2013 BMW 3 Series recalls & problems

Safety recalls

Recall repairs are free at any authorised dealer. A recall listed here may already have been fixed on a particular car: enter its 17-character VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls to see open recalls.

What owners report

*Median odometer reading when the problem happened, where owners gave one. One complaint can name several problem areas.

Recent owner complaints

• Electrical system

  THE DOOR LOCK ACTUATORS HAVE FAILED. THIS MAKES IT SO THAT THE DOORS DO NOT OPEN WHEN YOU ARE INSIDE THE VEHICLE ATTEMPTING TO GET OUT BY PULLING THE DOOR HANDLE. THIS IS A SAFETY ISSUE NOT ALLOWING ME TO GET OUT OF MY VEHICLE. IF THIS ISSUE IS NOT RESOLVED BY PAYING THE $1500 TO FIX THE ISSUE THE DOORS WILL STOP OPENING COMPLETELY MAKING THIS EVEN MORE OF A SAFETY ISSUE OVER TIME. THIS ISSUE ONLY GETS WORSE AND IS DIRECTLY RELATED TO THE FUNCTIONALITY OF THE CAR. THIS DOOR LOCK ACTUATOR SHOULD BE RECALLED ON ALL VEHICLES BMW MAKES THAT ARE HAVING THIS SAME ISSUE. THIS IS A KNOWN LONG-STANDING ISSUE WITH THESE VEHICLES AND HAS YET TO BE RECALLED EVEN THOUGH IT IS ABSOLUTELY A SAFETY ISSUE.…

  Mar 18, 2019 · 65,536 miles
• Electrical system

  DRIVER AND PASSENGER TRAPPED IN CAR AFTER PARKING AT AS GAS PUMP. DOORS WOULD UNLOCK BUT NOT OPEN RESULTING IN THE POTENTIAL OF KILLING ITS PASSENGERS IN A CRASH. THERE IS A VIDEO ON YOUTUBE OF A SIMILAR INCIDENT.

  Jan 14, 2019 · 70,000 miles
• Wheels

  TWO WHEEL RIMS CRACKED, ONLY 38,000 MILES ON VEHICLE. RIMS WON'T WITHSTAND NORMAL ROAD CONDITIONS. THEY ARE A SAFETY HAZARD NEVER KNOW WHEN THEY WILL CRACK AND CAUSING LOOSING CONTROL WHILE DRIVING.

  Dec 5, 2017 · 37,500 miles
• Electrical system

  WHEN I TRY TO OPEN THE DRIVERS SIDE DOOR BY PULLING THE HANDLE IT DOES NOT UNLOCK AUTOMATICALLY. THE ONLY WAY TO EXIT THE VEHICLE IS THROUGH ANOTHER DOOR OR BY USING THE CENTRAL LOCK/UNLOCK BUTTON. MY FEAR IS THAT IN THE CASE OF AN EMERGENCY OR ACCIDENT IF THE ELECTRICAL SYSTEM IS COMPROMISED I COULD POSSIBLY BE TRAPPED IN THE VEHICLE. I ATTEMPTED TO HAVE THIS REPAIRED AT THE BMW DEALERSHIP BUT THEY CLAIM THAT THE PROBLEM BEING MECHANICAL IS NOT COVERED BY THE WARRANTY. ON THE BMW INTERNET FORUMS THERE ARE MULTIPLE POSTS ACROSS VEHICLE MODELS COMPLAINING OF THE SAME FAULTY "DOOR ACTUATOR" AND BMW'S UNWILLINGNESS TO REPAIR IT FREE OF CHARGE. I WAS QUOTED OVER $950 TO REPLACE THE PART. THIS…

  Jan 1, 2018
• Air bags

  TAKATA RECALL: I RECEIVED A LETTER FROM BMW ON MARCH 2016 NOTIFYING ME OF THE DRIVER'S FRONT AIR BAG MODULE RECALL, CAMPAIGN NO. 16V-071. BMW DID NOT HAVE ANY PARTS AVAILABLE AT THE TIME OF NOTIFICATION AND INDICATED THEY WOULD NOTIFY ME AS SOON AS THEY ARE ABLE TO PERFORM THE RECALL ON MY VEHICLE. I AM CONCERNED FOR MY SAFETY AND I THINK WAITING FOR THE AIRBAG TO BE FIXED SINCE MARCH IS A REASONABLE AMOUNT OF TIME, CONSIDERING THE SERIOUSNESS OF THIS MATTER. IF THERE IS ANYTHING I CAN DO TO SPEED UP THIS PROCESS, PLEASE LET ME KNOW.

  Mar 1, 2016
• Air bags

  TAKATA RECALL. I HAVE BEEN ATTEMPTING TO WORK WITH BMW CORPORATE AND THE LOCAL DEALERSHIP IN RIDGEFIELD CT WHERE I LEASED THE VEHICLE FOR THE PAST 3 MONTHS AND I HAVE YET TO SUCCESSFULLY RESOLVE THE SITUATION. I HAVE 4 MONTHS LEFT ON MY LEASE AND I WANT BMW TO TAKE THE VEHICLE BACK EARLY AS IT IS UNSAFE TO DRIVE. I SURVIVED A TRAIN CRASH IN NY JUST OVER A YEAR AGO WHERE 5 PEOPLE WERE KILLED IN THE FRONT CAR I WAS SEATED IN AND I'M NOT GOING TO RISK GETTING KILLED BY A FAULTY AIRBAG.

