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2016 BMW 3 Series

Plug-in hybridGasDiesel
Compact Cars
17 EPA-rated configurations
Data refreshed 2026-09-11
F
Safety Signal
35 / 100 from the NHTSA recall record
Recalls4 critical6
Complaintsowner reports to NHTSA100
Crash ratingNHTSA overall5★
Fuel economybest combined, EPA35 mpg
20262025202420232022202120202019201820172016
Active NHTSA advisory: park outside and away from structures until repaired. Check your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls and see the recall details below.

The 2016 BMW 3 Series is sold in the U.S. as a plug-in hybrid, gas and diesel compact car with 17 EPA-rated configurations. The most efficient version, the 328d, is EPA-rated at 35 mpg combined. NHTSA lists 6 recall campaigns for this model year, 4 rated critical, which gives it a Safety Signal grade of F. Owners have filed 100 complaints, most often about the engine. NHTSA crash-tested it at 5 stars overall.

Specs & fuel economy

Source: EPA fueleconomy.gov
ConfigurationPowertrainDriveEngine / motorCityHwyCombRangekWh/100miCharge (240V)Annual fuel*
330ePlug-in hybridRWD2.0L 4-cyl turbo + 65kW283631 (38 MPGe blended)14 mi electric472 h$2,500
320iGasRWD2.0L 4-cyl turbo233528———$2,750
320iGasRWD2.0L 4-cyl turbo233527———$2,850
320i xDriveGasAWD2.0L 4-cyl turbo233427———$2,850
328iGasRWD2.0L 4-cyl turbo233527———$2,850
328iGasRWD2.0L 4-cyl turbo223326———$3,000
328i xDriveGasAWD2.0L 4-cyl turbo223326———$3,000
328i xDrive Gran TurismoGasAWD2.0L 4-cyl turbo223326———$3,000
328i xDrive Sports WagonGasAWD2.0L 4-cyl turbo223326———$3,000
340iGasRWD3.0L 6-cyl turbo223225———$3,100
340i xDriveGasAWD3.0L 6-cyl turbo223225———$3,100
335i xDrive Gran TurismoGasAWD3.0L 6-cyl turbo203023———$3,350
340iGasRWD3.0L 6-cyl turbo202923———$3,350
340i xDriveGasAWD3.0L 6-cyl turbo202823———$3,350
328dDieselRWD2.0L 4-cyl turbo314235———$2,550
328d xDriveDieselAWD2.0L 4-cyl turbo304034———$2,650
328d xDrive Sports WagonDieselAWD2.0L 4-cyl turbo304034———$2,650

*EPA estimate at 15,000 miles/year at EPA reference fuel and electricity prices. fueleconomy.gov record ids: 37289, 36723, 36651, 36652, 36792, 36649, 36650, 36685, 36689, 36888.

Factory warranty running out?

The 2016 BMW 3 Series is in the years where high-voltage electronics and module repairs land on the owner. Compare extended-coverage quotes in about two minutes.

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Recalls (6)

Source: NHTSA recall database
!critical

Electrical System

Park outside29,119 vehicles
ProblemBMW of North America, LLC (BMW) is recalling certain 2018-2020 530e xDrive, 2017-2019 740Le xDrive, 2018-2020 530e iPerformance, 2016-2018 330e iPerformance vehicles. The engine starter relay may corrode, causing the relay to overheat and short circuit.RiskA short circuit in the starter relay may increase the risk of a fire.FixOwners are advised to park outside and away from structures until the remedy is complete. Dealers will replace the engine starter, free of charge. Letters informing owners of the safety risk were mailed September 3, 2026. Another letter will be mailed after the remedy is confirmed. Owners may contact BMW customer service at 1-800-525-7417. Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) involved in this recall will become searchable on NHTSA.gov beginning August 28, 2026.
NHTSA campaign 26V441000reported Jul 8, 2026BMW of North America, LLC
!critical

Engine And Engine Cooling

720,796 vehicles
ProblemBMW of North America, LLC. (BMW) is recalling certain 2012-2015 X1 sDrive28i, X1 xDrive28i, 2012-2016 Z4 sDrive28i, 528i, 528i xDrive, 328i, 328xi, 2016-2018 X5 xdrive 40e, 2014-2016 228i, 228xi, 428i, 428i xDrive, 328xi Gran Turismo, 2013-2017 X3 sDrive28i, X3 xDrive28i, 2015-2018 X4 xDrive28i, 2015-2016 428xi vehicles. An improperly sealed electrical connector on the water pump may be exposed to water and short circuit.RiskAn electrical short increases the risk of a fire.FixDealers will inspect and replace the water pump and plug connector as necessary, and install a protective shield, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed on March 28, 2025. Owners may contact BMW customer service at 1-800-525-7417.
NHTSA campaign 24V608000reported Aug 13, 2024BMW of North America, LLC
!critical

