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.
On 6/23/20, at approx., 6:15 am, my 2013 BMW X3 vehicle (approx. 68,000 miles) lost engine power as I was attempting to pull out from a busy and congested N/B 215 freeway (near the w/B 10 freeway exchange) in colton, California. Prior to losing engine power, and at about less than one minutes before, my vehicle's low oil light sensor had come on, then quickly changed to a drivetrain malfunction sensor -- warning me to drive moderately, but that was meaningless because my vehicle had already began to lose engine power. I slid to a slow stop into the emergency lane of the freeway after cutting off numerous vehicles behind me in an effort to make it off the freeway.
The contact owns a 2013 BMW X3. The contact stated that when his wife arrived home, the check engine warning light was illuminated. The contact stated that his wife attempted to start the vehicle however, the vehicle failed to start. The vehicle was towed to pacific BMW (800 S. brand blvd, glendale, ca 91204, 8182-46-5600) to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that the timing belt needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was informed of the failure and a case was filed. The failure mileage was approximately 91,450.
Engine seized at only 58K miles right at the airport, would not start again. It was later towed to the dealer and a new engine was replaced. 6 months later at 61K miles, huge plumes of white smokes is coming out of the exhaust. Drove to the dealer again and was informed that the turbocharger is broken.
I was driving down the road and my vehicle went into limp mode. The malfunction trans light came on. I took it to the dealership for diagnostics and was told I had a oil leak and the air tube needed to be replaced as well as the programming update. The next day BMW service advisor, [xxx] called to tell me my timing chain need to be replaced and it would cost over 7000$. I don't know what to do. He gave me his advice or two options I had, I could pay for the cost of repairs and have a vehicle or just fix what was discussed and try to sell my vehicle to someone else. I asked him to help me and put me into another vehicle, he said oh no we can't do that. I asked why, it's your car you sold it to me. [xxx] told me BMW knows what is wrong with the car you won't get anything for it, yet he wanted me to sell it to another family and endanger their lives. I wasn't going to hear from him again, very unprofessional. It made me sick. I called and spoke with customer relations a woman by the name of [xxx] and was told after 4 days of investigation, there's nothing they can do for me. I told them they could have the vehicle, I'm not paying for their manufacture defect. Something needs to be done. BMW is endangering lives by allowing consumers to purchase vehicles with known defects. I would have never purchased my 2013 BMW X3 28I in March 2017 if I had known I would have problems @ 80,000 miles. This is crazy. Information redacted pursuant to the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).
Timing-chain break due to timing guard which is made for a plastic break and engine failure, its a major issue with BMW N20 engine, they upgrade the effected part in 2015 to fix it but cars that have these N20 model earlier getting this failure and BMW not take ownership if its after 7 years or 70000 miles.
- Madison, MS, USA
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On 11/12/2019, on my way to work driving at 40-44 mph on city road, the acceleration suddenly dropped, a screen message read, "increased engine pressure, " and advised me to, "stop engine immediately, " which I had no chance to do because the SUV came to a complete halt. Thankfully I was able to turn into the driveway of a business, but unable to park. The car turned itself off and "locked." A BMW dealership service diagnosed the SUV's time-chain needed replacement (mileage was 95515. BMW stated that the warranty for this model's time-chain was 7 years/70,000 miles. In replacing the time-chain, the motor was ruined with metal shavings. Complaints listed at https://driving-tests.org/VIN-decoder/ report consumers who have had similar bad experience with the timing chain at about 100,000 miles. I purchased the BMW used with 95899 miles and drove it fewer than 3,000 miles before the timing chain and engine were ruined. BMW North America, llc, does not want to help customers with the bad timing chain issue. The dealer from whom I purchased the used BMW is Benz & beemer in scottsdale, AZ, whom originally believed that the timing chain had "lifetime warranty, " but BMW scottsdale corrected them. Benz & beemer refuses to now replace the BMW's motor at their expense, of course. Essentially, the BMW SUV is an expensive vehicle, even as used, to not have a "lifetime warranty" on the timing chain. In addition, the faulty timing chain poses a great accident risk, if not death, to the driver because the vehicle halts to a complete stop, which makes it difficult for the driver to move to safety, dire if the driver is in the freeway traffic. If the manufacturer cannot change the warranty on the timing chain, then you must make a recommendation to put this vehicle out of service beginning at 90,000 miles. Diagnose at BMW scotts 480-538-3991. Thanks, [xxx] information redacted pursuant to the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).
The night of 11/9/2019, I was driving my 2013 BMW X3 when my engine pressure low light came on then followed by drive train malfunction lights and instantly my SUV died/lost all power and I had to dangerously pull to the shoulder of the road while avoiding other cars. This is extremely upsetting since my little ones were in the car with me and we were on the freeway a few minutes earlier. The SUV locked up and was unable to start back up. I had the SUV towed to the BMW service department, they found the timing chain guide (made of plastic) had broken and the broken pieces block the oil pump. It took out the oil pump and starved the engine of oil and now I have a dead engine. My SUV have only 75K miles on it was regularly maintained by BMW service department. I was quoted $17,437.02 to have the engine replaced. BMW service dept contacted BMW America to file a claim and get the repairs covered. BMW refused the claim stating that it was past their 7 years /70K miles timing chain warranty. I had purchase the BMW platinum extended warranty that covers 7 years/ 100K miles, but it expired 2 months after this incident. It's a defective timing chain/bracket that can result to total engine damage. BMW needs to be held accountable and should have at least have a minimum of 10 years/ 150K miles warranty or issue a recall. People can lose their life when the engine shuts down and the car lose power. After researching online for BMW N20 timing chain failure, it is quite common on the N20 and the N26 engines. BMW knows this and are refusing to be responsible for the defective parts.for the safety of drivers, please have BMW North America held responsible. Also, its not fair for the customers to be liable for repairs due to the defective parts. The cost to replace the engine is enough to purchase a new cars. That's ludicrous and totally unacceptable!
