While being parked with the engine off and in a covered condominium garage for 12 days, my 2013 BMW X3 caught fire and burned until the fire fighters extinguished the fire. The engine burnt to the point of virtually disintegrating. Other areas of the car suffered extensive damage because of the heat but the insurance investigation established that the fire originated in the engine compartment. The car in the next parking spot also was a total loss and the building had damages. Fortunately, there were no injuries. The engine had been replaced by BMW, at an authorized dealer, in November of 2021 as part of a class action suit settlement. Therefore, although the car had approximately 76000 miles, the engine had only about 7000 miles. The last service it had was a regular oil change on October 6, 2022. The fire department investigation and a third party investigation contracted by my insurance company were not able to determine the cause of the fire, only that it started in the engine, but the third party report stated that further investigation could be conducted by a mechanical engineer to try to determine the root cause of the fire. BMW was contacted and initially offered to inspect the car but 4 weeks later they officially communicated to me that they were declining the inspection and offered me $1000 if I signed a general liability release. The car will be available for inspection for a limited time after the title is transferred to the insurance company. No indications of a problem had been noticed during the last days/weeks/months it was driven. No warnings of any kind or other symptoms. Additional photos of the car and the damages are available for review at any time. The insurance company investigation report is also available upon request.

- Savannah, GA, USA

March 9, 2023 @ 7: 53 PM, timing chain failure. Mechanic confirmed March 10, 2023 at 11:10 AM. that I need a new engine due to this failure. Had oil changed less then 1000 miles prior to this failure. Never received recall notice for this timing chain issue, which is a class action lawsuit against BMW. My X3 has only 95000 miles on. The engine in my 2013 X3 is the N20 which is what this lawsuit is about. I was driving on a highway 60 MPH when "oil dangerously low, drive moderately, pull over and shut off engine warning appeared on dash. less than 30 seconds later "drivetrain malfunction" then appeared on dash. Engine stopped, the engine just stopped while I was going 60 MPH on a major highway. I was able to gradually coast off highway on the exit I was approaching. Coasted into a shopping plaza where auto stopped in the centre of the parking lot and stopped. Could not move it or get it out of park to push it out of the path of other cars entering and exiting the plaza. BMW should have notified me of this pending issue; they should be responsible for the repair of my X3.

- Baltimore, MD, USA

On Tuesday, January 31, 2023, my engine failed while driving my car. The answers to your questions regarding the incident are listed below: -€¢Component or system that failed: The Engine failed. -€¢Safety risk: My safety, as well as the safety of others was at risk. I was driving and suddenly without warning, I felt a strong jolt and noticed a loss of power. I looked down and noticed that my car shifted into neutral without warning. I tried to move the gear back into drive, but it would not shift. I had just enough power to glide into a parking lot and I turned the car off hoping I would restart it to place the car back into gear. After I turned the car off, it would not start and I had the car towed to the dealership. This is a dangerous safety issue and I could have been in a serious accident because my car suddenly stopped while driving. This could have placed other drivers at risk as well. After my incident, I researched the issue and discovered that other BMW X3 owners have had engine failures as well. This issue is known by BMW and they are putting their customers at risk by not issuing a recall for this problem. -€¢Problem confirmed by dealer: Yes, the BMW dealership did confirm that it was an engine failure. Please see attached file for details. -€¢Vehicle component been inspected: The vehicle has not been inspected by parties other than the dealership. -€¢Prior warnings: Before my engine failed, I did not receive any warning lights or messages. Also, my car did not exhibit any other symptoms. In fact, my car was repaired for another issue two weeks before my engine failed and the dealership did not alert me to any engine issues. Lastly, they ran a diagnostic on my car when I got new brakes in December and there were no issues related to the engine.

- Ocoee, FL, USA

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

The vehicle (at 102k mileage) failed to start at the heavy traffic interaction without any warning signs, and was then towed to a local BMW shop. A mechanic found the broken timing chain guard with many debris of plastic guard recovered from the engine during repairing. A total cost to replace the timing chain was $3685.05. The vehicle had oil change at a local BMW dealership about 6 months before the incident.

