1997 BMW Z3
Safety record from NHTSA: recalls, owner complaints, investigations and service bulletins.
Have the VIN?
These records cover every 1997 BMW Z3. To see whether one car still needs a recall repair, decode its VIN or check it with NHTSA.
Recalls
2 recalls name the 1997 BMW Z3. Newest first.
Certain pro-a motors corner lamps, turn signals, and headlights sold as replacement lamps for use on certain passenger vehicles listed above. some combination lamps that are not equipped with amber side reflectors fail to conform to federal motor vehicle safety standard no. 108, lamps, reflective devices, and associated equipment.
Risk and remedy
Risk
Without the amber reflectors, the vehicle will be poorly illuminated, possibly resulting in a vehicle crash without warning.
Remedy
Pro-a motors will notify owners and offer to repurchase the lamps. the recall began on april 3, 2006. owners may contact pro-a motors at 323-838-2988.
The cruise control and throttle cables are attached to the same throttle valve actuating lever at the throttle housing. it IS possible that the plastic bushing on either cable could break due to environmental influences coupled with vibration. if the bushing breaks, the outer cable housing can separate from the bushing. in this case, during application…
Risk and remedy
Risk
This could cause the throttle valve to remain partially open. it his were to occur, the car might not decelerate as expected increasing the risk of a vehicle crash.
Remedy
Dealers will install a spring steel clip on the outer tube of each cable in the area of the adjusting screw and plastic bushing. the clip IS designed to prevent the outer tube from dislodging from the bushing.
Owner complaints
47 complaints4 involved a crash2 involved a fire6 injuries
What owners report most
Latest complaints
- Air bags
The contact owned a 1997 BMW Z3 Roadster. The contact stated that while driving at approximately 40 MPH, there was a multi-car rear-end accident involving two other vehicles after she fell asleep at the wheel and rear-ended the vehicle in front of her. The contact stated that no other passengers…
The contact owned a 1997 BMW Z3 Roadster. The contact stated that while driving at approximately 40 MPH, there was a multi-car rear-end accident involving two other vehicles after she fell asleep at the wheel and rear-ended the vehicle in front of her. The contact stated that no other passengers were in her vehicle; however, only the driver's side air bag had failed to deploy. The contact required hospitalization and was in a coma. A police report was filed. The vehicle was towed to a tow yard and later auctioned. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and confirmed the VIN was not included in an air bag recall. The approximate failure mileage was 199,000. The VIN was not available.
- Suspension
Vehicle jerks, shutters and pulls to the right. Rear sub frame and differential bushing failure.
- Seats
The seat tracks of both the driver and passenger side of the vehicle allowed the seats to move at least 10MM forward and rearward under braking and acceleration. This movement causes a partial loss of control of the vehicle. *tr
- Air bags
Upon starting the car the air bag light came on and stayed on. this IS the third time this has happened. the first two time it cost approximately $350 to repair. for this to happen a third time IS indicative of a design fault.
- Unknown or other
I turned the key to start the vehicle. It started normally. I put the car in neutral (5 speed trans.) to allow it to warm-up for about 2 minutes while I checked my voice mail on my phone. As I put the car in gear and looked out the windshield to pull out of my parking space, I saw dense white smoke…
I turned the key to start the vehicle. It started normally. I put the car in neutral (5 speed trans.) to allow it to warm-up for about 2 minutes while I checked my voice mail on my phone. As I put the car in gear and looked out the windshield to pull out of my parking space, I saw dense white smoke rolling out from under the hood on the driver's side. I looked at the dash for any warning or indicator lights; there were none. I immediately turned the car off, popped the hood, and got out of the car. I wanted to wait until the smoke was no longer rolling out before actually opening the hood, as I was afraid of introducing a rush of air if something was on fire. As the smoke rapidly increased and progressed to black smoke, I called my facility security from an emergency call box while also calling 911 from my cell phone. During the 911 call, flames became visible from under the hood. Four fire engines arrived to put out the fire. All four levels of my facilities parking deck were filled with toxic smoke which was evacuated by the fire department. The car was a total loss. The fire dept. Told me that night that the car was too badly burned to determine the cause. They supposed it was electrical. After inspecting the car, the insurance investigator did not believe the fire to be from electrical origin, but instead fuel / engine related. The car had been maintained on a regular basis. No service had been recently performed. I had not been experiencing any issues with the car's performance.
