Everything NHTSA's vPIC database knows about this exact vehicle:
Decoding from NHTSA…
Vehicle history — accidents, title & owners
The decode above is what this vehicle is. For what it's been through — accidents, title brands, odometer, theft/total-loss and previous owners — pull a full history report.
NHTSA publishes the first 11 characters of the VIN with every complaint — that identifies the plant, model year, body and engine. So these are reports from cars built exactly like this one, not an average across the whole model.
WBA3A5C52CF••••••2012 Bmw 328I
This build draws 4.4× more complaints than the average 2012 Bmw 328I build (10 vs 2).
10on this build
122on the model
54builds in total
1involved a fire
Most reportedEngine 5Electrical System 2Visibility/wiper 1Air Bags 1
What owners of this build wrote
Electrical SystemfireJul 2018
My car was parked I started it ran back in house to get phone got in car smelt plastic but it wasn't coming from vent got out car to smell around car and when I got to trunk the smell was louder opened trunk and a small fire came up like a barbecue fire on the passenger side a…
EngineFeb 2025
The contact owns a 2012 BMW 328I. The contact stated while driving at approximately 65 MPH, the vehicle stalled. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic to be diagnosed. The vehicle was not yet diagnosed or repaired. The…
Unknown Or OtherOct 2019
Bmw refused to recalls 2012 to 2014 vehicles with faulty timing chains, oil chain, and tensioner. When I contacted bmw they stated it was only covered to 70,000 miles. I purchased a 120,000 miles warranty , I was never informed by bmw west the service center about this recall.…
Seat BeltsFeb 2015
The seat is always making a noise that I have to put the seat belt for the passenger side even though there is no one beside me and since 2014 I have a problem with the time chain I was waiting for a recall that bmw north america and no one called me
Air BagsOct 2014
The contact owns a 2012 bmw 328i. The contact stated that the air bag warning light remained illuminated. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 60,000
Read all 10 complaints on this exact buildFull text, search by keyword, and the systems that fail most on cars built like yours.Unlock with Pro →
Owner complaints…
Now the whole model — all 54 builds of it, not just this build. Same NHTSA reports, wider net:
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Exact value for this VIN, adjusted for mileage
The original window sticker and factory options
Full research report as a PDF you can hand to a mechanic
Decoded via NHTSA vPIC. Recalls, complaints and safety from NHTSA; MPG from EPA fueleconomy.gov. Full history reports from our partner. VIN WBA3A5C52CF258369 · decoded Nov 2026. — ForCar Reviewed by Denis Kataev, founder of ForCar.