BMW 330E · model year

2018 BMW 330E

9 NHTSA complaints, and 2 active recalls for this specific cohort.

NHTSA overall rating

Not crash-tested

New Car Assessment Program

The 2018BMW330E carries 9 consumer safety complaints in NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation database for this specific model-year cohort. Within that volume, owners reported 0 crashes, 0 fires, 0 injuries, and 0 fatalities. No NCAP 5-star crash-test rating is available for this model year in the federal database.

Component-level analysis is where model-year complaints become actionable: the top complaint category for the 2018 330E is electrical system with 2 filings, followed by engine (2) and fuel/propulsion system (1). Concentration in one or two component groups is the classic signature of a systemic defect; a flat distribution usually reflects normal aging, warranty complaints, or isolated build-plant variability. This model year has 2 active recall campaigns, which means the manufacturer is obligated to remedy the covered defect at no charge for the life of the vehicle — the full NHTSA campaign numbers are listed below.

NHTSA currently has 34 investigation files overlapping the 2018 330E. Owners comparing this cohort against neighboring years should pair the counters above with the complaint-by-year trend on the parent model page — a spike in a single year often tracks to a platform refresh, a new transmission supplier, or an updated ECU calibration. Use the related-complaint feed below to read raw owner narratives before deciding whether any pattern here affects your specific use case.

9
Complaints
0
Crashes
0
Fires
0
Injuries
0
Deaths

Total Complaints

9 filings

Crashes Reported

0 reports

Source

NHTSA ODI

Federal complaints database

Complaints vs. fleet median (215)

At or below the fleet median complaint volume.

Complaints by Component

ComponentCount
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM2
ENGINE2
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM1
UNKNOWN OR OTHER1
SERVICE BRAKES1
STEERING1
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING1

Recalls (2)

18V65200020/09/2018

EQUIPMENT:ELECTRICAL

BMW of North America, LLC (BMW) is recalling certain 2018 BMW 330e iPerformance, i3 Rex, i3 Sport Rex, X5 xDrive40e, i3 BEV, i3 Sport BEV and 2019 i8 and i8 Roadster vehicles and 2018-2019 530e iPerformance, 530e xDrive iPerformance and 740Le xDrive iPerformance vehicles. Capacitors within the Turb

18V46500012/07/2018

ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE

BMW of North America, LLC (BMW) is recalling certain 2018 BMW 540d xDrive vehicles. The crankshaft sensor may be equipped with incorrect firmware, preventing the sensor from properly processing input from the crankshaft reluctor ring, possibly resulting in a vehicle stall. On September 12, 2018,

Recent Complaints

20250313ENGINE

The contact owns a 2018 BMW 330E. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, there was an abnormal squealing sound coming from the engine compartment, with the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer but was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 55,000.

Mileage: 55,000

20250109ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING

The contact owns a 2018 BMW 330E. The contact stated while driving at 60 MPH, the vehicle hesitated, stalled, and restarted independently. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed that the starter needed to be replaced.  The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V576000 (ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING), however the VIN was not included in the recall. The failure mileage was 103,000.

Mileage: 103,000

20250109ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

The contact owns a 2018 BMW 330E. The contact stated while driving at 60 MPH, the vehicle hesitated, stalled, and restarted independently. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed that the starter needed to be replaced.  The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V576000 (ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING), however the VIN was not included in the recall. The failure mileage was 103,000.

Mileage: 103,000

20220622ENGINE

Unknown - I returned from a work related trip out of the country, started my vehicle and coolant was pouring everywhere. BMW stated there's a recall coming out but have not seen one since the repair in April which was over a thousand USD.

20220125SERVICE BRAKES

In May 2021 I purchased a 2018 Certified Pre-owned BMW 330e Plug-in Hybrid with 20K miles from the BMW dealership at Glendale, CA. My car is under original manufacture warranty to this day but I also have paid for an extra warranty and maintenance program. On December 26th, 2021, as I was driving back from Las Vegas on highway 15, about 40 miles into the trip, my car dash displayed an error message "Charging Malfunction" immediately after this error, the entire car systems INCLUDING BREAKS AND STEERING WHEEL! stopped working. I lost control of my car and my car went towards the right side of the road where there's no asphalt and it's all dirt and pebbles. car was finally stopped with the help of manual handbrake but I was terrified and I felt lucky to survive the incident. BMW roadside assistance towed my car to the BMW dealership in Las Vegas since it's the closes dealer. they said they don't have any loaner car and I should get rentals and they will pay for it at the end since it'

20220125STEERING

In May 2021 I purchased a 2018 Certified Pre-owned BMW 330e Plug-in Hybrid with 20K miles from the BMW dealership at Glendale, CA. My car is under original manufacture warranty to this day but I also have paid for an extra warranty and maintenance program. On December 26th, 2021, as I was driving back from Las Vegas on highway 15, about 40 miles into the trip, my car dash displayed an error message "Charging Malfunction" immediately after this error, the entire car systems INCLUDING BREAKS AND STEERING WHEEL! stopped working. I lost control of my car and my car went towards the right side of the road where there's no asphalt and it's all dirt and pebbles. car was finally stopped with the help of manual handbrake but I was terrified and I felt lucky to survive the incident. BMW roadside assistance towed my car to the BMW dealership in Las Vegas since it's the closes dealer. they said they don't have any loaner car and I should get rentals and they will pay for it at the end since it'

