There are 2 stored owner reports matching the brakes leading-label group for the 2017 BMW 3 Series in our NHTSA-sourced dataset. These are unverified consumer reports and may not reflect confirmed defects.
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Loaded 2 of 2 matching reports.
Open the full vehicle complaint log (all categories)I started to hear a grinding noise from the center-underside of my car about 4 months ago. I did some research and found that many BMW customers had experienced the same noise and the diagnosis was a parking brake line that drops on the main driveshaft after breaking free of the plastic support that is supposed to hold it in place. A video with sound of of the problem can been seen/heard here - [XXX] I had my BMW dealer look into the problem and his diagnosis was the same. The plastic clip that holds the parking brake cable in place had broken. And when the cable drops it rubs on the driveshaft making the grinding noise. A copy of the estimate to repair is attached. So far this failure has not caused any problems with either the parking or drivability of the car. The concern that I have is that the clip failure could lead to either a brake failure or a failure of the driveshaft. The problem seems to occur for a number of BMWs and it appears to be a significant safety problem that should be addressed by BMW. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
There is a well known issue with the clip on BMW 3 series (mine is a 2017 330i) that holds the parking brake cable assembly to the body if the car above the drive shaft towards the rear of the car. The plastic clips fail frequently, causing the parking brake cable assembly to fall and the brake lines rub against the driveshaft creating a metal-to-metal noise. Over time the friction between the drive shaft and parking brake cable will eventually create failure of the cable in my opinion. I have this issue and I have seen several online videos of others who have the same issue.
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.