Safety defect investigations, technical specifications, and manufacturer repair notices for Canadian owners.
Enter a VIN to identify your vehicle and find Canadian recall notices that may apply to its make, model and year. Confirm VIN-specific eligibility and repair status with the manufacturer.
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Safety recall notices and repair campaigns registered for the 2012 BMW 3 Series in Canada.
On certain vehicles, the tire and loading information label does not list that there is no spare tire in both official languages. The label reads as "NONE" when it should read as "NONE / AUCUN". Canadian regulations require the information to be listed on the label in both English and French.
This error does not affect vehicle safety.
This is not a recall. The company has corrected the tire and loading information label for all new vehicles.
On certain vehicles, fluid from the positive crankcase ventilation (PCV) system could leak on the intake air hose. As a result, the fluid could enter the electrical connector for the water pump and cause a short circuit.
A short circuit can create the risk of a fire, even while the vehicle is parked and turned off.
To reduce the safety risk, BMW advises you to park your vehicle outdoors and away from other vehicles or structures until the recall repairs are completed. BMW will notify owners by mail and advise you to take your vehicle to a dealership to inspect and, if necessary, replace the water pump and electrical connector. The dealer will also install a shield on the connector.
This recall applies to vehicles that may be equipped with a replacement sport or M-sport steering wheel that has a Takata airbag. Long-term exposure to high absolute humidity and temperature, combined with high temperature cycling, may eventually degrade the propellant contained in the driver-front airbag. This could cause the airbag to deploy with more force than normal. If the airbag inflator ruptures, fragments could be propelled toward vehicle occupants or cause damage to the airbag assembly, preventing its proper function.
If the vehicle is involved in a crash requiring an airbag deployment, the airbag inflator could rupture and create a risk of injury.
BMW will notify owners by mail and advise you to take your vehicle to a dealership to inspect and, if necessary, replace the driver-front airbag module. To learn if your vehicle is affected by this recall, owners may: • Visit https://www.bmw.ca/en/ssl/VehicleRecall.html • Contact your preferred or local BMW Retailer • Call BMW Customer Relations Recall Services at 1-855-217-3002
On certain vehicles equipped with an N52 or N52K 6-cylinder engine, a manufacturing problem could cause the PCV valve heater (blow-by heater) to short circuit and overheat. Note: This replaces Transport Canada recalls 2017-470 and 2019-170. Only vehicles equipped with an N52 or N52K engine require this repair.
An overheated engine PCV valve heater could create the risk of a fire, even while the vehicle is parked and turned off.
BMW will notify owners by mail and instruct you to take your vehicle to a dealer to install a wire harness repair kit. BMW recommends that you should park your vehicle outdoors until the recall repairs have been completed.
On certain vehicles, the bolts that attach the electric power steering assist motor to the steering gear may corrode and break. This could cause a loss of power steering assist.
A loss of power steering assist may result in a sudden increase in steering effort, especially at low vehicle speeds. This could increase the risk of a crash.
BMW will notify owners by mail and instruct you to take your vehicle to a dealer to replace the bolts and apply a wax sealer. If one or more of the bolts are broken or missing, a new steering gear will be installed.
On certain 3-series and M3 vehicles, the positive battery cable connection to the fuse box may fail. This could cause a loss of electrical power while driving. As a result the engine could turn off and various electrical systems may not work, including the lights.
A sudden loss of engine power and/or loss of vehicle electrical systems could increase the risk of a crash.
BMW will notify owners by mail and instruct them to take their vehicle to a dealer to replace the positive battery cable connector with an updated version. Note: This is an expansion of recall 2013-048.
On certain vehicles, the driver frontal airbag inflator could produce excessive internal pressure during airbag deployment. Increased pressure may cause the inflator to rupture, which could allow fragments to be propelled toward vehicle occupants, increasing the risk of injury. This could also damage the airbag module, which could prevent proper deployment. Failure of the airbag to fully deploy during a crash (where deployment is warranted) could increase the risk of personal injury to the seat occupant. Correction: Dealers will replace the front driver air bag inflator or air bag module, depending on the vehicle model.
A failure of this component (airbag) may increase the risk of a crash or injury.
Authorized dealerships will inspect the vehicle and complete all necessary repairs free of charge (parts and labor).
Certain vehicles may not comply with the requirements of Canada Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 108 - Lighting System and Retroreflective Devices. The front side markers may be inoperative due to a vehicle software update. This could result in the front side marker lamps not illuminating in conjunction with the parking lamps or headlamps, and no warning message would be displayed in the instrument cluster. The turn signal function of the front side marker lamps would remain operational. This could cause the vehicle to fail to comply with the requirements of the standard, and reduce vehicle conspicuity, which could increase the risk of a crash causing injury and/or damage to property. Correction: Dealers will update vehicle software.
A failure of this component (lights and instruments) may increase the risk of a crash or injury.
Authorized dealerships will inspect the vehicle and complete all necessary repairs free of charge (parts and labor).
On certain vehicles, a defect in manufacturing could result in a loss of oil supply to the vacuum pump. If this were to occur, the vacuum pump could fail, causing a loss of power assist to the braking system. This could cause increased stopping distances, possibly resulting in a crash causing injury and/or damage to property. Correction: Dealers will install a camshaft seal disk locking ring. Note: This is an expansion of recall 2013-330.
A failure of this component (powertrain) may increase the risk of a crash or injury.
Authorized dealerships will inspect the vehicle and complete all necessary repairs free of charge (parts and labor).
On certain vehicles, housing bolts for the variable camshaft timing system could break, allowing camshaft timing to deviate. If this occurs, the engine would revert to "limp home mode", limiting available engine power. This could increase the risk of a collision causing injury and/or damage to property. Correction: Dealers will replace affected bolts.
A failure of this component (engine) may increase the risk of a crash or injury.
Authorized dealerships will inspect the vehicle and complete all necessary repairs free of charge (parts and labor).
Official Transport Canada safety campaigns, Canadian motor vehicle safety compliance standards and live VIN specifications.
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