There are 9 owner-reported brakes complaints for the 2016 BMW 3 Seriesin NHTSA's database. These are unverified consumer reports and may not reflect confirmed defects.
Car started to have low coolant when i would replace it instantly and i took it to a shop and they told me it has a recall.
Brake line bracket failed. It appears that the bracket is made out of plastic and is a common failure for BMWs. The failure causes the line to rattle against the lower body and eventually break. The bracket is in a place very difficult to access. BMW wants to charge 1000$ while the part cost in under 10$
while driving on the high way while raining the car is braking it self to slow down. and release after it slow down to 40 mph or lower. I also notice my front brake is garbing the brake while driving and it does not release the brake when you release the brake pedal
Vibration in the brakes heavily at higher speeds when gradually pressing brakes shakes. When pressed harder during shaking goes away with the breaking. Brand new brakes brand new rotors alignment yet the vehicle is still having this issue I’m hoping that the vibration doesn’t cause any electronics or braking mechanism not to properly work to me this is a safety concern a safety issue and I’m seeing it pop up a lot I watch video reviews on magazines pros and cons of this vehicle the one thing stayed it was a vibration in the brakes that the reviewer could not answer and he says it wasn’t a problem but it has to be a Manufacturing issue. I hope this helps anybody else Only the manufacture can answer this question
Total brake failure
THE VEHICLE WAS MOVING AT 30 MPH WHEN INSTEPPED ON THE BREAKS AND IT KEPT MOVING. I TOOK IT BACK TO THE DEALERSHIP WHERE I BOUGHT IT THEY FIX THE BREAK. THEO DAYS AGO I WAS PROMPTED WITH THE SAME PROBLEM.
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2016 BMW 320I. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING AT 30 MPH, THE BRAKE PEDAL WAS DEPRESSED BUT FAILED TO STOP THE VEHICLE. THE CONTACT MANEUVERED THE STEERING WHEEL TO THE RIGHT TO AVOID COLLIDING WITH ANOTHER VEHICLE OR HITTING A PEDESTRIAN. THE VEHICLE WENT UP ON THE SIDE WALK AND THE CONTACT QUICKLY ENGAGE PARKING BRAKE TO SLOW THE VEHICLE. NO WARNING LIGHT WAS ILLUMINATED. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO OFF LEASE ONLY LOCATED AT (5580 NW 145TH ST, MIAMI GARDENS, FL 33054), TO BE DIAGNOSED. THE ROTORS AND BRAKES WERE REPLACED HOWEVER, THE FAILURE RECURRED. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN BACK TO THE SAME DEALER AND WAS INFORMED THAT THE ABS BRAKES FAILED AND NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE DEALER TOWED THE VEHICLE TO ANOTHER UNKNOWN DEALER WHERE THE VEHICLE WAS BEING REPAIRED. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE MANUFACTURER WAS CONTACTED BY THE DEALER. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 37,000. THE VIN WAS NOT AVAILABLE.
I WAS SLOWING DOWN TO APPROACH AND STOP AT A RED LIGHT ON A STREET (NOT HIGHWAY) AND MY CAR WASN'T BRAKING. IT THEN STOPPED. AFTER IT BRAKED AND I WAS SITTING AT THE RED LIGHT WITH MY FOOT ON THE BRAKE FULLY STOPPED AND STATIONARY FOR APPROXIMATELY 10-20 SECONDS MY CAR ACCELERATED WITHOUT WARNING AND HIT THE BACK OF THE CAR AHEAD OF ME. THE IMPACT CAUSED A TINY SCRATCH ON THE DRIVERS BUMPER FROM MY LICENSE PLATE. HIS CAR WAS OLD AND HIS BUMPER ALREADY DAMAGED, SO HE WASN'T TOO CONCERNED ABOUT THE SCRATCH. WE PULLED OFF TO A NEARBY PARKING LOT AND HE CHECKED UNDER HIS CAR AND UNDER MY CAR TO MAKE SURE THERE WAS NO DAMAGE OTHER THAN THE SMALL SCRATCH AND WE PARTED WAYS. I CALLED THE MY BMW SERVICE CENTER FIRST THING THE NEXT MORNING AND BROUGHT MY CAR IN. TWO MONTHS PRIOR TO THIS INCIDENT, MY CAR STOPPED WITHOUT WARNING ON A STREET WITH NO TRAFFIC WHEN I WAS TRAVELING AT APPROXIMATELY 20-30 MILES PER HOUR. I ASSUMED THAT SOMETHING SET OFF ONE OF THE SENSORS, BUT THIS IS NOT A STREET WHERE PEOPLE OR ANIMALS WOULD BE CROSSING AND NO ONE WAS IN THE STREET. THEIR CORPORATE HEADQUARTERS IN NJ SENT IN A FIELD REPRESENTATIVE AND INSPECTED THE CAR. AN EXECUTIVE CUSTOMER CARE REPRESENTATIVE FROM BMW'S NJ CORPORATE HEADQUARTERS GOT BACK TO ME YESTERDAY REPORTING THAT THEY COULD NOT FIND ANY ISSUES WITH THE CAR AND I CAN PICK IT UP AT ANYTIME. THEY COULD OFFER ME NO EXPLANATION FOR THIS OCCURRENCE AND I AM TERRIFIED TO GET BACK IN THIS CAR. I AM ESTIMATING THE MILEAGE ON MY CAR AS 25,000 MILES AS MY CAR IS STILL AT THE BMW SERVICE CENTER AND NOT IN MY POSSESSION TO CHECK THE EXACT MILEAGE.
WHILE DRIVING THE VEHICLE WHICH WAS IN MOTION, A NEW 2016 BMW 328 GT, THE BRAKES COMPLETELY FAILED, CAR COULD NOT BE STOPPED, EMERGENCY BRAKE PULLED WITH FULL PRESSURE ON BRAKE PEDAL, CAR EVENTUALLY SLOWED AND STOPPED BEFORE STRIKING OTHER VEHICLES IN ITS PATH. CAR RETURNED TO BMW AND BMW STATED THAT BRAKES NOW WORK. BMW REFUSED TO PROVIDE FURTHER ASSESSMENT OR SERVICE DESPITE BEING AWARE OF RECENT PRIOR VEHICLES FOR BMW BRAKE FAILURE.
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