There are 5 owner-reported lighting complaints for the 2010 BMW 3 Seriesin NHTSA's database. These are unverified consumer reports and may not reflect confirmed defects.
MY HEAD LIGHTS WITH ADAPTIVE DRIVE CAUGHT ON FIRE AND BURNED THE WIRES.
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2010 BMW 328I. THE CONTACT STATED THE THE TAIL-LIGHTS FAILED. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE TAILLIGHT HARNESS WAS DEFECTIVE. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE PREVIOUS OWNER REPLACED THE TAILLIGHT HARNESS BUT THE REPAIR DID NOT REMEDY THE ISSUE. THE CONTACT DID NOT TAKE THE VEHICLE TO THE DEALER FOR A DIAGNOSTIC TEST OR REPAIRS. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 34,000.
THE DRIVER SIDE TAIL LIGHT IS MALFUNCTIONING WHERE NOT ALL THE LEDS ILLUMINATE WHEN BRAKING OR USING THE TURN SIGNAL. THE TURNING SIGNAL ALSO OPERATES VERY RAPIDLY. I WAS INFORMED THAT THIS WAS NOT COVERED UNDER MY EXTENDED WARRANTY SO I CALLED BMW N.A. WHO OFFERED NO ASSISTANCE AT ALL. THIS IS A CRITICAL SAFETY COMPONENT OF THE CAR THAT IS KNOWN TO BE DEFECTIVE, ITS COST IS EXPENSIVE AND SHOULD LAST LONGER THAN THREE YEARS. SINCE IT IS AN LED TYPE LIGHT, THE ENTIRE LIGHT ASSEMBLY NEEDS TO BE REPLACED AS THERE ARE NO STANDARD BULBS THAT CAN BE REPLACE BY THE OWNER. *JB
WHILE DRIVING ON A CITY STREET WE SMELLED BURNING PLASTIC AND PULLED OVER TO INVESTIGATE. UPON PULLING OVER WE FOUND A SMALL FIRE WAS BURNING IN THE HEAD/FOG LIGHT AREA OF THE VEHICLE. BOTH THE HEAD AND FOG LIGHTS WERE ILLUMINATED AT THE TIME OF THE INCIDENT. THE FIRE QUICKLY SPREAD TO THE ENTIRE FRONT OF THE VEHICLE AND THE VEHICLE WAS DECLARED A TOTAL LOSS BY STATE FARM. NEITHER STATE FARM NOR BMWNA WERE ABLE TO DETERMINE THE SOURCE OF THE FIRE; HOWEVER, AN INTERNET INVESTIGATION HIGHLIGHTED TWO OTHER INSTANCES OF A VERY SIMILAR SITUATION WITH 3-SERIES SEDANS FROM THE SAME GENERATION AS THIS ONE. SEE THE FOLLOWING URL: HTTP://WWW.TOPIX.COM/FORUM/AUTOS/BMW/T5MQ2AE26SC44CLO0 OF NOTE TO ANYONE WHO MAY HAVE ENCOUNTERED A SIMILAR SITUATION.. BMWNA WAS TOTALLY UNCOOPERATIVE INFORMING ME THAT "FIRE IS NOT COVERED BY WARRANTY" FORCING ME TO CLAIM THIS TOTAL LOSS UNDER MY INSURANCE POLICY FOR A TWO YEAR OLD CAR THAT CAUGHT FIRE WHILE STILL UNDER WARRANTY. I DID NOT PURCHASE ANOTHER BMW. *TR
REAR RIGHT TURN SIGNAL MULFUNCTION TURNED ON FOR A FEW MIN. SIGNAL ALSO STARTED BLINKING EXTREAMLY FAST. HEAD LIGHT MALFUNCTION ALARM TURNED ON FOR A FEW MIN.HEAD LIGHTS WOULDN'T TURN WITH STEARING WHEEL. PASANGER RESTRAINT MALFUNCTION ALARM TURNED ON WHEN CAR WAS STARTED. AFTER DRIVING 20 MILES AND TURNING THE CAR OFF IT CLEARED. *TR
Complaints are unverified consumer reports submitted to NHTSA. A high complaint count may reflect vehicle popularity, not defect severity. Data sourced from NHTSA public records.
Data synced from NHTSA on Apr 26, 2026