1998 BMW Z3 Roadster

A LOUD CLUNKING SOUND COMING FROM REAR END WAS NOTICED. UPON INSPECTION, BY BMW DEALERSHIP IT WAS DETERMINED THE REAR SUBFRAME HOLDING REAR DIFFERENTIAL HAS SEPARATED FROM THE BODY OF THE VEHICLE (SPOT WELD FAILURE). I WAS TOLD IT IS EXTREMELY DANGEROUS TO DRIVE AND TO FIX IMMEDIATELY. UPON FURTHER RESEARCH, THIS APPEARS TO BE A VERY COMMON PROBLEM WITH THESE VEHICLES. HIGHER DISPLACEMENT MODELS ARE A HIGHER OCCURRENCE DUE TO CREATING MORE TORQUE ON THE REAR DIFFERENTIAL BRACKET. MINE IS THE M VERSION WHICH IS ALMOST A GUARANTEED FAILURE.

AT 86K MILES ON MY 1998 BMW Z3, THE THIN SHEET METAL BRACKET HOLDING THE REAR DIFFERENTIAL UP IN PLACE WELDED TO THE CHASSIS SPLIT IN HALF CAUSING THE REAR END TO HANG. THIS IS THE SECOND TIME IT HAS HAPPENED, ALSO AT 93,500 MILES, JUST 8 MONTHS LATER. THE CLUTCH IS STILL ORIGINAL AND THE CAR HAS NEVER BEEN ABUSED, OR RACED. I ALWAYS BABY THE CAR BECAUSE GAS IS SO EXPENSIVE, AND THIS SEEMS TO BE A PROBLEM WITH ALOT OF OTHER Z3'S THAT I HAVE SEEN ONLINE. THIS IS CLEARLY A MANUFACTURING FLAW. BMW CLAIMS THE CAR MUST HAVE HAD SOME REAR END IMPACT, EVEN THOUGH THIS IS CLEARLY NOT THE CASE. I WOULD LIKE TO SEE THEM REPLACE THIS PART WITH THICKER, OR STRONGER METAL AS IT CAN BE A VERY SERIOUS PROBLEM IF THE DIFFERENTIAL FALLS OUT AT HIGH SPEEDS. *TR

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 1998 BMW Z3M ROADSTER. THE CONTACT WAS TRAVELING 25 MPH WHEN THE REAR FRAME OF THE VEHICLE FRACTURED COMPLETELY. THE CONTACT TOWED THE VEHICLE TO THE DEALER WHERE THEY ADVISED THAT THE FRAME METAL WAS EXTREMELY WEAK AND CAUSED THE FRAME TO DROP AND THE REAR AXLE TO FRACTURE FROM THE VEHICLE. THE CONTACT WAS CONCERNED BECAUSE HE COULD HAVE BEEN INVOLVED IN A CRASH IF HE WERE TRAVELING FASTER IN THE VEHICLE. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE CURRENT AND FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 50,000.

1998 Z3 SUBFRAME FAILURE. I'M WORRIED MY DIFFERENTIAL OR REAR END WILL FAIL DURING DRIVING AND BMW REFUSES TO FIX IT. THIS IS A SAFETY CONCERN FOR EVERYONE ON THE ROAD. BMW HAS INSPECTED MY CAR, ACKNOWLEDGED THE PROBLEM, AND BLAMED THE FAILURE ON THE MODIFICATIONS I MADE TO THE CAR, HOWEVER, THE PROBLEM IS OCCURRING IN A VERY HIGH NUMBER OF UN-MODIFIED Z3 VEHICLES AS WELL. THERE IS ALSO A CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT FOR THE SAME EXACT PROBLEM ON E46 MODELS (Z3 IS NOT AN E46) AND BMW IS FIXING THE E46 BUT NOT THE Z3. THIS IS A VERY DANGEROUS SITUATION AND SOMEONE IS GOING TO BE KILLED EVENTUALLY B/C OF THIS ISSUE. *TR

NORMAL DRIVING RESULTED IN FRAME FAILURE AT THE DIFFERENTIAL MOUNTING POINT. THE ENTIRE DIFFERENTIAL MOUNT BROKE LOOSE FROM THE FRAME AND THE CROSS FRAME IS BROKEN IN TWO PLACES.. THE VEHICLE ALSO HAS TRUNK FLOOR PAN SPOT WELDS BREAKING LOOSE. THE PROBLEMS RESULT IN A REAR AXLE ASSEMBLY THAT IS LOOSE AND STEERS THE CAR ERRATICALLY. THE CAR IS UNSAFE TO DRIVE AT THIS TIME DUE TO ERRATIC HANDLING. *TR

THE AIRBAG FAULT LIGHT CAME ON IN OUR 1998 BMW Z3 (WITH LESS THAN 16,000 MILES ON THE ODOMETER), INDICATING THE AIRBAG (OR AIRBAGS) AND SEAT BELT TENSIONERS WERE NO LONGER FUNCTIONING. THE DEALER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE SAID THIS WAS "A COMMON PROBLEM" WITH THIS MODEL AND TOLD US EXACTLY WHAT MOST LIKELY CAUSE OF THE PROBLEM PRIOR TO ANY DIAGNOSTICS'THAT THERE WAS A FAULT IN THE SEATBELT LATCH AND WIRING THAT CAUSED 'HIGH RESISTANCE'. THE COST OF REPAIRS WAS $825. A GOOGLE SEARCH SHOWS THIS SAME PROBLEM IS ESSENTIALLY UBIQUITOUS. I SEARCHED FOR 'BMW Z3 AIRBAG LIGHT ON', AND I GOT NEARLY 40,000 HITS. LOOKING RANDOMLY AT SOME OF THESE HITS, I FIND EACH CONTAINS MULTIPLE ACTUAL INSTANCES OF THIS PROBLEM OCCURRING. FOR EXAMPLE, THE FIRST RESULT RETURNED (HTTP://WWW.AUTOMOTIVEFORUMS.COM/T145936-Z3_AIRBAG_SENSORS.HTML) INDICATED AT LEAST 6 VEHICLES WITH THIS EXACT SAME PROBLEM. THUS, I WOULD ESTIMATE FROM THE GOOGLE SEARCH THAT THIS PROBLEM HAS AFFECTED 100,000+ VEHICLES JUST COUNTING THOSE POSTED ON THE INTERNET'PLUS ALL OF THOSE THAT ARE NOT POSTED ON THE INTERNET. THE BMW Z3 WAS A LOW VOLUME VEHICLE, SO IT WOULD APPEAR THIS SIGNIFICANT SAFETY DEFECT AFFECTS A VERY LARGE PERCENTAGE OF THESE VEHICLES. ASIDE FROM THE FINANCIAL BURDEN OF OWNERS REPAIRING THIS VERY DANGEROUS DEFECT, I SUSPECT MANY OWNERS SIMPLY CHOOSE NOT TO HAVE THE POTENTIALLY DEADLY SAFETY DEFECT REPAIRED DUE TO THE COST OF THE REPAIRS. BMW SHOULD BE REQUIRED TO CORRECT THEIR DESIGN DEFECT AND REIMBURSE OWNERS WHO HAVE INCURRED PERHAPS $100,000,000 IN REPAIRS FOR THIS SEVERE AND DEADLY DEFECT. *TR