BMW 3 Series Recalls

What this means

NHTSA lists 8 recall campaigns covering at least one BMW 3 Series model year (1999–2023). Each campaign below shows the model years it covers, the official NHTSA text and the share of vehicles repaired so far.

Data summary generated from official records. Methodology Data: NHTSA, DOT, EPA · Refreshed Oct 6, 2026

Which model years each campaign covers

BMW 3 Series recall campaigns (rows) by model year covered (columns), 1999–2023
Campaign	1999	2000	2001	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012	2023
23V821000 Power train	not covered	not covered	not covered	not covered	not covered	not covered	not covered	not covered	not covered	not covered	covered
23V707000 Engine	not covered	not covered	not covered	not covered	not covered	not covered	not covered	covered	covered	covered	not covered
22V119000 Engine	not covered	not covered	not covered	covered	covered	covered	covered	covered	covered	covered	not covered
21V401000 Air bag	covered	covered	covered	not covered	not covered	not covered	not covered	not covered	not covered	not covered	not covered
12V176000 Seat	not covered	not covered	not covered	not covered	not covered	not covered	not covered	not covered	not covered	covered	not covered
09V257000 Air bag	not covered	not covered	not covered	not covered	not covered	covered	not covered	not covered	not covered	not covered	not covered
08V384000 Air bag	not covered	not covered	not covered	covered	not covered	not covered	not covered	not covered	not covered	not covered	not covered
06V400000 Suspension	not covered	not covered	not covered	covered	not covered	not covered	not covered	not covered	not covered	not covered	not covered

● = the campaign lists this model year. Source: NHTSA recalls file, retrieved Oct 6, 2026.

All 8 campaigns, newest first

Listed for 2023 BMW 3 Series. Not checked against your VIN.

Recall 23V821000 Filed Dec 6, 2023

Transmission Gears May Seize

Power train · automatic transmission · control module (tcm/pcm/tecm)

97.3% repairedof 552 vehicles

Manufacturer report to NHTSA · Source: US DOT recall completion data, retrieved Oct 6, 2026

Check your VIN on NHTSA or ask a dealer to check campaign 23V821000

Listed for 2010, 2011, 2012 BMW 3 Series. Not checked against your VIN.

Recall 23V707000 Filed Oct 20, 2023

Camshaft Timing Bolts May Loosen Causing Stall

Engine and engine cooling · engine

35.9% repairedof 157,796 vehicles

Manufacturer report to NHTSA · Source: US DOT recall completion data, retrieved Oct 6, 2026

Check your VIN on NHTSA or ask a dealer to check campaign 23V707000

Listed for 2006–2012 BMW 3 Series. Not checked against your VIN.

Recall 22V119000 Filed Mar 2, 2022

PCV Heater May Short Circuit

Engine and engine cooling · exhaust system · emission control · crankcase (pcv)

35.8% repairedof 917,106 vehicles

Manufacturer report to NHTSA · Source: US DOT recall completion data, retrieved Oct 6, 2026

Check your VIN on NHTSA or ask a dealer to check campaign 22V119000

Listed for 1999, 2000, 2001 BMW 3 Series. Not checked against your VIN.

Recall 21V401000 Filed May 27, 2021

Air Bag Inflator May Explode or Underinflate Bag

Air bags · frontal · driver side · inflator module

50.8% repairedof 4,511 vehicles

Manufacturer report to NHTSA · Source: US DOT recall completion data, retrieved Oct 6, 2026

Check your VIN on NHTSA or ask a dealer to check campaign 21V401000

Listed for 2012 BMW 3 Series. Not checked against your VIN.

Recall 12V176000 Filed Apr 20, 2012

HEAD RESTRAINTS/FMVSS 202A/PETITION

Seats · front assembly · head restraint

Repair progress not yet reported7,600 vehicles potentially affected

Manufacturer report to NHTSA · Source: US DOT recall completion data, retrieved Oct 6, 2026

Check your VIN on NHTSA or ask a dealer to check campaign 12V176000

Listed for 2008 BMW 3 Series. Not checked against your VIN.

Recall 09V257000 Filed Jul 8, 2009

FRONT SIDE AIRBAGS & FRONT SAFETY BELT TENSIONERS

Air bags · frontal

Repair progress not yet reported2,350 vehicles potentially affected

Manufacturer report to NHTSA · Source: US DOT recall completion data, retrieved Oct 6, 2026

Check your VIN on NHTSA or ask a dealer to check campaign 09V257000

Listed for 2006 BMW 3 Series. Not checked against your VIN.

Recall 08V384000 Filed Aug 5, 2008

FRONT PASSENGER SEAT OCCUPANT DETECTION MAT

Air bags · frontal

Repair progress not yet reported200,000 vehicles potentially affected

Manufacturer report to NHTSA · Source: US DOT recall completion data, retrieved Oct 6, 2026

Check your VIN on NHTSA or ask a dealer to check campaign 08V384000

Listed for 2006 BMW 3 Series. Not checked against your VIN.

Recall 06V400000 Filed Oct 18, 2006

FRONT AXLE CONTROL ARM CONNECTION

Suspension · front · control arm

Repair progress not yet reported25 vehicles potentially affected

Manufacturer report to NHTSA · Source: US DOT recall completion data, retrieved Oct 6, 2026

Check your VIN on NHTSA or ask a dealer to check campaign 06V400000

Where to next

BMW 3 Series problems by yearModel overview →Which 3 Series years drew the fewest complaints?Best & worst years →Have a VIN? Decode itVIN decoder →

How this page was madeSources, processing, limits, review and changes

Data sources

NHTSA recalls by vehicle
Retrieved Oct 6, 2026
US DOT recall completion rates (data.transportation.gov)
Retrieved Oct 6, 2026
NHTSA ODI owner complaints
Retrieved Oct 6, 2026
NHTSA NCAP 5-Star Safety Ratings
Retrieved Oct 6, 2026
EPA fuel economy data (licence confirmation pending)
Retrieved Oct 6, 2026
EIA weekly retail gasoline prices
Weekly, all taxes included

Processing

Complaints are counted per component. One complaint can list several, so component totals add up to more than the total.
Fuel cost = miles per year ÷ EPA combined mpg × EIA weekly price for your region.

Limitations

Complaint counts are owner reports, not verified findings or failure rates. There is no sales denominator.
Recall campaigns are listed for the model year. Only NHTSA and the automaker know whether a specific car was repaired.
Recent model years are still collecting reports.

Review

Data compiled automatically from the official files listed here.

Changelog

2026-10-06 Data refreshed from the official files.

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