This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.
So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.
I parked my vehicle in front of my house for the night after driving for only about 15-20 minutes. Maybe less. Roughly 3-4 hours later, I was alerted to my car being completely up in flames by the sounds of fire trucks / police sirens. Flames were 20-30 feet in the air coming from the engine compartment area. Fire department / police worked to extinguish the flames, but the vehicle is totally destroyed.
Vehicle electrical system has failed due to corrosion in wiring harness from leaking rear wiper fluid line. The wiper fluid line is bundled together inside the vehicle wiring harness. Wiper fluid line defective at time of vehicle assembly. Design engineering blunder to package a fluid line inside an electrical harness. Root cause for failure is manufacturer aware of the problem and have issued a service bulletin but manufacturer unwilling to repair under warranty due to lapsed warranty period not mileage criteria. Problem identified at 24,779 miles. More detailed description is attached. Vehicle safety systems, driving stability systems, cruise control function, have been compromised and do not function. Diagnostics systems and warning lights all stay lit on the dash. No way to tell if any of the electronic systems, emission systems, sensors and actuators are working properly.
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.
Junction box failure. I started having all types of random electrical problems. Wipers come on at random. Door locks, back windows, and turn signals won't work when this happens. I read that this issue was happening in other models, but don't see that the BMW X3 itself wasn't called out. Had the issue looked at by a mechanic and he said the stored codes were for main junction box failure or no message received from main junction box. It doesn't matter if the vehicle is stationary or in motion, issue still happens. Sometime when I turn off the car, the wipers are still going. Sometimes if I just open the door, without turning on the car, the wipers will start to go.
- Oswego, IL, USA
Search CarComplaints.com for these popular complaint phrases...
It has first caused check engine light own with a fault code, then different electrical components started affecting including lights, brakes, acceleration, pickup, speed control while driving. I already repaired twice out of pocket as it was a pickup and check engine light on issue with code P2096 which involves PCV components associated with the recall. Due to this defective component I've already spent 4000+ in repairs and still the check engine light on and I'm driving unsafely as I don't have money to repair further. I also had to put my family on risk with 2 small kids as this SUV we use as a family car. Since the issue is reported a year ago and BMW still didn't offer any fix into purchase a new car to safeguard ourselves. I demand BMW to refund me 100K due to all these issues caused due to this problem and offering no timely fixes and causing stress and financial frustration.
Only have my car for only a year. Taillight from passenger side: The running light defects when I hit the brake the brake light comes on. I was told I need to replace the whole assembly light and this is well known for this car. Yesterday, while I was driving. My driver restraint light came on and my A/C or temperature control stopped working, and control display stopped working. I am not able to move the driver seat. Just brought in to the dealer for the PCV valve heater recall service. Was told this may solve the issues and may not. If not, there should be a recall for the taillight, airbag and the control display issues.
The contact owns a 2011 BMW X3. While attempting to make a U turn, the steering wheel seized. In addition, the vehicle experienced a complete loss of power. The failure occurred without warning. The vehicle was taken to the dealer (BMW of las vegas, 6900 w sahara ave, las vegas, nv) for diagnostic testing, but the cause of the failure was unable to be determined. The dealer stated that the VIN was not included in any recalls pertaining to the failure. The manufacturer was notified and informed the contact of NHTSA campaign number: 11V341000 (steering), but the VIN was excluded. The failure mileage was approximately 100,000.
The sunroof stopped closing.I tried to open windows and sunroof using the keyfob when this happened. I had it checked and they said the fzd roof module has to be replaced.
The contact owns a 2011 BMW X3. The contact stated that the vehicle failed to start after several attempts and the following warning message appeared: "drive train malfunction not running at full capacity, reduce and drive moderately". the vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the battery needed replacement and the vanos malfunctioned. The independent mechanic replaced the battery and advised the contact to call a local BMW dealer to have the vehicle serviced per NHTSA campaign number: 14V176000 (engine and engine cooling). The dealer was not contacted because the vehicle was unable to start and due to bad weather. The manufacturer stated that the VIN was not included in the recall. The approximate failure mileage was 72,000.
