2010 Bmw 3 SERIES - Ratings, Complaints and Recalls

The 2010 BMW 3 Series 2-DR. with side airbags has an impressive safety rating. The front crash driver and passenger side ratings are both 4 out of 5, while the side crash driver and passenger side ratings are the highest possible at 5 out of 5. Additionally, the rollover ratings are also top marks at 5 out of 5, indicating excellent protection in case of a rollover accident. This BMW model comes equipped with standard electronic stability control, which enhances handling and safety on slippery roads. Unfortunately, it does not have forward collision warning or lane departure warning systems.

On the downside, there have been 231 complaints reported for this vehicle, which is a considerable number. Additionally, there have been 11 recalls issued for this model, suggesting there may be some recurring issues that need addressing. Overall, while the BMW 3 Series has strong safety ratings and features stability control, potential buyers should be aware of the number of complaints and recalls associated with this particular model.

auto generated summary, may be inaccurate.

Top stats at a glance

Complaint Count

231

Recall Count

11

Investigation Count

1

Safety Rating

Not Rated

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Safety Features

2010 BMW 3 Series 2-DR. w/SAB Safety Features

Here are the safety features that come as standard on the 2010 BMW 3 Series 2-DR. w/SAB

Electronic Stability Control (ESC)

ESC is an advanced safety feature in vehicles designed to help drivers maintain control during challenging driving conditions. By continuously monitoring various factors such as steering angle, vehicle speed, and individual wheel speeds, ESC can detect and reduce the risk of skidding or loss of control. It achieves this by automatically applying brakes to specific wheels to stabilize the vehicle.

Standard
Forward Collision Warning (FCW)

Forward Collision Warning (FCW) is a safety feature in vehicles that helps prevent frontal collisions by alerting the driver of an imminent collision with a vehicle or obstacle ahead. Using sensors such as radar or cameras, FCW monitors the distance and speed of vehicles in front, and if it detects a potential collision, it provides visual and/or auditory warnings to prompt the driver to take evasive action.

No
Lane Departure Warning (LDW)

Lane Departure Warning (LDW) is a safety feature in vehicles that alerts drivers when their vehicle unintentionally drifts out of its lane without signaling. Utilizing cameras or sensors to monitor lane markings on the road, LDW detects when the vehicle crosses these lines and triggers visual, auditory, or haptic alerts to notify the driver of potential lane departure.

No

2010 BMW 3 Series 2-DR. w/SAB Safety Ratings

Here we have the crash and rollover ratings for the 2010 BMW 3 Series 2-DR. w/SAB Where possible we've included the ratings for the oldest and latest models of this car so you can compare how the safety ratings have changed over time.

Frontal Crash Ratings

Combines Driver and Passenger star ratings into a single frontal rating. The frontal barrier test simulates a head-on collision between two similar vehicles, each moving at 35 mph.

Test 2005 Score 2010 Score 2022 Score
Overall Front Crash Rating Not Rated Not Rated 5
Front Crash Driver Side Rating Not Rated 4 5
Front Crash Passenger Side Rating Not Rated 4 5

Side Crash Ratings

Combines Side Barrier and Side Pole Star Ratings into a single side rating.

Test 2005 Score 2010 Score 2022 Score
Overall Side Crash Rating Not Rated Not Rated 5
Side Crash Drivers Side Rating Not Rated 5 5
Side Crash Passenger Side Rating Not Rated 5 5
Combined Side Barrier Pole Rating - Front Not Rated Not Rated 5
Combined Side Barrier Pole Rating - Rear Not Rated Not Rated 5
Overall Side Barrier Rating Not Rated Not Rated 5

Rollover Ratings

The Rollover Resistance test measures the risk of rollover in a single-vehicle, loss-of-control scenario.

Test 2005 Score 2010 Score 2022 Score
Rollover Rating Not Rated 5 5
Rollover Possibility % 0% 0% 0%
Dynamic Tip Result No Tip No Tip
Side Pole Crash Rating Not Rated Not Rated 5

Complaints for the 2010 Bmw 3 SERIES

This chart show the number of complaints for each car component. A Higher number of complaints could indicate that this car might have a common fault. Something to look out for when purchasing one.

Component Complaints

Choose a component to see what complaints people have made about them.

