general problems of the 2008 BMW X3

The car no longer starts. When towing it to a BMW dealership, they informed me that there is a problem with the vanos bolts and that "they snap easily"; however after some research into it I realized that these engines have a recall for this specific issue only that my vehicle isn't listed under the recall. I believe this is a mistake and that it should be.

The contact owns a 2008 BMW X3. The contact stated that while driving at 20 mph in cold weather, there was smoke coming from the engine compartment. There were no warning lights illuminated. The local dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was contacted; however, the contact received no response. The contact stated that the failure was related to NHTSA campaign number: 22v119000 (engine and engine); the VIN was included. The failure mileage was approximately 200,000.

The contact owns a 2008 BMW X3. The contact stated when she picked up her vehicle from the dealer after having NHTSA campaign number:17v683000 (engine and engine cooling) completed while driving at 40 mph, the vehicle started overheating. The contact was able to pull over and when shutting off and attempting to restart the vehicle, the vehicle would not start. The dealer was contacted, and they stated the vehicle needed to be diagnosed. The manufacturer was contacted, and they also stated the vehicle needed to be diagnosed. The failure mileage was 170,000.

The contact owns a 2008 BMW X3. The contact received notification of NHTSA campaign number: 22v119000 (engine and engine cooling) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, there was smoke coming from underneath the hood and the exhaust pipe. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 200,000. VIN tool confirms parts not available.

The contact owns a 2008 BMW X3. The contact received notification of NHTSA campaign number: 22v119000 (engine and engine cooling) however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The local dealer was contacted and it was confirmed that the part was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. VIN tool confirms parts not available.

The contact owns a 2008 BMW X3. The contact stated while driving 25-30 mph, he smelled a burning odor and saw smoke coming out from underneath the hood. The contact veered to the side of the road and allowed the vehicle to cool down. The contact was able to continue driving. The contact stated that the failure had been reoccurring. The vehicle was taken to several independent mechanics who informed the contact that they could not duplicate the failure. The contact later received notification of NHTSA campaign number: 22v119000 (engine and engine cooling) that he associated with the failure; however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer was contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and referred the contact to the dealer. The failure mileage was approximately 169,935. VIN tool confirms parts not available.

The contact's daughter owns a 2008 BMW X3. The contact's daughter received notification of NHTSA campaign number: 22v119000 (engine and engine cooling) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, a burning odor was detected. The contact pulled over and waited until the vehicle cooled down, then restarted the vehicle. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 188,000. VIN tool confirms parts not available.

The contact owns a 2008 BMW X3. The contact received notification of the NHTSA campaign number: 22v119000 (engine and engine cooling). The contact stated that after attempting to turn on the heat, the heat failed to properly operate. The contact stated that the heat was either too low or too hot. The contact was concerned that the system would overheat. No warning lights were illuminated. The dealer was notified of the failure and the contact was informed that parts were not available for the recall repair. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The contact stated that the manufacturer exceeded a reasonable amount time for the recall repair. The local dealer was made aware of the issue and confirmed that parts were not yet available for the recall repair. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 115,000. VIN tool confirms parts not available.

The contact owns a 2008 bmx X3. The contact received notification of NHTSA campaign number: 22v119000 (engine and engine cooling) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The local dealer was notified of the issue and confirmed that parts were not yet available for the recall repair. The manufacturer was not notified of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. Parts distribution disconnect.

The contact owns a 2008 BMW X3. The contact stated while driving 30 mph, the engine was shutting off inadvertently. Several unknown warning lights were illuminated. Additionally, the contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle stalled in the middle of the road. The contact was unable to veer to the side of the road. The contact was able to restart the vehicle after several attempts. The contact drove back to her residence. The contact stated that the failure had been reoccurring while driving. The contact later received notification of NHTSA campaign number: 22v119000 (engine and engine cooling) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer was contacted several times and informed the contact that parts were not yet available. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 78,000. VIN tool confirms parts not available.

The contact owns a 2008 BMW X3. The contact stated that while at a stop there was an abnormal plastic burning odor coming through the vent. Additionally, the vehicle lost motive power with the check engine warning light illuminated. An independent mechanic was called to her home for maintenance; and the mechanic made minor repairs and reset the computer; however, the failure returned soon after repair. The contact then received notification of NHTSA campaign number: 22v119000 (engine and engine cooling) however, the part for the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that while picking up her grandson from school, she had attempted to accelerate after placing the vehicle into park; however, the vehicle stalled. The contact was uncertain if any warning lights were illuminated during the failure. Due to the failure, the contact had the vehicle towed to her home where it remained. Neither the dealer nor the manufacturer had been notified of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The failure mileage was unknown. VIN tool confirms parts not available.

