The defect
BMW North America, LLC (BMW) is recalling certain model year 2012-2015 320i, 320xi, 328i, 328xi, 335i, 335xi, and ActiveHybrid3 vehicles manufactured October 20, 2011, to June 22, 2015, 2014-2015 328xi Sports Wagon vehicles manufactured March 21, 2013, to March 17, 2015, 2014-2015 328d, 328xd vehicles manufactured June 28, 2013, to April 21, 2015, and 2014-2015 328xd Sports Wagon vehicles manufactured July 5, 2013, to April 21, 2015. The affected vehicles may have been programmed with new software that inadvertently makes the front side marker lights inoperative in conjunction with the parking lights or the headlights. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 108, "Lamps, Reflective Devices, and Associated Equipment."
The risk
If the side marker lights do not illuminate, the vehicle may be less visible at night, increasing the risk of a crash.
The remedy
BMW will notify owners, and dealers will upload revised software to correct the issue, free of charge. The recall began on October 7, 2015. Owners may contact BMW customer service at 1-800-525-7417 or by email at CustomerRelations@bmwusa.com.
NHTSA's own wording · initiated by MFR
Vehicles covered
| Model | Model years |
|---|---|
| BMW 320i | 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015 |
| BMW 320xi | 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015 |
| BMW 328d | 2014, 2015 |
| BMW 328i | 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015 |
| BMW 328xd | 2014, 2015 |
| BMW 328xi | 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015 |
| BMW 335i | 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015 |
| BMW 335xi | 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015 |
| BMW Active Hybrid 3 | 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015 |
Components: EXTERIOR LIGHTING
Model years in this recall
NHTSA complaints and the number of recall campaigns for each model year this recall covers.
| Model | Year | Complaints | Recalls |
|---|---|---|---|
| BMW 320i | 2012 | 3 | 3 |
| BMW 320i | 2013 | 9 | 3 |
| BMW 320i | 2014 | 53 | 7 |
| BMW 320i | 2015 | 34 | 3 |
| BMW 320xi | 2012 | 0 | 1 |
| BMW 320xi | 2013 | 3 | 1 |
| BMW 320xi | 2014 | 4 | 2 |
| BMW 320xi | 2015 | 1 | 1 |
| BMW 328d | 2014 | 153 | 7 |
| BMW 328d | 2015 | 27 | 6 |
| BMW 328i | 2012 | 130 | 6 |
| BMW 328i | 2013 | 257 | 5 |
| BMW 328i | 2014 | 152 | 8 |
| BMW 328i | 2015 | 125 | 4 |
| BMW 328xd | 2014 | 4 | 1 |
| BMW 328xd | 2015 | 2 | 1 |
| BMW 328xi | 2012 | 1 | 4 |
| BMW 328xi | 2013 | 27 | 2 |
| BMW 328xi | 2014 | 17 | 3 |
| BMW 328xi | 2015 | 14 | 2 |
| BMW 335i | 2012 | 22 | 3 |
| BMW 335i | 2013 | 43 | 2 |
| BMW 335i | 2014 | 20 | 5 |
| BMW 335i | 2015 | 10 | 3 |
| BMW 335xi | 2012 | 2 | 1 |
| BMW 335xi | 2013 | 9 | 1 |
| BMW 335xi | 2014 | 7 | 2 |
| BMW 335xi | 2015 | 2 | 1 |
| BMW Active Hybrid 3 | 2012 | 0 | 1 |
| BMW Active Hybrid 3 | 2013 | 8 | 1 |
Other exterior lighting recalls in 2015
23 of the 863 recall campaigns reported to NHTSA in 2015 concerned the exterior lighting; BMW of North America, LLC filed 347 campaigns in all.
| 15V861000 22 Dec 2015 | Ford Motor Company |
| 15V777000 20 Nov 2015 | Polaris Industries, Inc. |
| 15V759000 16 Nov 2015 | Hyundai Motor America |
| 15V630000 7 Oct 2015 | Volvo Trucks North America |
| 15V575000 16 Sept 2015 | Vermeer Manufacturing Company |
| 15V566000 8 Sept 2015 | Hyundai Motor America |
| 15V519000 14 Aug 2015 | General Motors LLC |
| 15V511000 12 Aug 2015 | Pierce Manufacturing |
NHTSA recalls (public domain) · all recalls of 2015