2013 BMW 328I problems & reliability
257 owner complaints filed with NHTSA for the 2013 BMW 328I, alongside 5 safety recall campaigns. Last verified Aug 7, 2026. Complaints are unverified reports submitted by owners to the federal Office of Defects Investigation.
Each complaint is counted once (by NHTSA case number), even when it names several vehicles.
14 complaints report injuries (17 injured).
Federal crash records (FARS 2020–2023): 2013 BMW 328I vehicles were involved in 41 fatal crashes with 23 occupant deaths. Involvement counts are not adjusted for how many are on the road and do not imply fault or a vehicle defect.
Most reported problems
| Component | Complaints | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Engine | 92 | 36% |
| Electrical System | 61 | 24% |
| Engine and Engine Cooling | 44 | 17% |
| Air Bags | 39 | 15% |
| Service Brakes | 31 | 12% |
| Power Train | 23 | 9% |
| Fuel/propulsion System | 18 | 7% |
| Unknown OR Other | 18 | 7% |
| Seat Belts | 10 | 4% |
| Steering | 8 | 3% |
Component groups as classified by NHTSA. A complaint can name more than one component, so shares may sum to more than 100%.
Common symptoms owners describe
Keyword analysis of complaint narratives; one complaint can describe several symptoms.
Mileage when problems occurred
Half of the failures with a reported odometer reading occurred by 67,000 miles (middle 50% between 37,247 and 90,000 miles), based on 130 complaints that included mileage.
Complaints by incident year
What owners report
“I was at the John Wayne Airport, going from the arrivals to departures. I had a lot of stop and go traffic, and when I was going down toward the bottom, my brakes failed. I kept pumping them to try and stop but they were not working. I saw an empty area where the car rental returns were and I was able to pull over and…”
Service Brakes · filed Aug 2, 2026
“The contact owns a 2013 BMW 328I. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the accelerator pedal was depressed; however, the vehicle failed to accelerate as intended. The drivetrain and passenger’s side air bag warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was driven to the shoulder of the road…”
Air Bags · filed Jul 28, 2026
“2013 BMW 328i, N20 engine. Timing chain guide assembly and oil pump drive chain failed catastrophically. Vehicle is available for inspection, however the authorized BMW dealership has already made clear they will accept no responsibility, and I would bear the expense of towing it two hours to their facility. The…”
Engine · filed Mar 12, 2026
Verbatim excerpts from complaints filed with NHTSA. Reports are not independently verified.
Federal defect investigations
- Desiccated Air Bag Inflator Rupture
Engineering Analysis EA21002 · opened Sep 17, 2021 · open
- Loss of power assist braking
Preliminary Evaluation PE13030 · opened Sep 6, 2013 · closed Oct 25, 2013 · led to recall 13V454000
Technical service bulletins
633 manufacturer communications (TSBs, service campaigns, warranty extensions) are on file with NHTSA for the 2013 BMW 328I. The 10 most recent:
The basic conditions for initializing the power windows are not met.
B510819 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Jan 16, 2024
The electrical system of BMW vehicles has been subject to an ongoing development process over the last few years. This has led to increased demands being placed on the battery. This document covers important information…
B611305 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Jan 11, 2024
After programming the head unit (HU-H2), activating the FSC (German word Freischaltcode) Enabling Codes repeatedly fails.
B651523 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued May 1, 2023
Upon opening and closing the tailgate, a creaking/groaning sound can be heard from tailgate actuator.
B514616 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued May 1, 2023
The 3G network in the US has been shut down. This means that only the 4G network will be available. In the 4G network, voice calls will be transferred via the Voice over LTE (VoLTE) function. For this purpose, the SIM…
B840822 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Mar 1, 2023
Exterior rear lights do not work.
B630917 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Mar 1, 2023
After an automatic engine start (MSA start), the transmission intermittently goes into the Park "P" or Neutral "N" position without any customer influence.
B122519 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Dec 1, 2022
For the eligible vehicles, BMW of North America, LLC (BMW NA) is extending the limited warranty for the vehicle's Fuel Injectors to 10 years/120,000 miles as determined by the vehicle's original in-service date.
B010919 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Dec 1, 2022
According to the customer, the airbag warning light was on, but it may not be illuminated when the vehicle arrives in the workshop. 1. ACSM fault code "930A60 - Seat occupancy detection, front passenger; malfunction" is…
B650414 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Oct 1, 2022
Component specific limited warranty extension. For the eligible vehicles, BMW of North America, LLC (BMW NA) is extending the limited warranty for the vehicle Nitrogen Oxide (NOx) Sensor(s) to: 10 years/120,000 miles as…
SIB011918 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued May 1, 2022
TSBs are repair guidance manufacturers send to dealers — they are not recalls and repairs are not automatically free. Full documents are available on NHTSA’s site.
Safety recalls
The 2013 BMW 328I has 5 NHTSA recall campaigns — recall repairs are free at franchised dealers regardless of the vehicle’s age.
Check whether your specific vehicle is affected
Recall campaigns often cover only certain VIN ranges. Enter your VIN on the official NHTSA site to confirm whether your vehicle is included and whether the repair is still open.
Check VIN on NHTSA →Buying a used 2013 BMW 328I?
- · Decode the seller’s VIN with our free VIN decoder to confirm the exact year, engine and trim.
- · Check for unrepaired recalls by VIN on NHTSA’s official lookup — recall repairs are free.
- · Owners most often reported problems around 67,000 miles — budget accordingly if the car is approaching that mileage.