There are 0 US recalls for the 2013 BMW 3 Series, and 11 in Canada. Owners filed 21 complaints with NHTSA, most often about electrical system.
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.
No US recalls found for the 2013 BMW 3 Series.
Issue: On certain vehicles, the tire and loading information label does not list that there is no spare tire in both official languages. The label reads as "NONE" when it should read as "NONE / AUCUN". Canadian regulations require the information to be listed on the label in both English and French. Safety Risk: This error does not affect vehicle safety. Corrective Actions: This is not a recall. The company has corrected the tire and loading information label for all new vehicles.
Issue: On certain vehicles, fluid from the positive crankcase ventilation (PCV) system could leak on the intake air hose. As a result, the fluid could enter the electrical connector for the water pump and cause a short circuit. Safety Risk: A short circuit can create the risk of a fire, even while the vehicle is parked and turned off. Corrective Actions: To reduce the safety risk, BMW advises you to park your vehicle outdoors and away from other vehicles or structures until the recall repairs are completed. BMW will notify owners by mail and advise you to take your vehicle to a dealership to inspect and, if necessary, replace the water pump and electrical connector. The dealer will also install a shield on the connector.
Issue: On certain vehicles equipped with an N52 or N52K 6-cylinder engine, a manufacturing problem could cause the PCV valve heater (blow-by heater) to short circuit and overheat. Note: This replaces Transport Canada recalls 2017-470 and 2019-170. Only vehicles equipped with an N52 or N52K engine require this repair. Safety Risk: An overheated engine PCV valve heater could create the risk of a fire, even while the vehicle is parked and turned off. Corrective Actions: BMW will notify owners by mail and instruct you to take your vehicle to a dealer to install a wire harness repair kit. BMW recommends that you should park your vehicle outdoors until the recall repairs have been completed.
Issue: On certain vehicles, the bolts that attach the electric power steering assist motor to the steering gear may corrode and break. This could cause a loss of power steering assist. Safety Risk: A loss of power steering assist may result in a sudden increase in steering effort, especially at low vehicle speeds. This could increase the risk of a crash. Corrective Actions: BMW will notify owners by mail and instruct you to take your vehicle to a dealer to replace the bolts and apply a wax sealer. If one or more of the bolts are broken or missing, a new steering gear will be installed.
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 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: Owners will be notified by mail and instructed to take their vehicle to a dealer to inspect the driver-front airbag inflator. The driver-front airbag module or inflator 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.
This recall was replaced by Transport Canada Recall No. 2021-711. On certain vehicles, the cooler for Exhaust Gas Recirculation (EGR) module may develop an internal leak and coolant could mix with diesel engine soot/sediment. In rare circumstances, this condition could result in smouldering particles and lead to the melting of the intake manifold, increasing the risk of a fire causing injury and/or damage to property. Correction: Dealers will inspect the EGR cooler, and if necessary, replace it. If it is determined that the EGR cooler has leaked internally, the intake manifold will also be replaced. The EGR pipe connecting the cooler to the manifold will be cleaned. Note: An operator may be alerted to this condition by one or more of the following symptoms: A warning symbol in the instrument cluster displaying a loss of engine coolant, a reduction in engine power, an unpleasant odour (exhaust gas), an unusual noise from the engine compartment, and/or smoke from the engine compartment.
On certain vehicles, the driver 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. Failure of the airbag to fully deploy during a crash (where deployment is warranted) could increase the risk of personal injury to the seat occupant. Correction: Dealers will replace the front driver air bag inflator or air bag module, depending on the vehicle model.
Certain vehicles may not comply with the requirements of Canada Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 108 - Lighting System and Retroreflective Devices. The front side markers may be inoperative due to a vehicle software update. This could result in the front side marker lamps not illuminating in conjunction with the parking lamps or headlamps, and no warning message would be displayed in the instrument cluster. The turn signal function of the front side marker lamps would remain operational. This could cause the vehicle to fail to comply with the requirements of the standard, and reduce vehicle conspicuity, which could increase the risk of a crash causing injury and/or damage to property. Correction: Dealers will update vehicle software.
On certain vehicles, improper nickel plating of certain fuel pump internal components could contaminate the pump, potentially resulting in an inoperative fuel pump. This could result in a no-start condition, or an engine stall without warning and without the ability to restart the vehicle, which could increase the risk of a crash. Correction: Dealers will replace the fuel pump.
On certain vehicles, a defect in manufacturing could result in a loss of oil supply to the vacuum pump. If this were to occur, the vacuum pump could fail, causing a loss of power assist to the braking system. This could cause increased stopping distances, possibly resulting in a crash causing injury and/or damage to property. Correction: Dealers will install a camshaft seal disk locking ring. Note: This is an expansion of recall 2013-330.
On certain vehicles, a defect in manufacturing could result in a loss of oil supply to the vacuum pump. If this were to occur, the vacuum pump could fail, causing a loss of power assist to the braking system. This could cause increased stopping distances, possibly resulting in a crash causing injury and/or damage to property. Correction: Dealers will install a camshaft seal disk locking ring.
Owners filed 21 complaints with NHTSA about the 2013 BMW 3 Series (2 crashes reported). Among 21 model years of this model, it ranks #12 for the most complaints (median 25).
| Most-reported problem | Complaints | |
|---|---|---|
| Electrical system | 7 | |
| Engine | 7 | |
| Power train | 6 | |
| Vehicle speed control | 4 | |
| Air bags | 3 | |
| Service brakes | 2 | |
| Latches/locks/linkages | 1 | |
| Fuel/propulsion system | 1 |
EPA ratings for each 2013 BMW 3 Series version.
| Version | City MPG | Highway MPG | Combined | Yearly fuel cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 320i 2.0 L Manual 6-spd | 23 | 35 | 27 | $3,050 |
| 320i 2.0 L Automatic (S8) | 23 | 35 | 28 | $2,950 |
| 320i xDrive 2.0 L Automatic (S8) | 23 | 34 | 27 | $3,050 |
| 320i xDrive 2.0 L Manual 6-spd | 22 | 33 | 26 | $3,150 |
| 328i 2.0 L Automatic (S8) | 23 | 33 | 26 | $3,150 |
| 328i 2.0 L Manual 6-spd | 22 | 33 | 26 | $3,150 |
| 328i Convertible 3.0 L Automatic (S6) | 18 | 26 | 21 | $3,900 |
| 328i Convertible 3.0 L Manual 6-spd | 17 | 26 | 20 | $4,100 |
| 328i Coupe 3.0 L Automatic (S6) | 18 | 28 | 21 | $3,900 |
| 328i Coupe 3.0 L Manual 6-spd | 19 | 28 | 22 | $3,750 |
| 328i Coupe xDrive 3.0 L Automatic (S6) | 17 | 25 | 20 | $4,100 |
| 328i Coupe xDrive 3.0 L Manual 6-spd | 16 | 25 | 19 | $4,350 |
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.