- Seat belts
My 1997 BMW Z3 had the airbag light come on 2 years ago. The technician said it was caused by the seatbelt tensioner. He replaced it and all was fine. It's back on again. If this IS as common to these models as I've heard why hasn't BMW had a recall to fix the problem. This IS getting expensive. *tr
- Air bags
Passenger got into front seat and adjusted it down and back with the power seat controls. airbag light illuminated and has been on ever since. I checked for broken or damaged wiring but found nothing obvious. BMW IS recalling many of their new cars, but it seems their old ones exhibit the same failures. *Tr
- Seats
Seat rails do not lock properly thereby allowing seat(s) to slide forward during braking. can potentially lead to loss of control of vehicle. *tr
- Seats
1997 BMW Z3 with sliding seat problems customer states that the seat would slide forward when he pushed on the brake and slide back when he accelerated**cc the consumer was told the worm gear on the seat bracket had worn out beyond repair and a complete seat bracket was needed. *Jb
- Air bags
The consumer was driving 65 mph on I-95 when all of a sudden he lost control of the vehicle. the traction control feature on the vehicle failed to work. The consumer hit a guard rail and the air bags did not deploy. The consumer was injured. *jb
- Air bags
My 1997 BMW Z3 has the srs light constantly on, I get it fixed and it goes on again. I've done this like 3 times, now my mechanic IS saying it's like 800 to fix. rediculous! it'a definitely a safety issue, I'm not sue the system will work now.*ak
- Air bags › Frontal › Sensor/control module
Air bag light came on, unknown reason.*ak
- Air bags
Repeated problems with the car's airbag. The airbag light comes on and stays on. I had this problem before and I paid BMW to fix it. They told me that it was something with the seatbelt. The light has come on again.
- Steering
While applying brakes steering jerks side to side. As a result, vehicle crosses over to different lanes without warning. The dealer states that IS a normal procedure of the vehicle. *ak
- Seat belts › Front › Retractor
The passenger side seat belt locks up more often than normal and at un-needed times. this causes pain to the user with the end result being that the user tends to remove the seat belt, or IS forced to sit there in pain with the seat belt on and locked up. *nlm
- Seats
The seat tracks of both the driver and passenger side of the vehicle allowed the seats to move at least 10MM forward and rearward under braking and acceleration. this movement causes a partial loss of control of the vehicle. the vehicle had only 32K miles on it. this appears to be a premature…
The seat tracks of both the driver and passenger side of the vehicle allowed the seats to move at least 10MM forward and rearward under braking and acceleration. this movement causes a partial loss of control of the vehicle. the vehicle had only 32K miles on it. this appears to be a premature failure and a defect of both tracks. this failure mode IS documented both on this site and on many BMW forums. the entire track assembly of both seats had to be replaced. *nlm
- Seats
The bracket which held the driver's seat to the floor became loose. This caused the seat to rock back and forth when a stop was made. The dealer stated the problem was normal and they were not responsible for fixing the seat. *jb *cb *jb the dealer witnessed alot of this problem. *scc
- Seats · Unknown or other
First failure, driver and passenger seats are coming loose from the track that the seats move back and forth on. the seats can move back and forth a few inches, without depressing on the level to move the seats back and forth. the automobile dealership diagnosed the problem to be the track and it…
First failure, driver and passenger seats are coming loose from the track that the seats move back and forth on. the seats can move back and forth a few inches, without depressing on the level to move the seats back and forth. the automobile dealership diagnosed the problem to be the track and it required replacement. the automobile manufacturer and dealer contends this IS a repair item and does not believe it to be defect in the seats or a safety problem should an accident occur. the fact that both seats now do this and it IS not something that should happen under normal wear and tear would indicate otherwise. the automobile has only 42,000 miles and IS less than 4 years old. second failure: the outer trim of the dashboard housing of the passenger side airbag has come loose. we are concerned that this defect may disrupt or alter the deployment of the airbag should a collision occur. dealership and automobile manufacture contends this situation would not cause the airbag to malfunction and therefore not correct the problem. they would not supply information or data to support their assessment. *jb