The led twilights are defective. I've had this happen on 2 separate BMW X3's I have owned for a total of 4 taillights that are defective. This is a very common problem and is reported over and over again by other owners. It's almost certain that if you own a BMW X3 F25 (2011-2017) this will happen. It requires a diy repair to the circuit board or replacement of the entire taillight ($250-300 each.). https://M.youtube.com/watch?V=jdpbm6cp_yo
While driving on an interstate road, exiting a tunnel, the X-3 suddenly, without any warning or indicators, lost the power steering and power brakes. The engine lost power and the dash board lite up with a myriad of warnings that made no sense. Then, just as suddenly the entire dash board went dark. The vehicle was extremely difficult to steer and stop. Since I was in fast moving traffic, the situation was scary to say the least. I found a place to pull off and did so. I turned the X-3 off. At restart it seemed ok, but the problem re-occurred again. I was able to finally get to my house. Stopping and re-starting several times. Losing all power, brakes, steering, etc at each instance. Vehicle was placed on a flat bed and taken to sewickley BMW the following day. After almost a week, the car was returned to me. I was told it was an electrical issue. Exactly 2 weeks later the same problems re-occurred. Again I was on an interstate and the lose of control at a high rate of speed could have been a catastrophe if an inexperience driver was behind the wheel. The car was repaired again and this time more work was done. The dealer said that they found a bulletin from BMW that explained this possibility. I saw the BMW info and it understated what actually could or would occur should their systems fail. In my opinion, my life was in severe jeopardy when the failures occurred and had I not been an experienced driver with calm reactions, a fatality is not out of the question. My wife will no longer ride in the vehicle and I have been told to get rid of it asap. I reported these incidents to BMW and quite frankly they were totally indifferent to the problem, only saying that the vehicle is out of warranty and they have no obligation to do anything for me. In my opinion, this is a major problem waiting to explode. BMW is ignoring the issue and someone will die
The passenger restraint system is malfunctioning. This is a common problem that BMW X3 cars have. We have the sports edition and despite several attempts to fix the problem the sensor in the mat continue to indicate the air bag will not deploy if we have an accident despite how severe that accident is. We have contacted the BMW dealership and they pretended of knowing nothing about similar complaints or of a recall on the sensor in the seat mat. It will cost us about 1,000 dollars to fix. Yet most to all BMW owners of the X3 series, especially the sports edition have the same problem.
Key fob quit working three days after they put new batteries in it because I stated it didn't seem to be working correctly. By quit working I mean: Keyless entry would not work; remote would not unlock or lock doors or tailgate. I had to take the metal key to unlock door. Once inside I had to put key fob next to steering column in order to get it to start. Called dealership service center, the made appointment and brought me loaner car. They stated I'd have it back that evening. Not returned. Then next day I was told it had to be over nighted. When it didn't arrive the next day (day three) I was told it had to be shipped from NJ. On day 6 I was told that it was on back order and that it might take another week or more to get the key. It took them 10 days to get me the key fob.
My vehicle suddenly lost power steering control and a yellow warning symbol appeared on the instrument panel. I experienced the problem the first time while I maneuvered a corner. I was coming out of the turn and accelerating when the steering locked up, and the loss of steering control almost caused me to crash. I took the car immediately to murray motors (in denver, co) and was advised that there was simply a computer programming "glitch" that came from the factory; the service center advised they downloaded new software and the problem was solved. Some weeks later, I again lost power steering suddenly while driving straight. I took the car into murray motors again and stressed the enormity of my concern over this frightening problem. After some days, murray motors advised me that the electronic power steering assist unit had failed. They represented they replaced the power steering rack, the electric motor mounted on the rack, and the eps module. I researched BMW recalls thereafter and found that a recall had been issued for this problem on several BMW models already. I called BMW's customer relations number (1-800-525-7417) and was informed that my vehicle VIN number fell outside the scope of the current recall, and I was therefore never notified. I am writing the NHTSA to report that BMW's recall is not broad enough as defects in the eps module and related parts exist in vehicles beyond the immediate recall. I also want the NHTSA to know that murray motors allowed me to drive this vehicle out of their service center after the first (inadequate) repair, even though the steering complaints I reported to their service technicians were identical the description of the steering problem listed in BMW's recall letter for the X3 posted on their website. Murray motors claims to have no knowledge of this defect in any X3.
The electrical system on this vehicle no longer functions, ie, the windshield wipers don't work, the headlights operate sporadically, the power door locks and power windows do not operate, the A/C doesn't work, the horn honks periodically, the tailgate won't open to facilitate replacement of fuses. The fuel gauge is inoperative and the cruise control doesn't work. Windshield wipers are a crucial safety item in the pacific nw as are headlights. This incident occurred in bellingham, wa. BMW offered little assistance despite the safety issues and the fact that the car was under BMW's warranty.
The electrical system on this vehicle no longer functions, ie, the windshield wipers don't work, the headlights operate sporadically, the power door locks and power windows do not operate, the A/C doesn't work, the horn honks periodically, the tailgate won't open to facilitate replacement of fuses. Windshield wipers are a crucial safety item in the pacific nw as are headlights. This incident occurred in bellingham, wa. BMW offered little assistance despite the safety issues and the fact that the car was under BMW's warranty.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Braintree, MA, USA