The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) lists 5 official safety recall campaigns for the 2016 BMW 3 Series in AutoUtility's current federal dataset. The primary affected vehicle systems include Engine & Cooling, Fuel & Propulsion System, Powertrain & Transmission. The 2016 BMW 3 Series belongs to the 6th Generation (F30) platform.

Key Recall Findings
  • Official Recall Campaigns: 5 campaigns on file with NHTSA
  • Primary Affected Subsystems: Engine & Cooling, Fuel & Propulsion System, Powertrain & Transmission
  • Official Remedy: Detailed per campaign in official NHTSA records below
  • Most Recent NHTSA Report: August 13, 2024
VIN-Specific Notice: Safety recall campaigns apply to specific production date ranges and vehicle identification numbers (VINs). A campaign listing on this model-year page does not establish that every vehicle or trim is affected. Check your 17-digit VIN at NHTSA.gov or with an authorized dealer to verify whether a safety repair is needed.
Official Recall Campaigns
5
Listed in current NHTSA data
Affected System Areas
3
Broad component categories
Latest NHTSA Filing
August 13, 2024
Most recent campaign report
VIN Verification
Required
Exact applicability depends on VIN

Vehicle Systems Involved in Recalls for 2016 BMW 3 Series

Distribution of official safety recall campaigns across automotive subsystem domains

Vehicle Subsystem 2 campaigns

Engine & Cooling

NHTSA records also contain 34 consumer complaint filings involving this same system. View Complaints →
Vehicle Subsystem 2 campaigns

Fuel & Propulsion System

NHTSA records also contain 6 consumer complaint filings involving this same system. View Complaints →
Vehicle Subsystem 1 campaign

Powertrain & Transmission

NHTSA records also contain 13 consumer complaint filings involving this same system. View Complaints →
Domain Mapping Methodology: A single NHTSA recall campaign may involve more than one vehicle subsystem (such as electrical wiring affecting fuel delivery), so domain totals can exceed the total number of unique recall campaigns. Complaint and recall counts are grouped by broad vehicle system; component co-occurrence does not establish that an individual owner complaint is related to a specific recall campaign.

Official NHTSA Recall Campaigns (5)

Complete safety campaign filings including defect descriptions, safety hazards, and free dealer remedies

NHTSA Campaign #24V608000 Engine & Cooling
Affected Component: ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:COOLING SYSTEM:PUMP
NHTSA Report Date: August 13, 2024
Safety Defect Summary:

BMW of North America, LLC. (BMW) is recalling certain 2012-2015 X1 sDrive28i, X1 xDrive28i, 2012-2016 Z4 sDrive28i, 528i, 528i xDrive, 328i, 328xi, 2016-2018 X5 xdrive 40e, 2014-2016 228i, 228xi, 428i, 428i xDrive, 328xi Gran Turismo, 2013-2017 X3 sDrive28i, X3 xDrive28i, 2015-2018 X4 xDrive28i, 2015-2016 428xi vehicles. An improperly sealed electrical connector on the water pump may be exposed to water and short circuit.

Safety Risk / Consequence:

An electrical short increases the risk of a fire.

Authorized Remedy Instructions:

Dealers will inspect and replace the water pump and plug connector as necessary, and install a protective shield, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed on March 28, 2025. Owners may contact BMW customer service at 1-800-525-7417.

Manufacturer & NHTSA Notes: Owners may also contact the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Vehicle Safety Hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-800-424-9153), or go to www.nhtsa.gov.
NHTSA Campaign #21V907000 Fuel & Propulsion System
Affected Component: FUEL SYSTEM, DIESEL
NHTSA Report Date: November 19, 2021
Safety Defect Summary:

BMW of North America, LLC (BMW) is recalling certain 2013-2018 328d, 328d xDrive, 2014-2018 328d Sports Wagon, 328d xDrive Sports Wagon, 2014-2016 535d, 535d xDrive, 2015 740Ld xDrive, 2015-2017 X3 xDrive28d SAV, and 2014-2017 X5 xDrive35d SAV diesel vehicles equipped with an Exhaust Gas Recirculation (EGR) module with an integrated cooler. The EGR cooler may leak internally, causing coolant to mix with diesel engine soot, which could result in smoldering particles and a melting intake manifold.

Safety Risk / Consequence:

A melting intake manifold increases the risk of a fire.

Authorized Remedy Instructions:

Dealers will replace the EGR cooler and inspect the intake manifold, replacing it as necessary, free of charge. This recall includes all vehicles previously recalled under 18V-755. Vehicles previously recalled under 18V-755 will need to have the new remedy performed for this recall. An interim owner notification letter was mailed on January 18, 2022. The remedy is expected to be available in June 2022. Owner notification letters were mailed on July 6, 2022. Owners may contact BMW customer service at 1-800-525-7417.

Manufacturer & NHTSA Notes: Owners may also contact the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Vehicle Safety Hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-800-424-9153), or go to www.nhtsa.gov.
NHTSA Campaign #21V586000 Fuel & Propulsion System
Affected Component: FUEL SYSTEM, DIESEL:DELIVERY:FUEL PUMP
NHTSA Report Date: July 29, 2021
Safety Defect Summary:

BMW of North America, LLC (BMW) is recalling certain 2014-2018 328d, 328d xDrive, X5 xDrive35d, 2014-2016 535d, 535d xDrive, 2015 740Ld xDrive, and 2015-2017 X3 xDrive28d vehicles. The high-pressure fuel pump may fail.

