2015 BMW 328I — Complaint #2052631
Open-data reference.
NHTSA Complaint about ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:COOLING SYSTEM filed January 2, 2025
NHTSA complaint #2052631 (ODI reference 11633701) concerns a 2015 BMW 328I and was filed on January 2, 2025. The owner reports the failure occurred on April 29, 2024. The report was geocoded to California based on the filer's self-reported location. The affected component is categorized as engine and engine cooling:cooling system, one of NHTSA's standardized taxonomy codes used to group defect patterns across make, model, and year.
The filer flagged the following severity indicators: crash: yes, fire: no, injuries: 1, fatalities: 0. A complaint that flags a crash, fire, or fatality is escalated on NHTSA's internal review queue and factors more heavily into any Preliminary Evaluation decision on this make and model. Because a VIN was supplied, this complaint is tied to a specific vehicle and not just a model-year cohort.
Individual complaints are consumer-submitted and unverified by NHTSA engineers — the agency's role at this stage is to collect, index, and make them searchable. What matters for federal action is the pattern: when many owners of the same BMW 328I cohort independently describe similar engine and engine cooling:cooling system failures, defect investigators have grounds to open a PE and request manufacturer data. Related filings for the same vehicle and component appear below, and the detail page for the full 2015 BMW 328I shows the complete component-level complaint distribution alongside any active investigations or recalls.
Complaint Description
The contact owned a 2015 BMW 328I. The contact stated that while her husband was driving at undisclosed speeds, the vehicle lost automotive power and stalled. As a result, the vehicle was rear-ended by another vehicle. The contact stated that the vehicle spun around and was struck head-on by another vehicle. The air bags deployed. The contactâs husband suffered injuries to the ribs, both arms were fractured, cerebral hemorrhage, and internal bleeding. The contact was taken to the hospital by an ambulance. The contact was unsure if a Police report was filed. The Fire Department used the jaws of life to remove the driverâs side door. The vehicle was towed to the city impound lot and deemed totaled. The contact stated that the engine had overheated weeks before the vehicle stalled and was involved in the crash. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was unknown.
Complaint Details
| NHTSA Complaint ID | 2052631 |
| ODI Number | 11633701 |
| Date Filed | January 2, 2025 |
| Failure Date | April 29, 2024 |
| VIN | WBA3C1C5XFK |
Source: NHTSA Vehicle Complaints Database. Component taxonomy and severity codes are standardized by NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation.
Read our methodology — how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.