BMW · NHTSA safety record

2010 BMW 3 Series

Every safety complaint, recall and defect investigation the US government holds on this vehicle.

Complaints

Crashes

Fires

Injuries

Deaths

Owners of the 2010 BMW 3 Series have filed 30 safety complaints with NHTSA between January 2010 and February 2019. The most complained-about system is the air bags, named in 10 of them (33%). The typical failure was reported at 59,256 miles, the median across the 20 complaints that gave an odometer reading.

NHTSA has issued 2 recalls covering this vehicle.

Recalls (2)

ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE

23V707000 · October 20, 2023

The defect: BMW of North America, LLC (BMW) is recalling certain 2010-2012 1 Series Coupe, 1 Series Convertible, 3 Series Sedan, 3 Series Convertible, 2010-2011 3 Series Sportswagon, 3 Series Coupe, 5 Series Sedan, X3 xDrive 28i, X3 xDrive 30i, X5 xDrive30i, and Z4 sDrive30i vehicles. The aluminum bolts that secure the housing for the variable camshaft timing adjustment (VANOS) unit can loosen over time and possibly break.
The risk: Loose or broken VANOS unit bolts can result in an engine stall, increasing the risk of a crash.
The remedy: Dealers will replace the four VANOS bolts, free of charge. Interim letters notifying owners of the safety risk are expected to be mailed December 18, 2023. Owner notification letters were mailed June 19, 2024. Owners may contact BMW customer service at 1-800-525-7417.

BMW of North America, LLC · up to 157,796 vehicles across all model years covered

ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:EXHAUST SYSTEM:EMISSION CONTROL:CRANKCASE (PCV)

22V119000 · March 2, 2022

The defect: BMW of North America, LLC (BMW) is recalling certain 2008-2013 1 Series Coupe (128i); 2007-2013 3 Series Coupe (328i, 328xi, 328i xDrive); 2007-2010 X3 SAV (X3 3.0si, X3 xDrive30i); 2008-2013 1 Series Convertible (128i); 2006-2011 3 Series Sedan (325i, 325xi, 328i, 328xi, 328i xDrive, 330i, 330xi); 2006-2012 3 Series Wagon (328i, 328i xDrive); 2007-2013 3 Series Convertible (328i); 2006-2010 5 Series Sedan (525i, 525xi, 528i, 528xi, 530i, 530xi); 2006-2007 5 Series Wagon (530xi); 2007-2010 X5 SAV (X5 3.0si, X5 xDrive30i); 2006-2008 Z4 Coupe (Z4 3.0si); and 2006-2011 Z4 Roadster (Z4 3.0i, Z4 3.0si, Z4 sDrive30i) vehicles. The heater for the positive crankcase ventilation (PCV) valve may short circuit.
The risk: An electrical short can cause the PCV valve heater to overheat, increasing the risk of a fire while driving or, soon after driving when parked.
The remedy: This recall supersedes and expands previous NHTSA recalls 17V-683 and 19V-273. Dealers will install an electrical wiring harness with fuse protection for the PCV Valve heater in potentially affected vehicles, free of charge. This recall supersedes and expands previous NHTSA recalls 17V-683 and 19V-273. Vehicles previously repaired under the prior recalls will need to come back for the new recall remedy. The remedy is currently being developed. Interim owner notification letters informing owners of the safety risk were mailed on April 1, 2022. Owner notification letters were mailed on July 22, 2022. Owners may contact BMW customer service at 1-800-525-7417.

BMW of North America, LLC · up to 917,106 vehicles across all model years covered

What owners report

Complaints naming each system. One complaint can name several, so these add up to more than 30.

AIR BAGS 10 33%

ENGINE 6 20%

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 5 17%

VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 3 10%

EXTERIOR LIGHTING 2 7%

TIRES 2 7%

ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC) 1 3%

ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING 1 3%

EQUIPMENT ADAPTIVE/MOBILITY 1 3%

FUEL SYSTEM, DIESEL 1 3%

FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE 1 3%

FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 1 3%

When the complaints arrived

By the year NHTSA received them, which is not the year the failures happened. They peaked in 2017 at 8.

2010 to 2019

In owners' own words

Quoted from NHTSA's complaint file. These are unverified accounts by the people who filed them, not findings of fault.

ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:EXHAUST SYSTEM:EMISSION CONTROL Filed September 25, 2014

fire · 38,000 miles

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2010 BMW 3 SERIES. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 20 MPH, SMOKE STARTED TO EMIT FROM THE FRONT DRIVER SIDE OF THE VEHICLE. THE VEHICLE WAS MERGED TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD IN ORDER TO INSPECT THE VEHICLE. THE CONTACT STATED THAT ONCE THE HOOD OF VEHICLE WAS OPEN, HE OBSERVED FLAMES COMING FROM THE ENGINE. THE CONTACT EXTINGUISHED THE FIRE. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO A DEALER WHO STATED THE EMISSION VALVE OVERHEATED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 38,000.

NHTSA complaint 10639084. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

AIR BAGS Filed March 26, 2015

crash · 85,178 miles

DRIVING FROM WORK ON A SNOWING DAY, GOING ABOUT 25 TO 35. THE REAR OF THE CAR STARTED GOING TO THE OTHER SIDE OF LANE. I TRADED TO GET CONTROL BUT IT WAS TO LATE. I HIT A GUARD RAIL AND THE AIR BAGS NEVER CAME OUT. *TR

NHTSA complaint 10702037. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

AIR BAGS Filed February 11, 2019

85,000 miles

AIR BAG LIGHT JUST CAME ON, HAD IT CHECKED BUT STILL THERE

NHTSA complaint 11176210. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

ENGINE Filed November 4, 2018

100,000 miles

FOUND A BROKEN BOLT OF THE INTAKE CYLINDER HEAD, WAS BROKE WITHOUT ANY REASON. I NOT THE ONLY ONE, FOUND THIS VIDEO. THERE ARE 3 MORE BOLTS INSIDE THE CYLINDER HEAD THAT CAN CAUSE SERIOUS DAMAGE ON THE ENGINE IF BROKEN.

NHTSA complaint 11145232. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

AIR BAGS:SENSOR:OCCUPANT CLASSIFICATION Filed September 28, 2018

103,000 miles

TAKATA RECALL - I THINK AIR BAG AND SEAT BELT WARNING LIGHTS ARE ON ALL THE TIME. BMW SAYS THERE IS NO RECALL AFFECTING THIS. BOTH STATIONARY AND MOVING.

NHTSA complaint 11132144. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM Filed August 11, 2018

TOO LONG TO REMEDY

NHTSA complaint 11119313. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM Filed June 5, 2018

IN NOVEMBER 2017, BMW SENT ME LETTERS REGARDING POSSIBLE FIRE HAZARDS DUE TO DEFECTS OF THE BLOWER MOTOR WIRING AND THE PCV VALVE HEATER (RECALL NUMBERS 17V-676 AND 17V-683). NO RECALL HAS BEEN ISSUED AND NO REPAIR OFFERED TO CORRECT POSSIBLE DEFECTS. I HAVE EXPERIENCED NO PROBLEM RELATED TO THESE PARTS. HOWEVER, DUE TO THE SERIOUS NATURE OF THESE ISSUES, BMW SHOULD BE REQUIRED TO RECALL AND REPAIR AFFECTED CARS PROMPTLY.

NHTSA complaint 11099988. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

AIR BAGS Filed August 24, 2017

TAKATA AIR BAG RECALL

NHTSA complaint 11019259. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

Compare

Other years of the BMW 3 Series

Model year	Complaints	Recalls	Deaths
2013	21	0	—

Other 2010 BMW models

328I 153 X5 123 528I 65 535I 58 335I 41 X3 32 750LI 30 X3 SAV 23

Every BMW on this site — 249 vehicles, 484 recall campaigns and 2 open investigation s.

If this is your car and a dealer keeps failing to fix it, your state's lemon law may require the manufacturer to replace it or buy it back. What each state asks for , read from the statutes.

Where these numbers come from

Complaints: NHTSA's ODI complaint file , published August 20, 2026. One complaint is one ODI number, which is how NHTSA counts them.
Recalls: NHTSA's recall campaign API , most recent campaign filed August 12, 2026.
Investigations: NHTSA's ODI investigation file , published 2026-08-19.

A complaint is one owner's account and has not been verified by NHTSA or by us. A vehicle with more complaints is not necessarily worse: models that sold in larger numbers collect more of them. How this is counted.

Compiled and maintained by guarledes
Independent developer and analyst