO BE ALWAYS AWARE OF THIS DEFECT WHILE DRIVING. SOMETIMES WE HAVE TO UNFASTEN OUR BELTS WHILE DRIVING TO REACH OR ADJUST SOMETHING. AND IT USUALLY GETS JAMMED AND STUCK IN THE B PILLAR AND BECOMES NON-FUNCTIONAL. OWNED AND DRIVEN SEVERAL CARS. THIS HAS NEVER HAPPENED BEFORE WITH ANY OTHER CAR. NEVER WITH THIS REGULARITY.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2016 BMW M235I. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE OPERATING THE VEHICLE THE ODOR OF FUEL WAS PRESENT. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC WHO DIAGNOSED THAT THE FUEL TANK HAD CRACKED AND NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE CAUSE OF THE DAMAGED FUEL TANK WAS NOT DETERMINED. THE FUEL TANK WAS REPLACED AND THE FAILURE WAS REMEDIED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE LOCAL DEALER WAS NOT CONTACTED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 28,000. *LN *AS

IN LATE FEBRUARY 1, 2019, THE SUNROOF ON MY 2016 BMW M235I XDRIVE EXPLODED WHILE DRIVING ON THE GARDEN STATE PARKWAY. I WAS NOT GOING UNDERNEATH ANY OVERPASS, AND NOTHING HIT THE GLASS. THE EXPLOSION WAS UNPROVOKED. THE SUNSHADE WAS NOT CLOSED, AND THE GLASS FELL ALL OVER ME, LARGE AND SMALL SHARDS. I WAS DRIVING ABOUT 65MPH IN HEAVY MORNING RUSH HOUR TRAFFIC, AND PIECES OF GLASS FLEW OFF THE CAR AND LIKELY HIT OTHER CARS. IT WAS VERY ALARMING AND SCARY. I WAS ABOUT 5 MILES FROM A BMW DEALER AND DROVE RIGHT TO THE DEALER WHERE THE CAR IS STILL SITTING WAITING TO BE FIXED. BMW IS REPLACING THE GLASS AND SUNROOF ASSEMBLY UNDER WARRANTY. THIS WAS A VERY DANGEROUS SITUATION AND WITH THE GLASS FALLING ALL OVER ME COULD HAVE RESULTED IN INJURY TO ME, OR SOMEONE ELSE IF THERE WERE OTHERS IN THE CAR, OR OTHER SURROUNDING VEHICLES WITH THE EXPLODED GLASS FLYING EVERYWHERE.

THE CAR HAS INSTRUMENTS (SPEEDOMETER AND TACH) WITH LOW CONTRAST BETWEEN THE BACKGROUND AND LETTERING. THE INSTRUMENTS ARE HIGHLY VISIBLE WHEN THE INSTRUMENT LIGHTING IS ENABLED, BUT ARE NEARLY INVISIBLE WHEN THE LIGHTING IS OFF. THERE IS AN AMBIENT LIGHT SENSOR THAT TURNS THE INSTRUMENT LIGHTING ON AND OFF AS YOU DRIVE IN MIXED SUN AND SHADE, SO AS YOU DRIVE FROM A SHADED AREA TO A SUN-LIT AREA, THE INSTRUMENTS ALTERNATE BETWEEN VISIBLE AND INVISIBLE. IT IS DISCONCERTING AND DANGEROUS TO SUDDENLY LOSE INSTRUMENT VISIBILITY AS YOU DRIVE. THERE IS NO WAY TO SWITCH THE INSTRUMENT LIGHTS ON AT ALL TIMES, EVEN IF THE HEADLIGHTS ARE SWITCHED ON.