Fuel System, Diesel

50,404 vehicles
ProblemBMW of North America, LLC (BMW) is recalling certain 2013-2018 328d, 328d xDrive, 2014-2018 328d Sports Wagon, 328d xDrive Sports Wagon, 2014-2016 535d, 535d xDrive, 2015 740Ld xDrive, 2015-2017 X3 xDrive28d SAV, and 2014-2017 X5 xDrive35d SAV diesel vehicles equipped with an Exhaust Gas Recirculation (EGR) module with an integrated cooler. The EGR cooler may leak internally, causing coolant to mix with diesel engine soot, which could result in smoldering particles and a melting intake manifold.RiskA melting intake manifold increases the risk of a fire.FixDealers will replace the EGR cooler and inspect the intake manifold, replacing it as necessary, free of charge. This recall includes all vehicles previously recalled under 18V-755. Vehicles previously recalled under 18V-755 will need to have the new remedy performed for this recall. An interim owner notification letter was mailed on January 18, 2022. The remedy is expected to be available in June 2022. Owner notification letters were mailed on July 6, 2022. Owners may contact BMW customer
NHTSA campaign 21V907000reported Nov 19, 2021BMW of North America, LLC
▲high

Fuel System, Diesel

11,216 vehicles
ProblemBMW of North America, LLC (BMW) is recalling certain 2014-2018 328d, 328d xDrive, X5 xDrive35d, 2014-2016 535d, 535d xDrive, 2015 740Ld xDrive, and 2015-2017 X3 xDrive28d vehicles. The high-pressure fuel pump may fail.RiskFuel pump failure can cause an engine stall while driving, increasing the risk of a crash.FixDealers will replace the high-pressure fuel pump, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed on January 14, 2022. Owners may contact BMW customer service at 1-800-525-7417.
NHTSA campaign 21V586000reported Jul 29, 2021BMW of North America, LLC
▲high

Power Train

8,536 vehicles
ProblemBMW of North America, LLC (BMW) is recalling certain 2013-2016 328d xDrive sedans and 2013-2015 328d xDrive station wagon vehicles. The constant-velocity joint which transfers power between the transfer case and the rear drive shaft, may become damaged, possibly resulting in loss of power to the rear wheels.RiskA loss of power to the rear wheels can affect vehicle control, increasing the risk of a crash. Additionally, when the vehicle is parked after a loss of power to the rear wheels and the parking brake is not engaged, unintended rollaway can occur, increasing the risk of a crash or injury.FixBMW will notify owners, and dealers will replace the constant-velocity joint and inspect the transfer case, replacing it if necessary, free of charge. The recall began May 22, 2020. Owners may contact BMW customer service at 1-800-525-7417.
NHTSA campaign 20V185000reported Mar 26, 2020BMW of North America, LLC
!critical

Engine And Engine Cooling

44,368 vehicles
ProblemBMW of North America, LLC (BMW) is recalling certain 2013-2018 BMW 328d and 328d xDrive, 2014-2018 328d Sports Wagon and 328d xDrive Sports Wagon, 2014-2016 535d and 535d xDrive, 2015 740Ld xDrive, 2015-2017 X3 xDrive28d SAV and 2014-2017 X5 xDrive35d SAV vehicles equipped with an Exhaust Gas Recirculation (EGR) module with an integrated cooler. If the EGR cooler leaks internally, the coolant can mix with diesel engine soot. The high EGR temperatures may result in these particles possibly smoldering and melting the intake manifold.RiskThe melting intake manifold can increase the risk of a fire.FixBMW will notify owners, and dealers will inspect and replace the EGR cooler as necessary. If a leak has already occurred, the engine intake manifold will also be replaced. These repairs will be made free of charge. The recall began May 13, 2019. Owners may contact BMW customer service at 1-800-525-7417.
NHTSA campaign 18V755000reported Oct 25, 2018BMW of North America, LLC

NHTSA defect investigations

Fuel System, Diesel:Delivery:Fuel Pump — High pressure fuel pump failure open

The Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened PE21-021 on October 14, 2021, to investigate incidents alleging a stall/loss of motive power as a result of high-pressure fuel pump failures in certain model year (MY) 2019-2020 Ram 2500, 3500, 4500, and 5500 heavy duty trucks equipped with 6.7L Cummins turbodiesel engines. During the investigation, ODI sought to determine if the related defect allegation was limited in scope to the recalled population. After review of information request response materials from both FCA and BMW, NHTSA determined that sufficient information to identify a comprehensive recall population could not be produced by FCA and BMW.During the investigation FCA filed rec

