There are 3 stored owner reports matching the engine leading-label group for the 2012 BMW 3 Series in our NHTSA-sourced dataset. These are unverified consumer reports and may not reflect confirmed defects.
This group counts stored reports whose component label starts with one of this site's matching prefixes, ignoring case. Each matching report counts once within the group. Components mentioned later in the label or only in the narrative are not searched. How component counts work
Loaded 3 of 3 matching reports.
Open the full vehicle complaint log (all categories)AUGUST 6, 2016 - CAR STALLED AT ABOUT 50MPH, JUST WHEN ABOUT TO GO UPHILL. I WASN'T ABLE TO MAKE IT TO THE SHOULDER LEAVING THE CAR BLOCKING TRAFFIC WITH MY WIFE AND DAUGHTER IN IT. ONCE IT STOPS, IT PUTS ITSELF IN PARK, MAKING IT IMPOSSIBLE TO PUSH ASIDE. WE CREATED A TRAFFIC JAM AND POLICE BARRICADED WHILE WE WERE TRYING TO MOVE THE CAR. EVENTUALLY, IN ABOUT 30 MINS, THE CAR TURNS ON. HAPPENED AFTER AN HOUR OF HIGHWAY DRIVING. CAR SEEMED FINE AFTER THAT. AUGUST 17, 2016 - ON ANOTHER LONG TRIP, THE CAR STALLED ON THE HIGHWAY. WOULD CRANK BUT NOT TURN ON. ALMOST EXHAUSTED THE BATTERY. CALLED A TOW TRUCK BUT BY THE TIME IT GOT THERE, AFTER ABOUT AN HOUR, THE CAR RESTARTED. HAD MY ODB-II SCANNER WITH ME AND GOT CODE USED MY OBDII READER AND GOT CODE P142E - PRESSURE TOO LOW IN HIGH-PRESSURE SYSTEM, WHICH IS CONSISTENT WITH NOT STARTING AND THE AND THE FUEL SYSTEM MALFUNCTION MESSAGE. I TOOK THE CAR TO AUTOGERMANA SERVICE CENTER, THAT SAME DAY. SEPTEMBER 22, 2016 - STALLED ON A MAIN ROAD, WITH MY DAUGHTER, ON THE WAY TO THE PEDIATRICIAN. I WAS ABLE TO MANEUVER TO THE RIGHT LANE AND PARK ON A GAS STATION. AMBIENT TEMP WAS 94F. WAITED ABOUT 30MINS AND THE CAR RE-STARTED. THE DEALESHIP WOULD NOT ACKNOWLEDGE A FUEL SYSTEM PROBLEM BECAUSE THEY COULD NOT REPLICATE THE FAILURE. SENT EMAIL TO BMW CUSTOMER RELATIONS BUT THEY REFERRED ME BACK TO THE DEALERSHIP.
WHILE IN LINE IN A DRIVE THRU THE VEHICLE TURNED OFF SUDDENLY LOSING ALL ELECTRICAL POWER AND POWER STEERING. UPON TRYING TO START "CHARGING MALFUNCTION" APPEARED ON THE INFORMATION SCREEN IN WITH A RED WARNING SIGN. TRIED 2-3 TIMES TO TURN OVER STARTER. WHEN VEHICLE TURNED ON IT WAS TIME TO MOVE FORWARD. WHEN TRYING TO EXIT DRIVE THRU DRIVE WAY VEHICLE WAS VERY HEAVY AND ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE TO TURN. FINALLY AFTER SEVERAL BACK AND FORTH ATTEMPTS VEHICLE WAS MOVED ABOUT 50 FEET TO A SAFE PARKING LOCATION.
VANOS BOLT FAILURE. 4 VANOS BOLT BROKEN. CAR STALLED WHILE DRIVING. THE CAR WAS DRIVING ON A CITY STREET WHILE TURNING. NO POWER AT ALL. IT IS A 2011 328I.
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.
NHTSA source checks for this vehicle year
Checks are recorded separately for each dataset, not for the whole page. Dates use UTC. A missing check date does not mean no records exist.
Vehicle import recorded: Aug 30, 2026. This is the stored import date, not confirmation that every source was successfully refreshed.