The 1998 BMW M3 has 1 NHTSA recall campaign affecting an estimated 16,749 vehicles. Recall repairs are always free at any authorized dealer. Owners have filed 18 complaints with NHTSA, most often about the power train. Last updated July 5, 2026.
Recall campaigns
AIR BAGS99V0630011999-11-1516,749 affected
Defect
VEHICLE DESCRIPTION: PASSENGER VEHICLES. THESE VEHICLES ARE BUILT WITH A SIDE AIR BAG SYSTEM CONSISTING OF DOOR-MOUNTED THORAX AIR BAGS (REAR DOOR AIR BAGS ARE OPTIONAL), A CENTRAL ELECTRONIC SENSOR AND DIAGNOSTIC SYSTEM, LEFT AND RIGHT SATELLITE IMPACT SENSORS, AND ASSOCIATED WIRING. THIS SYSTEM IS UNDULY…
Consequence
THIS COULD CAUSE THE SIDE AIR BAG TO DEPLOY WITHOUT AN ACTUAL SIDE CRASH. IN ADDITION, THE BATTERY SAFETY TERMINAL (BST) COULD ALSO ACTIVATE, DISCONNECTING THE STARTER CABLE FROM THE BATTERY. IN THIS CASE, THE VEHICLE'S ELECTRICAL SYSTEM COULD CONTINUE TO OPERATE AND THE ENGINE WOULD CONTINUE TO RUN, BUT AFTER…
Remedy
DEALERS WILL REPROGRAM THE CENTRAL COMPUTER CONTROL MODULE THAT REGULATES THE PERFORMANCE OF ALL OF THE VEHICLE'S OCCUPANT PROTECTION SYSTEMS.
Complaints by component
POWER TRAIN:MANUAL TRANSMISSION
2
SUSPENSION:REAR
2
AIR BAGS
1
AIR BAGS:FRONTAL
1
1crashes
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:12V/24V/48V BATTERY
1
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:HORN
1
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE
1
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE:GASOLINE
1
EXTERIOR LIGHTING:BRAKE LIGHTS
1
POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION
1
Total complaints18
What owners report
Verbatim reports filed with NHTSA, lightly edited for readability and with personal
information removed.
“On october 13th at approximately 1800hrs the left rear tire of my 1998 bmw m3 "rapidly deflated" resulting in a rollover crash. Approximately 1/4 of the inner sidewall was left shredded. Weather was sunny and warm, with no debris or contamination on the road surface(sr-62). The tire was installed…”
“1) normal vehicle operation 2) left rear strut-tower failure resulting in penetration of strut and spring and failure of rear suspension. Could have resulted in loss of control and accident. 3) repairs pending. Known issue w/ bmw e-36's. *nm”
“Repeated failure of the shift gate. Tranny sticks in 5th gear position, causing dangerous shift delays while in traffic. See: http://www.brazeauracing.com/tech/transmissions.htm for a partial listing of those affected. *jb”
“The gear shift in my manual transmission, 1998 bmw m3 (4 door), sticks under fifth gear and often I am also unable to shift into fifth gear. The issue with this is well known by bmw of north america. The danger here is that when I want to shift into fifth gear I cannot, and more importantly, it is…”
“The shock wells rusted and cracked making shocks protrude out of it's mounts.”
“Problem1: rear defogger not working. Checked the system, fuses okay, voltage correctly supplied to rear window heating contacts. Heating elements in the window itself are failing. Afety issue: no visibility through the rear window when fogged.*ak problem2: automatic environmental controls are…”
“The dealer fix for this problem across the country has been to reset the code and say, "oh, don't worry about it." apparently its a sensor in the seat, and lots of bmw's are having these problems. Safety system faults should not be tolerated.*ak”
“Vehicle has been through at least four separate dealers with brake light failures. Problem continues to remain unresloved. Dealers cannot locate fault and continues to replace bulbs or bend connectors on sockets. Engine, transmission, oil pan gaskets all failing with only 41,000 miles on vehicle.…”
Recall, complaint, and investigation records from official NHTSA datasets (FLAT_RCL,
FLAT_CMPL, FLAT_INV), synced weekly. Counts reflect NHTSA records for the 1998 BMW M3 as of
July 5, 2026. Complaint narratives are consumer-submitted and unverified. This page
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