2009 Bmw 3 SERIES - Ratings, Complaints and Recalls

The 2009 BMW 3 Series 4-DR. w/SAB has received a mixed safety rating. While it scored a 4 out of 5 for both the front crash driver side and front crash passenger side ratings, it achieved a top score of 5 out of 5 for both the side crash driver side and side crash passenger side ratings. The car also received a 4 out of 5 for both rollover ratings, indicating a moderate risk of rollover. Additionally, it comes equipped with standard electronic stability control, which can help the driver maintain control in challenging conditions.

On the downside, the BMW 3 Series does not feature forward collision warning or lane departure warning systems, which are advanced safety technologies increasingly found in modern vehicles. In terms of complaints and recalls, the vehicle has a high number of complaints with 374 reported and has been subject to 8 recalls. It's important for potential buyers to consider these factors in conjunction with the safety ratings when evaluating the overall safety of the car.

auto generated summary, may be inaccurate.

Top stats at a glance

Complaint Count

374

Recall Count

8

Investigation Count

1

Safety Rating

Not Rated

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Safety Features

2009 BMW 3 Series 4-DR. w/SAB Safety Features

Here are the safety features that come as standard on the 2009 BMW 3 Series 4-DR. w/SAB

Electronic Stability Control (ESC)

ESC is an advanced safety feature in vehicles designed to help drivers maintain control during challenging driving conditions. By continuously monitoring various factors such as steering angle, vehicle speed, and individual wheel speeds, ESC can detect and reduce the risk of skidding or loss of control. It achieves this by automatically applying brakes to specific wheels to stabilize the vehicle.

Standard
Forward Collision Warning (FCW)

Forward Collision Warning (FCW) is a safety feature in vehicles that helps prevent frontal collisions by alerting the driver of an imminent collision with a vehicle or obstacle ahead. Using sensors such as radar or cameras, FCW monitors the distance and speed of vehicles in front, and if it detects a potential collision, it provides visual and/or auditory warnings to prompt the driver to take evasive action.

No
Lane Departure Warning (LDW)

Lane Departure Warning (LDW) is a safety feature in vehicles that alerts drivers when their vehicle unintentionally drifts out of its lane without signaling. Utilizing cameras or sensors to monitor lane markings on the road, LDW detects when the vehicle crosses these lines and triggers visual, auditory, or haptic alerts to notify the driver of potential lane departure.

No

2009 BMW 3 Series 4-DR. w/SAB Safety Ratings

Here we have the crash and rollover ratings for the 2009 BMW 3 Series 4-DR. w/SAB Where possible we've included the ratings for the oldest and latest models of this car so you can compare how the safety ratings have changed over time.

Frontal Crash Ratings

Combines Driver and Passenger star ratings into a single frontal rating. The frontal barrier test simulates a head-on collision between two similar vehicles, each moving at 35 mph.

Test 2005 Score 2009 Score 2022 Score
Overall Front Crash Rating Not Rated Not Rated 5
Front Crash Driver Side Rating Not Rated 4 5
Front Crash Passenger Side Rating Not Rated 4 5

Side Crash Ratings

Combines Side Barrier and Side Pole Star Ratings into a single side rating.

Test 2005 Score 2009 Score 2022 Score
Overall Side Crash Rating Not Rated Not Rated 5
Side Crash Drivers Side Rating Not Rated 5 5
Side Crash Passenger Side Rating Not Rated 5 5
Combined Side Barrier Pole Rating - Front Not Rated Not Rated 5
Combined Side Barrier Pole Rating - Rear Not Rated Not Rated 5
Overall Side Barrier Rating Not Rated Not Rated 5

Rollover Ratings

The Rollover Resistance test measures the risk of rollover in a single-vehicle, loss-of-control scenario.

Test 2005 Score 2009 Score 2022 Score
Rollover Rating Not Rated 4 5
Rollover Possibility % 0% 0% 0%
Dynamic Tip Result No Tip No Tip
Side Pole Crash Rating Not Rated Not Rated 5

Complaints for the 2009 Bmw 3 SERIES

This chart show the number of complaints for each car component. A Higher number of complaints could indicate that this car might have a common fault. Something to look out for when purchasing one.

Component Complaints

Choose a component to see what complaints people have made about them.

