1997 Bmw Z3: Reliability Data

Source: NHTSA — 66 complaints
66
Total Complaints
88,000mi
Median Mileage
Seats
Top Issue
4
Crash Reports

When Do Complaints Happen?

Distribution of NHTSA complaints by vehicle mileage at time of report.

62,961 25th Percentile
88,000 Median Mileage
130,500 75th Percentile

What Fails?

Most reported component issues from NHTSA complaints.

Seats
11
Air Bags
10
Unknown Or Other
4
Seat Belts
4
Anchorage
3
Frontal
3
Engine
3
Buckle Assembly
2
Retractor
2
Vehicle Speed Control
2

Severity Assessment

4
Crashes
6
Fires
10
Injuries
0
Deaths

Sample Complaint Reports

"VEHICLE ACCELERATES UNEXPECTEDLY WHILE PARKED OR AT IDLE."
"JUNE 2, 1997 CONSUMER HAS TAKEN VEHICLE TO HAVE REPAIRS DONE ON FUEL GAUGE FOR SECOND TIME. TIIS HAPPENS WHEN STARTING VEHICLE SOMETIMES. *AK"
"TRANSMISSION GEAR SHIFTER FAILURE."

Source: NHTSA ODI Complaints Database. Names and identifying details omitted.

When Were Complaints Filed?

Number of complaints by the year the issue occurred.

When Does Each Component Fail?

Median mileage at complaint for top components.

Air Bags 10 complaints
25th: 50,317 mi Median: 62,961 mi 75th: 101,875 mi

Where Are Complaints Coming From?

Top states by complaint count.

CA: 13 AR: 11 NY: 6 OH: 4 NC: 4 TX: 3 MI: 3 GA: 3 IL: 2 PA: 2

Who Files Complaints?

30.3%
Original Owners
69.7%
Second+ Owners

Bmw Z3 — Other Years

See how this model compares across different model years.

YearComplaintsCrashes
1996344
1998453
1999550
2000546
2001280

Data source: View this vehicle on NHTSA.gov | NHTSA ODI Complaints Database. Public domain.

Methodology: Complaint counts and mileage distributions are computed directly from consumer-reported NHTSA complaints. This data represents reported issues, not failure rates — vehicles without complaints are not represented. Full methodology.

Data through: 2026-03-28