There are 6 owner-reported steering complaints for the 2004 BMW 3 Seriesin NHTSA's database. These are unverified consumer reports and may not reflect confirmed defects.
WHEN WEATHER IS HOT STEERING BECOMES CRITICAL. DOES NOT RESPOND TO WHERE YOU STEER THE CAR. FEAR OF AN ACCIDENT CAUSES ME TO NOT USE THE CAR IN HOT WEATHER. SEEMS LIKE A COMMON PROBLEM WITH THIS MODEL CAR, WHY ISN'T THERE A RECALL BY BMW ??
TAKATA RECALL: I AM CURRENTLY IN COMMUNICATION WITH STATE FARM AGENT, TERRY WOOD [(434) 872-2813]. SHE HAS ASSURED ME THAT AN INVESTIGATION IS UNDERWAY AT THIS TIME. WE ARE STATING THAT MY BMW'S SIDE AIRBAGS SUDDENLY DEPLOYED AND UNEXPECTEDLY CAUSING ME TO LOSE POWER STEERING AND BRAKING ABILITY. AS I APPROACHED AND ENTERED A RIGHT TURN LANE IN AN STREET INTERSECTION LOCATED IN STOCKTON, CALIFORNIA, MY PASSENGER SIDE AIRBAGS SUDDENLY DEPLOYED. STARTLED, I TRIED TO PULL OVER TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD, BUT, WITH THE LOSS OF POWER STEERING, I WAS NOT ABLE TO SAFELY CONTROL THE VEHICLE. AFTER MAKING CONTACT WITH THE CURB, I HAD TO USE ALL MY STRENGTH TO CORRECT FROM IT AND TRY TO MAKE THE UPCOMING RIGHT TURN, BUT WITHOUT POWER STEERING, I WAS NOT ABLE TO MAKE THE TURN SHARP ENOUGH LEADING ME TO MAKE A WIDE TURN INTO THE ONCOMING LANE. AND WITHOUT THE ABILITY TO BRAKE PROPERLY AND SAFELY, THERE WAS NO WAY TO AVOID THE IMPACT. ADDITIONALLY, THE MAIN AREA OF THE CAR WITH ALL THE DAMAGE (DRIVER'S FRONT) FAILED TO DEPLOY THE APPROPRIATE AIRBAG. TERRY WOOD IS MY POINT OF CONTACT WITH THIS INVESTIGATION. WE HOPE TO HAVE BMW TAKE SOME (IF NOT, ALL) BLAME IN THE INCIDENT DUE TO FAULTY AIRBAGS AND/OR UNEXPECTED DEPLOYMENT OF AIRBAGS.
VEHICLE STEERING WHEEL WILL LOCK UP EITHER WHEN GOING STRAIGHT OR MAKING A TURN (SEEMS RANDOM). EXTRA FORCE (A LOT) HAS TO BE APPLIED TO STEERING WHEEL TO TURN THE WHEEL. HAPPENS MOMENTARILY AND STEERING IS BACK TO ITS NORMAL. *TR
SINCE COUPLE WEEKS THE STEERING WHEEL HAS BECOME VERY HARD TO TURN. TOOK IT TO DEALER OVER THE WEEKEND AND THE SERVICE ADVISER SAID THE POWER STEERING ASSIST IS NOT WORKING. LOOKING UP ONLINE, THERE HAS BEEN A RECALL BY BMW FOR THIS ISSUE IN OTHER COUNTRIES REFERENCED AT THE BELOW LINK FOR THIS MODEL AND OTHER MODELS: HTTP://SUFFOLKTRADINGSTANDARDS.WORDPRESS.COM/2012/08/06/BMW-POWER-STEERING-RECALL/ HTTP://WWW.BMPDESIGN.COM/TECHNICAL/POWER_STEERING_PROBLEMS.PHP ITS REPORTED THAT THE POWER STEERING ASSISTANCE FAILURE IS DUE TO A COMPONENT IN THE CONTROL MODULE NOT BEING TO SPECIFICATION. THIS HARD STEERING IS CAUSING A SEVERE DRIVING HAZARD. THE LOCAL DEALER SERVICE ADVISER REFUSED TO DIAGNOSE AND REPAIR THE ABOVE ISSUE WITHOUT CHARGING. REQUEST NHTSA TO GET A INVESTIGATION GOING DUE TO LARGE NUMBER OF SIMILAR REPORTED PROBLEMS IN ONLINE FORUMS, AS IT IS A SERIOUS DRIVING AND SAFETY HAZARD AND A PUBLIC HAZARD. NOT SURE IF THE SERVICE BULLETIN UNDER NHTSA ID NUMBER: 10036979 IS DUE TO THIS VERY SAME REASON. *TR
TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2004 BMW 330I. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE STEERING WHEEL VIBRATES, THE VEHICLE SHAKES DURING ACCELERATION AND BRAKING, ALL FOUR TIRES WERE DRY ROTTED, THE ABS LIGHT ILLUMINATES ON THE INSTRUMENT PANEL, AND A KNOCKING NOISE IS HEARD DURING ACCELERATION. WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 50 MPH, THE CONTACT DEPRESSED THE BRAKE PEDAL, BUT THE VEHICLE FAILED TO STOP. THE CONTACT HAD TO DEPRESS THE BRAKE PEDAL ALL THE WAY TO THE FLOOR FOR THE BRAKES TO ACTIVATE APPROXIMATELY TEN SECONDS LATER. THE VEHICLE HAS BEEN TAKEN TO A DEALER 8 TIMES REGARDING THESE SAFETY ISSUES AND SEVERAL PARTS HAVE BEEN REPLACED; HOWEVER, THE FAILURES STILL OCCUR. THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 50,400 AND FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 25,000. UPDATED 04-02-08 *BF
THE OE BRIDEGSTONE TURANZA ER30 TIRES ON MY 2004 BMW 325I ARE DEFECTIVE ON THE SIDEWALLS. THE SIDEWALLS ARE WAY TOO WEAK TO BE PUT ON THE ROAD. MY SIDEWALLS HAVE A BUBBLE AFTER 6 MONTHS AFTER I BOUGHT MY NEW CAR. THIS IS INCREDIBLY A RIPOFF SINCE IF IT CAN'T EVEN LAST A YEAR, THEN IT SHOULD ONLY BE MADE FOR TOYS.
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