Complaint:
"i'm having the same issue in https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/tsbs/2014/mc-10148018-9999.pdf but in my 2009 bmw, which is not covered under the current recall."
Components Involved: AIR BAGS
Date of incident: 2020-01-12
Complaint:
"airbag system fault due to occupancy seat sensor p/n 65779153119. this sensor is used on bmw e90, e91, e92, e93 models from 2006-2012. bmw recalled only 2006 and 2007 models in 2014( recall notice 17v428) then revised in 2017 to include more vehicles. in addition, they issued a sb -10056703-9690 in 2017 to extend warranty to 15 years for this sensor. since the exact sensor is fitted on vehicles from 2006-2012, and numerous individuals have reported the fault, i believe my e93 should be covered in the recall or the 15 year extended warranty. based on research, many people have resorted to a bypass device. this extinguishes the fault but presents an issue if the front seat passenger is an infant/ or under 40 pounds. airbags will deploy in case of an accident and death/ serious injury is possible."
Components Involved: AIR BAGS
Date of incident: 2021-03-09
Complaint:
"takata recall faulty airbag deployment during minor accident causing no damage to vehicle. impact occured from front of vehicle and air bags deployed after vehicle was at complete stop after accident causing nose damage and burn and bruise on left arm. irregular deployment of air bags because the passenger air bag as well as the steering wheel air bag deployed. no one was seated on passenger side and the driver side vehicle side airbag where i was seated did not deploy."
Components Involved: AIR BAGS
Date of incident: 2019-02-07
Complaint:
"air bag sensor still on as faulty. bmw has stated its the sensor associated with the the event of roll over. private company certified to service bmws states its the passenger air bag. my bmw's computer also states its the passenger air bag."
Components Involved: AIR BAGS
Date of incident: 2017-01-05
Complaint:
"takata recall; bought car online from schmburg il. bmw and the bmw was delivered to my home address in san antonio,texas. called schmburg bmw and they told to call san antonio bmw. i did call san antonio bmw in 2-2-2017. have not received anything from them and it's 5/7/2018---help!!!"
Components Involved: AIR BAGS
Date of incident: 2017-02-02
Complaint:
"air bag light has came on, when i was backing up, i hit a garbage can. i was told it was the front driver side but no air bag deployed"
Components Involved: AIR BAGS
Date of incident: 2017-10-12
Complaint:
"takata recall in late september i was told it would be a roughly 3 week wait for parts. called again the week of thanksgiving and was told it would be 4-6 week wait. i'm still getting the run around by bmw of dallas and believe they may be only helping select people."
Components Involved: AIR BAGS
Date of incident: 2019-03-12
Complaint:
"2009 bmw 335i. consumer writes in regards to drivers side air bag module safety recall. *ld the consumer stated the recall repair exceeded a reasonable amount of time. updated 12/7/2017*js"
Components Involved: AIR BAGS
Date of incident: 2017-01-06
Complaint:
"tl* takata recall. the contact owns a 2009 bmw 335i. the contact received notification of nhtsa campaign number: 16v071000 (air bags); however, the parts to do the repair were unavailable. the contact stated that the manufacturer exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. the dealer (advantage bmw midtown, 1305 gray st, houston, tx 77002) was contacted and confirmed that the parts were not available for the recall remedy. the manufacturer was contacted at 800-831-1117 and stated that the contact had to call the dealer. the manufacturer transferred the call to the dealer and the dealer stated that they would call back to schedule an appointment. the contact did not receive a call back from the dealer. a case number was not provided. the contact had not experienced a failure. parts distribution disconnect."
Components Involved: AIR BAGS
Date of incident: 2016-05-02
Complaint:
"need replace"
Components Involved: AIR BAGS
Date of incident: 2019-04-11

Recalls for the 2009 Bmw 3 SERIES

Component Recalls

Choose a component to see what recalls people have made about them.

Recall:
"this recall involves aftermarket parts sold by valeo. valeo is recalling certain engine cooling fans, part numbers 696121, 696273, and 696275, used as service replacement parts for model year 2008-2011 bmw 1-series, 2006-2011 bmw 3-series, 2000-2009 bmw 5-series, 2004-2005 bmw 6-series, and 2006-2007 bmw 7-series vehicles. a metal-oxide semiconductor may overheat due to insufficient screwing of the semiconductor on the aluminum heat sink. this primary failure could cause adjacent components on the fan assembly motor circuit board to overheat and short."
Consequence:
This condition could cause the fan motor to become inoperative, or cause the motor circuit board in the assembly to overheat, potentially leading to a fire in the engine compartment.
Remedy:

Valeo will notify owners and replace the fans free of charge. The safety recall began on August 22, 2012. This recall is being conducted by Valeo, not by BMW. For further information, owners may contact Valeo at 1-888-718-2536.

Component(s) Involved: ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING > COOLING SYSTEM > FAN
Date of incident: 2012-08-10

BMW Overall Complaint Ranking

This table shows the ranking of car manufacturers when it comes to most complaints and recalls. The manufacturer with the most complaints is at the top. However this doesn't necassarily mean they should be avoided. Some manufacturers might just have more popular or affordable cars which a lot of people have bought. Which means there's more scope for a complaint to be made. Use the ranking table below as a part your wider research into buying a car.

BMW ranks 12 out of 44 in the complaints ranking table.

Manufacturer Complaint Count Recall Count Ranking
FORD 208,358 3,259 1
CHEVROLET 111,306 2,082 2
TOYOTA 81,019 1,852 3
HONDA 61,937 1,268 4
NISSAN 56,226 930 5
DODGE 45,756 827 6
HYUNDAI 44,150 649 7
GMC 34,441 1,410 8
KIA 29,832 501 9
CHRYSLER 27,698 254 10
TESLA 26,230 730 11
BMW 24,890 1,877 12
VOLKSWAGEN 23,125 829 13
MERCEDES-BENZ 19,066 2,925 14
SUBARU 18,513 703 15
MAZDA 10,599 364 16
PONTIAC 10,430 138 17
CADILLAC 9,434 444 18
AUDI 7,865 1,093 19
BUICK 7,851 279 20
SATURN 7,672 84 21
MERCURY 7,374 135 22
LEXUS 6,373 408 23
LINCOLN 5,897 423 24
ACURA 5,722 382 25
MINI 5,585 366 26
INFINITI 4,000 187 27
MITSUBISHI 3,912 397 28
VOLVO 3,875 727 29
PORSCHE 2,646 1,231 30
SUZUKI 2,272 123 31
FIAT 2,205 80 32
SAAB 1,536 76 33
JAGUAR 1,195 198 34
SMART 528 17 35
GENESIS 436 42 36
ISUZU 249 37 37
ALFA ROMEO 161 37 38
MASERATI 76 46 39
BENTLEY 46 159 40
POLESTAR 42 2 41
LUCID 14 6 42
CODA 4 2 43
MAYBACH 0 0 44

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