BMW X3 owners have reported 210 problems related to equipment (under the equipment category). The most recently reported issues are listed below. Also please check out the statistics and reliability analysis of BMW X3 based on all problems reported for the X3.
I am a [xxx] male who has been driving for [xxx]. I am very familiar with cars. I recently experienced a situation which could be catastrophic for anyone, especially children. I was sitting in the car on a moderately cool day with the sun shining very bright. I was in a parking lot parked in a remote location. My wife, who was driving went into a store to shop. She took the fob with her. She shopped longer than expected. The car's interior started to heat up and eventually I realized I was in a very dangerous situation. I could not open the doors or windows without the fob. I was considering kicking out a window when my wife returned to the car and opened a door. She later went to the dealership and was told there is a special procedure one most follow to unlock the doors without the fob being present and someone in the car. This is a ridiculous situation which could become tragic if a child was involved. The simple remedy would be to have the interior locking pin for each door extend far enough beyond the door panel so one can unlock the door in an emergency like they did in the "old" days. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).
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all problems of the 2022 BMW X3
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I am writing regarding my 2019 BMW X3 which has suffered catastrophic electrical damage due to premature sunroof seal shrinkage. The failure has resulted damage to the amplifier damage to the auto system non-functioning park assist warning tones and signal integrity of panoramic sunroof stability the dealership has identified seal failure as the root cause. This is particularly concerning given that: these seals are designed and expected to last 20 years this is a documented issue affecting multiple BMW vehicles my vehicle is only 5 years old, far short of the expected seal lifespan the premature seal failure clearly indicates a manufacturing defect, not normal wear and tear. The systemic nature of this defect which causes a significant gap between actual and expected seal performance the extensive consequential damage caused by this manufacturing issue is highly concerning snd should be immediately investigated and addressed.
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all problems of the 2019 BMW X3
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I cannot take the vehicle to the dealership to have the recall performed. I have spoken with the closest dealership and they will not provide a driver or towing services unless I pay for it. The letter I received from BMW indicates if my "BMW center is unable to remedy the defect without charge or a reasonable period of time", I should notify the NHTSA. Unless BMW follows federal guidelines, I cannot have the recall remedied. I would like some options or relief so that the recall can be performed.
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all problems of the 2018 BMW X3
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The car has keyless ignition and was accidentally left on/idling in the garage despite no one in the car and the key fob not present. The car was on for 8. 5 hours in the closed garage and filled the house with exhaust, which includes dangerous carbon monoxide fumes, known to be lethal and nearly ended in tragedy. Luckily, my wife woke up for an unrelated reason to check on our daughter and smelled the fumes in the house and found the car running in the garage. Multiple carbon monoxide detectors were in the home and did not go off, so presumably the fumes had not yet reached toxic concentrations by the time the car was turned off. 2 days later, I took the car to the BMW dealership to be inspected for defects and was told by the technician that it was functioning properly and I should assume the engine is running if the keyless ignition button is not turned off. The lack of an auto-shutoff safety feature to prevent this occurrence is completely unsafe and unacceptable. This is a known issue of keyless ignition cars for over a decade and is an easy mistake to make given how quietly the cars run. Many other car manufacturers have already implemented this feature, so it was shocking that such a well-respected car brand like BMW did not include this safety control as a default feature.
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all problems of the 2021 BMW X3
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The passenger restraint system malfunction error came out several times since last month.
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all problems of the 2016 BMW X3
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The malfunction involves the collision warning system and sudden braking functionality. The dealership inspection identified a problem with the kafas (camera) unit, specifically its housing being deformed from heat, which affected the functionality of the collision sensor and caused the system to malfunction intermittently. The component is still installed in the vehicle and available for inspection if required. The system triggered sudden braking without an actual threat, creating a serious risk of being rear-ended by vehicles behind me. This issue has occurred twice in the last month, with no warning or actual collision risk present. Has the problem been reproduced or confirmed by a dealer or independent service center? yes, the problem was confirmed by the dealership. Their inspection found that the kafas camera housing is deformed due to heat exposure, causing malfunction warnings and erroneous braking behavior. They stated this is not a covered warranty issue. Has the vehicle or component been inspected by the manufacturer, police, insurance representatives, or others? the dealership performed an inspection and provided an inspection report, but no other entities (e. G. , manufacturer, police, or insurance representatives) have inspected the component or vehicle. Were there any warning lamps, messages, or other symptoms of the problem prior to the failure, and when did they first appear? yes, the malfunction indicator light for the collision sensor appeared intermittently. The dealership’s report attributes this to the deformation of the kafas camera housing due to heat exposure.
