Audited US model-year file

2012 BMW M3

Exact make, model and year evidence from official US sources. Recall campaigns, ODI investigations, complaint allegations and EPA estimates remain separate.

Model-year evidence is not a VIN check.

A campaign may cover only certain production dates, plants or equipment. A zero result here is not safety clearance. Use NHTSA’s official VIN tool for the individual vehicle.

Official VIN lookup ↗

01 · Safety actions first

3 NHTSA recall campaigns

Exact model-level NHTSA results for 2012 BMW M3. Campaign records are official safety actions; applicability to a particular car still requires its VIN.

01
NHTSA Recalls · US · received 2019-06-19

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:WIRING:FUSES AND CIRCUIT BREAKERS

Campaign 19V472000
Summary

BMW of North America, LLC (BMW) is recalling certain 2009 328i and 328xi, 2009-2011 335d, 2008-2012 M3 Coupe and M3 Convertible, and 2008-2011 M3 Sedan vehicles. The connection of the positive battery cable at the fuse box terminal may degrade, resulting in an intermittent loss of electrical power.

Consequence

A loss of electrical power can cause the vehicle to stall, increasing the risk of a crash.

Remedy

BMW will notify owners, and dealers will replace and secure the positive battery cable connector, free of charge. The recall began August 14, 2019. Owners may contact BMW customer service at 1-800-525-7417. Note: This recall is an expansion of a previous recall, number 18V-314.

02
NHTSA Recalls · US · received 2020-01-15

AIR BAGS:FRONTAL:DRIVER SIDE:INFLATOR MODULE

Campaign 20V017000
Summary

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, X5 30si, X5 xDrive30i, X5 xDrive35i, X5 48i, X5 xDrive48i, X5 xDrive50i and X5 M, 2009-2013 X5 xDrive35d and 2008-2014 X6 xDrive35i, X6 xDrive50i and X6M vehicles equipped with non-desiccated driver frontal air bag inflators containing phase stabilized ammonium nitrate (PSAN) that were used as interim remedy parts for previous Takata recalls. These inflators may explode due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to high absolute humidity, high temperatures, and high temperature cycling.

Consequence

An inflator explosion may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants resulting in serious injury or death.

Remedy

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.

03
NHTSA Recalls · US · received 2016-02-05

AIR BAGS:FRONTAL:DRIVER SIDE:INFLATOR MODULE

Campaign 16V071000
Summary

BMW of North America, LLC (BMW) is recalling certain model year 2008-2013 128i and 135i coupes and convertibles and 1 Series M coupes, 2006-2011 325i, 325xi, 328i, 328xi, 328i xDrive, 330i, 330xi, 335i, 335xi, 335i xDrive Sedans, 2009-2011 335d sedans, 2006-2012 325xiT, 328i and 328xi sports wagons, 2007-2013 328i, 328xi, 328i xDrive, 335i, 335xi, 335i xDrive, 335is and M3 Coupes and Convertibles, 2013-2015 X1 sDrive28i, X1 xDrive28i and X1 xDrive35i SAVs, 2007-2010 X3 xDrive30i SAVs, 2007-2013 X5 xDrive30i, X5 xDrive35i, X5 xDrive48i, X5 xDrive50i and X5 M SAVs, 2009-2013 BMW X5 xDrive35d SAVs, 2008-2014 X6 xDrive35i, X6 xDrive50i, and X6 M SACs, 2010-2011 BMW X6 xDrive50i SACs and 2008-2011 M3 Sedan vehicles. Upon deployment of the driver's frontal air bag, excessive internal pressure may cause the inflator to rupture.

Consequence

In the event of a crash necessitating deployment of the driver's frontal air bag, the inflator could rupture with metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants resulting in serious injury or death.

Remedy

BMW will notify owners, and dealers will replace the driver's frontal air bag module or inflator depending on the vehicle model, free of charge. The recall began March 9, 2018. Owners may contact BMW customer service at 1-800-525-7417.

02 · Owner allegations

6 NHTSA complaints

Counts are not adjusted for sales, vehicle age, mileage, publicity or reporting behavior. They are allegations, not defect findings or a reliability score.

Crash mentions
0
Fire mentions
0
Injuries reported
0
Most-reported component labels
AIR BAGS4
ENGINE2
Complaints across nearby BMW M3 model years

Totals for the same nameplate, scaled against its highest year here. They are not adjusted for how many were sold, how old they are, how far they are driven, or how much publicity a fault received — an older or better-selling year will usually carry more reports. This shows where the reporting sits, not which year is better.

  1. 452009
  2. 152010
  3. 312011
  4. 62012
  5. 132013
  6. 42015

A dash means NHTSA holds no complaint record for that exact year, make and model. See all M3 years with specs and fuel economy →

03 · Agency review

1 NHTSA ODI investigation

An investigation means ODI reviewed a possible safety issue for this exact model-year identity. Opening one is not a defect finding; closing one does not by itself clear a vehicle.

EA21002
Open in imported snapshot · opened 2021-09-17

Desiccated Air Bag Inflator Rupture

NHTSA source ↗

AIR BAGS:FRONTAL:DRIVER SIDE:INFLATOR MODULE · No associated recall campaign number was published in this investigation row.

04 · EPA configurations

Fuel economy & specifications

FuelEconomy.gov records are summarized as ranges where this model name has multiple engines, drivetrains or trims.

EPA configurations
4
Combined economy
16 mpg/MPGe
City / highway
14 / 20–21 mpg/MPGe
Engine displacement
4 L
Cylinders
8
Fuel type
Premium
Drive
Rear-Wheel Drive
Vehicle class
Subcompact Cars
Annual fuel-cost estimate
$5000

05 · Evidence strength

Exact identity. Explicit limits.

No opaque score. Evidence strength is expressed through source availability, exact match method, jurisdiction and honest empty states.

exact match

Recall campaigns

3 exact US model-year records in this bounded view.

exact match

Complaints

6 exact US model-year allegations; narratives and VIN fragments are omitted.

exact match

ODI investigations

1 exact US model-year action numbers in the approved import snapshot.

canonical only

Model aliases

Only the exact NHTSA vPIC model name is published; unverified aliases are not merged.

not published

Manufacturer ownership

No rights-reviewed official ownership record is joined to this exact model-year.

PUBLIC EVIDENCE PASSPORT

Identity, freshness and provenance.

The canonical URL is this file’s permanent public identifier. Source IDs and timestamps show exactly what was matched and when; they do not turn the evidence into a verdict.

Permanent public ID
https://modelyearfacts.com/vehicle/2012/bmw/m3
NHTSA make ID
452
NHTSA model ID
1710
Match key
2012 · BMW · M3 · US
Live evidence requested
EPA publication catalogue
Complaint matrix snapshot
Imported safety snapshot
nhtsa-investigations · exact match

NHTSA ODI investigations

Action number, component, subject and open/close dates from the approved bulk import; long summaries omitted.

Open official source ↗
US-market boundary

Only NHTSA vPIC, NHTSA ODI complaints and investigations, NHTSA recalls and FuelEconomy.gov contribute to this vehicle claim. CPSC equipment notices are searched separately and never joined to vehicle fitment. UK MOT, Canadian, New Zealand and European records are not merged into this US claim.

06 · Research paths

Diagnose first. Confirm fitment.

These are transparent searches, not diagnoses or endorsed parts. Recall remedies come before purchases; exact part fitment requires VIN, trim, powertrain, production date and OE number.

Offers status: held

Awin US and R2 affiliate inventory are not published until a US programme, merchant and exact-fitment projection are approved. No offer currently has both merchant approval and exact vehicle fitment, so commercial links never count as evidence.