- Potomac, MD, USA

On July 15, 2022, my 2013 BMW X3 i28 broke down on the NYS Thruway; I reside in Fort Lauderdale; I've owned the Vehicle for a year and a half, have serviced it at BMW of Fort Lauderdale, and actually had it In to change a lightbulb and make sure all was good. It was towed to Towne BMW in Williamsville, NY, as I was in town visiting family. I purchased the car from Carvana in November 2020; the extended warranty was only effective for a year, and I was shopping for a new one. My Vehicle looks brand new; its garage is stored and well maintained per manufacturer recommendations. The Vehicle only just hit 70,383 miles, since I transport it on the autotrain when I head north for a few months. Towne BMW said they found the problem it was the battery, I pay the $685.78, plus the $300 in towing charges I made it across the street from the service center, and it stopped again I am still trying to figure out how a vehicle that was in excellent condition the day before is now dead? My Vehicle is sitting in my sister's driveway just outside of Buffalo NY with a dead engine. I have a rare genetic syndrome so trying to do everything is killing me; I almost had a heart attack from this ordeal. I still owe on the Vehicle. I contacted BMW of NA; This 2013 X3 come to find out was the worst year yet. There was a class action filed against them, which has expired, Currently this year alone there are an additional 134 vehicles I was able to find on the web, yet we all experienced just the same and in the end a dead engine. When I contacted BMW NA told him the situation, and he gave me a runaround; oh I'll contact the dealership and find the reason, and maybe out of good faith we can provide you with a new engine; I have all his crap emails trying to stall for as long as he could. Towne BMW won't even return my calls, I asked them for a list of the diagnostics they completed, and I received nothing. I had to tow the Vehicle to a german specialis so they could tell me the engine was seize

- Fort Lauderdale, FL, USA

Engine failure Defective timing chain and components BMW part/guide unstable plastic on low mileage vehicle

- Kenner , LA, USA

I have a 2013 BMW X3 i28 4-cylinder turbo with 70 383 miles. I have maintained it regularly through my BMW service center here in Ft. Lauderdale, FL. I was away and had my car since I brought it north on the auto train to save wear and tear and mileage. Unfortunately, on July 14th, I was headed from Buffalo, NY, to Rhode Island on the NYS thruway when my engine died on me; thank god I could get it to a shoulder, or I would have been dead, seeing there were a few semis behind me. I called a tow truck a nightmare since tow companies have a monopoly on towing off state thruways. It was towed to Towne BMW in Williamsville, NY, They did a diagnostic, and it was only the battery, so they said. So I went and returned my rental car and paid my bill, the time was now 6:00 pm, and I was good to go, so they said I didn't even make it across the street, and the engine did the same thing. This time they tell me my engine has seized up, and oh well, too bad, not their problem. They never gave me a diagnosis of what was completed on both days, and they continued to make a new narrative on the issue. In both instances, a light that said turn the engine off appeared after the engine shut down. I have contacted BMW North America, but they haven't done anything. Best,

- Fort Lauderdale, FL, USA

The timing chain broke at highway speed causing the engine to become completely inoperable. Apparently this is EXTREMELY COMMON in the BMW N20 ENGINS. This is extremely dangerous considering literally everything from driving to steering and braking is powered by the engine. When it fails this puts people in severe situations. Please do SOMETHING to make BMW remedy this situation.

- Hawk Point, MO, USA

We dropped our BMW X-3 on April 11, 2022, to get checked out, due to a continued check engine light. We had dropped it a few weeks prior because of the same issue. We thought they had corrected the problem as the check engine light was no longer on after the first time we received it back. The car stalled a couple of times at the stop light when accelerating. They have done extensive work, they said, in trying to analyze the problem. They are trying to force us to bring the loner back and take our car back unfixed. They have exhausted the third party warranty money because they went down the wrong rabbit hole. The warranty company obviously doesn't want them tearing apart the engine and going in another direction because Rockvile BMW has already had the car so long they could have rebuilt the whole vehicle from scratch. It doesn't make sense for us to tell them to go ahead and spend our money either as they obviously don't know what they are doing. I called BMW headquarters in NJ. The gentleman there suggested I ask them to call the regional dedicated group of service engineers to help with the problem. He also suggested that if they have gone that route that I escalate the problem to the general manager of Rockville BMW. I called the dealership and spoke to William Rodriguez, the service assistant who had been keeping us abreast of what was being done to our vehicle. He said they had designated regional service engineer come over and look at the vehicle, and that person also had no luck with the fix. William said there was nothing else that they could do. More details in attached file.

- Washington, DC, USA

Timing chain failure

- Chesapeake , VA, USA

2013 BMW X3. Consumer writes in regard to vehicle shutting down abruptly without warning. The consumer stated it was difficult to tow the vehicle because the shift lever was locked into place. The dealer stated the timing chain may have failed. The engine would probably need to be replaced.