Opened Mar 17, 2023 · action EA23001

Electrical System:Propulsion System — Pedestrian alert sounds closed

NHTSA received a petition on or about July 18, 2022, requesting that Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) 141 be applied to all electric and hybrid vehicles operating in the United States. The petition can be reviewed at NHTSA.gov under ODI Number 11486072. FMVSS 141 establishes performance requirements for pedestrian alert sounds for motor vehicles. The standard applies to hybrid and electric vehicles that have a gross vehicle weight rating of 4,536 KG or less or are defined as low-speed vehicles. The standard became fully applicable to all such vehicles manufactured on or after March 1, 2021.On January 27, 2023, NHTSA opened Defect Petition (DP) 22-005 to evaluate the subject matt

Opened Jan 27, 2023 · closed Aug 7, 2023 · action DP22005

Air Bags:Frontal:Passenger Side:Inflator Module — Desiccated Air Bag Inflator Rupture open

From 2000 through 2017, Takata produced millions of air bag inflators using two types of phase-stabilized ammonium nitrate ("PSAN") propellant -- propellant 2004 and propellant 2004L. After prolonged exposure to high temperature cycles and humidity, inflators using propellant 2004 can degrade, causing the propellant to burn too quickly when ignited. The rapid burning can cause the inflator to rupture during deployment, potentially causing serious or even fatal injury to vehicle occupants. See 2016 Blomquist Report at www.nhtsa.gov/sites/nhtsa.gov/files/documents/expert_report-hrblomquist.pdf.Consequently, all frontal inflators using propellant 2004 that do not contain a "desiccant" (a substa

Opened Sep 17, 2021 · action EA21002

Owner complaints

Source: NHTSA complaint database
100complaints filed

13 involved a crash · 6 a fire · 11 injuries · 0 deaths reported

Filed per year: 2016: 5 · 2017: 8 · 2018: 10 · 2019: 8 · 2020: 5 · 2021: 3 · 2022: 13 · 2023: 16 · 2024: 10 · 2025: 19 · 2026: 3

Most-cited components

Engine28
Electrical System24
Service Brakes18
Engine And Engine Cooling16
Unspecified15
Power Train13

What owners describe

“The contact owns a 2016 BMW 320I. The contact stated that the Drive Train Failure, Check Engine, and Engine Overheating warning lights were illuminated. There was a fuel odor coming from the vehicle, and fluid was leaking underneath the vehicle near the muffler and under the driver's side seat. The vehicle was taken to…”Apr 7, 2026 · Engine And Engine Cooling · NHTSA owner report
“The contact owned a 2016 BMW 320i. The contact stated that while the vehicle was parked, it caught on fire. The vehicle was unoccupied. The contact stated that while walking into the house that she noticed the fuel odor. The contact stated that after entering the residence, the contact walked back out and noticed the v…”Oct 16, 2025 · Engine · NHTSA owner report
“The contact owned a 2016 BMW 320i. The contact stated that after driving approximately 28 miles, arriving at her residence to park the vehicle in the garage, and noticed a burning odor. Upon inspection, a fire was coming from underneath the hood. The contact, lacking a fire extinguisher, attempted to use flour to extin…”Aug 26, 2025 · Engine · NHTSA owner report

Complaint counts are raw owner reports to NHTSA, not verified defects, and scale with how many were sold. Use them to spot patterns, not to rank.

Crash ratings

Source: NHTSA NCAP
ConfigurationOverallFrontalSideRolloverRollover risk
4 DR AWD★★★★★★★★★☆★★★★★★★★★★10%
4 DR RWD★★★★★★★★★☆★★★★★★★★★★10%
5 HB AWD★★★★★★★★★☆★★★★★★★★★★10%
SW AWD★★★★★★★★★☆★★★★★★★★★★10%

NHTSA New Car Assessment Program.

Compare the 2016 3 Series with

2016 Honda Civic →

Other 3 Series model years

A

2026 BMW 3 Series

0 recalls · 0 complaints

B

2025 BMW 3 Series

1 recalls · 4 complaints

D

2024 BMW 3 Series

3 recalls · 8 complaints

F

2023 BMW 3 Series

5 recalls · 10 complaints

D

2022 BMW 3 Series

3 recalls · 14 complaints

F

2021 BMW 3 Series

9 recalls · 33 complaints

F

2020 BMW 3 Series

11 recalls · 52 complaints

F

2019 BMW 3 Series

9 recalls · 41 complaints

F

2018 BMW 3 Series

7 recalls · 72 complaints

F

2017 BMW 3 Series

4 recalls · 77 complaints

Sources & method

Safety Signal starts every model-year at 100 and subtracts points per open NHTSA recall campaign by severity: critical 15 (fire risk, park-outside or do-not-drive advisories), high 8 (brakes, steering, airbags, loss of drive power, structure, battery), moderate 6, minor 3 (software, labels, lighting fixed by an update). Floor 35. A ≥ 90, B ≥ 80, C ≥ 70, D ≥ 60, otherwise F. Complaint counts and NHTSA crash ratings are shown separately and are not blended into the grade.

EPA figures come from fueleconomy.gov vehicle records. Recalls, complaints, investigations and crash ratings come from NHTSA's public flat files, refreshed weekly.

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