Anyone else concerned about the reliability of our cars

In the 31k ~2yrs. since I've had my '00 323Ci I've had the following items replace either via bmw campaign or warranty:

1. Brake pads
2. Thermostat
3. Front control arms and sway bar links

I just want to see if anyone else is concerned with the reliability of the e46. I rarely take my car to the limits so the problems should be somewhat common among this platform.

Why were the Front control arms and sway bar links replaced?
Was it covered under waranty and do you have aftermarket wheels?

The thermostat was a recall... every new design has some type of recall. But to answer your question, no. I've had the last 3 generation 3ers and have never had any real issues.
-Mike

I am VERY concerned I actually bought my car and am really wondering if I will keep it past warrantee. Nothing serious enough to disable the car, but let's see....sunroof switch, power mirror, 2 rear window motors, front window motor, sunroof cover off track, computer update to correct stalling, mysterious surge under very unique circumstances, radio display disappears once a month or so, mediocre front end alignment after steering fix, 3 times back to dealer and "it's withinn BMW specs". PLus a couple of recall items...I wouldn't be so mad, but almost every G/D time - the dealer takes one trip to diagnose what I already know, and NEVER has the part in stock!

they prolly made yours in the United States by accident

I have had no problems other than the famed busted door seals - replaced under warranty.

Some loser at work will not believe me when I say my bimmer is problem-free...talks **** about how I'll regret buying my car after the warranty is over, etc etc

Of course, he owns a Trans Am that spend more time in the shop than his mom spends....never mind

How do you know if you have the control arm issue?

I've had
1. front speaker wires shorting (replaced wiring harness)
2. Hk sub replaced.
3. Right Hk speaker blown,
4. sunroof switch
5. Thermostat (twice)
6. Screw for Jack broke, couldn't get spare tire jack out
7. CD player replaced (ejecting problems/loading. display went one once... came back on later)
8. rear tail lamp assembly fell out (I think that was the dealer's fault)
9. side view mirror not returning to correct position after reverse

:sad: I think that's everything... might be missing something

Think that's about it. The car spent so much time in the shop over the first year. Haven't had any problems for the last 4 months. Hopefully I got all the bugs out.

Well For me I also have had my car now 2 years, 19000 Miles later and The only problem I have had with my car is the two front door Regulators went bad, BUT were replace Under warranty. WE all new about the Sun roof problem 2 Yrs ago, as well as the Thermostat problem, other than that I think MOST BMW E46 owners are pretty happy with there car. Not to mention here on this board WE are replacing are OEM stuff so quick that we are not giving are OEM stuff time to CRAP out, then we are up grading to after market stuff for better fitment and Quality so we r not seeing and REAL Problems witht he ride....my my 2 cents..

what's this sunroof problem? sounds like the prob i'm havving with my '02 330ci. friggin one-touch operation doesn't work all the time. seem's like it will work when IT wants too... how did they fix this? cuz my dealer says they need to keep the car for 2 days to take it all apart and find out if it's the switch, motor, sensors, or something else. if this was (and is) a common problem, could someone out there that had it fixed tell me what they did???

I've only had my car for 3500 miles and I have had only one major problem: chicks won't stop trying to get with me.

I got 74k miles now so that put me 24k miles past my warranty. Have had one problem with a "secondary pump" that cost $600 with oil change at my last service. Ofcourse I had a few parts replaced while under warranty. So far I think that's not bad.

First I must state that I love my car and would buy it again. 5K miles.
1-AM radio reception is garbled; I can't even listen to it. Dealer replaced the radio but no help- BMW NA is "working on a permanent fix" (for four months now) 1/2 day in shop, twice
2-Recalled for front tower/shock thing 1/2 day in shop
3-Wiper blade streaking and was replaced. WHOAA..

Perfect-no; more perfect than most-oh yea!!!

I've only had my car for 3500 miles and I have had only one major problem: chicks won't stop trying to get with me.

Same here. I notice my heater isn't as hot as it should be, but my a/c is fine.

I bought the car w/16k miles back in Dec., I now have $25k on it and it's a '00 323ci cabrio.

I love everything about this car and have no complaints to date (knock on wood). The guys at the dealership on the other hand.....can rot in hell! (held my car all day for a recall when I had a 9.00 appointment).

I test drove a couple A4s before I bought my car, and the guys at Audi were nicer, but the cars at BMW were better.

hmm, let's see.....15k miles on, a 01 330i with sport.
Here's what I've run into so far....

1. Right HID lamp socket had melted. Took a day to replace the parts.

2. Trunk release hatch in the car will not work anymore. (I'll get this fixed but I'm just too damn lazy to bring it to BMW after the HID problem).

3. The car got on fire...literally with smoke and flames coming out of the fan......BMW told me the fan recall did not affect my car, apparantly they were wrong!!! This happened while I was out of town, so I milked BMW with a $700 one-night hotel bill while staying at the W.

Yeah, like most of you, with the gazillions of elec. gadgets in the BMW, I'm afraid one of em will go bad after my warranty expires...yuk!!!

I had the same problem w/ the sunroof on my
00' 328i and now my 330ci. It's not a 1 touch. The dealer tried to reprog it on my 328i and didn't fix the prob. So what I do now is hold it down about 30 secend to "reprog" itself. Its a PIA!

2001 330ci
26K miles

Door seals replaced
Pads and rotors
Control arms
Right mirror cover fell off
Both window regulators
Motion sensor on alarm replaced
Driver's seat fold release fell off
Driver's side rear plastic seat belt mount cover fell off
Shift (drive light) indictcator ligh went out
Ashtray wouldnt shut and had to be replaced

At least I bought it used with the certified warranty (6 years, 100K miles). There is a small deductible with the warrant ($50), but it's better than nothing. I have to agree with some of the other posts, they never have any of the parts in stock. Very annoying. It is always a 2 week ordeal and two trips to get anything done. The car is still way cool though.

I have a 2002 325ci with about 6000 miles on it. I haven't had a problem with it...yet. And i do drive it as hard as i can. If any of you guys see a white one fly by you in the bay area, that's probably me..zoomin' and cutting through traffic. haha. Oh yeah question for all you guys. When did you onboard computer say was your first schedule service??? BMW claims it's at 15,000 miles. But i like to know what is the earliest service out there??? oh by the way, i had my car for only 4 months..and LOVING IT!!!

"Drive it like you Stole it!!"

'00 323Ci
2 Years old as of July
26,000 Mi.
Driven fairly hard.

Brake pads replaced. 2x
Brake rotors replaced.
Front turn signal bulbs replaced.

Crap I don't care about***********:
Sunroof open/shut bug thing.
Jack screw broke.

Other than that, car has been flawless under any condtion.

anywhere to see the list of official recalls?

in sept my '01 330ci will be 2.
- i have rattles coming from both doors. ANNOYING THE CRAP OUT OF ME LATELY.
- my moonroof makes creaking/crackling noises when it's shut all the way and there's stress on the frame.
- had my torn door sills replaced
- my passenger window makes a loud suction noise when it's initially being opened from a fully closed state.
other than those problems, i love my car!