NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.
What owners actually said
115 reports78,568 miles · Apr 19, 2016
Steering
THE STEERING LOCK WARNING LIGHT IN RED DISPLAY. I TOOK TO THE DEALER AND THEY RECOMMENDED ME TO REPLACE THE STEERING LOCK "ELV" AND PROGRAM NEW CONTROL MODULE. IT COST $1,975.00 TO REPLACE. I DID SOME RESEARCH AND IT SEEMS THIS MIGHT BE KNOWN PROBLEM TO BMW, BUT YET, I HAVE NEVER HEARD ABOUT IT, UNTIL THE INCIDENT HAPPENED TO ME…
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THE STEERING LOCK WARNING LIGHT IN RED DISPLAY. I TOOK TO THE DEALER AND THEY RECOMMENDED ME TO REPLACE THE STEERING LOCK "ELV" AND PROGRAM NEW CONTROL MODULE. IT COST $1,975.00 TO REPLACE. I DID SOME RESEARCH AND IT SEEMS THIS MIGHT BE KNOWN PROBLEM TO BMW, BUT YET, I HAVE NEVER HEARD ABOUT IT, UNTIL THE INCIDENT HAPPENED TO ME. WHEN THE WARNING SYMBOL DISPLAYED, IT DISPLAY EVERY TIME EVEN WHEN I OPEN THE DOOR.
NHTSA ODI #10860414
62,347 miles · Mar 8, 2016
Air BagsSeat Belts
PASSENGER SEAT DETECTION MAT NOT WORKING. SEAT HAS BEEN RELATIVELY EMPTY FPR YEARS FAULTY PRODUCT.. DANGEROUS FOR A PASSENGER WHEN I HAVE ONE. AIR BAG MAY NOT GO OFF IN AN ACCIDENT DUE TO THE FAULTY MAT DETECTION I FEEL BMW SHOULD BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE FOR THIS. THEY SAY MY CAR IS NOT COVERED DUE TO THEY ONLY COVER CERTAIN VIN'S F…
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PASSENGER SEAT DETECTION MAT NOT WORKING. SEAT HAS BEEN RELATIVELY EMPTY FPR YEARS FAULTY PRODUCT.. DANGEROUS FOR A PASSENGER WHEN I HAVE ONE. AIR BAG MAY NOT GO OFF IN AN ACCIDENT DUE TO THE FAULTY MAT DETECTION I FEEL BMW SHOULD BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE FOR THIS. THEY SAY MY CAR IS NOT COVERED DUE TO THEY ONLY COVER CERTAIN VIN'S FOR THAT YEAR..
NHTSA ODI #10845545
84,504 miles · Feb 23, 2016
Air Bags
PASSENGER SEAT MAT SENSOR HAS GONE BAD. THIS IS THE SAME TYPE OF RECALL AS THE TAKATA RECALL BUT BMW SAYS THAT THIS CAR ISN'T COVERED FOR THAT RECALL. RECALL COST OVER $1000.00 TO REPAIR FOR A AIRBAG SAFETY ISSUE. SEEMS TO EXTREMELY COMMON IN BMW'S. TOOK CAR TO BMW DEALERSHIP AND THEY CONFIRMED THE ISSUE WITH THE CAR. SPOKE…
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PASSENGER SEAT MAT SENSOR HAS GONE BAD. THIS IS THE SAME TYPE OF RECALL AS THE TAKATA RECALL BUT BMW SAYS THAT THIS CAR ISN'T COVERED FOR THAT RECALL. RECALL COST OVER $1000.00 TO REPAIR FOR A AIRBAG SAFETY ISSUE. SEEMS TO EXTREMELY COMMON IN BMW'S. TOOK CAR TO BMW DEALERSHIP AND THEY CONFIRMED THE ISSUE WITH THE CAR. SPOKE TO BMWUSA DIRECTLY AND THEY WON'T COVER REPAIR.
