There are 5 owner-reported engine complaints for the 2013 BMW 3 Seriesin NHTSA's database. These are unverified consumer reports and may not reflect confirmed defects.
SECOND PROBLEM WITH DRIVETRAIN MALFUNCTION, FIRST PROBLEM BACK IN NOV 2013 BOUGHT THE CAR IN AUGUST 2013. *TR
THE CAR WOULD SHAKE AT IDLE AND SLOW SPEEDS. THE DRIVETRAIN MALFUNCTION INDICATOR CAME ON. *TR
MY CAR STARTED SHAKING VIGOROUSLY, AND A MESSAGE WAS DISPLAYED (DRIVETRAIN MALFUNCTION). *TR
AS I WAS APPROACHING THE ON RAMP FOR THE HIGHWAY, I SPED UP IN ORDER TO MERGE INTO ONCOMING TRAFFIC. I DEPRESSED THE GAS PEDAL COMPLETELY TO THE FLOOR BUT THE CAR PICKED UP EXTREMELY SLOWLY AS IF IT DID NOT HAVE ANY POWER. I ALSO NOTICED AT THE SAME TIME THAT MY ENGINE TEMPERATURE SEEMED TO BE UNUSUALLY LOW FOR A VEHICLE THAT HAD BEEN RUNNING FOR OVER AN HOUR. THERE HAD ALSO BEEN AN EXTREMELY LOUD FAN NOISE THAT WOULD COME ON EVERY 2 MINUTES OR SO. AS A RESULT OF THE LACK OF POWER, I NEARLY CAUSED A COLLISION BETWEEN MYSELF AND THE VEHICLE BEHIND ME BECAUSE THE ONCOMING VEHICLE DID NOT ANTICIPATE SOMEONE MERGING ONTO THE HIGHWAY AT SUCH A SLOW PACE. I CONTINUED TO DRIVE WITHOUT POWER FOR ABOUT 20 MINUTES AS IF THE CAR WAS A NATURALLY ASPIRATED VEHICLE EVEN THOUGH IT WAS CLEARLY TURBO CHARGED BUT THE TURBO NEVER KICKED IN. WHEN I GOT OFF OF THE HIGHWAY AND WAS ABLE TO PULL OVER TO RESTART MY VEHICLE, THE CAR STARTED TO RUN AS NORMAL. *TR
THE CAR HAS DISPLAYED "DRIVETRAIN MALFUNCTION, DRIVE MODERATELY" TWICE NOW IN LESS THAN ONE YEAR OF OWNERSHIP. WHEN THIS DISPLAY HAS OCCURRED, THE CAR GOES INTO "LIMP MODE" AND CAN ONLY BE DRIVEN AT LOW SPEEDS OR WITH VERY SLUGGISH ACCELERATION. THIS IS A SAFETY HAZARD, AS IT BECOMES EASY TO BE REAR-ENDED BY ANOTHER DRIVER WHEN IT SLOWS SUBSTANTIALLY. *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