2016 Bmw M235i problems, complaints & recalls
Most-reported problem areas: Exterior Lighting (2) · Visibility/Wiper (1) · Service Brakes (1)
🧭 Reliability snapshot
Compared against other Bmw M235i model years — complaint volume vs the model's median year, recalls and severity. How we score →
Safety recalls (0)
No recalls on record for this model year (campaigns announced since 2010).
Service bulletins (289)
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.
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.
Steering 2024-01-08 · B360121 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
at low outside temperatures (below 40 degrees f) and slow driving speeds (i.e. when parking, maneuvering)with a large steering angle, the front end can be slightly axially misaligned. this can be felt (jerking)/ heard via an acoustic acknowledgement (clunk) as seen at the 11 second mark of the vide
Service Brakes, Hydraulic 2023-10-13 · B340714 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
functional noises (squealing/honking) when braking shortly before the vehicle comes to a stop. cause material-
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
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 289 bulletins. Search all of them free at nhtsa.gov.
What owners report
2022-01-19 · Power Train“our m235i has a transmission leak "thru the wall of the case" (i.e. through the metal case) as determined by a local bmw dealer. they are not able to provide any technical service bulletins or etc. from bmw for this "leaky case" issue. but they are saying this is a known problem with the transmission cases. they are advising a new transmission for …”
2021-10-28 · Service Brakes“bmw 2 series cars from about 2015-2018 have faulty wiring and brake light assemblies. bmw has admitted this design flaw in the harness and light - they extended the warranty for one year. as you know, brake light failures represent a real risk. it is unreasonable for bmw to charge $900 per light to fix a safety issue caused by a design flaw that th…”
2021-08-17 · Exterior Lighting“rear brake light failure due to faulty wiring. identical to the details located in this article (https://www.autoblog.com/2011/09/01/bmw-recalling-241-000-3-series-models-over-faulty-tail-lights/) for which the nhtsa had issued a recall for older bmw models in the past. this issue is common and wide-spread amongst bmw models produced between 2014 -…”
2021-03-25 · Seat Belts · 18,000 mi“driver side seatbelt is slow to retract and keeps getting twisted when retracting. you have to carefully help feed the belt into the b pillar for it not to do that. if not, it will almost get jammed in the b pillar and get stuck and becomes non-functional. it takes a lot of strength and effort to pull to pull it back out. very unsafe because you…”
2020-11-13 · Fuel System, Gasoline · 28,000 mi“tl* the contact owns a 2016 bmw m235i. the contact stated that while operating the vehicle the odor of fuel was present. the vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who diagnosed that the fuel tank had cracked and needed to be replaced. the cause of the damaged fuel tank was not determined. the fuel tank was replaced and the failure was remedi…”
2019-02-10 · Unknown Or Other · 45,000 mi“in late february 1, 2019, the sunroof on my 2016 bmw m235i xdrive exploded while driving on the garden state parkway. i was not going underneath any overpass, and nothing hit the glass. the explosion was unprovoked. the sunshade was not closed, and the glass fell all over me, large and small shards. i was driving about 65mph in heavy morning ru…”
2016-09-06 · Exterior Lighting · 14 mi“the car has instruments (speedometer and tach) with low contrast between the background and lettering. the instruments are highly visible when the instrument lighting is enabled, but are nearly invisible when the lighting is off. there is an ambient light sensor that turns the instrument lighting on and off as you drive in mixed sun and shade, so…”
2016-05-02 · Visibility/Wiper · 3,000 mi“was traveling at 55 mph on an exit ramp with the nearest car about 5 or 6 car lengths in front of me. smooth, paved road with no debris. the sunroof made a loud pop and shattered spontaneously, raining glass down on me. the glass had an outward bend to it as if it had exploded outwards with pressure relief. no rocks or debris were seen or possi…”
Excerpts of consumer complaints filed with NHTSA, lightly truncated. They are owner statements, not verified findings.