2011 Bmw M3 - Ratings, Complaints and Recalls

The 2011 BMW M3 has not been rated for safety by NHTSA. However, it does come equipped with electronic stability control, which is a positive feature for enhancing vehicle stability during sudden maneuvers. Unfortunately, this particular model does not have forward collision warning or lane departure warning systems, which could have added extra layers of safety precautions. With 41 complaints and 4 recalls reported, it is essential for owners to stay informed and proactive in addressing any potential issues to ensure the overall safety and performance of the vehicle.

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Top stats at a glance

Complaint Count

41

Recall Count

4

Investigation Count

1

Safety Rating

Not Rated

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Safety Features

2011 BMW M3 C RWD Safety Features

Here are the safety features that come as standard on the 2011 BMW M3 C RWD

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

2011 BMW M3 C RWD Safety Ratings

Here we have the crash and rollover ratings for the 2011 BMW M3 C RWD 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 2011 Score 2022 Score
Overall Front Crash Rating Not Rated Not Rated Not Rated
Front Crash Driver Side Rating Not Rated Not Rated Not Rated
Front Crash Passenger Side Rating Not Rated Not Rated Not Rated

Side Crash Ratings

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

Test 2005 Score 2011 Score 2022 Score
Overall Side Crash Rating Not Rated Not Rated Not Rated
Side Crash Drivers Side Rating Not Rated Not Rated Not Rated
Side Crash Passenger Side Rating Not Rated Not Rated Not Rated
Combined Side Barrier Pole Rating - Front Not Rated Not Rated Not Rated
Combined Side Barrier Pole Rating - Rear Not Rated Not Rated Not Rated
Overall Side Barrier Rating Not Rated Not Rated Not Rated

Rollover Ratings

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

Test 2005 Score 2011 Score 2022 Score
Rollover Rating Not Rated Not Rated Not Rated
Rollover Possibility % 0% 0% 0%
Dynamic Tip Result
Side Pole Crash Rating Not Rated Not Rated Not Rated

Complaints for the 2011 Bmw M3

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:
"starting from a traffic light at woodlands parkway and gosling road in the woodlands, tx - vehicle accelerated normally during shifting from 1st to 2nd gear. when shifting from 2nd to 3rd - engine rpm went to zero and vehicle suddenly lost all power and died. there was a large ford f150 behind the car. thankfully, i was watching the tachometer and coasted to the shoulder before attempting to shift back to 2 and try a rolling start at which point vehicle came to an abrupt and sudden stop. car was towed to an approved mechanic and was diagnosed as "another seized s65" engine. opinion of expert engine builders and bearing manufacturers is that the original bmw s65 bearing dimensions result in inadequate journal clearance and has been thoroughly documented. this, coupled with any potential "tolerance stacking" (- clearance) can result in a final bearing clearance which is significantly tighter than ideal and is the reason why we have seen engines fail after only a few thousand miles. this was half a second or less from being a fatal accident."
Components Involved: ENGINE
Date of incident: 2024-06-07
Complaint:
"i was driving casually when the motor suddenly shut off. no noise indicating engine failure ever happened. i coasted off the road and tried to restart. nothing but a click. eventually tried replacing starter motor but that didn't work. no engine lights or codes ever popped up. turns out engine seized due to failed rod bearings."
Components Involved: ENGINE
Date of incident: 2019-10-07
Complaint:
"two weeks ago, when the car was driving normally, it suddenly shut down and could no longer start. when automotive engineers took the engine apart, they found that the crankshaft and rod bearing bush were over-worn and burnt out. the engineer told me that the oil i used was too sticky to lubricate the rod bearing. i changed the engine oil 8,000 miles ago, using the 10w-60 oil supplied by bmw."
Components Involved: ENGINE
Date of incident: 2020-01-07
Complaint:
"while shifting into 3rd gear, my engine threw a rod through the block, car has not been modified, has 43,300 original miles, original owner."
Components Involved: ENGINE
Date of incident: 2021-04-05
Complaint:
"o2 sensors constantly go out replaced 3 times, throttle body acutators constantly go bad putting car in limp mode very dangerous my car cut off at 65mph on the freeway. i was with my family!!! something bad could of happened. please look into this bmw m3 2008-2013 please look into this. rod bearings go bad aswell"
Components Involved: ENGINE
Date of incident: 2018-02-06
Complaint:
"while driving my low milage 2011 bmw m3 (42k miles) on the highway, out of no where, i noticed the car driving a little differently and slightly shaking. this happened moments before i reached my exit. i pulled over at a gas station right off the exit and opened the hood, the engine was making a tinging/scraping noise with each revolution. i closed it up, and drove to my home which was a couple minutes away. while driving, the noise was happening more in lower gears. when i got home, i looked under the car and saw it was leaking oil, and still making the noise. after some investigation, i learned the rod bearings in the engine had failed, resulting in complete engine failure. i purchased the car from an authorized bmw store at 38k miles in may of 2017, i always serviced it at my local bmw store - this occurred february 3rd, 2018. after reading up, i am learning that this is an issue with the s65 engines that are in this model of m3's. bmw has yet to make a recall, but they are aware of the issue. no action has been taken, but something needs to be done. i can't afford a new engine (it costs 30 something thousand dollars, which is almost as much as i paid for the car), and the engine cannot be repaired. i feel wronged by bmw, and advise the nhtsa to urge bmw to recall this engine to save future customers from catastrophic engine failure."
Components Involved: ENGINE
Date of incident: 2018-04-01
Complaint:
"at 63,860 mile the s65 engine in my 2011 bmw m3 failed. dealer diagnosed engine bearing failure. failure occurred while driving."
Components Involved: ENGINE
Date of incident: 2017-04-10
Complaint:
"engine knocking. connecting rod bearing and main bearing failure resulting in required engine replacement. engine not able to be rebuilt due to cracked main bearing saddles."
Components Involved: ENGINE
Date of incident: 2017-01-10
Complaint:
"rod bearing failure."
Components Involved: ENGINE
Date of incident: 2018-07-04
Complaint:
"while driving at a high rate of speed on a california interstate, my car suddenly lost forward momentum, power brakes and power steering. when i looked down to the dash, the dct transmission had shifted itself to neutral and the engine was shut down. i unsuccessfully attempted a restart as i tried to safely make my way through the right lanes of traffic so i could pull off on the shoulder. after narrowly being hit by passing cars, i managed to get into the right lane and coast off a freeway exit ramp. the car became increasingly difficult to steer and brake. as i turned onto the side of the road, as soon as i hit 10mph, the car suddenly put itself in park, causing a jolting sensation and an abrupt, unsafe stop. the vehicle would not turn over so i had it towed to the bmw dealership. the next morning i was alerted that there were metal shavings in the oil pan and that cylinder one had seized due to rod bearing failure. the engine had 53,000 miles when the failure occurred. this necessitated a full engine replacement."
Components Involved: ENGINE
Date of incident: 2017-08-12

