2016 BMW 320I: problems, recalls and reliability
0 recalls and 25 owner complaints on record; most reports concern engine.
Data updated weekly
All counts are reports filed with NHTSA in the United States - US market only, not worldwide totals.
Common problems
Computed from 25 owner complaints filed with NHTSA for this exact model year.
“The contact owns a 2016 BMW 320I. The contact stated that while attempting to start the vehicle after the vehicle had not been driven for a while, there was blue smoke coming from the exhaust pipes. No warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a local service center, where it was diagnosed and determined that the engine oil feed line to the turbocharger was leaking. The local dealer was contacted; however, the vehicle was not yet repaired. Upon further investigation, the contact related the failure to BMW Warranty Extension: SI B11 11 16; however, the VIN was not included. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 100,000.”Owner report · Engine And Engine Cooling · Dec 2024
“While replacing the battery, the battery well was rusty. If allowed to continue I have no doubt the very heavy battery will fall through to the ground causing an accident and very hazardous materials will spill on the roadway (acids and lead from a ruptured battery).”Owner report · Structure · Oct 2024
“The contact owns a 2016 BMW 320I. The contact stated that while starting the vehicle, there was white smoke coming from the rear end of the vehicle. The contact found information regarding Technical Service Bulletin: SIB 11116 (Engine and Engine Cooling released in July 2017). The vehicle was taken to the dealer to be diagnosed. The dealer linked the failure to the Technical Service Bulletin; however, the vehicle was not covered under the TSB. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was informed of the failure. The manufacturer referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline to report the failure. The failure mileage was 119,000.”Owner report · Engine And Engine Cooling · Sep 2024
Show 7 more owner reports
“BMW released a SIB 01 03 22 Plastic Fuel Tank (B58/N20/N55/S55) Ltd Emission Wty Ext To 15 Yrs/150,000 Miles. I have a plastic fuel tank with this problem but the range for the warranty is for models F30 2013 to 2016 320i and xDrive Sedan that are produced between July 02, 2012 to April 30, 2016 . My vehicle was produced on May 2016 but has the same plastic fuel tank. Upon calling BMW north america they said they said they can not make exceptions and there is no escalation path. My point is if the same plastic fuel tank is used for the vehicles with in the warranty date range, why isn't my car covered? It is reasonable for BMW to add my VIN to the exception list.”Owner report · Fuel/Propulsion System · Jun 2023
“The front brakes are locked up and I went to the dealer and they are asking $7000 to replace the dsc module. It was also braking while I was driving on the highway and I got scared and pulled over and checked everything looked okay but i didn't know what happened. I am glad nobody was behind me when the car (bmw)brakes it self while it was running. I hope you do a further investigation and see what is happening to the bmw brakes. It only had 52139 miles when I send it to bmw of Dallas and they took 3 days to find the problem and told me I need to pay $7000 to replace the dsc module (abs module) I can't afford to pay that kind of money what do I do”Owner report · Service Brakes · May 2023
“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”Owner report · Service Brakes · May 2023
“I have smoke that comes from my exhaust pipe only whenever I first start my vehicle at the beginning of the day. I had a diagnosis done on my vehicle and was advised that my oil feed line was faulty. This is a known design flaw with BMW vehicles from years 2013 through 2016. I would like for BMW to repair the flaw on my vehicle since this is a known manufacturer issue which is something out of my control. Please contact me by email or cellular phone @ [XXX] or [XXX]. Thank you INFORMATION Redacted PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).”Owner report · Engine · Aug 2022
“When starting a cold engine, a "plume of blue smoke" can be seen emitting from the exhaust tailpipe for approximately 10-20 seconds. There is no engine malfunction light illuminated (no" turbocharger boost faults are stored) and no drivability issues are detected.”Owner report · Engine · Jan 2022
“To NHTSA: not too long ago the timing chain and rear differential pinion bearing went out on my 2016 bmw 320i ([xxx]) timing chain issue shouldn't occur on a motor which only produces 180 horsepower with no mods or tunes. The rear differential should definitely never give out unless you're pushing over 700 horsepower on a stock diff. Again my car has 180 horsepower and has never been modded. This is just ridiculous information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6). *tr”Owner report · Engine · Dec 2019
“I was involved in an accident with a hit and run vehicle and resulting in the accident, my steering wheel came off in the process hitting me in my pelvic area and now I am having trouble urinating and I have bleeding. The air bags also burned through my clothes and onto my skin. I suffered first degree burns to my arm, stomach and thigh.”Owner report · Air Bags · Oct 2019
When filing, owners marked a crash in 4 of these complaints and injuries in 4 - self-reported to NHTSA, not verified accident statistics.
Specifications
Factory options offered for the 2016 model year, decoded from the NHTSA vPIC database. Individual vehicles have one of each.
How other years compare
Check your exact 320I by VIN
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Is the 2016 BMW 320I reliable?
NHTSA has 25 owner complaints and 0 recall campaigns on record for the 2016 BMW 320I. The most complained-about area is engine.
Source: NHTSA recall campaigns and owner complaints (public domain). Counts reflect reports on file and are not a defect rate.