BMW X3 Complaints (2021)

113 consumer complaints on file.

#11704640December 12, 2025
EXTERIOR LIGHTING
The headlights will turn on and off irregularly without any drastic changes in outside lighting conditions while set in the Auto setting. No controls will be touched and the lights will turn on and off completely by themselves. It appears something is wrong with the lights switch assembly, as if something is shorting / wire is pinched. Other owners online forums have experienced similar issues as well. Can become a serious problem if it occurs while driving, especially in dark conditions.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11704109December 9, 2025
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
While stopped in traffic the automatic start-stop system engaged. When traffic began moving again the vehicle failed to restart and automatically shifted to park. I was unable to shift into neutral to move off of the road. The "Engine cannot be started" control message appeared. After several attempts to manual start the vehicle it started.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11703947December 9, 2025
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, STRUCTURE
The contact owns a 2021 BMW X3. The contact received notifications of NHTSA Campaign Numbers: 24V534000 (STRUCTURE) and 25V636000 (ELECTRICAL SYSTEM); however, the parts to do the recall repairs were not yet available. The local dealer was contacted. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11703638December 8, 2025
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
The contact owns a 2021 BMW X3. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V636000 (Electrical System); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer was contacted several times. The contact was concerned that the vehicle could catch on fire at any time. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue and confirmed that the recall repair was not yet available. The contact had not experienced a failure.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11702199December 1, 2025
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
The contact owns a 2021 BMW X3. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V636000 (Electrical System); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer was made aware of the issue and confirmed that parts were not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11698060November 7, 2025
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, UNKNOWN OR OTHER, ENGINE
Unknown . The safety recall is extremely dangerous and I drive my child around. This is unacceptable and very unavoidable by providing a remedy or give me a new car. This is not my fault and my life and my family’s lives are in danger.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11697339November 4, 2025
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, ENGINE
One cell in the Hybrid Battery failed causing the car to go into safety mode. Battery assistance to the engine stopped and gas engine was the only source of power. Was told the car could be a fire hazard in this condition and required repairing the hybrid system.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11697141November 3, 2025
FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE
The contact owns a 2021 BMW X3. The contact stated that upon refueling the vehicle and attempting to start the vehicle, the vehicle failed to start on several occasions. The contact stated that the vehicle was able to restart after several attempts. The vehicle was taken to Auto Zone, where DTC: P0172 and P0446 were retrieved. The contact related the failure to BMW TSB Number: SIB 01 02 24. An independent mechanic advised the contact to only fill the fuel tank to half full. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that the VIN was not included in a recall. The contact was referred to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 70,000.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11680321August 13, 2025
ENGINE, ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
The contact owns a 2021 BMW X3. The contact stated that while reversing, the vehicle lost motive power. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle had decelerated and was jerking abnormally. There was an abnormal flickering sound coming from the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who retrieved codes related to computer failure. The local dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 101,000.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11676680July 28, 2025
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
The windshield on my BMW X3 has cracked 3 times and required replacement each time, in the past 3 years. I have owned it 4-1/2 years and driven it less than 35,000 miles. I have only had 3 other cracked windshields in the 58 years I have been driving so I am suspicious about the quality of the BMW glass.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11671969July 8, 2025
AIR BAGS
The contact owned a 2021 BMW X3. The contact stated while parked and occupied in the vehicle, while shifting the gear shift into park, the vehicle accelerated independently and collided with a Tesla occupied by a mom and daughter, which was in front of her. The contact mentioned that the Tesla collided with another vehicle. The vehicle then reversed independently at a high speed and then accelerated again, and collided a second time with the Tesla and then into a BMW several times. The contact, while depressing the brake pedal, the vehicle failed to respond as intended. After accelerating independently, the vehicle came to a complete stop. The contact stated that no air bags deployed. The vehicle was towed was B&D Towing, and the vehicle was then towed to Copart. The contact sustained an injury in her lower back. The contact mentioned the doctor informed her that she sustained whiplash as well. No medical attention was required. No police report was filed. The vehicle was deemed a total loss. The contact mentioned that the seat belt had retracted during the impact. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, and they informed her that they would send someone from BMW to inspect the vehicle. The approximate failure mileage was 57,303.
