Seats Problems of BMW X3 - part 1

I am reaching out with an official complaint regarding a defect in my BMW X3 m40i, which I purchased in November 2024 from beverly hills BMW with a mileage of 8,500 miles. The vehicle was certified under BMW’s cpo program, and I additionally purchased an extended warranty. Shortly I began experiencing discomfort while driving. When my back is fully pressed against the seat and my head rests on the headrest, my line of sight is not straight at the windshield but is instead shifted leftward, closer to the a-pillar. This misalignment significantly impairs visibility, making it difficult to maintain a proper driving position and increasing the risk of an accident. Additionally, this issue causes discomfort in operating the vehicle and results in back pain during long drives. I visited my local BMW dealer in palm springs, as the original dealer is quite far, and requested an inspection. The service foreman acknowledged something felt off, and an appointment was scheduled for an engineer’s evaluation on January 27, 2025. However, on January 29, my vehicle was returned to me with the claim that no issues were found. I asked how the engineer had inspected the seat and was informed that measurements were taken. When I requested photographic evidence of these measurements, I received images showing an engineer using nothing more than a simple wooden stick instead of professional measuring instruments such as levels, tape measures, or lasers. This method is completely inadequate for an objective and precise assessment of a potential structural defect. Even in these images, it is apparent that the seat is misaligned. Since the official assessment failed to provide objective results, I conducted my own measurements using a 360-degree laser level and determined that: the driver’s seatback is shifted 2 cm closer to the driver’s door; the seat is rotated at a noticeable angle toward the a-pillar. I hope for your assistance, as the seat frame is damaged and using the car is unsafe.

See all problems of the 2022 BMW X3 🔎.

Passenger restraint system malfunction.

Intermittent, but frequent failure of seat occupancy sensor on front passenger seat. Appears to be related to occupancy weight sensor. As sensor is not functioning properly, passenger airbag is being unsafely deactivated, leading to lack of airbag deployment if a front end collision were to occur. Problem is reproducible, but has not been taken to dealer, nor has it been inspected. Warning alert displays, then turns off, then returns frequently while the front passenger seat is occupied.

See all problems of the 2015 BMW X3 🔎.

Passneger occupancy sensor keeps failing due to a known issue with BMW X3 g01. Seat wiring circuit keeps experiencing electrical problems and failing to detect passenger. This can lead to airbags not deploying in the event of collision. Third time the issue has been repaired and customer was responsible for almost $1200 in costs.

See all problems of the 2018 BMW X3 🔎.

For about 1 year now when there is someone in the passenger seat the car will randomly stop recognizing the seat is occupied and deactivate the air bags on the passenger side front. I took the car to BMW where it was diagnosed as a faulty seat mat. I called BMW corporate to try to get this issue resolved and they were unable to cover it under any warranty. After the battery replacement the car has lost all communication with the passenger seat safety restraints and now has a permanent air bag light.

I was driving my daughter to school this morning and turned on the seat warmers/heaters. After a few minutes on the road, I started to smell something burning. I couldn’t identify the smell and wondered if it was coming from the heater. I touched the left edge of the driver seat and was immediately burned on my hand. I quickly turned off the seat heaters and noticed that the left edge of the seat was burning. Yes, the safety of me and my daughter was at risk. I swerved when it burned me. No accident, fortunately. This is a known issue from what I’ve researched and it seems a recall was issued in 2006. So why not for this year. Same seat. Very dangerous. Could have been much worse. No, it has not been inspected. The damage is obvious and the only solution is to disable/not use it until a recall is issued. There were no warning lamps, etc. And the fuse didn’t blow, either. Problem has been reproduced.

See all problems of the 2007 BMW X3 🔎.

I continue to get airbag warning light and front passenger seat occupant detection malfunction. I was told by local mechanic that acsm fault codes are 930a60 and 930a1c.

Airbag lamp remians on due to failed passenger seat occupancy detection mat. Honolulu BMW dealer claims recall 08v384000 was performed July 18, 2008- which is the exact same date listed in the recall as BMW's report date to NHTSA. The recall campaign and procedure did not get published or begin for nearly a year later. The recall campaign asks that a small sticker be affixed adjacent to the VIN tag- there is no sticker, nor is there evidence of a sticker ever having been there ( I know what it should look like). The vehicle has not been repainted.

See all problems of the 2004 BMW X3 🔎.

Problem is that the display says "passenger restraint malfunction" -- which brings safety concern. Upon online search, it is likely caused by design flaw of passenger occupancy detector. Here are some reasons why it is design flaw (I. E. Not just individual failure) 1. There has been a recall for the same problem for earlier year models (2006-2007 etc). It seems the other years have the same problem (previous recall wasn't a complete fix) 2. There is actually a third party electrical device online that bypass passenger occupancy detector (so that the car thinks passenger seat is occupied all the time) -- which indicates the commonality of the problem because it even became a profitable market.