Complaint:
"the contact owns a 2010 bmw 328i. the contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the front passenger’s side air bag warning light remained illuminated. the cause of the failure was not yet determined, and the vehicle was not yet repaired. the manufacturer and local dealer were notified of the failure, but no assistance was offered. the failure mileage was 150,000."
Components Involved: AIR BAGS
Date of incident: 2023-01-09
Complaint:
"front passenger air bag seat occupancy sensor (oc3) mat failure. does not detect a passenger in the seat. passenger airbag is forced off due to sensor."
Components Involved: AIR BAGS
Date of incident: 2023-01-09
Complaint:
"passenger seat throwing a code that says "passenger restraint system malfunction""
Components Involved: AIR BAGS
Date of incident: 2019-01-01
Complaint:
"the passenger occupancy sensor mat gives an on and off faulty signal to the computer. every other car start (stationary), the airbag fault related to the passenger occupancy sensor is illuminated and remains on until next car start."
Components Involved: AIR BAGS
Date of incident: 2019-01-10
Complaint:
"seat sensor occupancy mat malfunction: why is bmw not voluntarily recalling or extending this widespread known issue bmws? this seems to be a common problem across many models of bmws, forums are filled with so many complaints. after market manufacturers have created modules to bypass this sensor, which apparently is going to cause hazardous condition for some of the owners. there's a constant display on the dashboard that says, "pass-restraint system malfunction". apparently it's quite a common issue across many bmws and unfortunately bmw has not acknowledged it for all models and have done the recall for limited model between 2006 and 2007, 2008 was later added but my car was actually manufactured in 2009 so i believe this recall needs to be extended beyond 2008. on the forums, i saw and read owners of 2011 and 2012 also reporting this issue."
Components Involved: AIR BAGS
Date of incident: 2019-12-02
Complaint:
"takata inflators. passenger seat mat/occupancy sensor causing air bag light to turn on."
Components Involved: AIR BAGS
Date of incident: 2018-05-12
Complaint:
"air bag light just came on, had it checked but still there"
Components Involved: AIR BAGS
Date of incident: 2019-06-02
Complaint:
"tl* takata recall. the contact owns a 2010 bmw 328i. the contact received notification of nhtsa campaign number: 16v071000 (air bags); however, the parts to do the repair were unavailable. the contact stated that the manufacturer exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. coggin bmw of treasure coast in ft. pierce (4429 south us 1 highway, fort pierce, fl 34982, (772) 410-5155) was contacted and confirmed that the parts were not available for the recall remedy. the manufacturer was made aware of the issue. the vin was not available. the contact had not experienced a failure."
Components Involved: AIR BAGS
Date of incident: 2016-06-02
Complaint:
"occupancy mat in passenger seat failed, which results in lack of airbag function. same part number (52 10 7 244 128) is part of voluntary recall (17v-428) for 2006-2007 model year vehicles. i content the same issue extends into later years and should receive the same level of support from bmw. this is a common issue as exemplified by the bypass module sell rate on ebay (2380 sold on this item alone): https://www.ebay.com/itm/seat-mat-bypass-emulator-for-bmw-e90-e93e82e88e65e66x3z4-occupancy-airbag-sensor/160854844395 issue arises whenever passenger is in the vehicle - now unprotected."
Components Involved: AIR BAGS
Date of incident: 2019-09-09
Complaint:
"tl* the contact owns a 2010 bmw 328i. the contact stated that the front passenger "air bag off" warning indicator illuminated. the dealer was not contacted. the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. the manufacturer was notified and stated that the warranty had expired. the failure mileage was 90,000."
Components Involved: AIR BAGS
Date of incident: 2018-12-06

Recalls for the 2010 Bmw 3 SERIES

Component Recalls

Choose a component to see what recalls people have made about them.

Recall:
"this recall involves aftermarket parts sold by valeo. valeo is recalling certain engine cooling fans, part numbers 696121, 696273, and 696275, used as service replacement parts for model year 2008-2011 bmw 1-series, 2006-2011 bmw 3-series, 2000-2009 bmw 5-series, 2004-2005 bmw 6-series, and 2006-2007 bmw 7-series vehicles. a metal-oxide semiconductor may overheat due to insufficient screwing of the semiconductor on the aluminum heat sink. this primary failure could cause adjacent components on the fan assembly motor circuit board to overheat and short."
Consequence:
This condition could cause the fan motor to become inoperative, or cause the motor circuit board in the assembly to overheat, potentially leading to a fire in the engine compartment.
Remedy:

Valeo will notify owners and replace the fans free of charge. The safety recall began on August 22, 2012. This recall is being conducted by Valeo, not by BMW. For further information, owners may contact Valeo at 1-888-718-2536.

Component(s) Involved: ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING > COOLING SYSTEM > FAN
Date of incident: 2012-08-10

BMW Overall Complaint Ranking

This table shows the ranking of car manufacturers when it comes to most complaints and recalls. The manufacturer with the most complaints is at the top. However this doesn't necassarily mean they should be avoided. Some manufacturers might just have more popular or affordable cars which a lot of people have bought. Which means there's more scope for a complaint to be made. Use the ranking table below as a part your wider research into buying a car.

BMW ranks 12 out of 44 in the complaints ranking table.

Manufacturer Complaint Count Recall Count Ranking
FORD 208,358 3,259 1
CHEVROLET 111,306 2,082 2
TOYOTA 81,019 1,852 3
HONDA 61,937 1,268 4
NISSAN 56,226 930 5
DODGE 45,756 827 6
HYUNDAI 44,150 649 7
GMC 34,441 1,410 8
KIA 29,832 501 9
CHRYSLER 27,698 254 10
TESLA 26,230 730 11
BMW 24,890 1,877 12
VOLKSWAGEN 23,125 829 13
MERCEDES-BENZ 19,066 2,925 14
SUBARU 18,513 703 15
MAZDA 10,599 364 16
PONTIAC 10,430 138 17
CADILLAC 9,434 444 18
AUDI 7,865 1,093 19
BUICK 7,851 279 20
SATURN 7,672 84 21
MERCURY 7,374 135 22
LEXUS 6,373 408 23
LINCOLN 5,897 423 24
ACURA 5,722 382 25
MINI 5,585 366 26
INFINITI 4,000 187 27
MITSUBISHI 3,912 397 28
VOLVO 3,875 727 29
PORSCHE 2,646 1,231 30
SUZUKI 2,272 123 31
FIAT 2,205 80 32
SAAB 1,536 76 33
JAGUAR 1,195 198 34
SMART 528 17 35
GENESIS 436 42 36
ISUZU 249 37 37
ALFA ROMEO 161 37 38
MASERATI 76 46 39
BENTLEY 46 159 40
POLESTAR 42 2 41
LUCID 14 6 42
CODA 4 2 43
MAYBACH 0 0 44

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