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.
The bolts backed out of my camshaft (VANOS) adjustment units. The related "warranty (not a recall)" information is found here: https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/tsbs/2018/MC-10135011-9999.pdf. I purchased a 2011 X3 28i last May (2022) with ~110k miles, and there was no open recall information attached to the vehicle. Inspecting prior service records the VANOS bolts were never replaced. After a few thousand miles the bolts backed out and sheared. BMW NA said it was out of warranty and would not be covered. There was no information found when searching the VIN for necessary repairs. I've seen 10+ reports in online forums in the past two years explaining they needed or got the repair and BMW NA told them it would not be covered. I don't understand how I was to know, or even the past owner (2nd owner, I'm the third), that this engine part failure would or could occur. If the "warranty (not a recall)" was recalled on other models it seems nefarious that a warning wouldn't be attached to the vehicles. The vehicle was inspected and passed, and then inspected by a indie BMW technician who used to work for BMW as well. The vehicle had repairs done, but even he did not suspect any engine issues. This issue is a matter of when and not if with the vehicles within the "warranty" time span. My request would be that BMW reopen the warranty or rightfully claim it a recall as it should have been in the beginning. I would appreciate any guidance on the matter. Thank you.
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.
Background -€¢Per a letter sent out to the NHTSA on April 9, 2014 a recall was issued for several vehicles as the housing bolts for the vanos cams were deemed to be faulty and could loosen or shear off causing a stall. oNHTSA Campaign 14V176000 and all defect notices, recall acknowledgements, etc which are currently extant on the NHTSA website. ï'§Technical Service Bulletin SI B11 07 14 dated 10/14 oIncluded in this recall are X3 28i with engine type N52 manufactured between 1/2010 -€" 9/2011. oA 10-year extended warranty was issued for vehicles not specifically covered under the recall. oMy vehicle was manufactured and put into service 1/2011. oNo one to date has given a clear answer on why my VIN wasn-€™t listed as part of the recall. Incident -€¢My wife and daughter were driving on the highway when the car stalled putting them in danger. They were able to pull off to the side without incident but were unable to start it again. -€¢I had the car towed to BMW Fairfield where the team under Nate Sanchez diagnosed the issue. The was no check engine light, no drop in performance nor any indication at all that something was wrong before this happened. In fact, I had the car at Dave Parker-€™s Eurasian Autoworks for an AC diagnostic. They thoroughly checked the vehicle and could find no faults. oThe cause of failure was the bolts shearing off the Vanos cam, exactly as stated in the recall. oThe engine was inspected with an Otoscope and no additional engine damage was apparent. oTotal cost of the repair is estimated at $6100 Involving BMW NA Customer Service -€¢Customer service was engaged to attempt to find a goodwill solution to the manufacturers defect. oCustomer service communication was spotty at best. When first I called, they told me that the car was covered under the extended warranty for the entirety of 2021. Upon the dealership calling, they were told that the warranty had expired. Throughout the process, deadlines for information were promised and then w
While driving on a motorway at moderate speeds of about 45 mph, vehicle started throwing dynamic stability control, engine check light and traction control deactivation warnings and started cutting out power to the wheels although the engine continued to idle smoothly. Stranded on the motorway for a while and then after switching off and switching on the ignition couple of times, vehicle started to drive forward in limp mode. Had to pull over for safety and towed the vehicle to a local mechanic shop. They said the accelerator pedal failed and stopped sending any signals to engine control unit. They replaced the gas pedal and everything seems to be back to normal.
The error "chassis stabilization" popped up with multiple lights on the instrument gauge cluster. Steering, acceleration, and braking were effected. After backing out of driveway, made a sharp right turn and warnings appeared. They also happen intermittently during driving, most often in the first 2 minutes of driving.
- Kaneohe, HI, USA
Search CarComplaints.com for these popular complaint phrases...
Water pump and thermostat have failed at 63,000 miles. That is an extremely short life span for those items and from general research it appears that this is a common issue with these vehicles.
The coolant system is giving me many problems. The coolant expansion tank developed cracks in the seam and leaking. The thermostat was stuck, causing zero heat into the cabin on a cold day. The vehicle stalled on its own while driving in the highway. It would not re start the ignition kept trying, and after 20 minutes stalled it finally started, limp driving to my house from there.. the display reads drive moderately /drivetrain malfunction.
The contact owns a 2011 BMW X3. The contact stated that the transmission malfunctioned when switching from first to second gear. As a result, the vehicle shook and vibrated severely. During the failure, the check engine and power train malfunction indicators illuminated. The vehicle was towed to Edison open road BMW (731 us highway 1, Edison, NJ) to be diagnosed, but the cause of the failure was not determined. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 96,222.
