Stopped at a stop sign in a residential area, warning light came on indicating a drivertrain problem, car lost power. Restarted car; would only move slowly (at 20-30mph). Computer recommended driving moderately. Later got the problem fixed by local dealer. About 5 months later, same issue occurred. Started car at work to drive home. Same warning light came on indicating the same issue. Car would move only at up to 30mph. Lucky both times the problem came up at local streets. If on highway, catastrophic consequences would occur.

- Sherman Oaks, CA, USA

At approx. 60,200 miles, I was driving down a secondary road, moving at about 45 mph and received the drive train warning and as I was pulling over, I received the low engine pressure warning. I was able to pull over and turn off the engine and have my vehicle towed.

- Raleigh, NC, USA

I have a 2013 BMW X3 with 85K miles and was driving on a 4-lane highway at 55 mph when a warning light came on indicating a drivetrain malfunction and that I should 'drive moderately'. within seconds, a second warning light came on indicating low oil pressure and that I should 'add a quart of oil'. I immediately pulled over to the side of the road where the car shifted into neutral without me touching the gear shift. I turned the car off to check the owner's manual about the drivetrain warning light, and the car would not restart. The entire scenario lasted about 10-15 seconds, and prior to this, I had no problems with the car and was diligent about performing routine service according to the manufacturer's instructions. The car was towed to the closest BMW dealership. I received a call the following day notifying me that catastrophic damage had occurred to the engine and that I needed a new engine! apparently, the timing chain guide broke, the pieces fell into the oil pan and lodged against the screen that keeps debris out of the engine, and starved the engine of oil. While I am concerned about the $12,000 repair bill, I am equally concerned about the danger that is posed by the sudden and complete disablement of the vehicle that could result in injury or death to the car owner or to another driver who encounters the disabled car on a busy highway. This is a recurring problem. I spoke with 3 service advisors at 3 different dealerships, and the service advisors said 'it is a recurring problem'. I also reviewed NHTSA and carcomplaints.com websites and found numerous complaints about the same problem. I anticipate more incidences of timing chain guide failure more drivers reach 75K plus miles.

- Isle Of Palms, SC, USA

Various failures in power train including transfer case, turbo, high pressure fuel injection, and transmission. Failures have happened while traveling on California freeways. Failures sometimes require towing. Sometimes caution driver to proceed at lower speeds.

- Arroyo Grande, CA, USA

While driving on the highway at 60-70 miles, the low oil pressure light came on, immediately followed by a drivetrain malfunction indicator light then car completely lost all power including breaks and steering. Luckily was able to pull over to a service lane. The car would not restart and had tow to the dealer. Dealer performed an oil analysis and found lots of metal shavings/particles in the oil which caused the engine to seize. Meanwhile the oil was just changed 3 weeks prior. Clearly this is manufacture defect. BMW North America does not want to acknowledge this even though there are numerous class actions suits regarding timing chain failure which causes the engine to seize due to failure of plastic timing chain guides. Had to pay out of pocket to repair defective engine. There needs to be a recall as this could have been catastrophic if someone was seriously hurt or even killed. BMW does not value the safety of their consumers nor do they stand by their products. This is totally unacceptable. In good conscience, I would never recommend this "ultimate driving machine" to anyone!

- Livingston, NJ, USA

Engine failure while driving on the freeway at 10pm during inclement rainy weather 350 miles from my home. First, the oil pressure warning reduce speed appeared. While trying to safely get off the freeway the drive train warning appeared. At that time, vehicle lost all power and I pulled to the shoulder immediately. After vehicle was towed to the closest european car mechanic, the mechanic diagnosed the vehicle and indicated the timing chain broke which caused engine failure. The timing chain is only warranted up to 70K miles. Vehicle has 83K mile. There are numerous complaints about engine issues with this vehicle and BMW should offer a recall for failed components. Unacceptable to have a failed engine and I plan to take this issue to BMW corporate.