Driver seat will not move forward <driver restraint system malfunction, computer keep restarting while driving and sos keep popping on the computer.

See all problems of the 2014 BMW X3 🔎.

A malfunction of the front seat occupancy mat will prevent the passenger air bag from deploying in the event of an accident and displays a malfunction warning. This malfunction has been the subject of several BMW NHTSA recalls but so far none have been issued for this vehicle.

See all problems of the 2012 BMW X3 🔎.

The contact owns a 2007 BMW X3. The contact stated the while the heated seat was in the on position the driver's side seat became hot and caught fire. The fire burnt through the seat and left a hole. There were no reported injuries. The driver was able to extinguish the fire. The contact called the local dealer and left a message but, vehicle was diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted. The approximate failure mileage was 180,000.

The side seat rail plastic covers are easily detached from both driver and passenger side of front seats. On one occasion, the driver seat cover detached and slid forward near pedals while driving creating a potentially serious accident.

See all problems of the 2021 BMW X3 🔎.

I turned on my heated seat and within about a minute and a half I smelled a burning smell. Pulled over as I started to feel a burn on my leg because the seat heater has burnt through the leather in my car. This is a known problem at BMW and they have not issued a recall for this.

See all problems of the 2006 BMW X3 🔎.

Oc3 mat in passenger seat malfunctions and disables passenger-side airbag. BMW is aware of this problem with oc3 sensors affecting different models. See, e. G. , https://static. Nhtsa. Gov/odi/rcl/2017/rcrit-17v428-3205. Pdf pertaining to various e series vehicles that have the same part. Bmwna claims the recall and extended warranties that covered the oc3 part in these other vehicles has not been extended to cover my vehicle (2012 BMW X3). There is a long documented history of problems with the oc3 sensor: https://static. Nhtsa. Gov/odi/tsbs/2018/mc-10142910-9999. Pdf https://static. Nhtsa. Gov/odi/rcl/2017/rcrit-17v428-3205. Pdf https://static. Nhtsa. Gov/odi/rcl/2017/rcmn-17v605-2124. Pdf (x3 oc3 mat from 2006-2010) https://static. Nhtsa. Gov/odi/tsbs/2014/sb-10056703-9690. Pdf https://static. Nhtsa. Gov/odi/tsbs/2013/mc-10150131-9999. Pdf https://static. Nhtsa. Gov/odi/tsbs/2020/mc-10179827-9999. Pdf https://static. Nhtsa. Gov/odi/tsbs/2014/sb-10056096-7046. Pdf.

While driving, I turned on the seat warmer. Within a few minutes, I smelled burning and my left thigh felt hot. I turned off the seat warmer and the smell abated. The resulting burn mark was left in the seat.

I call the brooklynbmw dealer to schedule a recall repair on three items for my truck and I was told it would takes days for the repairs and I would have to get my own means of transportation during this time even after I stated I have an elderly mother whom lives with me and that I would need some type of transportation during that time and was told there was no loaner car to offer me and that I would have to pay $40 a day for a rental car. This is an inconvience since I should not be responsible for out of pocket expense for the companys negligence of defective/cheap/recalled auto parts. My car is drivable and the inconvience is not of my fault.

My front passenger airbag seat occupancy sensor mat will intermittently malfunction. At times, the front passenger airbag will turn off, even with a passenger in the seat. If this were to occur, during and accident, with deactivation of the front passenger airbag there is increased the risk of injury or death.

The driver's seat heating element burned and damaged the skin of the seat and burned my back while driving in the city. I was so surprised when this happened that I jumped in the seat and caused an accident.

While driving, with driver's heated seat set on high (3 lights for heated seat control), driver noted a burning smell. Driver turned off cabin heat, heated seat and pulled off the road to identify the source of the strong burning smell. Heated seat had burned through the leather seat and the external layer of the driver's down filled wool coat. Vehicle was in motion on a residential street, manual transmission in 3rd gear, straight road. Occurred on 12/16/19. Included 2 pictures of the burnt leather seat and 1 picture of the driver's burnt coat. Seat and coat were burned, no live flame.

Heated seat getting too hot too fast. Burning smell.