- Vehicle speed control
While driving the accelerator stuck causing the driver to lose control of the vehicle and hit a tree. the consume believes this accident IS related to nhtsa recall #8324 97v-131000 of the cruise control throttle cables cable. the dealer has been notified. *ts *nlm
- Air bags › Frontal
While driving at 35 mph, vehicle was in a frontal collison. only the passenger side air bag deployed upon impact. the driver side air bag didn't deploy. please provide more details. ts
- Seats
The seat does not lock on the track, it shifts back and forth while accelerating or braking, it was a defect when manfured but manufacturer will not correct, many z 3 owners have the problem, I feel it could cause an accident or kill someone, if it was a us company like gm, ford, or chry I know…
The seat does not lock on the track, it shifts back and forth while accelerating or braking, it was a defect when manfured but manufacturer will not correct, many z 3 owners have the problem, I feel it could cause an accident or kill someone, if it was a us company like gm, ford, or chry I know they would have repaired the defect, why do we allow foreign companies to get away with producing a defective vehicle we would not allow one of our companie to produce. My wife IS afraid to drive the car because of this faulty seat. by the way BMW has agreed it was a defect and should be repaired but they want to get another $4-500 bucks to fix a problem that was plainly a design and manufacturing problem by their own admission. I ask you help on behalf of all those z 3 owners who might end up in an accident. I have written BMW but they did not even give me the courtesy of an answer. help please. *ak
- Structure › Frame and members
Left rear frame rail cracked with cause unknown. this crack was only detected by owner when changing tire. dealership states that this may have come from manufacture tightning frame too tight. Please describe details
- Seat belts › Front › Buckle assembly
Both seat belts will not latch properly. Dealer and manufacturer were notified. Feel free to provide any further information.*ak
- Air bags · Engine and engine cooling · Engine and engine cooling › Cooling system › Radiator assembly · Engine and engine cooling › Engine › Gasoline · Seat belts · Seat belts › Front › Anchorage · Seats · Seats › Front assembly › Recliner · Structure › Body · Structure › Body › Hood · Unknown or other
While driving, the air bag light illuminateed on the dashboard, the airbag sensor was replaced. *Ak. consumer stated the seat belt tensioner and harness was causing the air bag light and engine light to come on, the hood sensor for the alarm was replaced, there was a faulty thermostat that caused damage to the radiator, the glove box was replaced and the seat came out of place when stopping. *Yd
- Power train › Driveline › Differential unit
While driving 50-60 mph wheels locked up, causing vehicle to veer from side to side, finally spun around. vehicle was towed to dealership, it was determined that differential had locked up and needed to be replaced. *ak
Service bulletins
Technical service bulletins and other communications the manufacturer sent dealers about this vehicle. Ask a dealer for the full document by its number.
- 10037702BMW: when at lower speeds or stopping the engine idle dips too low because of a software problem.
- 6089811Rough idle
- 606353Information regarding voluntary emission recall campaign no. 99E-a01.
- 604901Information pertaining to quality monitoring of M44 / M62 camshaft sensor.
- 600874Information on evaporative emission control and fuel filler cap / filler door labels.
- 53943Installation of hood latch guide plate.
- 53506Repositioning of fuel line due to installation of an incorrect fuel hose.
- 52259M44 misfire faults 50, 51, 52 or 53.
- 52255Alignment specifications.
- 52233Installation of air deflectors.
- 52213Front license plate bracket.
- 50678Child airbag letter, warning label and safety reference card.
- 50630New vehicle preparation and maintenance requirements.
Every BMW Z3 model year
Bars are owner complaints, dots mark years with recalls. Select a year to open its report.