2 complaints reported

2017 BMW 3 Series Brakes

Owner-reported problems and safety issues filed with NHTSA. Review common failures, severity levels, and complaint trends over time.

Reports
2
Crashes
0
Fires
0
Injuries
0

Complaint Timeline

Chronological view of owner reports

Aug 2025

I started to hear a grinding noise from the center-underside of my car about 4 months ago. I did some research and found that many BMW customers had experienced the same noise and the diagnosis was a parking brake line that drops on the main driveshaft after breaking free of the plastic support that is supposed to hold it in place. A video with sound of of the problem can been seen/heard here - [XXX] I had my BMW dealer look into the problem and his diagnosis was the same. The plastic clip that holds the parking brake cable in place had broken. And when the cable drops it rubs on the driveshaft making the grinding noise. A copy of the estimate to repair is attached. So far this failure has not caused any problems with either the parking or drivability of the car. The concern that I have is that the clip failure could lead to either a brake failure or a failure of the driveshaft. The problem seems to occur for a number of BMWs and it appears to be a significant safety problem that should be addressed by BMW. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2017 BMW 328D, Manufacturer: BMW of North America, LLC
Incident: Jan 2024
May 2024

There is a well known issue with the clip on BMW 3 series (mine is a 2017 330i) that holds the parking brake cable assembly to the body if the car above the drive shaft towards the rear of the car. The plastic clips fail frequently, causing the parking brake cable assembly to fall and the brake lines rub against the driveshaft creating a metal-to-metal noise. Over time the friction between the drive shaft and parking brake cable will eventually create failure of the cable in my opinion. I have this issue and I have seen several online videos of others who have the same issue.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2017 BMW 330I, Manufacturer: BMW of North America, LLC
Incident: Jan 2024

Trend Over Time

Complaints by year

Quick Summary

The 2017 BMW 3 Series has 2 Brakes complaints on file. Review the timeline above for detailed owner experiences.