WAS TRAVELING AT 55 MPH ON AN EXIT RAMP WITH THE NEAREST CAR ABOUT 5 OR 6 CAR LENGTHS IN FRONT OF ME. SMOOTH, PAVED ROAD WITH NO DEBRIS. THE SUNROOF MADE A LOUD POP AND SHATTERED SPONTANEOUSLY, RAINING GLASS DOWN ON ME. THE GLASS HAD AN OUTWARD BEND TO IT AS IF IT HAD EXPLODED OUTWARDS WITH PRESSURE RELIEF. NO ROCKS OR DEBRIS WERE SEEN OR POSSIBLE FROM NEARBY VEHICLES GIVEN THE DISTANCES BETWEEN MY CAR AND THEIRS, AND NOTHING BEING SEEN TRAVELING THROUGH THE AIR. IT APPEARS THAT THIS IS DUE TO A FLAW IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE GLASS ITSELF (I.E. FLAWS IN CONSTRUCTION, IMPURITIES, ETC.), AND THAT THE SPONTANEOUS EXPLOSION OF THE GLASS WITHIN THE SUNROOF FRAME WAS NOT A RESULT OF ANY KIND OF IMPACT. THE GLASS WAS ALSO FLAWLESS IN TERMS OF NEVER HAVING BEEN NICKED BY DEBRIS. THE CAR IS A FEW MONTHS OLD WITH 3,000 MILES.

The headlight and tail light went out unexpectedly. I brought my vehicle to a shop and they told me that my headlight got water inside of it. The shop informed me that this is a known issue with multiple BMW models. The headlight seal will slowly fail allowing moisture inside the housing which damages the electronics. The taillights have to have their electronics replaced due to some defect form the factory. This defect was covered under warranty but my car is out of warranty.

The seat belt failed due to a short. I am not sure if my safety was really at risk but the car said it was. There was warning on startup on the large display in the middle of the car and a constant warning in the gauge cluster. The fault has been confirmed at the dealership. The seat belt was inspected at the dealership and they are suggesting a replacement for $662.74. The warning did not cause any drivability issues.

I purchased 4 new Pirelli P zero tires a year and half ago since then I’ve replaced 5 tires where the sidewalls have blown out in that year and half time frame. I’ve only kept two of the tires and I’m not sure if the other tire has a different DOT # but it is the same brand and size. I gave the dot from the most recent tire. Pirelli has a road hazard warranty but will not honor it and swears their is no recall on p zero tires but it states on their website that size r19 have a recall. Mine are size 225/40 R18 Pirelli P-zeros. The last picture is of another tire about to blow out its sidewalk.

I WAS DRIVING DOWN THE INTERSTATE AT APPROXIMATELY 70 MPH, WINDOWS UP, SUNSCREEN CLOSED, AND SUNSCREEN SHADE CLOSED AS WELL. I HEAR WHAT CAN ONLY BE DESCRIBED AS A SHOTGUN BLAST ABOVE MY HEAD AND THEN PIECES OF GLASS BOUNCING OFF THE TOP OF MY CAR. THE EXPLOSION WAS EXTREMELY LOUD, OBVIOUSLY STARTLING, AND CAUSED ME TO SWERVE MY CAR AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS. I WAS NOT PASSING UNDER A BRIDGE AND THERE WERE NO CARS IN FRONT OF ME EITHER. I SLOW DOWN AND LOOKED UP THROUGH THE VENTS IN THE SUNSCREEN SHADE AND I NOTICED A GAPING HOLE IN THE GLASS OF MY SUNSCREEN. THERE WAS A CAR BEHIND ME WITH A MAN AND A WOMAN IN THE FRONT SEATS WHO PULLED UP ALONGSIDE ME WITH THEIR WINDOWS DOWN. I ROLL DOWN MY WINDOW AS WELL AND WE BOTH SLOWED TO A SPEED WHERE WE COULD HEAR EACH OTHER. I ASKED WHAT HAPPENED AND THE WOMAN SAID IT JUST EXPLODED OUTWARDS MAKING HAND GESTURES OF AN EXPLOSION. I ASKED IF THEY SAW ANYTHING HIT MY ROOF AND THEY SAID NO. I GOT OFF THE INTERSTATE AND PULLED OVER TO INSPECT THE DAMAGE AND SURE ENOUGH THE REMAINING GLASS AROUND THE HOLE WAS DRAMATICALLY BOWED OUTWARDS AWAY FROM THE CAR. NO FOREIGN OBJECT WAS FOUND COLLECTED IN THE SUNSCREEN SHADE BESIDES GLASS FROM THE EXPLOSION.

JUST RECEIVED A RECALL NOTICE MAY APPLY TO ME