There are 3 owner-reported electrical system complaints for the 2000 BMW 3 Seriesin NHTSA's database. These are unverified consumer reports and may not reflect confirmed defects.
REAR LIGHTS . CLIP CONTACTS MELTING GROUND WIRE . PURCHASED LIGHTS AND CLIPS 3 TIMES AND MELTED AGAIN. LIGHTS INOPERABLE AFTER 2 WEEKS OF LIFE HARNESS MELTED . RECEIVED MULTIPLE WARNINGS AND A TICKET I NOW HAVE TO PROVE REPAIR . RECALL FOUND FOR EVERY OTHER MODEL EXCEPT THE 323I 2000 . NOT SAFE TO HAVE NO TAIL LIGHTS AVAILABLE . CAN'T DRIVE CAR IN UNSAFE CONDITIONS. CAN'T SELL CAR IN UNSAFE CONDITION
WHILE DRIVING ON HIGHWAY HEATER SETTING ON WARM, SMOKE FILLED THE CABIN. SMOKE WAS COMING FROM CENTER CONSOLE AND LEFT SIDE OF GLOVE BOX FROM UNDERNEATH. HAD TO STOP THE VEHICLE IN THE MIDDLE OF THE HIGHWAY AND ESCAPE THE SMOKE FILLED CABIN THE SMOKE TURN TO A FLAME FROM UNDER THE GLOVE BOX. THE CAR PROCEEDED TO TOTALLY BURN FROM THIS INCIDENT. I REVIEWED THE SCHEMATICS TO IDENTIFY THE ONLY HEATING DISSIPATING ELEMENT LOCATED UNDER THERE IS THE FSR BLOWER MOTOR CONTROL SMOKE APPEARED SUDDENLY. *JB
I HAVE A 2000 BMW 323 CI CONVERTIBLE AND HAVE PROBLEMS WITH THE REMOTE TRUNK RELEASE. NEITHER THE KEY FOB NOR THE RELEASE BUTTON FUNCTION; THE ONLY WAY TO GET INTO THE TRUNK IS WITH THE KEY IN THE LOCK. I DID SOME ONLINE RESEARCH LEARNED TWO THINGS. 1. THIS IS A VERY COMMON PROBLEM. (TYPE 'BMW TRUNK RELEASE PROBLEM' INTO A SEARCH ENGINE TO SEE THE EXTENT.) WHILE THE PROBLEMS I HAVE ARE MERELY ANNOYING, IT IS NOT HARD TO IMAGINE THEM BEING FAR WORSE. 2. THE PROBLEM IS IN THE HARNESS WHERE THE WIRING GOES FROM THE BODY TO THE TRUNK LID. THIS LINK IS CONTAINS SEVERAL PICTURES OF EXACTLY WHAT I FOUND WHEN I PULLED MY HARNESS BACK: HTTP://WWW.M3FORUM.NET/M3FORUM/SHOWTHREAD.PHP?T=248956. IN MY CASE, THERE ARE THREE COMPLETELY BROKEN WIRES, ONE THAT IS HANGING ON BY A FEW STRANDS, AND ABOUT 4 MORE WHERE THE INSULATION IS AT LEAST PARTIALLY CRACKED. YES, THE CAR IS 10 YEARS OLD, BUT THIS SEEMS LIKE A MAJOR DESIGN FLAW TO ME. *TR
Complaints are unverified consumer reports submitted to NHTSA. A high complaint count may reflect vehicle popularity, not defect severity. Data sourced from NHTSA public records.
Data synced from NHTSA on Apr 26, 2026