There are 3 owner-reported speed control & cruise complaints for the 2018 BMW 3 Seriesin NHTSA's database. These are unverified consumer reports and may not reflect confirmed defects.
The car's cruise control's rocker switch got stuck causing the vehicle's speed to increase continually. The rocker switch allows driver to increase or decrease speed when the cruise control is activated. The rocker switch permits speed increase in increments of 1 mph or 5 mph. If pressed up until a resistance point, the speed increases by 1 mph; if pressed beyond the resistance point, it increases by 5 mph. In my instance, I was on cruise control at 61 mph (in a 55 zone, where traffic was also moving in the 60's). I wanted to increase speed by 3-4 mph using the rocker switch to safely complete an overtake. However, the rocker switch got stuck and caused the car's peed to increase past 80mph. I almost missed hitting the car ahead of me.
ACCELERATION ISSUES. I COMPLAINED TO BMW ABOUT THE ISSUE NOVEMBER 2018 FOR MY 2018 BMW. HOWEVER, BMW SAID THERE WASN'T A PROBLEM. ON SUNDAY AT AROUND 6:28 PM I WAS PULLING INTO A PARKING SPACE AT MY CHASE BANK AND THE CAR SUDDENLY STARTS ACCELERATING CAUSING ME TO HAVE A HEAD ON COLLISION WITH A PARKED CAR. MY 2015 BMW HAD THE SAME PROBLEM. I WAS IN RALPH'S PARKING LOT IN BEVERLY HILLS ABOUT TO PULL OUT WHEN SUDDENLY MY BMW ACCELERATED, AND I NEARLY KILLED TWO PEOPLE. WHEN I BOUGHT IT IN FOR SERVICE BMW REPAIRED THE PROBLEM. SOMETHING WAS CALIBRATED TO HIGH.
WAS ON A ROAD TRIP, DROVE 600 MILES PREVIOUS DAY. NEXT DAY EVENING, PIRELLI RUN FLAT TIRE BLOWS OUT ON A FREEWAY. I HAD JUST PASSED THE TOLL PLAZA AND WAS ACCELERATING TO MERGE WITH THE TRAFFIC. RUN FLAT REINFORCED SIDEWALLS SHOULD'VE ALLOWED THE TIRES TO BE USABLE EVEN AT 0 PSI BUT I EXPERIENCED SEVERE VIBRATION COMING THROUGH THE CHASSIS, CAR PULLING TO THE LEFT AND EMITTING A TERRIBLE GRINDING NOISE THAT FELT TERRIBLE AND UNSAFE TO DRIVE. DESPITE APPEARING FINE AT FIRST GLANCE, THE TIRE WAS ACTUALLY SEVERELY DAMAGED. THE INNER SIDEWALL HAD A LARGE GASH. THE CAR WAS FINALLY TOWED TO A BMW SERVICE STATION AND THE ONLY OPTION WAS TO REPLACE THE TIRE. IN THE MEANTIME, THE BMW IDRIVE INFOTAINMENT DISPLAY SAID I COULD SAFELY DRIVE 50 MPH FOR 50 MILES.
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