2009 BMW 3 series

midsize luxury car / 2-door convertible

2009 BMW 3 series 2-door convertible
2007 BMW 3 series 2-door convertible shown

Crashworthiness

Rating overview
Evaluation criteria Rating
Moderate overlap front: original test
G
Side: original test
M

Key

GGood
AAcceptable
MMarginal
PPoor
Superior
Advanced
Basic

Some ratings use a scale of Poor to Good. Others range from Basic to Superior.

Moderate overlap front: original test

Tested vehicle: 2007 BMW 328i 2-door convertible
Rating applies to 2007-13 models

The BMW 3 series convertible was redesigned for the 2007 model year.

Evaluation criteria Rating
Overall evaluation
G
Structure and safety cage
G
Driver injury measures
Head/neck
G
Chest
G
Leg/foot, left
G
Leg/foot, right
G
Driver restraints and dummy kinematics
G
Technical measurements for this test

Measures of occupant compartment intrusion on driver side

Evaluation criteria Measurement
Test ID CEF0713
Footwell intrusion
Footrest (cm) 2
Left (cm) 3
Center (cm) 3
Right (cm) 1
Brake pedal (cm) 6
Instrument panel rearward movement
Left (cm) 0
Right (cm) 1
Steering column movement
Upward (cm) -1
Rearward (cm) -5
A-pillar rearward movement (cm) 0

Driver injury measures

Evaluation criteria Measurement
Test ID CEF0713
Head
HIC-15 248
Peak gs at hard contact no contact
Neck
Tension (kN) 0.8
Extension bending moment (Nm) 26
Maximum Nij 0.24
Chest maximum compression (mm) 23
Legs
Femur force - left (kN) 2.3
Femur force - right (kN) 2.8
Knee displacement - left (mm) 1
Knee displacement - right (mm) 1
Maximum tibia index - left 0.42
Maximum tibia index - right 0.58
Tibia axial force - left (kN) 3.2
Tibia axial force - right (kN) 3.8
Foot acceleration (g)
Left 51
Right 74

About the original moderate overlap front test

Side: original test

Tested vehicle: 2007 BMW 328i 2-door convertible with standard front seat-mounted combination head and torso airbags
Rating applies to 2007-13 models built after April 2007

The BMW 3 series convertible was redesigned for the 2007 model year. Beginning with 2007 models built after April 2007, design changes were made to the side airbags to improve occupant protection in side impact crashes (note: information about when a specific vehicle was manufactured is on the certification label typically affixed to the car on or near the driver door).

Evaluation criteria Rating
Overall evaluation
M
Structure and safety cage
G
Driver injury measures
Head/neck
G
Torso
P
Pelvis/leg
G
Driver head protection
G
Rear passenger injury measures
Head/neck
G
Torso
G
Pelvis/leg
G
Rear passenger head protection
The dummy's head was hit by the interior side trim. This impact did not produce high head injury measures, but the head protection is inadequate.
M
Technical measurements for this test

Measures of occupant compartment intrusion on driver side

Test ID CES0712
B-pillar to longitudinal centerline of driver's seat (cm) -16.5
Negative numbers indicate the amount by which the crush stopped short of the seat centerline.

Driver injury measures

Evaluation criteria Measurement
Test ID CES0712
Head HIC-15 385
Neck
Tension (kN) 1.0
Compression (kN) 0.0
Shoulder
Lateral deflection (mm) 64
Lateral force (kN) 2.0
Torso
Maximum deflection (mm) 50
Average deflection (mm) 43
Maximum deflection rate (m/s) 5.16
Maximum viscous criterion (m/s) 0.88
Pelvis
Iliac force (kN) 2.7
Acetabulum force (kN) 2.6
Combined force (kN) 5.0
Left femur
L-M force (kN) 0.4
L-M moment (Nm) 160
A-P moment (Nm) 45

Passenger injury measures

Evaluation criteria Measurement
Test ID CES0712
Head HIC-15 261
Neck
Tension (kN) 1.3
Compression (kN) 0.0
Shoulder
Lateral deflection (mm) 33
Lateral force (kN) 1.4
Torso
Maximum deflection (mm) 34
Average deflection (mm) 21
Maximum deflection rate (m/s) 1.99
Maximum viscous criterion (m/s) 0.29
Pelvis
Iliac force (kN) 1.2
Acetabulum force (kN) 0.8
Combined force (kN) 2.0
Left femur
L-M force (kN) 0.5
L-M moment (Nm) 42
A-P moment (Nm) 24

About the original side crash test