I am working with a journalist at cnbc to get info about this death trap out since NHTSA is ignoring the issue completely. People are telling you their family members are injured and/or dying because 2008 BMW X3’s simply loose power at 70mph and transmission issues that make this care not accelerate, jerk, stall, etc. I have been helping contact other owners in an effort to see if they have any unreported issues and many say their complaints were also ignored. When you try to accelerate, the transmission "thinks" about what gear it should be in. The vehicle hesitates, stalls slightly, and creeps along slowly before second gear catches. The rpms are erratic when accelerating. Very unpredictable when trying to accelerate. The hesitation is the main issue, especially when trying to pull out of an intersection across traffic. It can become a very scary situation when you want to accelerate and nothing happens. This is an ongoing problem. Nothing in particular causes it to happen besides regular acceleration. The problem is intermittent and may disappear while driving. However, it will appear again for no real reason. A software update was performed in mid-July. The problem was still noticeable. On August 3rd, the vehicle was once again brought in for service work. The service manager came along for the drive and noticed the transmission problem. Another 2008 BMW X3 that was on the lot was driven under the same driving conditions. The same issues with the transmission were noted. He told me that they will contact BMW to see if there are any service bulletins on how to correct the problem, but was unaware of any fix currently available. After two service calls the problem still persists without any fix as of yet.

Sheared motor mount support bracket to engine bolt at or before 112k miles. Found bolt head on reinforcement plate under support bracket.

The contact owned a 2008 BMW X3. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, he turned on the heater and became aware of smoke coming from under the hood of the vehicle. The vehicle then started to overheat, and the coolant temperature warning light and the check engine warning illuminated. The contact stated that he veered off the road and turned the vehicle off. The contact then stated that he waited a few minutes and allowed the engine to cool down. Additionally, the contact stated that he added water to the radiator after the engine had cooled down. The contact then stated that he restarted the vehicle and while driving, he noticed smoke coming from under the hood of the vehicle before the vehicle stalled. The vehicle failed to restart. The vehicle was inspected by an independent mechanic where the contact was informed that the engine failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired. The contact stated that after several attempts to repair the vehicle, the vehicle was then towed away and disposed. The contact then stated that six years later he received notification of the NHTSA campaign number: 22v119000 (engine and engine cooling) however, the dealer nor manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 180,000.

My car has suddenly lost power in several occasions nearly causing an accident at 60 mph on one occasion. When power is lost steering seizes up completely. This happens with absolutely no warning whatsoever & my car has started up as though nothing is wrong after. The second issue is so well known it has been labeled as the "terrible triad" ac road all BMW forums, youtube. Twitter, etc. You can find thousands of chats & forums discussing the 3 lights which appear simultaneously due to transfer case actuator & I drive issues. My 4x4 light is on indefinitely & all of the symptoms can be felt.

Tl the contact owns a 2008 BMW X3. The contact stated that the recall notices for NHTSA campaign numbers: 17v605000 (air bags) and 17v83000 (engine) were received in September and October of 2017. After contacting BMW of birmingham (11000 tom williams way, irondale al), the contact was informed that the parts needed to repair the defects were not available. The manufacturer was not notified. The contact had not experienced a failure. VIN tool confirms parts not available.

Sheared engine mount bolts on vehicle with no accidents, no off road use and only 60k miles. BMW did have a service notice on this, but we are told it has expired. It appears to be manufacturing defect, in which case BMW should fix, but they say too late.

I am a 2008, BMW X3 driver. I had my air bag fixed (I think) yet, the air bag light is still on. Also, the brake light and engine light. I do not know what is going on. This drama is over a year old. I have supportive documents, voicemails and emails to support my efforts.

The problem with the 2008 BMW X3 transmission is going to get someone killed!! this transmission does not respond when depressing the accelerator at random times & has done this since the day I bought it. It happened once after pulling away from an ezpass booth - the car just froze and would not accelerate nearly causing an accident. Now it has caused an accident. How are you not doing anything when this has caused deaths!!! here is a link to a blog that shows many BMW X3 owners have the problem - some have had their cars replaced by BMW and others have been ignored. This is a serious safety issue that is being ignored by the manufacturer (similar to the Toyota issue). Please investigate before someone gets killed. . Read more...