Recalls for the 2011 Bmw M3

Component Recalls

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

Recall:
"bmw of north america, llc (bmw) is recalling certain 2008-2013 128i and 135i convertibles, 128i, 135i, and m coupes, 2007-2010 x3 30si and x3 xdrive30i, 2013-2015 x1 sdrive28i, x1 xdrive28i and x1 xdrive35i, 2007-2013 328i, 328i xdrive, 335i, 335is, 335i xdrive and m3 coupes, 2006-2011 328i, 328xi, 328i xdrive, 325i, 325xi, 330i, 330xi, 335i, 335xi, 335i xdrive and m3, 2009-2011 335d, 2006-2012 325xi, 328i, 328xi and 328i xdrive, 2010-2011 x6 activehybrid, 2007-2013 328i, 335i, 335is, m3 coupes, x5 30si, x5 xdrive30i, x5 xdrive35i, x5 48i, x5 xdrive48i, x5 xdrive50i and x5 m, 2009-2013 x5 xdrive35d and 2008-2014 x6 xdrive35i, x6 xdrive50i and x6m vehicles equipped with non-desiccated driver frontal air bag inflators containing phase stabilized ammonium nitrate (psan) that were used as interim remedy parts for previous takata recalls. these inflators may explode due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to high absolute humidity, high temperatures, and high temperature..."
Consequence:
An inflator explosion may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants resulting in serious injury or death.
Remedy:

BMW will notify owners, and dealers will replace the driver air bag. On X5 and X6 vehicles, only the inflator will be replaced. All repairs will be performed free of charge. The recall began March 11, 2020. Owners may contact BMW customer service at 1-800-525-7417.

Component(s) Involved: AIR BAGS > FRONTAL > DRIVER SIDE > INFLATOR MODULE
Date of incident: 2020-01-15
Recall:
"bmw of north america, llc (bmw) is recalling certain model year 2008-2013 128i and 135i coupes and convertibles and 1 series m coupes, 2006-2011 325i, 325xi, 328i, 328xi, 328i xdrive, 330i, 330xi, 335i, 335xi, 335i xdrive sedans, 2009-2011 335d sedans, 2006-2012 325xit, 328i and 328xi sports wagons, 2007-2013 328i, 328xi, 328i xdrive, 335i, 335xi, 335i xdrive, 335is and m3 coupes and convertibles, 2013-2015 x1 sdrive28i, x1 xdrive28i and x1 xdrive35i savs, 2007-2010 x3 xdrive30i savs, 2007-2013 x5 xdrive30i, x5 xdrive35i, x5 xdrive48i, x5 xdrive50i and x5 m savs, 2009-2013 bmw x5 xdrive35d savs, 2008-2014 x6 xdrive35i, x6 xdrive50i, and x6 m sacs, 2010-2011 bmw x6 xdrive50i sacs and 2008-2011 m3 sedan vehicles. upon deployment of the driver's frontal air bag, excessive internal pressure may cause the inflator to rupture."
Consequence:
In the event of a crash necessitating deployment of the driver's frontal air bag, the inflator could rupture with metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants resulting in serious injury or death.
Remedy:

BMW will notify owners, and dealers will replace the driver's frontal air bag module or inflator depending on the vehicle model, free of charge. The recall began March 9, 2018. Owners may contact BMW customer service at 1-800-525-7417.

Component(s) Involved: AIR BAGS > FRONTAL > DRIVER SIDE > INFLATOR MODULE
Date of incident: 2016-02-05

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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