Model overview
BMW 3 Series: complaints by model year
Compare the federal record across 3 Series model years. Raw complaint totals are useful context, but they are not adjusted for sales, mileage, or time on the road.
| Year | Complaints | Recalls | Severity | Crash | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025Still new | 4 | 0 | 50 | Not rated | Still new |
| 2022 | 7 | 0 | 57 | ||
| 2024Still new | 9 | 0 | 111 | Not rated | Still new |
| 2023 | 10 | 1 | 60 | Not rated | |
| 2021 | 31 | 0 | 42 | ||
| 2019 | 39 | 0 | 41 | ||
| 2020 | 51 | 0 | 33 | Not rated | |
| 2018Most reports | 58 | 0 | 43 | Most reports | |
| 2017 | 70 | 0 | 7 | ||
| 2016 | 93 | 0 | 48 | ||
| 2010 | 242 | 3 | 17 | Not rated | |
| 2011 | 0 | 3 | — | Not rated | |
| 2012 | 0 | 2 | — | Not rated | |
| 2013 | 0 | 0 | — | Not rated |
Ranked by total NHTSA complaints per model year (not adjusted for units sold). A zero means no owner reports in the current NHTSA data, not that the car is problem-free. "Severity" is a harm-weighted index of those complaints — higher means a greater share involved crashes, fires or injuries. Complaint-volume percentiles vs. segment peers are computed separately and appear on each year's page. Complaints pile up over a car's life, so the last few model years look quiet mostly because they have had less road time — we mark them "still new" rather than treating them as lower-complaint standouts.
3 model years show zero owner complaints in the current NHTSA data. That can reflect low reporting volume, not a clean bill of health: 2011, 2012, 2013.