  Feb 1, 2016
• Service brakesCrash

  I WAS DRIVING DOWN I-5 SOUTH ON JUNE 6 AT ABOUT 6.30 PM WITH 2 OF MY FRIENDS. THERE WAS TRAFFIC ON THE HIGHWAY AND I APPLIED MY BRAKES AFTER SEEING THE VEHICLE IN FRONT OF ME SLOWING DOWN TO A COMPLETE STOP. MY CAR SLOWED DOWN BUT IT WOULD NOT COME TO A COMPLETE STOP. IT KEPT ROLLING. I PRESSED THE BRAKES HARD BUT I COULD FEEL A SQUEALING FEELING IN THE BRAKES AND IT JUST WOULD NOT STOP.IT KEPT ROLLING. I RELEASED PRESSURE ON THE BRAKES FOR A MOMENT AND APPLIED FULL PRESSURE AGAIN BUT STILL IT WOULD NOT STOP. I FELT LIKE SOMETHING WAS LEAKING AS I PRESSED DOWN ON THE BRAKES AND THE THE COMPLETE HOLD AND STOP THAT HAPPENS AFTER THE BRAKES ARE PUSHED TO THE FLOOR DID NOT HAPPEN THIS TIME. I…

  Jun 6, 2015 · 9,000 miles
• Visibility/wiper

  WE HAVE HAD SOME SNOW HERE IN NEW YORK THIS PAST WINTER. IT SEEMS AS IF THERE MAY BE A DESIGN FLAW WITH THE WINDSHIELD WIPER. FOR WHATEVER REASON THE WINDSHIELD WIPER ON THE RIGHT HAND SIDE POPPED. PER THE DEALER THIS OUTSIDE INFLUENCE VOIDED THE GUARANTEE AS THERE WAS ICE UNDER THE COWL WHERE THE ARM IS CONNECTED TO THE MOTOR. THE PHOTO IN THE ATTACHMENT SHOWS THE AREA IN QUESTION. WHAT GETS ME IS THE "ICE BUILDUP" THAT CAUSED THIS TO HAPPEN MOST LIKELY CAME FROM THE DEFROSTER. THE SNOW MELTS AND DRAINS DOWN INTO THE AREA IN QUESTION. I'M ENCLOSING A COPY OF MY CORRESPONDENCE WITH THE BMW DEALER. 1 ATTACHMENT (1307.1 KB) CLICK FOR OPTIONS VIEW SLIDE SHOW (1) DOWNLOAD AS ZIP ADD TO ONEDRIVE…

  Feb 2, 2015 · 12,650 miles

Owner complaints are submitted to NHTSA by the public and are not verified. Shown as filed (NHTSA removes personal details); long reports are shortened.

NHTSA defect investigations

• Desiccated Air Bag Inflator RuptureOpen

  From 2000 through 2017, Takata produced millions of air bag inflators using two types of phase-stabilized ammonium nitrate ("PSAN") propellant -- propellant 2004 and propellant 2004L. After prolonged exposure to high temperature cycles and humidity, inflators using propellant 2004 can degrade, causing the propellant to burn too quickly when ignited. The rapid burning can cause the inflator to rupture during deployment, potentially causing serious or even fatal injury to vehicle occupants. See 2016 Blomquist Report at www.nhtsa.gov/sites/nhtsa.gov/files/documents/expert_report-hrblomquist.pdf.Consequently, all frontal inflators using propellant 2004 that do not contain a "desiccant" (a substance that traps and holds moisture) in US vehicles are under recall. These "non-desiccated" inflators either have been or are required to be replaced.In some cases, the remedy part for these recalled…

  EA21002 · opened Sep 17, 2021
• Loss of power assist brakingClosedLed to recall 13V454000

  In a letter dated September 26, 2013, BMW Group submitted a safety recall notice to NHTSA identifying a defect condition in the vacuum pump oil supply that may result in loss of power assist braking in 76,191 model year (MY) 2012 through 2014 BMW 3-Series, 5-Series, X1 SAV, X3 SAV, and Z4 vehicles equipped with 4-cylinder engines (NHTSA Recall 13V-454).According to BMW, movement of the seal disk within the camshaft may result in blocking of the oil supply to the vacuum pump, resulting in improper pump operation and loss of power assist braking.On July 11, 2013, BMW initiated a change to the camshaft geometry that prevented the seal disk from blocking the oil port.BMW has not received any braking complaints related to loss of power assist after the design change was implemented in production.The owners of all affected vehicles will be contacted by mail and asked to take their vehicle to…

  PE13030 · opened Sep 6, 2013 · closed Oct 25, 2013