Clean Feeds
Home › Recalls › BMW › 3 Series › 2000

2000 BMW 3 Series recalls, complaints and safety ratings

There is 1 US recall for the 2000 BMW 3 Series, and 8 in Canada. Owners filed 88 complaints with NHTSA, most often about power train.

1US recalls
0urgent recalls
88owner complaints
–overall crash rating

Is your car affected?

Check by VIN to confirm the exact model and see every recall for it.

Recalls are issued for a make, model and model year. Whether the repair has already been done on one specific car is known only to its manufacturer and dealers. Check your vehicle's official status at nhtsa.gov/recalls or with a dealer.

US recalls (1)

Air bags: frontal, driver side

2021-05-27 · campaign 21V401000 · 4,511 vehicles

BMW of North America, LLC (BMW) is recalling certain 2000-2001 BMW 3 Series (323Ci, 325Ci, 328Ci and 330Ci), 1999-2001 323i, 328i, 330i, 330xi, and 2000 323i, 328i stationwagon vehicles equipped with Non-Azide Driver air bag Inflators (NADI) manufactured by Takata. These vehicles are equipped with driver-side air bag inflators that were previously inspected, but not replaced under recall numbers 19V-851, 19V852, or 19V-853. Due to a manufacturing issue, the NADI inflator may absorb moisture, causing the inflator to explode or the air bag cushion to underinflate.

Risk and remedy

Risk: The inflator could explode during air bag deployment, resulting in metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants. An underinflated air bag may not properly protect the occupant. These scenarios increase the risk of serious injury or death.

Remedy: Dealers will replace the driver-side air bag inflator with a newly designed inflator, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed on July 12, 2021. Owners may contact BMW customer service at 1-800-525-7417.

Canadian recalls (8)

Show 8 Canadian recalls
Do not drive

Airbag

2019-10-03 · campaign 2019-487 · 359 vehicles

Issue: 2023 Update - BMW has updated this recall and issued a do not drive advisory for all vehicles that that not yet been repaired. This recall applies to vehicles equipped with a replacement sport steering wheel that has a Takata airbag. Long-term exposure to high absolute humidity and temperature, combined with high temperature cycling, may eventually degrade the propellant contained in the driver-front airbag. This could cause the airbag to deploy with more force than normal. If the airbag inflator ruptures, fragments could be propelled toward vehicle occupants or cause damage to the airbag assembly, preventing its proper function. Safety Risk: If the vehicle is involved in a crash requiring an airbag deployment, the airbag inflator could rupture and create a risk of injury. Corrective Actions: BMW advises not to drive your vehicle unless this recall repair has been completed. BMW will notify owners by mail and instruct you to take your vehicle to a dealer to inspect the driver-front airbag inflator. The driver-front airbag module or inflator will be replaced as necessary. To learn if your vehicle requires repair, owners may: • Visit https://www.bmw.ca/en/ssl/VehicleRecall.html • Contact your preferred or local BMW Retailer • Call BMW Customer Relations Recall Services at 1-855-217-3002

Airbag

2021-05-27 · campaign 2021-354 · 346 vehicles

Issue: This recall is for vehicles that had an inspection performed under recall 2019-599, 2019-600 or 2019-601, but where the airbag inflator was not replaced. This new recall will provide replacement of the airbag inflator. On certain cars, exposure to moisture over time could cause the driver-front airbag not to inflate properly in a crash. In some cases, this could cause an airbag not to fully inflate, while in others it could cause it to deploy with more force than normal. It could also cause the inflator to rupture. If the airbag inflator ruptures, small pieces of metal could be propelled toward vehicle occupants or cause damage to the airbag and prevent its proper function. Safety Risk: In a crash requiring an airbag deployment, the driver-front airbag may not inflate properly or the inflator could rupture. This could create a risk of injury. Corrective Actions: BMW will notify owners by mail and instruct you to take your car to a dealer to replace the driver-front airbag inflator.

Airbag

2020-01-15 · campaign 2020-009

Issue: This recall is for certain vehicles that had an airbag inflator replaced as a part of an earlier recall campaign. This recall provides a final repair. Long-term exposure to high absolute humidity and temperature, combined with high temperature cycling, may eventually degrade the propellant contained in the passenger-front airbag. This could cause the airbag to deploy with more force than normal. If the airbag inflator ruptures, fragments could be propelled toward vehicle occupants or cause damage to the airbag assembly, preventing its proper function. Safety Risk: If the vehicle is involved in a crash requiring an airbag deployment, the airbag inflator could rupture and create a risk of injury. Corrective Actions: Owners will be notified by mail and instructed to take their vehicle to a dealer to inspect the passenger-front airbag module. The passenger-front airbag module will be replaced as necessary. Note: The Canadian climate results in the propellant degrading slowly. This recall is being conducted as a precaution to address future risk. It is expected that all airbag inflators will be replaced before their function would be affected.

