1996 BMW 318TI — Problems, Recalls & Safety Data

THIS IS THE 8TH TIME PASSENGER SIDE WINDOW OF MY 1996 BMW318TI IS IN NEED OF REPAIR. MOTOR REPLACED ONCE, THAN REGULATOR, FOLLOWED BY NUMEROUS REPAIRS FOR SLIDES OR CLIPS TO BE FIXED. WHEN PUTTING UP WINDOW THERE IS A LOUD CRACK AND THE WINDOW GOES OFF TRACK, SO IT CAN NEITHER GO UP OR DOWN. THIS IS A COSTLY COMPLAINT FROM MANY OWNERS OF THIS CAR SO THERE HAS TO BE SOME SORT OF PROBLEM OR DEFECT. *TR

MY 1996 BMW 318TI - DRIVER SIDE FRONT WINDOW HAS 3 TIMES IN LAST 5 YEARS FALLEN INTO THE DOOR INTERIOR WHILE DRIVING. I HAVE HAD THIS REPAIRED NOW 3 TIMES IN 5 YEARS AT A TOTAL COST TO BE OF $1300. THIS IS A SYSTEMIC DESIGN AND SAFETY PROBLEM THAT OCCURS NOT MOST OF THE 3 SERIES BMW FROM 1995 TO 2002. BMW UTILIZES A VERY POOR CHANNEL DESIGN TO RETAIN THE WINDOW SAFELY AND SECURELY WITH 3 CHEAP INADEQUATE PLASTIC / METAL CLIPS THAT FAIL CONSISTENTLY AND REPEATEDLY AFTER REPAIR OVER A SHORT TIME IT IS A HUGE DESIGN PROBLEM AND THERE SHOULD BE A RECALL AND NEW DESIGN IMPLEMENTATION TO CORRECT THIS SYSTEMIC DESIGN SAFETY FAILURE. IN MY LAST FAILURE LAST WEEK I WAS DRIVING 60 MILES AND HOUR ON A FREEWAY AND WINDOW DROPS INTO DOOR ALMOST CAUSING A CRASH. *TR

THE WINDOWS FALL OFF TRACK ON MY 1996 BMW E36 318TI. THIS HAS BEEN HAPPENING TO BOTH WINDOWS ON MY CAR REGULARLY FOR THE PAST 2.5 YEARS I HAVE OWNED THE CAR AND HAS RUINED THE TINT ON BOTH WINDOWS. I HAVE SPOKEN WITH OTHER 318TI OWNERS ABOUT THIS PROBLEM AND HAVE FOUND THAT THIS A HIGHLY COMMON FAILURE AND NORMALLY COSTS SEVERAL HUNDRED DOLLARS TO REPAIR, ONLY TO BREAK AGAIN SHORTLY THEREAFTER. I FEEL AS THOUGH THE WINDOWS COULD SHATTER WHEN THEY FALL INTO THE DOOR OR POSSIBLY HARM PASSENGERS BY FALLING INTO THE CAR WHILE IN THE OFF-TRACK POSITION. THIS COULD BE A SERIOUS PROBLEM. *NM

I AM AN ENGINEER WHO PERFORMS FAILURE ANALYSIS - MY OBSERVATIONS ARE BASED ON SIGNIFICANT EXPERIENCE IN THIS FIELD. THE CAR IS A 1996 BMW 318TI WITH A 5 SPD MANUAL TRANSMISSION. THE ENGINE IS STOCK. I WAS DRIVING MY 318TI ON THE INTERSTATE HIGHWAY AND NOTICED THAT THE SPEED WAS INCREASING WITHOUT THROTTLE INPUT. I TURNED THE CRUISE CONTROL OFF THINKING THAT IT SOMEHOW HAD MALFUNCTIONED - THE SPEED CONTINUED TO INCREASE. WHEN THE SPEED PASSED 80 MPH, I DEPRESSED THE CLUTCH, WHICH OF COURSE ALLOWED THE CAR TO SLOW, BUT THE ENGINE IMMEDIATELY ATTEMPTED TO REDLINE - AS THE TACH GOT CLOSE TO THE RED LINE, I SHUT THE IGNITION OFF, AND STEERED THE CAR TO THE SHOULDER. WITH THE CAR IN NEUTRAL, I TRY TO START IT AGAIN, AND THE ENGINE SPEED INCREASED VERY RAPIDLY TO REDLINE. I TRIED THIS 3-4 TIMES OVER 5 MINUTES WITH THE SAME RESULT EACH TIME. I FINALLY OPENED THE HOOD AND FOUND THAT THE THROTTLE CABLE HAD COME LOOSE FROM THE PLASTIC BUSHING ON THE LEVER HOUSING. THIS PROBLEM WAS THE SUBJECT OF A 1997 RECALL, AND MY CAR HAD THE REPAIRS MADE (METAL RINGS) THAT WERE SPECIFIED IN THE RECALL. THEY SEEM TO BE FAILING NOW. THERE IS A NEWS ARTICLE FROM ENGLAND THAT SEEMS TO SHOW AN IDENTICAL FAILURE IN A 318. THE DRIVERS NAME IS KEVIN NICOLLE, AND THE STORY APPEARED ON THIS WEB PAGE ( HTTP://WWW.TELEGRAPH.CO.UK/NEWS/MAIN.JHTML?XML=/NEWS/2006/03/11/NTRAPPED11.XML ). THE RECALL EFFECTED 410,000 CARS - THIS RECALL SHOULD BE REVISITED AS THE REPAIR SEEMS TO HAVE CREATED ANOTHER FAILURE MODE THAT LEADS TO UNEXPECTED ACCELERATION. I HAVE A PHOTO OF THE THROTTLE CABLE / CABLE BUSHING AT THE TIME OF THE FAILURE - I CAN FORWARD IT TO ANY INTERESTED PARTIES. *NM

WHEN TAKING THE KEY OUT OFIGNITION VEHICLE CONTINUED TO RUN. *AK