Crash:
Yes
Fire:
No
Injuries:
1
Deaths:
0
#11671753July 7, 2025
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
It has been a long time since this safety recall was issued on this vehicle. I keep getting notices from BMW of Clear Lake at 15943 Gulf Freeway to schedule the vehicle for the recall repair, but when I call to schedule I am told that BMW international has not yet made and released the parts to this dealer/service center. I am filing this online complaint as the original safety notice directs, since this safety issue is not being fixed in a timely manner. It should not take this long to implement the repair for this safety issue.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11670316June 30, 2025
BACK OVER PREVENTION: SENSING SYSTEM: CAMERA
Per the manufacturer, the car requires an oil change every 10,000 miles. However, the engine has a known defect to the manufacturer so that the car only makes it to about 6000 miles before you have to do an oil change. And sometimes the car doesn’t alert you. So your engine could possibly burn up and catch fire. Also, it’s a known issue to them that the back up camera malfunctions suddenly. So it’s really like you don’t have a back up camera at all.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11663898May 30, 2025
EXTERIOR LIGHTING, ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
The passenger side daylight running light stopped functioning. I called BMW dealership while it was still under warranty and was told that if it was simply a light needing replacement it would be $500. At the next oil change I had a diagnostic test done and was told that the modules for both daylight running lights had overheated and melted and that a headlight also would need replacement. The cost of this was quoted at $4,200. This is a huge safety concern as this could easily cause an electrical fire. BMW was contacted and refused to cover the cost as it was 2000 miles out of warranty when the oil was changed.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11659861May 8, 2025
SERVICE BRAKES, VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING
Constant emergency braking when I’m not near another vehicle.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11659071May 5, 2025
ENGINE
BMW b58 engines have been having issues with oil pumps, common symptoms are the oil level not being able complete above 20%. Which indicates a failing oil pump upon a lot of research it’s a very common issue b58 owners know about, many report having seized engines, low oil pressure warning lights. Lots of complaints have been opened with bmw, with bmws response being to replace oil pump. I have this issue on my car and now have to look into getting the oil pump replaced
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11655225April 17, 2025
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM
The oil pump failed and needs to be replaced. Yes it is available for inspection. If the pump does not get replaced, the oil will not flow through the car like it's supposed to and the engine could seize up and stop working. My dealership confirmed that the oil pump has failed. Another service center mentioned that it's a common problem with certain BMWs because of the plastic component that they used. Because of the issues, BMW switched to metal but never issued a recall to fix those who still have the plastic component. The first error message I received said that the engine oil level is low and I need to add 2 qts of oil. When I tried to digitally measure the oil levels after oil was added, it wouldn't work. It would load to about 20% and then go back to the initial screen without taking a reading. I didn't realize that was a symptom at the time but the dealership confirmed it. I took it to the dealership within a day of receiving the error message.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11638813January 27, 2025
ENGINE, UNKNOWN OR OTHER
The car has keyless ignition and was accidentally left on/idling in the garage despite no one in the car and the key fob not present. The car was on for 8.5 hours in the closed garage and filled the house with exhaust, which includes dangerous carbon monoxide fumes, known to be lethal and nearly ended in tragedy. Luckily, my wife woke up for an unrelated reason to check on our daughter and smelled the fumes in the house and found the car running in the garage. Multiple carbon monoxide detectors were in the home and did not go off, so presumably the fumes had not yet reached toxic concentrations by the time the car was turned off. 2 days later, I took the car to the BMW dealership to be inspected for defects and was told by the technician that it was functioning properly and I should assume the engine is running if the keyless ignition button is not turned off. The lack of an auto-shutoff safety feature to prevent this occurrence is completely unsafe and unacceptable. This is a known issue of keyless ignition cars for over a decade and is an easy mistake to make given how quietly the cars run. Many other car manufacturers have already implemented this feature, so it was shocking that such a well-respected car brand like BMW did not include this safety control as a default feature.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11637113January 20, 2025
SEAT BELTS
My vehicle is part of the cargo rails recall, how ever I also experiencing a separate safety issue with the seatbelts that I believe requires urgent attention . Seatbelts falling to block properly during sudden braking.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11634641January 7, 2025
STRUCTURE
The contact owns a 2021 BMW X3. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V534000 (Structure); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer was contacted. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. Parts distribution disconnect.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0

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