I purchased this as a used car online and had it delivered to me. It hasn-€™t been a year of owning it yet and my car is now un-drivable. I was driving down the road and my transmission malf light came in and my car went into limp mode. I had to get it towed and the local shop who has it said it-€™s a broken timing chain from a failure. I-€™ve never had any issues and then all of a sudden now I have an estimate of $3627 to be able to drive my car. Upon researching, my model/year has a known issue for this happening. I feel stuck and don-€™t know what to do but feel like I need help so I can get my car back running. It barely has 105k miles on it. The dealership I purchased it from never mentioned any known issues with it.

- Mount Juliet, TN, USA

I was driving the car when the car began smoking. I pulled over and the was fire underneath the vehicle. It burned the car up completely within 10 mins.

- Mableton, GA, USA

I am reporting a car malfunction that occurred on June 29, 2021. The 2013 BMW X3 accelerated on its own and eventually crashed into a fire hydrant. I was turning left into a parking space in a parking lot at a very low speed when the vehicle accelerated and jumped onto the sidewalk all the while I was pressing the breaks and trying to steer the car to safety. It hit another curve in the parking lot, before crashing into the fire hydrant also in the parking lot. The airbags in the front driver-€™s side deployed top and bottom and the airbag in the rear, driver-€™s side. The car was deemed a total loss. I sustained minor burns on my legs from the airbag and a jammed finger. The Insurance Company was going to retrieve the -€œblack box-€ however they were only installed in vehicles assembled after September 2013 and my vehicle was assembled in June of 2013. Other BMW X3 owners have experienced this problem with outcomes more severe. Fortunately in my case it was only me and the fire hydrant. Several witnesses. The police and insurance company were involved. The car was towed to Co-Part in MD, it may still be there.

- Bowie, MD, USA

While driving in the southbound fast lane on Highway 101 on July 28, 2021 near Morgan Hill, California, the computer screen advised that there was a fuel supply problem, and at that instant, the engine shut down and the transmission went into park. There was no opportunity to coast onto the shoulder. The vehicle would not restart, nor would it shift out of park. My wife and I were trapped in a vehicle that would not and could not move, in the fast lane of a major California freeway, surrounded by rush hour traffic, with the likelihood that we would be rear ended and perish in a frozen car. The danger was severe. We put the emergency flashers on. Other cars were passing us on the shoulder and on the right hand side, and getting out of the car was dangerous and impossible. We were convinced that we were going to die or be severely injured. We called 911 and at that moment another driver pulled behind us to offer a buffer of safety with his car, until the California Highway Patrol arrived and a tow truck was called. Until the arrival of the tow truck, we remained in severe danger. The tow truck had to pull the vehicle to the shoulder locked in park, causing it to shudder as the rear wheels hopped on the pavement. Eventually we hired a flat bed tow truck to bring the vehicle to our local BMW dealer, and the problem was diagnosed as a faulty fuel pump. Apparently, if your fuel pump fails with this vehicle, you may die. This problem is documented with other drivers at the website carproblemzoo.com/bmwX3/other-fuel-system-pump-problems.php, all of whom were put in peril as a result of this systemic failure. I hope that this notification may save some lives, and would welcome further contact to discuss the matter further. My wife and I still suffer from emotional distress and PTSD, as a direct result of this incident, and will not drive this vehicle again.

- Pebble Beach, CA, USA

The engine failed while driving on the highway on 06/22/2021. My safety was put at risk because the traffic was heavy during the middle of a rain storm on the interstate. Cars had to swerve to avoid me as I was only able to coast my vehicle to the side of the highway. I was almost struck by traffic. A number of warning lights suddenly went off without have gone off before in king and oil pressure message and engine failure message and a transmission failure message all at once. I am in the process of getting the vehicle towed to be inspected. This appears to be a known problem with 2013 BMW X3s according to the research I have done since the incident but BMW won-€™t issue a recall for the vehicles even though they are aware that this is a dangerous vehicle issue according to websites like bimmerpost, com and car gurus.com which have similar incidents to mine posted on their websites. BMW needs to issue a recall and make the appropriate repairs.