Within two minutes of driving, on a city street, the car with the heated seats on, I smelled a burning smell and thought it was coming from another car. But the smell got stronger and it didn't smell like a car-related smell. Eventually, the smell got so strong and pungent and I suddenly had a sharp pain on my left hip and I realized it the heated seat was burning me. The pain was so acute I had to lift myself off of the seat, which was dangerous and could've resulted in an accident, and I immediately pulled over and turned off the heated seats. Once I turned the heated seat off the pain and smell dissipated. I got out of the car and there was a clear burn hole both on the seat and on my pants. The smell of burnt fabric lasted in the car for several days and for the rest of the day I experienced sharp pains on my left hip as if it was getting burned again.

The heating element in the drivers heated seat burned through the leather seat and and burned me. This is the 2nd time this incident has happened with this car. It also happened 4 years ago. The seat was replaced with another faulty seat, obviously. There is an obvious burn mark on the seat. Vehicle was moving, I was 2 blocks from my suburban house, first time using it this fall.

First problem is that one three separate occassions my rear hatch/tailgate has opened on its own while parked. Each of the three times the car was parked in the garage and has hit my garage door causing damage. While in the garage, my keys were inside the house and no buttons were pushed on the key fob. I have complained to the dealer about this issue twice now and have not had success in solving the issue. Second problem is that the seat ventilation on the passenger seat has failed three times. Each time the fans within the seat that activate to push air through the vents sound like they are tearing through the seat. Each time the dealer has repaired the issue, only for it to return again. The car is going to the dealer once again after I asked for them to escalate this issue. I have not yet had the car one year. My purchase date was in September 2018.

See all problems of the 2019 BMW X3 🔎.

Recall no. 17v-605 - perillo BMW claims not a 'recall' I have a �important safety recall - final remedy available� notice for recall campaign no. 17v-605 for my 2007 X3 VIN: wbxpc93457wf23679 the notice states that BMW �will replace the front passenger seat occupant detection sensor mat�. . Read more...

Heated seats gets too hot and burnt me on the left butt cheek. Definitely a fire hazard as I could also smell something burning in the car.

Driver's side seat warmer burned skin and scorched leather seat cover when turned on.

Problem with the driver's seat heating mat. Problem with determining the cause of errors posted on the photo.

While driving in heavy tragic, smelled something burning, went to pull out of tragic and felt my ass on fire, the heat seater burned a hole in the seat and melted seat cover to my pants causing much discomfort and ruined jeans. Reported it to BMW and they offered to disconnect the electricity to the seat. Not satisfied, not impressed. Very dangerous. Vehicle was on highway when incident happened. Was lucky to get out of tragic to exit. While driving put my hand to feel problem and burned finger tip.

See all problems of the 2009 BMW X3 🔎.

I came outside one morning to find that all my windows were rolled down, the sunroof was rolled completely back, and the doors were unlocked. It had been raining heavily the night before and the interior of the car was completely soaked. The idrive system, radio, and seats were completely unresponsive. Almost every light on the dashboard was on - low tire pressure, abs, airbag light, parking brake malfunction, cel, oil light, and others. Upon further experimentation, I discovered that the car would open completely if I unwittingly held the unlock key for no more than 3 seconds. 3 seconds has cost me thousands of dollars in repairing connectors, the idrive system, replacing carpets, and more. On top of that, the vehicle has been in the shop for almost a month because of the time it takes to investigate these issues and order replacement parts.

See all problems of the 2011 BMW X3 🔎.

Heated seat malfunctions causing "hot spot" that burns skin on rear upper leg.

I have a 2010 BMW X3 that needs a right front seat mat to correct air bag light on dash is on. Dealer told me part is on order and no person should sit in passenger seat until repaired. Will it is all most 1 year waiting on seat mat. (I had a recall for takata air bag on steering wheel replaced. Witch was done faster than this seat mat. ) I need to know how long BMW has to repair this problem???.

See all problems of the 2010 BMW X3 🔎.

I am reporting a common issue I’ve seen a lot of Bmws have with the seat occupancy sensor. I just wanted to report this to see if it could be a potential recall, since it is a safety concern.

The contact owns a 2005 BMW X3. While driving approximately 35 mph, the contact noticed a burning odor inside the vehicle. The contact coasted the vehicle to the side of the road and noticed smoke coming from the front seat lumbar cushion of the driver's seat. There were no injuries. The vehicle was taken to taylor BMW (4180 washington rd, evans, GA 30809, (706) 868-6400) where it was diagnosed that the front driver's seat needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was contacted and did not assist. The approximate failure mileage was 118,000.

See all problems of the 2005 BMW X3 🔎.

Passenger side 'airbag off' warning light comes on on initial start, goes off momentarily and comes back on with adult male seated in passenger seat or seat empty. Past models suffered from passenger seat sensor cracking. Is this a problem with 2015 X3?.