2012 Bmw 335i problems, complaints & recalls
Most-reported problem areas: Air Bags (11) · Engine (3) · Steering (2)
🧭 Reliability snapshot
Compared against other Bmw 335i model years — complaint volume vs the model's median year, recalls and severity. How we score →
Safety recalls (3)
Air Bags:frontal:driver Side:inflator Module 2020-01-15 · campaign 20V017000 · 59,965 vehicles
Defect: BMW of North America, LLC (BMW) is recalling certain 2008-2013 128i and 135i Convertibles, 128i, 135i, and M Coupes, 2007-2010 X3 30si and X3 xDrive30i, 2013-2015 X1 sDrive28i, X1 xDrive28i and X1 xDrive35i, 2007-2013 328i, 328i xDrive, 335i, 335is, 335i xDrive and M3 Coupes, 2006-2011 328i, 328xi, 328i xDrive, 325i, 325xi, 330i, 330xi, 335i, 335xi, 335i xDrive and M3, 2009-2011 335D, 2006-2012 325xi, 328i, 328xi and 328i xDrive, 2010-2011 X6 ActiveHybrid, 2007-2013 328i, 335i, 335is, M3 Coupes
Risk: An inflator explosion may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants resulting in serious injury or death.
Fix: BMW will notify owners, and dealers will replace the driver air bag. On X5 and X6 vehicles, only the inflator will be replaced. All repairs will be performed free of charge. The recall began March 11, 2020. Owners may contact BMW customer service at 1-800-525-7417.
Exterior Lighting 2015-08-17 · campaign 15V520000 · 7,727 vehicles
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 softw
Risk: If the side marker lights do not illuminate, the vehicle may be less visible at night, increasing the risk of a crash.
Fix: 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.
Engine And Engine Cooling:engine 2014-04-10 · campaign 14V176000 · 156,137 vehicles
Defect: BMW of North America, LLC (BMW) is recalling certain model year 2010-2011 128i Coupe, 128i Convertible, 328i Sedan, 328i xDrive Sedan, 328i Coupe, 328i Convertible, 328i Sports Wagon and Z4 sDrive 30i, 2011-2012 135i Coupe, 135i Convertible, 335i Sedan, X5 xDrive 35i, and X6 xDrive 35i, 2011 335i xDrive Sedan, 335i Coupe, 335i Convertible, 528i Sedan, 535i Sedan, 535i xDrive Sedan, X3 xDrive 28i, and X3 xDrive 35i, 2010 X3 xDrive 30i, and X5 xDrive 30i, 2012 640i Coupe, and 640i Convertible and
Risk: If the bolts loosen or break the engine may have reduced power or stall. An engine stall increases the risk of a crash.
Fix: BMW will notify owners, and dealers will replace the four VANOS housing bolts for both VANOS units (intake and exhaust), free of charge. In addition, owners of approximately 170,172 model year 2010-2012 BMW vehicles equipped with inline 6 cylinder engines not covered by this recall, will receive an extended warranty to address this condition. The recall began on September 24, 2014. Owners may contact BMW at 1-800-525-7417.
Service bulletins (556)
Technical service bulletins are repair instructions manufacturers send dealers for known issues. Unlike recalls, the fix is not automatically free — but naming the bulletin at the service desk can save diagnosis time and support goodwill repairs.
Visibility:power Window Devices And Controls 2024-01-16 · B510819 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
the basic conditions for initializing the power windows are not met.
Electrical System 2024-01-11 · B611305 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
the electrical system of bmw vehicles has been subject to an ongoing development process over the last few years. this has led to increased demands being placed on the battery. this document covers important information for the dealer on how to handle ã¢ââdischarged batteryã¢ââ complaints.
Electrical System 2023-05-01 · B651523 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
after programming the head unit (hu-h2), activating the fsc (german word freischaltcode) enabling codes repeatedly fails.
Equipment 2023-03-01 · B840822 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
the 3g network in the us has been shut down. this means that only the 4g network will be available. in the 4g network, voice calls will be transferred via the voice over lte (volte) function. for this purpose, the sim card must perform an ims registration in the mobile communication network. due to
Exterior Lighting 2023-03-01 · B630917 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
exterior rear lights do not work.
Power Train 2022-12-01 · B122519 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
after an automatic engine start (msa start), the transmission intermittently goes into the park "p" or neutral "n" position without any customer influence.
Showing the 6 most recent of 556 bulletins. Search all of them free at nhtsa.gov.
What owners report
2026-10-27 · Structure:body · 💥 crash“the bmw was involved in a head on collision and only the passenger side and steering wheel airbags deployed. there was no passenger in the car and the drivers side airbag failed to deploy.…”
2024-07-10 · Engine“on my car there is what is called the bowden cable that works to open and release the hood so that it can be opened. the problem with the design of the cable is that it sits right over a coolant hose leading to the engine. what happens is that the coolant hose gets very hot and the bowden cable that sits right over it melts along with the coolant h…”
2024-03-12 · Seats“while driving with a passenger in front passenger seat, i occasionally receive a warning that there is a malfunction in passenger restraint system. at that time, the "pass airbag off" light goes on. i took the car to the dealer and was told it is likely a faulty passenger airbag seat occupancy sensor mat. the car is available for inspection. our sa…”
2023-09-20 · Steering · 💥 crash“the car hydroplaned while driving on the interstate, spun out of control and slammed into a tree in the rear end. my son was going approximately 65 mph and upon impact no airbags deployed and the steering wheel was in his hands after impact. his seat broke and collapsed into a laying position. his head sustained a huge blow to the interior side of …”
2021-05-21 · Air Bags“while driving with a passenger in front passenger seat, i occasionally receive a warning that there is a malfunction in passenger restraint system. at that time, the "pass airbag off" light goes on. i did take this to the dealer and was told it is likely a faulty passenger airbag seat occupancy sensor mat. the car is available for inspection our s…”
2019-03-04 · Electrical System · 81,000 mi“my car was stationary and the electrical system would not respond. this has happened multiple times now. my key fob would not open the doors, no inside electronics on, ignition switch did not respond. this appears to be a common issue regarding the battery cable connector and the corresponding fuse box terminal degrading over time. this could cause…”
2017-12-18 · Unknown Or Other · 60,000 mi“door locks do not unlock on both the front doors. they are jammed. the fault is is because of bad door lock actuators. unless i press the unlock button on the dashboard manually, they don't unlock they sometime don't unlock even when i press the unlock button on my remote. this is a safety hazard as if someone is in a accident, the battery …”
2017-11-30 · Air Bags“takata recall - i called the local dealer on 9-25-17 when i received the safety recall letter. after 2 months the part is still not available and on 11-30-17 i was told that the part may be available in february 2018. i am concerned about this and do not feel safe driving my car. can you help me to get the parts much sooner than february of next …”
2017-11-05 · Unknown Or Other · 61,000 mi“door lock on driver side will not release. the locking pin goes up and down, but the door lock will not release as it is supposed to unless the unlock button is pressed. in the event of an emergency, the driver cannot get out by simply pulling the door handle.…”
2017-10-23 · Air Bags“tl* the contact owns a 2012 bmw 335i. the contact received notification of nhtsa campaign number: 16v071000 (air bags); however, the part to do the repair was unavailable. the contact stated that the manufacturer exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. braman motorcars in west palm beach, florida was made aware of the recall and…”
Excerpts of consumer complaints filed with NHTSA, lightly truncated. They are owner statements, not verified findings.