- Washington, DC, USA

My drive belt got worn out and when it snapped it got sucked in to the engine and warped around my timing chain I started looking into it and this has happened to a lot of people who have a BMW X3 and the shop told me that because they have had other BMW X3 but my was the worst that they have seen they have now change there policy for dealing with a BMW X3 when it comes

- Ridgefield , WA, USA

ON 9THSEPT'2021 when my wife driving back from work she got " drivetrain malfunction msg on the screen, she pulled over and called me, i was there in 15mins and did try shut off the engine for few mins and start, it didnt go in 2019 i got the same msg and SUV stalled in the middle of road, i stopped the engine waited for 2 mins and restarted, the msg was gone. when we towed the vehicle to BWM-Shrewsbury, he said we need to replace the engine and its going to cost close to $18000 and said he'll try to work with BMW corp long story short i ended up trading the vehicle for low cost and got a new one as the dealer left no choice

- Northborough, MA, USA

The contact's daughter owns a 2013 BMW X3. The contact stated that while her daughter was driving 30 MPH, the vehicle stalled as the engine malfunction warning message appeared on the instrument panel. Due to the failure, the contact's daughter had the vehicle towed to the dealer where they performed a diagnostic test and diagnosed the vehicle with engine failure. The contact's daughter then had the vehicle towed to an independent mechanic who also diagnosed the vehicle with engine failure. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and offered no assistance. The vehicle had yet to be repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 86,000.

- Joliet, IL, USA

April 22, 2021 (87181 Odometer Out) Virginia Inspection. Passed. Recommended replacement of front rotors and brake pads. July 22, 2021 (87989 Odometer Out) Oil Change, tune up if needed, front rotors and brake pads replaced. Did not reset vehicle computer: hood light as well as brake light came on over the next week. August 5, 2021 Brought back to repair shop. Computer reset (88148 Odometer Out). Aug 13, 2021 Driving approx 45 miles per hour when the engine cut out, I narrowly pulled over but not quite out of the road--error message: Drivetrain Malfunction, "Drive Moderately. Maximum drivetrain out put not available. Consult Service Center." Dangerous section of road, traffic, extremely hot and humid, with thunder storms. Turned the car off and tried to start, error message flashed, "No service since 2015." Towed first to repair station who performed the recent maintenance on the vehicle. They did not look at the vehicle until several days later. When they did, they informed it was the camshaft position sensor. And further, that the sensor would have to be replaced (@$700) so that the car could start and then they would recheck for the problem. Without a car for several weeks. August 17, 2021 had the car towed to a shop suggested by a neighbor. There, the owner/mechanic stated that he could see glimpses of the "guide" (timing chain), that it was broken and suggested I have it seen by a BMW-specific shop to make the repair. I located a shop in Winchester VA and had it towed there. Confirmed it was the timing chain. 10/19/21 Picked up. Total charge: $3796.19. I found that this was a known issue and the owner confirmed. However, the fix was only extended to 7 years/70K miles. I bought this car from a dealer in 2015. I was never informed of this known issue; not from the Dealer, the service shop, or BMW notification(s) via email or other. The break down and the multiple negative impacts caused could have been avoided.

- Bluemont, VA, USA

Driving on the highway, low oil pressure light came on, indicating to slow down. Pulled over to shoulder and as I try to move again, Drivetrain malfunction sign came on. Car engine stalled. Would not restart. Was told by mechanic that catatrophic engine failrue occured and needed to replace engine entirely.

- Paramus, NJ, USA

I was driving on the highway and took my exit and the car suddenly stopped with the message "Drivetrain malfunction. Drive moderately." After this, the car would not move even with the engine on. It was as if the it was stuck in one gear and wouldn't move to "Drive". I turned the car off and back again. At this time, the car started to sputter after it started. Then, I let it stopped the engine for about 20 minutes. When the problem happened, the check engine light came on. After 20 minutes, I started the car again and I was able to drive it and the check engine light went away. However, since I had to go back on the highway, I was concerned about driving as it might stop suddenly on the highway and create a major accident. As per google, this seems to be a common issue with BMW X3's. The company should recall and repair such an incidence from happening.

- Suwanee, GA, USA

More frequent drive train errors and loss of power. Cause defective timing chain guide. This seems to be very common on this year and model of BMW speaking with other BMW owners of the same car. Luckily we were not in heavy traffic and could drive to repair shop.

- Greenwich, CT, USA

The contact owns a 2013 BMW X3. The contact stated that while driving approximately 60 mph, the vehicle suddenly stalled. During the failure, the message "transmission malfunction" was displayed on the instrument panel. The vehicle was towed to the residence and later examined by an independent mechanic who diagnosed that the timing chain had failed. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The local dealer was not contacted. The failure mileage was 100,000.

- Capitol Heights, MD, USA