1997 BMW E46 Recalls
No NHTSA recalls on record for the 1997 BMW E46. That means NHTSA has no open safety campaign for this vehicle — it does not guarantee the absence of problems. Owners have filed 4 complaints with NHTSA, most often about the air bags. Last updated July 5, 2026.
Complaints by component
What owners report
Verbatim reports filed with NHTSA, lightly edited for readability and with personal information removed.
“The driver and passenger seats slide (do not lock in position). This is irritating and unsafe in my opinion. I also believe it is a common problem in this model year. *tr”
“On 1/31/07 I took my car to have the nc inspection done. I was given at that time a recall for my vehicle on the catalytic converter. I was told to call the dealership and give them my vin number to verify. I was told that there were no open campaigns on my vin number on 2/2/0. On 2/16/07 my…”
“I own a 2000 bmw 323i and about a month ago I had started to notice a faint squeaking sound from the rear when my car was moving, the squeaking progressively got worse and worse until the sound was so severe that it could be heard even with all the windows up. I took it in to a mechanic who…”
“On wednesday september 20, 2006 I was driving down the interstate at about 70-75 mph when my side airbag on the driver side deployed for no reason. I have a 1997 bmw 528i with approximately 230k miles. I do not know the cause of the airbag deploying. I did not hit any potholes. There was no reason…”
Recall, complaint, and investigation records from official NHTSA datasets (FLAT_RCL, FLAT_CMPL, FLAT_INV), synced weekly. Counts reflect NHTSA records for the 1997 BMW E46 as of July 5, 2026. Complaint narratives are consumer-submitted and unverified. This page contains ads and affiliate links. Full methodology.