10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
1 / 1
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
29,046 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

The NHTSA is the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints can be spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem. See the Back button — blue bar at the very top of the page — to explore more.

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problem #8

Dec 282023

X3

  • miles
We have had several occurrences of the following issue during the last several months. When slowing the vehicle down at a traffic light/stop with the goal of bringing the vehicle to a complete halt, as the vehicle decelerates to almost a stop with the foot firmly on the brake pedal, there have been several instances where the engine suddenly revs up and the vehicle lunges forward instead of stopping. It is an intermittent issue which is very hard to predict. It has occurred on flat roads, or going downhill, a couple of times with the air conditioner on. It's a split second lunge needing one to apply brakes even harder. Since at other times, this doesn't happen it's very concerning since we're questioning the reliability of the vehicle. It's a matter of chance that this may cause rearending the vehicle ahead. Thankfully, that hasn't happened but have come within a hair of happening.

- San Ramon, CA, USA

problem #7

Jul 232023

X3

  • miles
Driving on highway when car would not accelerate. No power. N for neutral on dashboard and transmission malfunction. No other warning or warning lights came on dashboard. Temp was in middle not elevated. Coasted to breakdown lane. No power, unable to start. Towed to BMW dealership that we go to. Told it was a catastrophic engine failure. Video from dealership, has mechanic showing metal pieces in oil filter. As of this date, car has been at dealershipabout 10 days without findings. was at dealership two days prior for oil change. Unsure if dealer did something or this is a problem with this series. Australia had recall for engine failures in this model. Just letting NHTSA know.

- West Roxbury, MA, USA

problem #6

Apr 302023

X3

  • 117,000 miles
The contact owns a 2016 BMW X3. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the low oil pressure and drive train warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic and the contact was informed that the timing chain guide failed which and caused a catastrophic engine failure. The contact was informed that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact related the failure to Technical Service Bulletin: 110317 (Engine Timing Chain and Oil Pump Drive Chain). The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 117,000.

- Georgetown, CO, USA

problem #5

Aug 302020

X3

  • miles
On 8/30/20, after sitting for an hour after a long drive, the car burst into flames and burned down two adjacent homes. The car was parked for an hour before it started to burn.

- Liberty Corner, NJ, USA

problem #4

Dec 012018

X3

  • miles
The contact owns a 2016 BMW X3. The contact received notification of NHTSA campaign number: 18V755000 (engine and engine cooling). The contact stated that the manufacturer exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. Autobahn BMW fort worth (2828 white settlement rd, fort worth, tx 76107, (817) 665-5831) was contacted and confirmed that the parts were not available for the recall remedy. The manufacturer was not notified. The contact had not experienced a failure. VIN tool confirms parts not available.

- Weatherford, TX, USA

problem #3

Jan 012019

X3

  • 40,000 miles
The contact owns a 2016 BMW X3. When parking the vehicle, the rpms increased when the brake pedal was depressed. As a result, the vehicle crashed into a tree. There were no warning indicators illuminated. There were no injuries and a police report was not filed. The vehicle was towed to BMW of Ontario (1301 auto center dr, Ontario, ca 91761, (909) 402-3052) to be diagnosed, but the results were not disclosed. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 40,000.

- Pomona, CA, USA

problem #2

Nov 032018

X3

  • 29,800 miles
While approaching a stoplight, braked, then went to accelerate and the vehicle totally shutdown and stopped while driving in traffic. This was a catastrophic failure, which could have killed both occupants of this vehicle. The check engine light was activated. Upon attempting to restart the vehicle to move it out of the way of traffic, the vehicle would not start. The transmission would not be placed in neutral nor could the parking brake be disengaged so the vehicle could be pushed out of the way of traffic. This was a very dangerous situation. This vehicle is dangerous and should be taken off of the market.

- Eliot, ME, USA

problem #1

Sep 242018

X3

  • 45,569 miles
Early failure of diesel emissions system at 45,569 miles dealer replaced both nox sensors, upper O2 sensor, and dpf filter

- Allentown, PA, USA