20220125ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

In May 2021 I purchased a 2018 Certified Pre-owned BMW 330e Plug-in Hybrid with 20K miles from the BMW dealership at Glendale, CA. My car is under original manufacture warranty to this day but I also have paid for an extra warranty and maintenance program. On December 26th, 2021, as I was driving back from Las Vegas on highway 15, about 40 miles into the trip, my car dash displayed an error message "Charging Malfunction" immediately after this error, the entire car systems INCLUDING BREAKS AND STEERING WHEEL! stopped working. I lost control of my car and my car went towards the right side of the road where there's no asphalt and it's all dirt and pebbles. car was finally stopped with the help of manual handbrake but I was terrified and I felt lucky to survive the incident. BMW roadside assistance towed my car to the BMW dealership in Las Vegas since it's the closes dealer. they said they don't have any loaner car and I should get rentals and they will pay for it at the end since it'

20200111FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM

CAR MAKING A EXPLOSIVE, CRANKING MECHANICAL NOISE UPON UNLOCKING THE CAR BEFORE YOU EVEN OPEN THE DOOR. THERE SEEMS TO BE A FUEL PUMP MAKING NOISE FROM INSIDE A GAS TANK. BMW AUTHORIZED DEALERS ACKNOWLEDGED THE NOISE IS ASSOCIATED WITH A "HIGH PRESSURE FUEL PUMP" AND REFER TO THIS AS "NORMAL" I BELIEVE THE FUEL DELIVERY SYSTEM IN THIS CAR AND OTHER SIMILAR MODELS ARE THE RESULT OF DEFECTIVE COMPONENT(S) AND/OR A RESULT OF A FLAWED ENGINEERING. THIS NOISE HOWEVER CONTINUES ON WITH A HUMMING/BUZZING SOUNDS FOR SEVERAL MINUTES WHICH ALSO EFFECTS THE CAR'S OVERALL PERFORMANCE WHICH SEEMS TO BE CAUSING THE CAR TO PERFORM AT A DIMINISHED LEVEL OVERALL WHICH MAY OR MAY NOT AFFECT VEHICLE'S OVERALL SAFETY COMPONENTS SUCH AS BRAKES AND OTHER CONTROL APPARATUS. AT TIMES, UPON UNLOCKING THE CAR, IT FEELS AND VERY WELL SOUNDS LIKE THE VEHICLE IS ABOUT TO EXPLODE?! AND THIS BY ITSELF CAUSING A GRAVE CONCERN AND I FEEL THAT IT MUST BE INVESTIGATED, ESPECIALLY THAT BMW HAS BEEN RELUCTANT/UNABLE TO RE

Mileage: 1,328

20200111UNKNOWN OR OTHER

CAR MAKING A EXPLOSIVE, CRANKING MECHANICAL NOISE UPON UNLOCKING THE CAR BEFORE YOU EVEN OPEN THE DOOR. THERE SEEMS TO BE A FUEL PUMP MAKING NOISE FROM INSIDE A GAS TANK. BMW AUTHORIZED DEALERS ACKNOWLEDGED THE NOISE IS ASSOCIATED WITH A "HIGH PRESSURE FUEL PUMP" AND REFER TO THIS AS "NORMAL" I BELIEVE THE FUEL DELIVERY SYSTEM IN THIS CAR AND OTHER SIMILAR MODELS ARE THE RESULT OF DEFECTIVE COMPONENT(S) AND/OR A RESULT OF A FLAWED ENGINEERING. THIS NOISE HOWEVER CONTINUES ON WITH A HUMMING/BUZZING SOUNDS FOR SEVERAL MINUTES WHICH ALSO EFFECTS THE CAR'S OVERALL PERFORMANCE WHICH SEEMS TO BE CAUSING THE CAR TO PERFORM AT A DIMINISHED LEVEL OVERALL WHICH MAY OR MAY NOT AFFECT VEHICLE'S OVERALL SAFETY COMPONENTS SUCH AS BRAKES AND OTHER CONTROL APPARATUS. AT TIMES, UPON UNLOCKING THE CAR, IT FEELS AND VERY WELL SOUNDS LIKE THE VEHICLE IS ABOUT TO EXPLODE?! AND THIS BY ITSELF CAUSING A GRAVE CONCERN AND I FEEL THAT IT MUST BE INVESTIGATED, ESPECIALLY THAT BMW HAS BEEN RELUCTANT/UNABLE TO RE

Mileage: 1,328

Compare 2018BMW330E to Similar Vehicles

NHTSA Investigations

View all investigations

Frequently Asked Questions

How many complaints does the 2018 BMW 330E have?
The 2018 BMW 330E has 9 NHTSA complaints, 0 crashes, 0 fires, 0 injuries, and 0 deaths reported.
Are there any recalls for the 2018 BMW 330E?
Yes, the 2018 BMW 330E has 2 recall(s). The most common affected component is EQUIPMENT:ELECTRICAL. Recalls are issued by NHTSA and manufacturers must provide a free remedy.
What are the most common problems with the 2018 BMW 330E?
The most-complained component for the 2018 BMW 330E is ELECTRICAL SYSTEM with 2 complaints. Other frequently reported areas include ENGINE and FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM.
Is the 2018 BMW 330E safe to buy?
Review the complaint history, crash and fire reports, safety ratings, and recall status on this page to make an informed decision. No NHTSA crash test rating is available for this model year. Compare with other model years using the links above.
Where does this data come from?
All complaint, recall, and safety rating data is sourced from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Complaints are filed by vehicle owners through NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation.

Vehicle Safety Guides

Data as of 2025. Sources: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) complaints database, NHTSA recall campaign API, NHTSA NCAP crash-test ratings, and NHTSA FARS for fatality cross-reference.