NHTSA ODI #10837748
Mileage unknown · Jan 31, 2016
Electrical SystemEngineSteering
RED ELECTRIC STEERING WHEEL LOCK ICON ON SCREEN AND CAR WILL NOT START OR TURN OVER. RADIO WORKS AND EVERYTHING ELSE BUT CAR WILL NOT START. WHEN BATTERY DIED, AND I CHARGED IT FULL, THEN WENT TO START THE CAR AND THIS RED ELECTRIC STEERING WHEEL LOCK CAME ON. HAD TO GET CAR SERVICED
NHTSA ODI #10823314
120,000 miles · Jan 14, 2016
Electrical SystemSteeringUnknown Or Other
NO STAR NO LIGHT NO POWER ONLY LIGHT FOR STEERING LOCK
NHTSA ODI #10820249
75,000 miles · Jan 7, 2016
Air BagsSeats
FRONT PASSENGER SEAT OCCUPANT DETECTION MAT. MY 2007 BMW 328XI AIRBAG LIGHT CAME ON SO I TOOK IT TO THE DEALER AND THEY TOLD ME THERE WAS A RECALL ON MY MODEL CAR FROM 2006 UP, BUT THAT MY VIN# IS NOT PART OF THAT RECALL EVEN THOUGH ALL SYMPTOM AND ISSUE WAS THE SAME. I THINK THIS SHOULD BE INCLUDED AS THE SENSOR MAT IS THE SAM…
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FRONT PASSENGER SEAT OCCUPANT DETECTION MAT. MY 2007 BMW 328XI AIRBAG LIGHT CAME ON SO I TOOK IT TO THE DEALER AND THEY TOLD ME THERE WAS A RECALL ON MY MODEL CAR FROM 2006 UP, BUT THAT MY VIN# IS NOT PART OF THAT RECALL EVEN THOUGH ALL SYMPTOM AND ISSUE WAS THE SAME. I THINK THIS SHOULD BE INCLUDED AS THE SENSOR MAT IS THE SAME ISSUE AS NOTED IN THIS RECALL US NHTSA CAMPAIGN ID:13V564000
NHTSA ODI #10818819
48,000 miles · Dec 12, 2015
Exterior Lighting
XENON ADAPTIVE HEADLIGHTS - THE WIRE INSIDE MY XENON ADAPTIVE HEADLIGHTS IS BRITTLE AND THE INSULATION IS FLAKING OFF. I DISCOVERED THE PROBLEM WHEN I OPENED ONE OF MY HEADLIGHT ASSEMBLIES TO REPLACE A BULB. SIGNIFICANT AMOUNTS OF WIRE INSULATION HAVE FLAKED OFF AND EXPOSED COPPER WIRING. I HAVE LOTS OF PICTURES. I AM FO…
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XENON ADAPTIVE HEADLIGHTS - THE WIRE INSIDE MY XENON ADAPTIVE HEADLIGHTS IS BRITTLE AND THE INSULATION IS FLAKING OFF. I DISCOVERED THE PROBLEM WHEN I OPENED ONE OF MY HEADLIGHT ASSEMBLIES TO REPLACE A BULB. SIGNIFICANT AMOUNTS OF WIRE INSULATION HAVE FLAKED OFF AND EXPOSED COPPER WIRING. I HAVE LOTS OF PICTURES. I AM FORTUNATE THAT I DID NOT HAVE A SHORT OR A FIRE. THIS IS A SAFETY ISSUE AND COMPLETELY UNACCEPTABLE. BMW MUST ALREADY KNOW THAT THEY HAVE A WIRING DEFECT IN THEIR CARS. BMW REPLACEMENT HEADLIGHT ASSEMBLIES ARE $2600 PLUS LABOR. I AM THE SECOND OWNER OF THIS 2007 BMW 328I E92 WITH 48,000 MILES. BMW WOULD NOT STAND BEHIND THEIR PRODUCT AND REPLACE THE HEADLIGHT ASSEMBLIES.
NHTSA ODI #10809811
90,000 miles · Nov 29, 2015
Air Bags
PASSENGER AIR BAG WARNING LIGHT AND SEAT BEAT WARNING LIGHT RANDOMLY TURNS ON BUT IT HAPPENS MOST FREQUENTLY WHEN SOMEONE IS SITTING IN THE PASSENGER SEAT.
NHTSA ODI #10807340
54,000 miles · Sep 26, 2015
Steering
I PARKED MY VEHICLE AND WHEN I WENT TO START IT IT WOULD NOT START. I GOT A RED ELV STEERING COLUMN LOCK ERROR, BMW CC-ID 186. CAR WILL NOT START.
NHTSA ODI #10777843
75,000 miles · Sep 17, 2015
Electrical SystemEngineSteering
BATTERY DIED. JUMPSTARTED, DROVE FOR A BIT. TURNED OFF, TURNED BACK ON DROVE HOME. PARKED THE CAR. TRIED TO RESTART AND THE RED ELECTRONIC STEERING WHEEL LOCK INDICATOR WAS ON. PLENTY OF JUICE IN THE BATTERY, CAR WILL NOT EVEN ATTEMPT TO TURN OVER. CAN NOT GET INTO NEUTRAL TO TOW OUT. CAR IS DEAD WHERE IT SITS BECAUSE OF THE ELE…
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BATTERY DIED. JUMPSTARTED, DROVE FOR A BIT. TURNED OFF, TURNED BACK ON DROVE HOME. PARKED THE CAR. TRIED TO RESTART AND THE RED ELECTRONIC STEERING WHEEL LOCK INDICATOR WAS ON. PLENTY OF JUICE IN THE BATTERY, CAR WILL NOT EVEN ATTEMPT TO TURN OVER. CAN NOT GET INTO NEUTRAL TO TOW OUT. CAR IS DEAD WHERE IT SITS BECAUSE OF THE ELECTRONIC STEERING LOCK. THANK GOODNESS WE WEREN'T IN THE MIDDLE OF NOWHERE.
NHTSA ODI #10764851
Official recalls
1Mar 2, 2022
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.
Consequence & remedy
Consequence: 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.
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.
Model-level recall history does not show whether a particular VIN is affected or has received a repair. Check a VIN with NHTSA ↗
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