Experienced drive train malfunction warning along with shaking and limp mode numerous times which resulted in 2 repairs last year in the thousands only to find out it was due to the cam shaft bolts recall at the root of the initial cause of the failures that resulted. BMW was hesitant to pay initially but my husband is a litigation attorney and once he got involved, they were quick in doing the right thing. I am currently having issues with the no warning light showing to warn me of a low coolant level. It was not until after smoke appeared from the engine area and a burning smell that the warning finally appeared. I immediately stopped and waited for it cool off & had coolant put in, warning light disappeared. Currently smelling a burning smell and hearing a squeaking noise so have a service scheduled tomorrow for the valve heater recall and hope BMW will address any issues stemming from that that may be causing other issues. Also to report, rarely ever use the glove box yet the corner of the glove box has come apart and will not reattach. I saw this has been an issue reported by many BMW X-3 owners and I will be expecting BMW to do the right thing and pay to fix this known defect.
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.
The contact owns a 2011 BMW X3. The contact received notification of NHTSA campaign number: 17V683000 (engine and engine cooling); however, the parts to do the repair were unavailable. The contact stated that the manufacturer exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair as the recall notice was received in September of 2017. The contact called the manufacturer several times, but they did not know when the parts would be available. The contact was concerned because the recall notice stated that the failure could lead to a possible fire and the vehicle was to be parked away from the home. The dealer was not contacted. The contact had not experienced a failure. VIN tool confirms parts not available. Updated 8/15/18
The contact owns a 2011 BMW X3. While driving various speeds, the vehicle began to overheat. The contact coasted the vehicle to the side of the road. The vehicle was towed to the contact's residence. The contact called BMW of concord at (925) 682-3577 (located at 1967 market St, concord, ca 94520) and was informed that they only would repair what was listed in NHTSA campaign number: 17V683000 (engine and engine cooling). The vehicle was repaired, but the failure recurred. The manufacturer was notified and did not assist. The failure mileage was 59,246.
The contact owns a 2011 BMW X3. The contact received notification of NHTSA campaign number: 17V683000 (engine and engine cooling); however, the parts to do repair were unavailable. The contact stated that the manufacturer exceeded a reasonable amount of the time for the recall repair. Dreyer & reinbold BMW (9375 whitley drive, indianapolis, in 46240, 317-573-4421) was contacted and confirmed that the parts were not available for the recall remedy. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue and was not able to confirm when the parts were to become available. The contact had not experienced a failure. VIN tool confirms parts not available.
TL-contact owns a 2011 BMW X3. Vehicle was bought used last year. Contact went online and saw two recalls on vehicle. Contact called BMW and BMW dealership stated they are not responsible for a previous recall. Contact had a vaccum oil leak in car due to PCV valve leak. BMW dealership stated PCV valve was already replaced on vehicle. Recall states remedy not yet available. Contact given number to BMW. 2 recalls associated with this VIN May 19,2016 manufacturer recall number na NHTSA recall number 16V333 recall status recall incomplete summary isofix bracket: Vehicles have been equipped with lower anchor bars for use in attaching child restraint systems which, if specifically used with european-isofix-type rigid-style connector child restraint systems, could become damaged during vehicle operation. Safety risk if the lower anchor bar(s) become damaged during vehicle operation, this would increase the risk of injury to a child in a child restraint system attached to the lower anchor bars in a crash. Remedy the remedy is available. A reinforcing bracket will be welded to the lower anchor bars and the vehicle body. Oct 30,2017 manufacturer recall number na NHTSA recall number 17V683 recall status recall incomplete, remedy not yet available summary positive crankcase ventilation (PCV) valve heater : this recall involves an engine component known as the positive crankcase ventilation (PCV) valve heater. The PCV valve heater may not have been produced to specifications. Over time, it could deteriorate and, in rare cases, could lead to overheating. Safety risk if overheating occurs, then in rare cases, this could lead to melting of the PCV valve. In extremely rare cases, this could lead to a fire.
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 contact owns a 2011 BMW X3. While driving at unknown speeds, the accelerator pedal was applied and the vehicle stalled without warning. Additionally, when the temperature gauge increased, there was an abnormal squealing noise. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic. The local dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified and referred the contact to NHTSA. The VIN was unknown. The failure mileage was approximately 109,000.
BMW's use electric water pumps compared to mostly belt driven pumps used by other manufactures. In the BMW community it is widely know that the pumps will fail after 60,000 miles, and some even sooner. BMW knows about this issue and has in fact changed the design and the vendor supplier for this part. The company should voluntarily recall all vehicles that have the faulty pump design and reimburse those who have had to change it out of warranty on their own expense. BMW has not taken any responsibility but its a safety issue as one can loose all engine power that puts the car in a limp mode, imagine if that happens on a freeway where other cars might hit you for going at 25 mph in a 65-70 mph zone in California. That is what happened to me on a freeway and it was scary and I was lucky enough to get to the side of the road as traffic was very light that day being christmas. Blog after blog on BMW describes this issue and is a known defect in their water pumps amongst all BMW enthusiasts.
I took my car in for an oil change and was called back by the auto place and was told that, while they were test driving the vehicle it had a major engine faliure, resulting in them having to tow the car and was told that the timing chain had broken and there was massive damage internally to the engine, valves had been bent due to failure. I have spoken to BMW but have not gotten any relief. It is important to mention that this car only has 65,000 miles on it. This faliure is insane and BMW is not willing to honor anything.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Pittsburgh, PA, USA