Airbag

2019-11-26 · campaign 2019-599

Issue: On certain cars, exposure to moisture over time could cause the driver-front airbag not to inflate properly in a crash. In some cases, this could cause an airbag not to fully inflate, while in others it could cause it to deploy with more force than normal. It could also cause the inflator to rupture. If the airbag inflator ruptures, small pieces of metal could be propelled toward vehicle occupants or cause damage to the airbag and prevent its proper function. Note: This recall affects cars built between May 22, 1999 and June 20, 2000. While the car was not built with an affected airbag inflator, it may have had one installed if the steering wheel airbag was replaced. Safety Risk: In a crash requiring an airbag deployment, the driver-front airbag may not inflate properly or the inflator could rupture. This could create a risk of injury. Corrective Actions: BMW will notify owners by mail and instruct you to take your car to a dealer to replace the driver-front airbag inflator.

Airbag

2019-11-26 · campaign 2019-600

Issue: On certain cars, exposure to moisture over time could cause the driver-front airbag not to inflate properly in a crash. In some cases, this could cause an airbag not to fully inflate, while in others it could cause it to deploy with more force than normal. It could also cause the inflator to rupture. If the airbag inflator ruptures, small pieces of metal could be propelled toward vehicle occupants or cause damage to the airbag and prevent its proper function. Note: This recall affects cars built between March 25, 1998 and November 10, 1999. Safety Risk: In a crash requiring an airbag deployment, the driver-front airbag may not inflate properly or the inflator could rupture. This could create a risk of injury. Corrective Actions: BMW will notify owners by mail and instruct you to take your car to a dealer to replace the driver-front airbag inflator.

Airbag

2014-07-16 · campaign 2014-299

On certain vehicles, the passenger (frontal) airbag inflator could produce excessive internal pressure during airbag deployment. Increased pressure may cause the inflator to rupture, which could allow fragments to be propelled toward vehicle occupants, increasing the risk of injury. This could also damage the airbag module, which could prevent proper deployment during a crash where deployment is warranted, increasing the risk of personal injury to the seat occupant. Correction: Dealers will replace the passenger airbag. Note: This is an expansion of recall 2013148.

Airbag

2002-11-19 · campaign 2002-215

Certain 323I and 328I vehicles may experience inadvertent or non-crash side impact lateral air bags deployment. In addition, the Battery Safety Terminal (BST) would also activate, disconnecting the starter cable from the battery. In this case, the vehicle electrical systems would continue to operate and the engine would continue to run; however, after the engine is turned off, it could not be restarted. Correction: Dealers will recalibrate the side airbag system in order to reduce the possibility of such non-crash deployments.

Electrical

2000-03-09 · campaign 2000-065

On certain 323I, 328I, 528I, 528IT, 540I, 540IT, 740I, 740IL, 750IL and M5 vehicles, the brake light switch capacitor housing may be cracked and in high humidity conditions the capacitor and switch housing could become overheated and deformed. As a result, a short circuit or an open circuit could occur in the switch. This could cause the switch to remain either in the "brake lamps off" position or the "brake lamps on" position. If the switch remains in the "off" position, the brake lamps will be rendered inoperative. Conversely, if the switch remains in the "on" position, the brake lamps will be continuously illuminated when the ignition switch is in the "on" position. Correction: Brake lamp switch will be replaced with an improved switch.

Owner complaints (88)

Owners filed 88 complaints with NHTSA about the 2000 BMW 3 Series (3 crashes, 2 fires, 4 injuries reported). Among 21 model years of this model, it ranks #3 for the most complaints (median 25).

Most-reported problemComplaints
Power train35
Structure30
Air bags11
Engine and engine cooling8
Visibility4
Suspension4
Electrical system4
Fuel system, gasoline2

Fuel economy

EPA ratings for each 2000 BMW 3 Series version.

VersionCity MPGHighway MPGCombinedYearly fuel cost
323ci 2.5 L Automatic 5-spd172519$4,350
323ci 2.5 L Manual 5-spd182621$3,900
323i 2.5 L Automatic 5-spd172620$4,100
323i 2.5 L Automatic 5-spd172519$4,350
323i 2.5 L Manual 5-spd182621$3,900
323i Convertible 2.5 L Automatic 5-spd162218$4,550
323i Convertible 2.5 L Manual 5-spd172319$4,350
323i Touring 2.5 L Automatic 5-spd172519$4,350
323i Touring 2.5 L Manual 5-spd182621$3,900
328ci 2.8 L Automatic 5-spd162519$4,350
328ci 2.8 L Manual 5-spd182621$3,900
328i 2.8 L Automatic 5-spd172520$4,100
Need this data in your app?
Recalls, complaints, crash ratings and fuel economy as a JSON API. Decode up to 50 VINs per call and get a daily feed of new recalls.
Explore the API →

Sources: NHTSA recalls, complaints and 5-Star Safety Ratings, US EPA fuel economy and Transport Canada's Vehicle Recalls Database (contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Canada). Recalls updated 2026-10-30.