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Problems · NHTSA complaints

1999 BMW M problems

Owners filed 12 complaints about the 1999 BMW M with NHTSA between Oct 1999 and Jan 2013. The most-cited component is structure (8).

Full 1999 M research
Complaints
12
Filed with NHTSA
Crashes
0
Reported by owners
Fires
0
Reported by owners
Injuries
0
People reported injured
Deaths
0
Reported to NHTSA
01 —By component

Complaints by component

One complaint can cite several components
  1. Structure8
  2. Power train2
  3. Seats2
  4. Suspension1
  5. Equipment1
  6. Air bags1
  7. Latches/locks/linkages1

Complaints are unverified owner reports to NHTSA and are not normalized for sales volume. One complaint can cite several components.

Data from NHTSA Complaints API · synced Oct 27, 2026NHTSA vehicle page
02 —Trend

When complaints were filed

Does it get worse with age? Complaints per calendar year filed
View as table
Model yearComplaints filed per calendar year
19991
20000
20010
20020
20032
20044
20051
20062
20070
20081
20090
20100
20110
20120
20131

Mileage at failure isn’t a structured field in NHTSA complaint data, so we don’t chart it. Some owners mention it in their reports below.

03 —Owner reports

Top problems in owners’ words

Verbatim from NHTSA complaints, newest first

Structure

8 reports
“REAR SUBFRAME IS BEGINNING TO SEPARATE FROM THE BODY OF THE VEHICLE, POSSIBLY CONTRIBUTOR TO UNSAFE AND UNSTABLE HANDLING. FIRST NOTICED AFTER HAVING SERVICE 2 INTERVAL DONE IN 2009, BUT UPON MORE RESEARCH ONLINE MANY Z3 OWNERS ARE HAVING THIS SAME ISSUE REGARDLESS OF MODEL OR HOW IT'S DRIVEN. BROKEN SPOT WELD UNDERNEATH THE VEHICLE. TRYING TO CATCH IT EARLY ON BEFORE IT GETS WORSE. *TR”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Jan 3, 2013Suspension, StructureODI 10490975
Get this fixed

Power train

2 reports
“DIFFERENTIAL BRACKET AND SUBFLOOR ARE CRACKING AND TEARING APART AT THE WELD SEAMS AND SPOT WELDS. COULD LEAD TO UNPREDICTABLE HANDLING, ESPECIALLY DURING REGULAR DRIVING TURNS/HIGHWAY SPEEDS (INSTABILITY, ROUGH SHAKING, LOOSE CHASSIS KNOCKING). *AK”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Sep 19, 2004Power train, StructureODI 10091272
Get this fixed

Seats

2 reports
“SEAT SHIFTS IN DIRECTION OF DECELERATION (BRAKE) AND ACCELERATION (GAS). FEELS LIKE SEAT WILL COME OFF ITS RAILS. *JB”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Feb 28, 2003SeatsODI 10008271
Get this fixed

Suspension

1 report
Get this fixed

Equipment

1 report
“SERIOUS CRACKING ALONG MULTIPLE BODY SEAMS IN THE ENGINE COMPARTMENT IN STRUT TOWER AREA AND IN THE REAR IN THE LOWER SUBFRAME AREA. *AK”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Mar 15, 2004Structure, EquipmentODI 10062195
Get this fixed

Air bags

1 report
“RECURRING AIRBAG LIGHT. *JB”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Feb 28, 2003Air bagsODI 10008272
Get this fixed
Data from NHTSA Complaints API (owner reports, unverified) · synced Oct 27, 2026

Complaints are unverified owner reports to NHTSA and are not normalized for sales volume. One complaint can cite several components.