I was driving car on clear roadway and received a warning to go to service. I smelled burning and saw smoke coming from front hood. Got onto shoulder, got out of car and flames started - falling to ground first and then entire engine was consumed.
My 2019 BMW X3 posted this error on the instrument display "emergency call system malfunction". BMW service informed me that the shark fin roof mounted antenna is leaking. It causes issues with the sos feature, navigation (reporting wrong location). There are numerous complaints on BMW owners message boards with the same problem. There is at least one BMW service information bulletin (sib) that applies to this issue for my vehicle. It is number b65 12 22. I was told this issue is not covered under my certified pre-owned warranty. This is a safety issue affecting thousands of BMW owners. BMW should do the right thing, issue a recall on the affected models and repair this problem. Thank you.
The battery safety terminal deployed while I was driving down the mountain, causing unsafe conditions for myself and drivers around me. Car turned completely off and unable to turn it back on. Lost power steering and braking capabilities. No accidents or airbags were deployed to cause the battery safety teminal to deploy.
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all problems of the 2009 BMW X3
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During rain this evening, water intruded from sunroof area. Learned this is extremely common problem alleged to be due to shrinking sunroof seals. This dripping water can potentially cause loss of control of the vehicle due to falling water intrusion causing foot controls to become wet. In addition, electrical malfunctions may occur possibly causing fire or other problems. I am also including a stranger’s video of his car at BMW dealer with tech explaining this is a very common problem, obtained from facebook.
There is no remedy to fix the recall. This vehicle is a part of my income and I haven't been able to operate on any ride-share platforms. -rear cargo rails -BMW na has declined my request to buy back my car. They don't provide loaners or alternative vehicles. -BMW na ignored my request to speak with someone in regard to lost wages.
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all problems of the 2020 BMW X3
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My complaint is that the safety recall was issued nearly 3 months ago on a 2021 model, and no remedy has been provided for it. This is an unsafe situation and are wondering when they will provide a remedy?.
My 2019 X3 model has been leaking coolant from multiple places. I have already needed to replace the water pump at my mechanic and now there's an additional coolant leak and the radiator and radiator hoses are affected and may need replacement. My dealer has not reported this issue yet and no recall has been declared for my type of vehicle, but I cannot afford to fix this issue out of pocket and it's a manufacturer issue when making these materials for the car, no fault of the driver. This has now become an issue where my car is constantly leaking coolant and causing potential engine damage.
There was a recall back in October 2024 and there still is no remedy as of yet and it can cause a fire risk.
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all problems of the 2014 BMW X3
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BMW has a safety recall on my vehicle for over two months now with no fix available. I am in the process of moving to japan and need to sell the vehicle. BMW is prohibiting a lease transfer or sale until the vehicle is fixed, but they cannot fix it. Meanwhile I lost a potential buyer and BMW wants to charge me an early lease termination fee of over $6000 but they will not fix the vehicle and they will not allow me to sell or complete a lease transfer. BMW should accept this vehicle back without charging me extra money for a lease termination fee on a defective vehicle.
I have reached out to the manufacturer for a solution and they said to wait till there is a remedy. I’m scared to drive this car for fear that something could happen to me or my family.
A long overdue recall without remedy.
My car has a water pump recall and BMW notified me on August 13. BMW said they will send a letter out to take my car in to service by October 4th 2024. I called BMW and they sent a letter out saying they still don't have a remedy for my car yet. It's been 5 months and still haven't fixed my car yet and when I call they still don't have an answer. I am highly upset. It shouldn't take this long.
I have take out cargo on left side by self.
This complaint is not due/regarding an accident. It is a complaint about the response time to remedy a recall which has been months long now. In July 2024, BMW recalled 291,112 X3 models from 2018 to 2023 due to a risk of the interior cargo rail detaching in a crash. The attachment bolts for the rail could become damaged, increasing the risk of injury to passengers. What is taking so long to get this fixed? seems the remedy is to simply replace bolts. I am unable to use this car while it has a safety recall outstanding. Please expedite this fix, it has been several months and in the meantime this car sits being unproductive.
I am attempting to file a complain due to the manufacture of my car, not addressing the recall. The recall was initiated on July 17, 2024, and it has now been more than 30 days. I use my car and also had it on a rental platform to help me with my monthly payments. Now it has been removed from the platform due to it being unsafe to drive on the road and it is also unsafe for me to drive it on the road. I am hoping that through this complaint I can get a resolution.
