BMW 330ciYears to avoid, problems & recalls

Based on 291 NHTSA owner complaints across 7 model years, no BMW 330ci year stands out as one to avoid, and the strongest years are 2002, 2005 and 2006. The 330ci has 7 safety recalls on record.

Years to avoidNoneUse caution: 2001, 2004 Best years'02 '05 '06Fewest complaints for their age Owner complaints291Top: Air bags Safety recalls72000–2006 model years

Source: NHTSA complaints, recalls, investigations and manufacturer recall reports. Updated daily. How we score years. Photo: SpeedDemon, CC BY-SA 3.0.

Best & worst years

BMW 330ci years to avoid

Complaints by model year, colored by the CarFlaw verdict: complaints weighted for crashes, fires and injuries, adjusted for years on the road and compared with the 330ci median. Tap a year for its full report.

1 82 46 18 77 33 34

'00'01'02'03'04'05'06

Avoid
Caution
Solid
Best
Not rated

2006Solid62/10034 complaints · 2 recalls 2005Solid65/10033 complaints · 2 recalls 2004Caution39/10077 complaints · 2 recalls 2003Not rated–/10018 complaints · 3 recalls 2002Solid50/10046 complaints · 3 recalls 2001Caution36/10082 complaints · 5 recalls 2000Not rated–/1001 complaint · 3 recalls

Complaints by system

Most common BMW 330ci problems

All model years combined: 291 complaints grouped by the system owners reported.

131Air bags20 crash/fire/injury

31Exterior lighting2 crash/fire/injury

26Electrical system7 crash/fire/injury

24Power train

19Engine and engine cooling

15Structure

13Fuel system, gasoline

9Fuel/propulsion system

8Tires

4215 other systems8 crash/fire/injury

Box size = number of complaints naming that system. Darker = larger share. One complaint can name more than one system.

Complaints by system
System	Complaints	Crash, fire or injury
Air bags	131	20
Exterior lighting	31	2
Electrical system	26	7
Power train	24	0
Engine and engine cooling	19	2
Structure	15	1
Fuel system, gasoline	13	0
Fuel/propulsion system	9	0
Tires	8	1
15 other systems	42	8

7 recalls

BMW 330ci recalls

Newest first. The ring shows the share of affected vehicles repaired, from the manufacturer's latest report to NHTSA.

Driver side: inflator module21V-401 · 2000–2001 · May 27, 2021 · 4,511 vehicles Passenger side: inflator module20V-018 · 2000–2006 · Jan 15, 2020 · 292,948 vehiclesDo not drive Driver side: inflator module19V-853 · 2000–2001 · Nov 26, 2019 · 74,185 vehicles Driver side: inflator module15V-318 · 2002–2006 · May 28, 2015 · 419,235 vehiclesDo not drive Air bags13V-172 · 2002–2003 · May 2, 2013 · 43,204 vehiclesDo not drive Cooling system: fan02V-138 · 2001 · May 16, 2002 · 1,550 vehicles Cooling system: fan01V-206 · 2001 · Jun 21, 2001 · 76,469 vehicles

5 investigations

NHTSA investigations of the 330ci

Feb 24, 2015
Air Bag Inflator RuptureEA15001 · 2004–2006 · still open
Led to recall 14V-668
Jun 11, 2014
Air Bag Inflator RupturePE14016 · 2004–2006 · closed Mar 2, 2015
Led to recall 13V-172
Apr 8, 2009
REAR LAMP ILLUMINATIONDP09002 · 2002 · closed Aug 6, 2009
No recall
Jan 4, 2008
BMW AIRBAG LIGHT ILLUMINATIONEA08001 · 2006 · closed Dec 31, 2008
Led to recall 08V-384
Feb 3, 2004
DELAYED TRANSMISSION ENGAGEMENTDP04001 · 2004 · closed May 27, 2004
No recall