BMW 3 Series Electrical System Problems
Owners have filed 147 complaints with NHTSA about electrical system problems on the BMW 3 Series across 15 model years. The 2006 model year has the most (32). The words owners use most often: “key fob” (10% of reports).
- 147electrical system complaints
- —median miles at failure
- 4mention a crash
- 6mention an injury
- 0related recalls
- 28%of reports with a speed happened at 50+ mph
What owners describe
Phrases that appear unusually often in these complaints compared with complaints about other cars.
- Key fob: mentioned in 15 of 147 complaints (10%)
- Driver door: mentioned in 14 of 147 complaints (10%)
- Doors unlock: mentioned in 10 of 147 complaints (7%)
- Central locking: mentioned in 8 of 147 complaints (5%)
At what mileage do electrical system problems happen?
Based on 117 complaints that reported the odometer reading.
How serious are the reports?
Of 147 complaints, 4 mention a crash, 10 a fire, 6 an injury.
BMW 3 Series electrical system complaints by model year
| Model year | Electrical System complaints | Share of that year | Median miles |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 3 Series | 7 | 33% | 3,750 |
| 2010 3 Series | 5 | 17% | 61,500 |
| 2009 3 Series | 8 | 15% | 68,500 |
| 2008 3 Series | 19 | 28% | 61,374 |
| 2007 3 Series | 31 | 27% | 55,000 |
| 2006 3 Series | 32 | 16% | 69,000 |
| 2005 3 Series | 2 | 8% | 126,000 |
| 2004 3 Series | 12 | 16% | 93,750 |
| 2003 3 Series | 12 | 16% | 105,152 |
| 2002 3 Series | 6 | 23% | 123,000 |
| 2001 3 Series | 6 | 17% | 89,500 |
| 2000 3 Series | 4 | 5% | 162,500 |
| 1999 3 Series | 1 | 17% | 155,000 |
| 1998 3 Series | 1 | 33% | — |
| 1997 3 Series | 1 | 20% | 74,000 |
When owners reported it
Related recalls (0)
No safety recall lists electrical system for the BMW 3 Series. A pattern of complaints does not always lead to a recall.
What owners report
Short excerpts of recent complaints, with personal details removed. Full reports are on NHTSA.gov.
Rear lights . Clip contacts melting ground wire . Purchased lights and clips 3 times and melted again. Lights inoperable after 2 weeks of life harness melted . Received multiple warnings and a ticket i now have to prove repair . Recall found for every other model except the 323i 2000 . Not safe to…
My 2008 bmw 335xi with 42000 miles was stored in my heated shop. The car started on fire and destroyed the contents of my shop and the car. Bmw sent an inspector to check the damage and took hundreds of pictures. Clearly the fire started under the glove compartment area and continued to burn until…
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…
While driving the vehicle the glove box department caught on fire.
I was receiving a imagine on the on board computer saying that my headlights were not working. Upon inspection inside the headlight's casing, i saw that all of the wiring's protection had completely fell off (probably due to the humid southern climate of north texas) leaving almost all of the…
Frequently asked questions
Do all BMW 3 Seriess have electrical system problems?
No. NHTSA has 147 owner complaints about electrical system for the BMW 3 Series. Complaint data shows that the problem is reported, not how many of all cars sold are affected.
Was there a recall on the BMW 3 Series electrical system?
No recall currently lists electrical system for this vehicle.
What do owners say about electrical system problems on the BMW 3 Series?
The most frequent phrase is “key fob”, in 15 of 147 complaints, followed by “driver door” (14).
Other BMW 3 Series problems
- Air Bags problems (259)
- Exterior Lighting problems (100)
See all BMW 3 Series problems.