- Bend, OR, USA

I was driving down the interstate at 75mph and put the car into sport mode, it suddenly went from 2000 RPM cruising to 6000 RPM and back to zero. The car had lost complete power. I pushed the gas and nothing happened; luckily I was able to coast to the side of the road and pull over. I tried to restart the car but nothing happened. The radio, air, and windows still worked but nothing else. I had aaa tow the car to the closest BMW dealership. The BMW dealership called me to ask if I had a dead battery; I told them batteries do not die driving down the interstate. BMW then called me back to tell me that the engine seized and it was total failure, but they could not tell me anything specific when I asked. They said I could pay $6,000 in labor to have a mechanic rip it apart to find the exact cause and then pay the additional cost to have whatever was broken replaced or that I could go ahead and pay $10,000 upfront to have the engine replaced. A 2013 car, that has routine maintenance should not have this happen. I could have been in a serious accident from this, and now I have no car to drive.

- Little River, SC, USA

Start/stop switch causes transmission malfunction stopping forward motion of vehicle from standing start causing failure to proceed suddenly. Turning off the system is the only way to stop this from happening. Dangerous situation pulling into traffic is the result. This has happened daily.

- Coral Springs, FL, USA

Driving (2013 X3 28I) vehicle without concerns, incidents or warnings until the oil pressure warning" light came on. Slowing down to try and make it the mile left to make it home. After the "oil pressure warning" came one, less than a minute later there was a "drive-train malfunction" warning. Now looking for a place to pull over, it was less than another minute when car locked up and stopped in the middle of the road. Living on a curvy road, I was in a very bad situation, due to being between two curves, just after dark. Car would not start or go into neutral. It has been 10 weeks and car diagnosis has not been determined. Without warnings and total engine failure. I was not hurt in any way, and thankfully someone stopped to block the curve so people would slow down. I was stuck waiting for help for an hour. Tow-truck driver couldn't get into neutral to load on his truck. I did buy this as a 1 owner, lease return, and put the top asc warranty on it. The owner of a quality import repair shop says he has no idea and has never come across anything like this before. Short of pulling everything apart to try and figure out a specific problem, he does not want to try and repair it. Going to have to tow it to the dealer and hope they will give some answers. 10 weeks and no closer to an answer than on day one.

- Troutville, VA, USA

The braking system has stopped work and almost caused a crash. The brake guild and brake pads all check ok but vacuum has been lost to the booster. You can here the cam making noise when you start the vehicle and the noise has been since we purchased it and BMW states that's normal. I feel like the recall repair was not done correctly. Also there seem to be a drive train malfunction that BMW can not figure out. Please help

- Ragley, LA, USA

Shifting is erratic, especially accelerating from a stop. Both wife and myself noticed this on separate occasions driving by ourselves. Dealer says there are no codes and it drives like all other X3's. it does not drive like other X3's as we were given a new X3 as a loaner.

- New Ulm, MN, USA

The contact owns a 2013 BMW X3. The contact stated that the warning indicators flashed for the oil pressure low and drive train, and the vehicle suddenly decelerated without warning. The vehicle started to coast and randomly stalled. The vehicle was unable to restart and was towed to an independent mechanic who was unable to replicate and diagnose the failure. The vehicle was towed to the dealer where it was diagnosed that metal shavings were in the oil. Further diagnostic testing was required to determine the cause of the failure. The vehicle was then towed to a second independent repair shop for further testing. The dealer and manufacturer were notified. The approximate failure mileage was 78,000.

- Hinckley, OH, USA

Had been driving for approx. 5 minutes in residential area. Check engine light, low oil pressure warning & black smoke thru dashboard. Could see flames under the hood. Within 5-6 minutes car was fully engulfed in flames. Nothing left except for the frame. Total loss, almost no warning.

- Princeton Junction, NJ, USA

The contact owns a 2013 BMW X3. While driving 25 mph, the vehicle would not pick up speed and started hesitating. The contact stated that the drivetrain warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed that the engine and transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 45,000.

- New Orleans, LA, USA