2021 BMW X3- recall 24v534---interior rear cargo rails--we have contacted BMW dealer several times and no remedy as of (9. 3. 24) the cargo rails and the vehicle body could separate from the vehicle body. The bolts are what need to be changed out and the dealer says they have no remedy. We want to make sure that we are safe. Please help! thank you for your attention to this very time sensitive issue.
I am filing this complaint regarding the recall on my 2022 BMW X3, which involves the interior rear cargo rails. The recall, added to the NHTSA database over a month ago, indicates that in an extreme rear crash, the attachment between the rear cargo rail and the vehicle body could become damaged. This issue could lead to the rail separating from the vehicle body, increasing the risk of injury. Despite the significant safety risk outlined in the recall, there has been no update on when repair kits will be made available to service centers to begin the necessary repairs. This delay in providing the remedy is causing concern as it leaves my vehicle potentially unsafe for an extended period. I urge the NHTSA to look into the timeliness of this repair process to ensure that the necessary parts are distributed promptly to mitigate the associated safety risks.
Upon starting the vehicle, the electronic dashboard comes on, declares “reduced driver assistance” then about 15 seconds later, the entire dashboard goes dark and won’t come back on until the car has been shut down for several minutes. This sequence of events happens 95% of the time that I start the car. Upon restart, the dashboard will stay on about 40% of the time, the other 60% it shuts off again. While I can still see my speed in the heads up display, I have no idea how much gas I have, I can’t get any information from the dahsboard and I can’t use the cruise control. I’ve read about other owners of the 2021 BMW X3 m40i having this same issue however the dealership seems to have no idea and wants me to spend $1,000 in diagnostics to see if they can find the problem…. Then I would have to pay to have it fixed as well. This seems like a pretty big safety issue.
Safety recall involving rear cargo rails hasn’t been rectified for 3 months now.
The vehicle 2019 BMW X3 purchased from dealer with all maintenance performed per BMW specs at dealership, warned of low coolant. Coolant was added, two days later 0n 6 25 2024 the light came on for low coolant checking vehicle saw large leak. Vehicle was towed to dealership. On 6 26 2024 the visual from BMW stated the the oil filter housing which is made of plastic and warps. They want to replace the oil filter housing but they say the manifold and transmission has to be remove to replace it at a cost of 3119 dollars as estimate. From dealership. The vehicle is low mileage purchased at 30 k from dealership and has been maintained with the reccomendations of the dealership. The time the vehicle will be in shop to do he work will be long and it till unclear of the extended warranty purchased from dealership at time of purchase will cover its replacement and th costs for labor.
This BMW vehicle's odometer readings are inconsistent and inaccurate resulting in overage of mileage for lessee. This cars BMW tires were not verifiable to be from BMW and tires subsequently failed within 15,000 miles. No entity at BMW, not the dealership, not the sales, not BMW financial services or BMW of north America llc could provide any information regarding the original tires or provide any warranty information regarding the tires - this impact mileage efficiency, miles per gallon and is a way to game the systems. BMW front sensors on act erratically sometimes working and sometimes going off without anything present, during rain/snow sensors would constantly go off for no reason. Issues have been raised through certified mail to BMW and all have been ignored. There is no accountability regarding the tires with no warranty that fail, inaccurate odometer readings, car sensors and we request an investigation into these three matters.
Since purchasing the vehicle, the illumination of the instrument cluster, information center screen, and sometimes the climate controls dim partially or completely during daytime driving. This occurs randomly and frequently at times. Reported this to BMW service at least three times since purchasing the vehicle. BMW service could not identify the issue but flashed the on-board software at least twice as a possible fix. Neither episode corrected the problem and BMW says they don't know what is going on since the issue has not reported an error code. I understand this issue, or issues generally similar, has been experienced by other BMW owners across this and other BMW model lines. BMW north America has washed their hands of this isse and the dealeers have no idea how to diagnose and fix it.
Whenever the vehicle is driven, despite the temperature, the panoramic moon roof cracks and creaks and sounds like it is going to break. The dealer said numerous people have also complained about this happening and BMW will not do anything about it. This is my 3rd X3 of this body style and my other two did not have this issue because BMW didn't "cheapen" out on the window sealant and materials of the lining and mounts in the sunroof until the lci redesign or 2023. I am afraid that one of these days it will crack and break downward, causing a major safety hazard while driving and I want BMW to fix and/or remedy the problem(s) ASAP.