Safety Risk / Consequence:

Fuel pump failure can cause an engine stall while driving, increasing the risk of a crash.

Authorized Remedy Instructions:

Dealers will replace the high-pressure fuel pump, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed on January 14, 2022. Owners may contact BMW customer service at 1-800-525-7417.

Manufacturer & NHTSA Notes: Owners may also contact the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Vehicle Safety Hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-800-424-9153), or go to www.nhtsa.gov.
NHTSA Campaign #20V185000 Powertrain & Transmission
Affected Component: POWER TRAIN:DRIVELINE:CONSTANT VELOCITY JOINT
NHTSA Report Date: March 26, 2020
Safety Defect Summary:

BMW of North America, LLC (BMW) is recalling certain 2013-2016 328d xDrive sedans and 2013-2015 328d xDrive station wagon vehicles. The constant-velocity joint which transfers power between the transfer case and the rear drive shaft, may become damaged, possibly resulting in loss of power to the rear wheels.

Safety Risk / Consequence:

A loss of power to the rear wheels can affect vehicle control, increasing the risk of a crash. Additionally, when the vehicle is parked after a loss of power to the rear wheels and the parking brake is not engaged, unintended rollaway can occur, increasing the risk of a crash or injury.

Authorized Remedy Instructions:

BMW will notify owners, and dealers will replace the constant-velocity joint and inspect the transfer case, replacing it if necessary, free of charge. The recall began May 22, 2020. Owners may contact BMW customer service at 1-800-525-7417.

Manufacturer & NHTSA Notes: Owners may also contact the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Vehicle Safety Hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-800-424-9153), or go to www.safercar.gov.
NHTSA Campaign #18V755000 Engine & Cooling
Affected Component: ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:EXHAUST SYSTEM:EMISSION CONTROL:GAS RECIRCULATION VALVE (EGR VALVE)
NHTSA Report Date: October 25, 2018
Safety Defect Summary:

BMW of North America, LLC (BMW) is recalling certain 2013-2018 BMW 328d and 328d xDrive, 2014-2018 328d Sports Wagon and 328d xDrive Sports Wagon, 2014-2016 535d and 535d xDrive, 2015 740Ld xDrive, 2015-2017 X3 xDrive28d SAV and 2014-2017 X5 xDrive35d SAV vehicles equipped with an Exhaust Gas Recirculation (EGR) module with an integrated cooler. If the EGR cooler leaks internally, the coolant can mix with diesel engine soot. The high EGR temperatures may result in these particles possibly smoldering and melting the intake manifold.

Safety Risk / Consequence:

The melting intake manifold can increase the risk of a fire.

Authorized Remedy Instructions:

BMW will notify owners, and dealers will inspect and replace the EGR cooler as necessary. If a leak has already occurred, the engine intake manifold will also be replaced. These repairs will be made free of charge. The recall began May 13, 2019. Owners may contact BMW customer service at 1-800-525-7417.

Manufacturer & NHTSA Notes: Owners may also contact the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Vehicle Safety Hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-800-424-9153), or go to www.safercar.gov.
Source Data Notice: Campaign summaries, safety consequences, and remedy descriptions are direct text extracts published by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) Office of Defects Investigation.

Recall History for BMW 3 Series

Official safety recall campaign volume across sibling model years (2015–2026)

Model Year NHTSA Recalls NHTSA Complaints Detailed Report
2015 BMW 3 Series 8 194 View 2015 Recalls →
2016 BMW 3 Series Current Page 5 93 Current
2017 BMW 3 Series 3 72 View 2017 Recalls →
2018 BMW 3 Series 6 59 View 2018 Recalls →
2019 BMW 3 Series 9 41 View 2019 Recalls →
2020 BMW 3 Series 15 103 View 2020 Recalls →
2021 BMW 3 Series 10 43 View 2021 Recalls →
2022 BMW 3 Series 3 14 View 2022 Recalls →
2023 BMW 3 Series 5 0 View 2023 Recalls →
2024 BMW 3 Series 3 0 View 2024 Recalls →
2025 BMW 3 Series 1 0 View 2025 Recalls →
2026 BMW 3 Series 0 0 View 2026 Recalls →
Historical Reporting Note: Recall campaign counts are shown by model year and should not be interpreted as a vehicle reliability score. Campaigns may cover multiple model years, and newer model years naturally have had less calendar exposure time for new safety campaigns to be issued.

VIN-Specific Recall Verification

How to confirm whether an individual vehicle requires an authorized safety repair

Safety recall campaigns on this page are associated with this make, model, and model year in NHTSA federal records. A campaign may apply only to certain vehicles based on production date, equipment, manufacturing details, or other campaign-specific criteria.

AutoUtility cannot determine whether a particular VIN is affected or whether a recall remedy has already been completed.

For vehicle-specific recall status, check the 17-digit VIN using NHTSA's official recall lookup or contact an authorized dealer. Campaign-specific remedy information shown above is reproduced from official NHTSA recall records.

Official NHTSA Safety Resources: NHTSA Vehicle Safety Hotline: 1-888-327-4236 (TTY: 711)
Official US Government Data Provenance

Recall records published on this page are retrieved directly from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) Safety Recalls Database.

Local Production Store Compiled: August 2026 • Deterministic Audited Dataset • Zero Dynamic External API Runtime Latency.