- Capitol Heights , MD, USA

The vehicle has been to shop 2 times.1st drivetrain light came on and car would slow down in the middle of the highway.then it would totally stop. 2nd time it did the same thing except oil pressure light came on saying pressure too low and it stopped right there in the middle of the street. Now the oil pressure light comes on every time I drive it. I'm afraid it will stop in the middle of the highway again.

- Capitan, NM, USA

For the past 3 months, I keep getting this message on the dashboard: Drivetrain malfunction: Drive moderately. Maximum drivetrain output available. Consult service center. I had the turbo, vacuum hose, replaced last month. Now it is doing the same thing over and over again. Why is this happening?? please advise!!

- Stockton, CA, USA

January 12, 2019 car was parked unoccupied on street for 2+hours after driving it 20 miles. Vehicle spontaneously caught fire and burned to the ground, total loss. Engine replaced by BMW one year prior under warranty for timing chain guide failure. Complete service performed by BMW in October 2018. Approximately 66,000 miles on vehicle.

- Tualatin, OR, USA

On July 9th I was driving down the highway 495 South in Massachusetts when all of the suddenly my car lost power totally shut down and went into neutral. I had a very extremely hard to moving over to the side of the highway, when all of the sudden the car started smoking and blew up on the side of the highway. I barely made it out of the car. I have video of the car engulfed in flames

- Nashua, NH, USA

Earlier this year while driving my 2013 BMW X3 on the highway it broke down with little warning. Fortunately I was able to get to an exit ramp before my car completely failed. After having it flat bedded to a mechanic who had to push the vehicle into the shop they verified that the vehicle would crank over and not start. It was relatively clear from the sound the engine was making during the starter engagement that the camshaft timing was off. The valve cover was removed and the mechanic verified that the timing was indeed off. The timing chain had jumped time on both the intake and exhaust camshafts. The timing was off due to excessive slack in the timing chain due to a failed chain tensioner. This should not happen on a 2013 BMW with mainly highway miles. I was told I need a new engine that will cost upwards of $15,000 or buy a slightly used one for approximately $9,000. I've reached out tot he dealer and BMW na with no relief. Similar issues have been identified in the X5 and other BMW cars which were recalled but for some reason no recall was sent out on the N20 engine for the X3. From a quick internet search there are many X3 owners that have the same or similar problems. Something needs to be done to get relief for these owners. Unfortunately this once proud vehicle maker that no longer backs the longevity of the luxury car they build.

- Melville, NY, USA

My car has approx 78000 miles on it. I am the original owner. Car has been maintained routinely at BMW dealers at all the recommended time marks by the manufacture. Recently, my car stalled while I was driving on the freeway, and had to be towed to the BMW dealership. After 1 week of running diagnostic tests, I was informed that the timing chain has broken, and pieces from the chain flew into the engine and completely ruined it.

- Huntington Beach, CA, 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 battery of the vehicle drains even when it is not running. The battery gets so drained that it cannot be recharged and needs to be replaced.initially the service man kept telling me that I had left something on and that is why the battery drained. But someone told me off the record that it is possible that the computer system did not shut down properly and that was draining the battery and since I was not driving a long distance (I drive approx 25 miles total each day), that was not enough time for battery to recharge. The car makes weird noises when the engine has been turned off for hours and it is parked in the garage indicating something is still running. Things that I was told to do to ensure that this does not happen again is to lock the car when in the garage, to not run it in eco mode which turns off the engine if stopped for a long duration (let's say at a traffic light), since I am not driving it long distance.eco mode is one of the selling points for this car for fuel efficiency and now I am being asked to turn that off. My car is only 2 years old and I had to already change the battery. Because of this issue the vehicle automatically went into park on two separate occasions when I was stopped at a red light, which is very risky and may cause an accident. There are multiple complaints about this on the internet. I request you to please investigate this issue. I have asked the dealership for system report when the car was towed in because it would not start (even though it had been jump started the previous night), but so far I have not received anything.

- Algonquin, IL, USA