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all problems of the 2024 BMW X3
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I am writing to formally report a serious and dangerous safety defect affecting my 2015 BMW X3, which I believe warrants immediate investigation and a recall. Description of the defect: on multiple occasions, while driving in rainy or wet road conditions, my BMW X3 has suddenly and forcefully reduced speed without any brake pedal input from the driver. The vehicle appears to apply braking on its own, causing abrupt deceleration. This behavior occurs: on wet roads only, while driving straight at steady speed without warning lights or alerts, without driver input and at speeds that pose a high risk of rear-end collision. The sudden and unexpected braking has created an imminent danger to myself, my passengers, and surrounding vehicles, particularly on highways where traffic flow is fast and close. Uncommanded braking under normal driving conditions is a critical safety failure. A driver has no reasonable opportunity to anticipate or correct this behavior, and it places the vehicle at significant risk of being struck from behind. Given the seriousness of this issue, I have requested that BMW: formally investigate this defect across 2015 BMW X3 (f25) vehicles determine whether a systemic fault exists involving dsc, abs, wheel speed sensors, or collision mitigation systems in wet conditions. Issue a recall or safety service action to permanently correct this behavior in order to provide affected owners with a reliable and documented fix. Reason for which I wanted to bring this situation to the NHTSA. Gov attention.
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all problems of the 2015 BMW X3
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Car was parked , turn off the engine, moved out of car the car moved forwared by itself and hit the curb and ended up in neighbours lawn.
Several warning lights flashed on and off while driving. My display/computer turned off and rebooted while driving. A day or two later the electric rear hatch stopped working. I opened the cover in the back where the spare is, and found several inches of water (4-5) in the well. I called the dealer first thing since it was a frightening thought thinking the car may blow up or trigger the airbag making me (or whoever is driving the car) crash into someone else. To my surprise there was no warning or recall on the problem. A surprise since a simple google search turned up pages of complaints, chat rooms and discussions concerning the same issue. This is where the battery is stored in this car. The battery was sitting in inches of water even though it is slightly elevated. The control module for the electric hatch (according to a schematic found by google) although in a separate raised styrofoam holder, was halfway submerged in water. Under the side panel was wet. In that side panel is the fuse/ relay panel. Water was dripping down the side of that wall and the insulation was wet and dripping at the bottom and into the bay. The safety of myself, the driver, or my wife the primary driver of the car could be affected in many unexpected/ unknown ways with a short on the fuse panel or worse yet water sloshing around a big 12 volt car battery. Could it explode? I don’t know. I vacuumed out the water and it has come back and fills a substantial amount in a couple weeks. About one inch per week. It is certainly ongoing. My wife won’t drive it so deduction tells me it is not coming in from driving it. It is available for inspection although I have not driven it to the dealer since it has been quite wet and is some distance away. I tried to follow your format and include all your requested details. If I have left anything out I am happy to answer any questions. Thank you for the opportunity to bring this to someone’s attention. Thanks again, jim haws.
In June 2023, I purchased a vehicle from enterprise car sales. Around June 2024, I reached out to them with concerns about the vehicle. They recommended I contact either the insurance or warranty company, but neither could address my issue. I then took the vehicle to the dealership, and they agreed to inspect it. They confirmed that the windshield and rear window molding trim were aftermarket parts, which were causing streaks on the window and obstructing the driver’s view. Additionally, the brakes and tires had been replaced with non-recommended parts, though I was willing to cover the cost of replacing these two items out of pocket.
2018 BMW X3 m40i - after the car was washed in a car wash, the tailgate started opening and closing on its own. Would open all the way up, wait a few seconds then close all the way down and lock itself. It happened about 20 times until it stopped on its own. This started immediately after the car was parked in the garage. Did not happen while driving. The button on the remote control was not pressed at all. The tailgate would beep and flash the taillights when opening and closing.
At this time nothing has happened yet. However, the recall notification clearly indicates the possible dangerous situations that can result. And, it seems to me that the idea behind a recall is to remedy the problem and avoid the possibility of a harmful event happening on the road. I have spoken with a BMW dealer and no one has suggested that the car should be inspected to see if there nis a problem or not. . Also, there have been no warning lamps or other symptoms or messages yet. Safety for myself and the vehicle is put at risk by the very fact that this recall has been issued as of October 20, 2023. I would very much like to avoid the possibility of any of the incidents happening that are listed in the "additional details" list below.
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all problems of the 2011 BMW X3
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