# 2008 BMW M3 — ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
> NHTSA complaint `1308881` · 2016-08-16 · BMW of North America, LLC
## Severity
- **Deaths:** 0
- **Injured:** 0
- **Fire:** Yes
- **Crash:** No
- **Police report:** No
- **Medical attention:** No
- **Vehicle towed:** No
## Vehicle
- **Make:** BMW
- **Model:** M3
- **Year:** 2008
- **Manufacturer:** BMW of North America, LLC
- **Component:** ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
- **Miles at failure:** 41,706
## Narrative
VEHICLE MILEAGE: 41,706  AFTER RECEIVING AN OIL CHANGE, I PICKED MY CAR UP AT MY LOCAL INDEPENDENT MECHANIC SHOP. WHEN TURNING THE CAR ON I NOTICED A MISFIRE WITH THE ENGINE. I TURNED THE CAR OFF AND ASKED THE SHOP TO TAKE A LOOK. THEY IDENTIFIED A MISFIRE IN CYLINDER #2. AFTER 30 SECONDS OF THE CAR BEING TURNED OFF, SMOKE STARTED POURING OUT OF CYLINDER #2.  AFTER 90 SECONDS OF AGGRESSIVELY SMOKING, THE FIRE PUT ITSELF OUT. IIT WAS FOUND THAT THE COIL PACK FOR CYLINDER #2 CAUGHT FIRE AND FRIED AN UPSTREAM DME CONTROL UNIT AS WELL.  REPAIRS WERE STARTED THE NEXT DAY TO REPLACE ALL 8 COIL PACKS AND THE DME CONTROL UNIT.   FORTUNATELY I WAS NOT DRIVING AND MY FAMILY WAS NOT IN THE CAR. I IMMEDIATELY CONTACTED BMW THROUGH THEIR ONLINE SYSTEM.   AFTER 3 DAYS I CALLED THEIR HELP NUMBER. I THEN WAITED 2 DAYS FOR CONTACT FROM THEM. FINALLY I RECEIVED A PHONE CALL BACK, BY THIS TIME THE CAR WAS REPAIRED BY MY MECHANIC. BMW DENIED MY REQUEST FOR REIMBURSEMENT, STATING THE CAR WAS NOT AT A BMW DEALERSHIP WHEN IT CAUGHT FIRE. AFTER ESCALATING THE CONCERN WITHIN BMW TO THEIR INVESTIGATION TEAM, I WAS REQUESTED TO SUBMIT PHOTOS OF THE BURNT COIL PACK, AND REPAIR RECEIPTS. AFTER 5 WEEKS OF WAITING, THEY CONTACTED ME AND DENIED MY CLAIM AGAIN. WHEN I ASKED FOR THE INVESTIGATION REPORT, THEY STATED THAT NO INVESTIGATION WAS CONDUCTED AND THAT NO REPORT WOULD BE PROVIDED.  I HAVE SINCE FOUND ANOTHER M3 OWNER WITH THE SAME FAILURE ON THE SAME MODEL VEHICLE WITH THE SAME MILEAGE. THE COIL PACK 
---
*Source: [NHTSA ODI](https://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/downloads/) · AI Analytics · CC0 1.0*