My husband was driving home from work on a city street when the car gave an alert: 'drivetrain malfunction'drive moderately.' Then my husband got another alert: 'oil pressure low' which warned not to drive. Fortunately, by that point he was on our block so he moved the car very slowly towards our house. The car shut down, but he was able to coast to park the car streetside. We had the car towed to the dealership the next day and learned that the timing chain had malfunctioned and the car was inoperable until the problem was fixed. Just the day before this vehicle failure, we were coming home from seeing family for the holidays. If this had happened on the highway or any other busy road, we could have been in serious danger. There was very little time to get to a safe place because the car shut down so quickly. I'm grateful that my husband was so close to home when this happened. As it is, we'll be incurring considerable expense to repair a car that BMW seems to know has a major defect. The car is a 2013 BMW X3 with an N20 engine; it has about 107,000 miles on it. That's a lot of miles, but not nearly so many that such a major vehicle malfunction could reasonably be expected. There is no reason that the timing chain should fail on a car that we have maintained and cared for. This is the kind of problem you might reasonably expect around 150,000 miles, but we're not at that point. I've since learned through some research that many bmws with N20 engines made in 2010-2015 have had these timing chain issues and that it is well known to many owners and to BMW itself. In 2017, they provided an extended warranty to cover timing chain issues up to 7 years/70,000 miles. That's an absurd limit for an essential component of a vehicle's basic engineering, especially coming from a luxury carmaker that claims to provide "the ultimate driving experience."

- Little Rock, AR, USA

Driving on highway braking to slowdown at a light as I was coming into town. Message came on that oil pressure was low and to call roadside assist. Moved off highway and cut engine on and of twice. Message cleared but decided to drive home. Message came on drivetrain malfunction drive moderately so I continued on for about 1.5 miles at slow speed. A clicking sound could be heard. The car jumped into neutral so I coasted to a safe spot and tried to put car in drive unsuccessfully. Turned engine off and would not restart. Tow truck put on flatbed to mechanic who then ran a a scan. He said the engine is ruined and will need replacing. The dealer in san antonio, tx replaced the turbocharger twice with the last being in the fall of 2017. Nothing was mentioned that there was such a problem with this that an extended warranty had been given. Our car has 94,000 miles. We had just driven through houston in a storm. This could have cost us our lives if we had been stranded in the flooding highway blocking traffic let alone other lives.

- Victoria, TX, USA

I was driving on the highway at speed 55 - 65 miles per hr, then studently I got a message, engine loss power, and the car suddenly stop. I was able to slide to the side off road. Car was towed to bmx dealer. The I received later, I had engine failure. They said it is common problem due to manufacturer problem. Car was 106,117 miles. Really surprising to see car engine failed this way. Something must be wrong with the manufacture. Also so dangerous for a car to failed studently on road this way. Risk of accidents.

- Edgewood, MD, USA

Faulty timing chain and guides. BMW is already aware of this issues with the N20 type of engine and extended out a warranty many of the vehicles but most of the timing chain fail just after the 70K mile limit imposed in the extension. BMW offered me no help in this matter and I had to pay out of pocket for a repair on a vehicle that should have been repaired.

- Kansas City, MO, USA

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