New bmw combusted -- electrical fire due to defect in fan assembly already known to bmw. Had I been driving the car at the time, it would have resulted in a fatality.
Engine & cooling
2001 BMW 318 Engine problems
Owners have filed 5 complaints about the 2001 BMW 318's engine & cooling with NHTSA - 83% of all its complaints, most recently on August 17, 2001. They describe 0 crashes, 1 fire and 0 injuries. Stalling, loss of power, oil consumption, overheating, head gaskets, timing chains and engine failure.
- Complaints
- 5
- Recalls
- 0
- Crashes
- 0
- Fires
- 1
- Injuries
- 0
- Deaths
- 0
Engine complaints
My car was simply idling in a parking lot with the a/c on for a few minutes when I returned to find my car with smoke billowing from under the hood. I immediately ran to the car and turned it off. I noticed the temperature gauge was all the way to the red zone. I then noticed radiator fluid spilling to the ground. I opened the hood of the car and noticed the fluid was releasing from the radiator cap. My car was towed to the dealer and they replaced the cooling fan. This is not an isolated incident. I have...
Read the full complaint
read numerous incidents on the internet of people's cooling fans failing and their bmw's overheating. I'm surprised bmw has not yet issued a recall. This needs to be done. My car was not some car waiting at a dealership to be bought. I ordered it and it was assembled in a plant in germany. They are installing faulty fans into new cars. Their problem is that they do not know which fans are the bad/failing fans. They should recall all 3 series bmw 2001 fans and replace them. This upsets me. My car is running fine, but who knows what if any, unknown long term damage was sustained in my engine from overheating!!!!!. *Ak
Multiple complaints of overheating for same model due to failure of auxiliary cooling fan as noted on internet bulletin board www.Bimmer.Org in recent weeks/months
NO SUMMARY LISTED FOR ABOVE VEHICLE. *AK
Cooling fan failure caused engine to overheat - vehicle undriveable. *Ak
BMW 318 engine complaints by year
318 engine problems, every yearSource: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) complaints and recalls, checked . Complaints are owners' own reports and are not verified. How we use the data