1996 BMW 3 Series
Safety record from NHTSA: recalls, owner complaints, investigations and service bulletins.
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Vehicles › BMW › 3 Series › 1996
These records cover every 1996 BMW 3 Series. To see whether one car still needs a recall repair, decode its VIN or check it with NHTSA.
Recalls
4 recalls name the 1996 BMW 3 Series. Newest first.
Certain tradesonic combination lamps sold as replacement lamps for use on the above listed passenger vehicles. combination lamps not equipped with amber side reflectors fail to conform with the requirements of federal motor vehicle safety standard no. 108, lamps, reflective devices, and associated equipment.
Risk and remedy
Risk
Lack of amber side reflectors in the lamps will decrease lighting visibility to other drivers and may possibly result in a vehicle crash.
Remedy
Tradesonic will notify owners and replace the lamps free of charge. the recall IS expected to begin during july 2006. owners may contact tradesonic at 626-934-8884.
Certain j & a auto accessories combination headlamps sold as replacement lamps for use on the above listed passenger vehicles. some combination lamps that are not equipped with amber side reflectors fail to conform to federal motor vehicle safety standard no. 108, lamps, reflective devices, and associated equipment.
Risk and remedy
Risk
Without the amber reflectors, the vehicle will be poorly illuminated, possibly resulting in a vehicle crash without warning.
Remedy
J & a auto accessories will notify owners and offer to repurchase the headlamps. the recall began on july 10, 2006. owners may contact j & a auto accessories at 310-327-4981.
Certain pro-a motors corner lamps, turn signals, and headlights sold as replacement lamps for use on certain passenger vehicles listed above. some combination lamps that are not equipped with amber side reflectors fail to conform to federal motor vehicle safety standard no. 108, lamps, reflective devices, and associated equipment.
Risk and remedy
Risk
Without the amber reflectors, the vehicle will be poorly illuminated, possibly resulting in a vehicle crash without warning.
Remedy
Pro-a motors will notify owners and offer to repurchase the lamps. the recall began on april 3, 2006. owners may contact pro-a motors at 323-838-2988.
Certain anzo combination headlamp assemblies sold as replacement lamps for use on certain passenger vehicles. some combination lamps are not equipped with amber side reflectors which fail to conform to federal motor vehicle safety standard no. 108, "lamps, reflective devices, and associated equipment."
Risk and remedy
Risk
Without the amber reflectors, the vehicle will be poorly illuminated, possibly resulting in a vehicle crash.
Remedy
Anzo will notify owners and replace the headlamps free of charge. the recall began may 9, 2006. owners may contact anzo USA at 909-468-3688.
Owner complaints
2 complaints1 involved a crash
What owners report most
Latest complaints
- Air bags
Faulty air bag sensor. the passenger side air bag warning light stays on. *Tr
- Equipment › Electrical · Unknown or other
Car sitting in drive at a fence enclosure and it surged ahead on its own, driving into the fence. no action possible to stop the car from going forward into the electronic fence. sustained damage to the front grill and driver door panels. second time the car had done this. dealership stated the brakes had seized also, and would not have stopped the car anyways.
Service bulletins
Technical service bulletins and other communications the manufacturer sent dealers about this vehicle. Ask a dealer for the full document by its number.
- 10249437The basic conditions for initializing the power windows are not met.
- 10051519BMW: the high-voltage (hv) battery cells could be damaged if the vehicle IS prevented from entering sleep mode for an extended period of time. Updated 03/11/2013
- 10051459BMW: dsc warning light IS on. The warning lamps for dsc, ABS and brake warning illuminated. There may also be a warning in the control display for chassis control system failure.
- 10051359BMW: vehicle does not start: loose ground z6000 *4B. Covered under the terms of the BMW new vehicle/sav limited warranty.
- 10044032BMW: the left or right rear light in the side panel has condensation concerning vehicles produced up to february 27,2012.
- 10041410BMW: E36. Information on the replacement of instrument clusters.
- 10040050BMW: the end of the seatbelt assistant breaks/falls off when retracting. The retaining tab IS not robust enough. E92.
- 10040049BMW: a software problem IS causing one or both of the seat belt assistants to not extend fully or may not extend at all. The position at which the assistant comes to rest varies. E92.
- 10037078BMW: the airbag warning lamp IS illuminated due to a software error.
- 10033135BMW vehicles: rear axle carrier (sub frame) support proposed class action settlement. Under certain circumstances, a fracture in the steel body structure could form in the area around one of the rear axle carrier mounting points. As a result, a distinct clicking noise can be heard from the area of the rear axle carrier during certain driving conditions. Model E46 (3series). No model years listed.
- 10033131BMW vehicles: engine cranks but does not start; fuel level gauge displays a sufficient amount of fuel, although the fuel tank IS empty; fault code 2A1C (fuel level plausibility) IS stored in msv80. Right side fuel sending unit IS dislodged from its bracket due to incorrect assembly. No model years listed. Updated 4/29/11.
- 10032989BMW: fuel level sensor repair procedure. The case where it IS necessary to replace the right side fuel level sensor due to a failure, the entire pump and housing does not need to be replaced. No model years listed.
- 10032815BMW vehicle: noise from front axle/right side. A grinding or scraping noise may be heard while cornering at vehicle speeds up to 30 mph. The noise IS more pronounced while the vehicle IS in the warm up phase and may change intensity during left and right turns. The right side engine support IS making contact with the right side engine mount.
- 10030844BMW vehicles: teileclearing for dynamic stability control (dsc). A part replacement authorization must be obtained by submitting a tc case in puma before any of the following dsc components are replaced under warranty for the vehicles listed in the model section of this bulletin: dsc control module, dsc hydro unit, and yaw rate sensor. No model years listed.
- 10029605BMW service campaign: see document search button for owner letter. The airbag warning lamp (awl) IS illuminated, together with the passenger airbag status lamp (pol). The problem may be intermittent. Microcracks in the OC3 seat mat. Updated 9/30/11.
- 10028525BMW: service engine lamp IS illuminated. Dme fc 2A15 minor leak and 2A16 superfine leak in evaporation system. Tank ventilation corrugated hose may contact the low side air conditioning pressure line aluminum ferrel. This contact may cause a small leak.
- 10025848BMW: seat frame design changed for 392 (3 series coupe) produced up to may 2007. On early production E92S, the socket which secures the seat backrest release cable to the release mechanism could pull free from the release mechanism.
- 10025585Rear bulb failure. Model E92 (3 series coupe) vehicles produced up to january 21, 2008 are affected. The bulb out warning shows in the instrument cluster.
- 10025584N54 rattle noise from turbocharger area. Models E90, E92 and E93 (3 series) 335I and 335xi; E60 and E61 (5 series) 535I and 535xi, all with N54 engine from the start of production to january 17, 2008 production.
- 10025573N52 edk throttle jamming faults 2D09, 2CED and 2CEC. Model E90 and E91 (3 series) and E60 and E61 (5 series), all models up to 11/2005 with N52 engine.
- 10015410Check engine lamp illuminated and/or vehicle overheats. BMW E90 (3 series) all E90 (3 series) and E60 (5 series) models equipped with N52 engine.
- 601210Subject regarding the abs/asc warning lights illuminated during dynamometer test.
- 52234Replacement of instrument cluster.
Every BMW 3 Series model year
Bars are owner complaints, dots mark years with recalls. Select a year to open its report.