My 2013 BMW X3 showed a low oil pressure warning on the display. Stopped the car, and had it towed to the dealer. The dealer said the timing chain needed to be replaced and it was a known issue with the N20 engine. The cost to replace is close to $6000. The timing chain is not part of the maintenance of the vehicle and it not suppose to fail. The dealer told me to call BMW North America for assistance to replace since the problem is due to a design defect and not a maintenance issue. I called and after 2 weeks BMW North America got in touch with me and told me they are not going to help me out, not even partially. I cannot drive or sell the vehicle without the repair because the engine will eventually fail which could potentially cause someone to get injured in an automobile accident if the failure occurs when driving in traffic.
The contact owns a 2013 BMW X3. The contact stated while driving 40 mph and approaching a traffic light, the vehicle stalled with the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was not drivable. The vehicle was towed to independent mechanic, where she was informed the timing chain needed to be replaced. The contact called coggin BMW of treasure coast in ft. Pierce located at 4429 us-1, fort pierce, fl 34982, (772) 742-5582, and notified the dealer of the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired. The manufacturer was informed of failure. The failure mileage was approximately 100,000.
The contact owns a 2013 BMW X3. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle stalled with the transmission warning light illuminated. The vehicle was restarted for a few minutes but stalled again. The contact stated that the vehicle was pushed to a service station and later towed to an independent mechanic to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that the timing chain needed to replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact called coggin BMW of treasure coast in ft. Pierce located at 4429 us-1, fort pierce, fl 34982, (772) 742-5582 and was informed that the vehicle was not covered under warranty. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and the contact was informed to take the vehicle to a dealer. The failure mileage was approximately 100,000. Consumer has 2 diagnostic testing done within few days of each other. Consumer has a 10 years 120,000 miles limited warranty which covers timing chain and oil pump chain.
My timing chain caused my engine to fail at 90,000 miles and BMW would not cover the cost even though they increased the warranty to 70,000 miles, I then had a used engine with 40,000 miles on it and 120,000 miles later that timing chain broke and ruin the engine. I still owe $10,000 on an $8,000 vehicle with BMW wanting $12,000 to replace the engine. The first time I was on the freeway close to hole and the drive train malfunction light came on the I pulled over. The second time the engine went out I was over 2 hours from home and had to have it towed to a different dealership.
I was driving on the freeway. I received an error message about low oil pressure and within a minute my car lost power and put itself in neutral. Luckily I was able to get off the freeway safely because it could have been very dangerous losing power suddenly in that way. The engine would not start back up and I had to have it towed. Another ongoing issue I have had, is that the power train malfunction error light comes on almost every time I drive and the auto shop has not been able to identify the problem. I have replaced the battery and had other work done that did not solve this problem.
Engine stopped working completely (no power/power steering/engine shaking) while on high speed road with wife and 2 year old vehicle. Mechanic noted oil pump/drive train failure associated with a class action lawsuit currently underway with BMW. Entire engine must be replaced.
As my wife and I were driving down the the busy highway, the vehicle went into neutral and the engine completely cut out. We luckily coasted to safety off the high shoulder--barely off the main traffic. The vehicle then went into park and would not start or shift into neutral, so we were stuck there until the tow truck came.
At roughly 71,000 miles, while parked at a red light, 200 miles from home on a holiday weekend, my car had a maintenance warning and wouldn't move.the timing chain broke, causing the engine to have to be replaced. The total cost of the repairs were around $7,000. According to online forums, this is a known problem.
Another timing chain stop in the middle of driving. My timing chain fail on me while driving. I have under 70 000 miles on the car but BMW na told that I am out of warranty because the car arrive at a lot in September 2012 and the 7 year warranty start from September 2012. My car is a 2013 BMW and 7 years would put me in 2020. BMW look for anything not to honor their warranty on their fail engine. I owe over $10K on a car that have a fail engine. Please look into this it is so not right
The contact owns a 2013 BMW X3. The contact stated that while the vehicle was parked and unoccupied, the vehicle exploded and caught on fire. The flames and heat damaged two parked and occupied vehicles. The contact stated that the Michigan fire department was present. The fire department was unable to locate where the fire initiated. The vehicle was towed. The manufacturer was contacted. The approximate failure mileage was 101,400. The VIN was invalid.
Another timing chain victim. Timing chain had been replaced 2/2017, 51K miles and evidently was replaced with the defective parts, prior to BMW's acknowledgment of an issue. 30 months later we sit at 80K miles and the chain has broken again causing catastrophic motor damage. BMW na was contacted and we were delightfully denied our assistance request. We were however offered a very generous 10% discount towards a new motor from our local dealer.
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."
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Riverside, CA, USA