Recalls, owner-reported complaints, investigations and safety data
Data refreshed
Our database contains 2 NHTSA owner-reported complaints for the 2025 BMW M3, most frequently naming the driver assistance category. 10 manufacturer communications are on file.
Complaints are reports submitted by owners and drivers to NHTSA. They are not verified and do not establish that a defect exists.
When owners filed reports about this model year
Not enough dated records to plot a meaningful trend — 2 months of data.
Complaints grouped by the component NHTSA recorded
Percentages are of component mentions. A single complaint can name more than one component, so these do not sum to the total complaint count.
No recalls in our database for this model year
That does not guarantee a specific vehicle is unaffected — recalls are issued against VINs, and new campaigns are announced regularly. Check a VIN on NHTSA.gov.
Reports submitted to NHTSA, shown in the owner's own words
I just did a software update for my 2025 M3 and all settings were lost. Most of this is a customer inconvenience, but brake auto hold was turned off so imagine my surprise when I took my foot off the brake and my car rolled forward. Thankfully I was paying attention or there could have been an accident. I rely on auto hold to keep my car stopped even when my foot is off the brake.
The lane departure warning in my 2025 BMW M3 is in the form of a vibration alert in the steering wheel. However, even when the vibration alert level is set to the highest, most intense level, it is barely noticeable, and is virtually indistinguishable from ordinary road vibration felt in the steering wheel. I took this to the dealer and was told this is normal. This cannot be normal, and it could easily cause a crash because the driver is probably not going to feel the vibration alert. I have posted about this on bimmerpost and others have complained of the same issue with their BMW M3 cars: [XXX] Assuming this is normal as the dealer claims, or even if it's just a limited problem in some 2025 M3 cars, it is a safety issue because the point of the lane departure warning is to alert the driver that he is drifting into the next lane. I believe this matter needs to be investigated and perhaps a recall is needed. Also, I believe the BMW M4 is essentially the same car as the M3, so if the problem exists in many M3 cars, it probably also exists in many M4 cars. This would be a safety hazard that could result in preventable serious injuries or even deaths. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
A bulletin sent by a manufacturer to its dealers. Not a recall, and repairs are not necessarily free.
ENGINE
It was determined that due to a manufacturing defect, there may be a peeling of the sliding layer of the main bearing shells. The peeling may cause engine damage to your vehicle in some cases. The main bearing shells will need to be replaced.
SERVICE BRAKES
There may be an internal leakage in the brake fluid expansion tank (aka brake fluid reservoir). In the rarecase of a leak, the filling level sensor might malfunction over a relatively long period of time.
ENGINE
Evaporator Pipe Return
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
In some situations, an emergency call may be triggered in the vehicle without either the customer pressing the SOS Call button, or an airbag deployment event. In some cases, the customer may not even be inside the vehicle.
STRUCTURE:BODY
Hood lever is pulled twice but the hood only achieves the pre-latch position on both sides.
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
Central Information Display (CID) in the vehicle is black or only displays “BMW”. The head unit (HU-H5) is not responding in ISTA. Additionally, the Receiver Audio Module (RAM), Instrument Cluster (KOMBI) and Telematic Module 4 (TCB4) may not be responding in ISTA.
Manufacturers file copies of the bulletins they send to dealers with NHTSA. These often describe diagnostic or repair procedures for a known condition. They are not recalls: repairs described in a bulletin are usually only free if the vehicle is still under warranty or the manufacturer has extended coverage.
Complaint and recall counts across every year of this model
| Year | Complaints | Recalls | Investigations | Issue Index |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2025Viewing | 2 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2024 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2023 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — |
| 2022 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2021 | 3 | 3 | 0 | — |
| 2018 | 8 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2017 | 3 | 2 | 0 | — |
| 2016 | 5 | 3 | 0 | — |
| 2015 | 4 | 3 | 0 | — |
| 2014 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — |
| 2013 | 13 | 2 | 1 | 53.8 |
| 2012 | 6 | 3 | 1 | — |
| 2011 | 31 | 4 | 1 | 49.2 |
| 2010 | 15 | 4 | 1 | 51.3 |
| 2009 | 45 | 5 | 1 | 49.6 |
| 2008 | 82 | 5 | 1 | 55.2 |
| 2007 | 0 | 3 | 1 | — |
| 2006 | 14 | 5 | 2 | 49.5 |
| 2005 | 12 | 3 | 4 | 47.2 |
| 2004 | 31 | 3 | 4 | 59.0 |
| 2003 | 54 | 5 | 2 | 62.7 |
| 2002 | 40 | 5 | 2 | 57.0 |
| 2001 | 14 | 4 | 0 | 46.1 |
| 2000 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — |
| 1999 | 11 | 1 | 1 | 55.0 |
| 1998 | 14 | 1 | 0 | 42.5 |
| 1997 | 19 | 2 | 0 | 49.9 |
| 1996 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — |
| 1995 | 12 | 4 | 0 | 54.6 |
| 1994 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — |
| 1993 | 0 | 1 | 1 | — |
| 1992 | 0 | 1 | 1 | — |
| 1991 | 0 | 1 | 1 | — |
| 1990 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — |
| 1989 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — |
| 1988 | 2 | 1 | 0 | — |
Higher-selling and older vehicles accumulate more reports. Counts are not failure rates and are not directly comparable between vehicles that sold in very different numbers. Older model years have had longer for reports to accumulate.