Bmw 325i, Bmw 325xi, Bmw 330i, Bmw 330xi, model years 2002 to 2005. Filed by Bmw Of North America, Llc and reported to NHTSA on 26 August 2011. 241,000 vehicles potentially affected.
What the notice says Bmw is recalling certain model year 2002-2005 325i, 325xi, 330i, and 330xi vehicles manufactured from september 1, 2001, through march 1, 2005. over time, resistance in the electrical contacts may cause one or more rear lamp functions (tail light, brake light, and/or turn-signal), within the vehicle's body panel, to …
Is your vehicle included? Check with your VIN at NHTSA, or ask a dealer. This page is an independent copy of the notice, kept so you can see what changed after it was published. It is not the authority, and the authority’s own text is the one to act on.
What owners ask about this recall
- Which vehicles does recall 11V438 cover?
- BMW 325I, BMW 325Xi, BMW 330I, BMW 330Xi, model years 2002-2005.
- What is wrong with them?
- BMW IS RECALLING CERTAIN MODEL YEAR 2002-2005 325I, 325XI, 330I, AND 330XI VEHICLES MANUFACTURED FROM SEPTEMBER 1, 2001, THROUGH MARCH 1, 2005.
- What can happen if it is not put right?
- INTERMITTENT LIGHT OPERATION REDUCES THE ABILITY TO WARN OTHER MOTORISTS OF THE DRIVER'S INTENTIONS. THIS COULD CAUSE A VEHICLE CRASH WITHOUT WARNING.
- Is there a fix yet?
- Yes, and it is free. BMW WILL NOTIFY OWNERS, AND DEALERS WILL REPAIR THE VEHICLES FREE OF CHARGE. THE SAFETY RECALL BEGAN ON FEBRUARY 15, 2012. OWNERS MAY CONTACT BMW CUSTOMER RELATIONS AND SERVICES AT 1-800-525-7417.
- What should I do now?
- Check your own vehicle by its VIN with NHTSA, which is the record to act on.
Answered from the register this site holds. NHTSA is the record to act on.
What the authority says can happen if this is not fixed: “INTERMITTENT LIGHT OPERATION REDUCES THE ABILITY TO WARN OTHER MOTORISTS OF THE DRIVER'S INTENTIONS. THIS COULD CAUSE A VEHICLE CRASH WITHOUT WARNING.”
affected
in the notice
caught
| Campaign | 11V438 |
|---|---|
| Filed by | BMW OF NORTH AMERICA, LLC |
| System at fault | Exterior Lighting:Tail Lights |
| Reported to NHTSA | 26 August 2011 |
| Model years | 2002-2005 |
| Vehicles named | BMW 325I, BMW 325XI, BMW 330I, BMW 330XI |
What the notice says today
The consequence
INTERMITTENT LIGHT OPERATION REDUCES THE ABILITY TO WARN OTHER MOTORISTS OF THE DRIVER'S INTENTIONS. THIS COULD CAUSE A VEHICLE CRASH WITHOUT WARNING.
The remedy
BMW WILL NOTIFY OWNERS, AND DEALERS WILL REPAIR THE VEHICLES FREE OF CHARGE. THE SAFETY RECALL BEGAN ON FEBRUARY 15, 2012. OWNERS MAY CONTACT BMW CUSTOMER RELATIONS AND SERVICES AT 1-800-525-7417.
What it said before
This campaign is in the register but not yet in the dated wording archive, so we cannot yet say whether its text has moved. It enters the archive on the next pass.
This is one of 663 notices in the record whose component field names exterior lighting. Across that group the median wait before owners were written to was 43 days.
Last checked . No change has been recorded in the wording.
The models named here, across their whole recall history
- BMW 325i recalls: 3 US campaigns
- BMW 325xi recalls: 3 US campaigns
- BMW 330i recalls: 24 US campaigns
- BMW 330xi recalls: 3 US campaigns
How to cite this record
Quoting the wording on this page means quoting a version, so the date belongs in the citation:
CarsMultiverse, recall 11V438, wording as read on 17 September 2026. https://carsmultiverse.com/recall/11v438/
The cross-border matches used on this site are deposited as a citable dataset: doi:10.5281/zenodo.22087136. The recall wording itself is published by the national authority named above and is theirs, not ours.
The recall record and its wording are published by the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and are US Government public domain. The dated archive, the comparison and any before-and-after above are CarsMultiverse. How fresh every engine behind this page is, is public on the status page. To check a specific vehicle, use NHTSA’s own VIN lookup.
Other BMW notices we hold
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- 26V524: 2024-2026 X3 sDrive30i, X3 30 xDrive, and X3 M50 xDrive
- 26V478: 2024 S 1000 RR US, and 2020-2026 S 1000 RR motorcycles
- 26V441: 2018-2020 530e xDrive, 2017-2019 740Le xDrive, 2018-2020 530e iPerformance, 2016-2018 330e iPerformance
- 26V305: 2017-2018 C Evolution motorcycles
- 26V214: 2017-2025 K 1600 GT, GTL, B and 2018-2025 Grand America
- 26V115: one 2026 S 1000 RR motorcycle
- 26V096: 2025 M5 Sportswagon, 2025-2026 M5, 2024-2025 750e xDrive, 2025-2026 550e xDrive, 2023-2025 I7, 2023-2025 7 Series, 2024-2026 i5, and 5 Series
All 328 BMW campaigns we hold · Every manufacturer in the record
The fingerprint of this notice
We take a SHA-256 of each of the three blocks of text the authority publishes and keep the first eight characters. As we last read campaign 11V438 on 17 September 2026, they were:
- Defect summary
659d9fcb - Consequence
3f510488 - Remedy
2856fe73
We first read this notice on 21 August 2026. It has not moved since. If it ever does, these characters will not match, and the change will be dated here.
The wording we hold for 11V438 · how the whole register is watched
This notice names one vehicle among several registers that have written about it. Every notice this site holds for the BMW 325xi, in all seven, is kept on that vehicle's own page, with the newest in each.
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