Problems · by component
2011 BMW 335 IS electrical system problems
27 owner complaints to NHTSA about the 2011 BMW 335 IS cite electrical system, 15% of all 179 complaints for this model year.
Complaints
27
15% of all complaints
Crashes
0
Reported by owners
Fires
2
Reported by owners
Injuries
1
Reported by owners
What owners say about the electrical system
Verbatim from NHTSA complaints, newest first
“Wiring harness in the engine compartment caught fire about 2 weeks after changing a water pump, battery kept being draining even after battery replacement. Locking of the trunk trunk forced usage of a BMW authorized jump start battery charger/start etc. No access to Battery when the battery is discharged.”
“BMW has made their early 2011-13 engines(n55) a defective engine, the problem I’ve been experiencing with these engines is there new engine system called the valvetronic system. If the something in the valtronic system goes bad and most likely does when you listen to bmw recommendation of changing oil every 10,000 it becomes very annoying to fix and can also lead to damaging the car ecu/dme so they built a car that would have problems and would also take out your car ecu which would make costly repairs”
“I had the recall repair for the HVAC harness done in 2018, and the recall fix failed in 6/22, I took it into BMW and they determined there was a short, I do not know why a replacement part failed so soon in my eyes after being replaced for a recall. I had to pay $670 to fix this issue from a "free" recall fix, this seems like an issue to me with their replacement harnesses. There are a lot of posts on forums about people having to replace the harness again after the fix. I've never had issues with any wiring on any other car, and sure seems odd that BMW has failures as such. I don't know what can be done by you if anything but I am reaching out because BMW is standing by their 2 yr warranty on fixes and making people pay for the repair themselves again after a recall.”
“2011 BMW 335i Sedan: Please attempt to get my car included in the current recall. I have contacted BMW USA and my local dealership. Both said that my car does not qualify for repair. On a weekly basis, the car produces large amounts of smoke from the engine compartment and enters the passenger compartment through the vents. BMW has stated that there is a fire risk for this year, make, and model but will not address it for my car: [XXX] The check engine light turns on while engine smokes. The BMW Dealership will not inspect the car unless it appears on the recall list. In addition, occasionally, the entire electrical system dies preventing all electronics including the starter from working.”
“HELLO, I WANTED TO BRING TO ATTENTION THE FAILING FOOTWELL MODULES IN E9X GENERATION BMWS. THE MODULES HAVE A HIGH FAILURE RATE AND WHEN THEY BECOME INOPERABLE YOU LOSE YOUR HEADLIGHTS, TURN SIGNALS, LOCKING AND UNLOCKING DOORS, POWER WINDOW CONTROL AND THE ABILITY TO MOVE YOUR MIRRORS. IT IS A SERIOUS SAFETY CONCERN THAT BMW HAS HIDDEN FROM ITS CUSTOMERS AS IT IS A KNOWN EXTENDED WARRANTY BUT THERE IS NO RECALL FOR SUCH AN IMPORTANT COMPONENT. I RECENTLY HAD MY VEHICLE IN TO HAVE IT REPLACED AND WAS DECLINED AS IT HAD NOT FAILED ENOUGH. ESSENTIALLY THEY WANT ME TO HAVE AN UNSAFE VEHICLE BEFORE THE REPAIR WILL BE PERFORMED. I DO HAVE DOCUMENTATION THAT THE UNIT IS IN THE EARLY STAGES OF FAILING BUT BMW STILL REFUSES TO HONOR THE EXTENDED WARRANTY.”
“BLINKER LIGHTS AND WINDOWS NOT WORKING. I WAS NOT DRIVING WHEN I NOTICED THE PROBLEM. I WAS PULLING OUT OF MY DRIVEWAY BUT DID NOT PROCEED WHEN I NOTICED THE WINDOWS AND LIGHTS WEREN'T WORKING. BOTH BLINKER AND HIGH BEAMS ARE NOT WORKING.”
Showing 6 of 27 reports. Read every report on NHTSA.gov.
Data from NHTSA Complaints API (owner reports, unverified) · synced Nov 10, 2026NHTSA vehicle page
Complaints are unverified owner reports to NHTSA and are not normalized for sales volume. One complaint can cite several components.