BMW X3 Complaints (2022)

86 consumer complaints on file.

#11587425May 7, 2024
STEERING, SUSPENSION
I purchased by 2022 BMW X3 new in September of 2021. Since then I have had re-occurring safety issues with the car involving steering and suspension components. I've had the front thrust rod replaced at least three times. The vehicle clunks when in reverse and consumes front tires. I had to order front tires for the car with only about 15k miles on them. I had the vehicle alignment checked multiple times and was informed that the car is in correct alignment specs. My biggest frustration is that BMW consistently lies to me and does everything in it's power to deny that there are issues with the vehicle. The thrust rod issue is a known issue which has multiple technical service bulletins. They actually re-engineered the part because it was designed so poorly that they constantly break. BMW, of course, has tried to hide this information and denies that there is anything wrong with the component. I was informed that they would be placing a re-engineered part on my car once it was available - however they had no ETA according to the dealership because BMW needs so many of these parts to replace their faulty components. When I refused to pick up the car suddenly a re-engineered part was available. I have dozens of service invoices for this issue and e-mails with the dealership and BMW representatives lying and covering up information to prevent a recall of their substandard vehicle. Recently, my steering wheel has started to get "stuck" while driving. I have to use brute force to move the wheel which results in erratic maneuvers on the highway. I brought the vehicle back to BMW who, as usual, said there is nothing wrong with it. When I refused to drive the car due to safety concerns, suddenly it needs a new steering column. Upon research, this is also apparently a huge issue with the X3's. My vehicle has proven unsafe to drive and BMW has no concern about my safety or welfare. I have a lot of evidence and service invoices if needed.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11576814March 12, 2024
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
CAR WAS PARKED , TURN OFF THE ENGINE, MOVED OUT OF CAR THE CAR MOVED FORWARED BY ITSELF AND HIT THE CURB AND ENDED UP IN NEIGHBOURS LAWN.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11569381February 1, 2024
TIRES
Only 18,000 miles driven and they are down to 3/32nds. Unacceptable. Vehicle is a 2022 BMW and tires have been rotated and tire pressure checked weekly. Completely unsafe now.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11552308October 27, 2023
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: WARNINGS
Adas camera bracket on windshield deformed due to heat. The bracket will no longer hold the camera and the deformation was so severe it broke the mounting tab that holds the adas camera.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11550697October 18, 2023
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: WARNINGS
The front collision warning failed and had not given any problem prior to the failure. We were in a car accident where a person turned left (we were going straight) and passed right in front of us when we hit them. The Forward Collision Warning did not display and our vehicle was deemed a total loss by the insurance. We may of avoided the accident if the sound and display of the warning had triggered.
Crash:
Yes
Fire:
No
Injuries:
2
Deaths:
0
#11544775September 15, 2023
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: WARNINGS, LANE DEPARTURE: WARNING
The BMW front facing kafas camera system is prone to failure in the BMW X3. The plastic piece that holds the camera module in place has small plastic tabs that attach it to the windshield. These tabs are prone to breaking. Once the tabs break the front camera system is no longer in alignment and all front safety systems will be disabled. This puts the occupants of the vehicle in danger as all front facing safety systems will be disabled. The dealers do not want to warranty these failures as they try to pass it off as the fault of the owner. The first dealership rejected my issue saying that since my vehicle has a modified suspension that the camera is not able to calibrate which is incorrect. The second dealer I took it to saw the problem was the failed plastic mount but since my front windshield is aftermarket UV rejecting film it must have been damaged by the individual that installed it. This is not the case since the film did not extend behind the plastic pieces covering the electronics. In order to get this issue fixed I to pay out of pocket $2000 even though my vehicle is still under warranty. This issue has been reported by several people on various BMW forums.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11542987September 6, 2023
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: WARNINGS, LANE DEPARTURE: WARNING
There is a failure with the camera not being able to calibrate and a number of error messages
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11542942September 6, 2023
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: WARNINGS, LANE DEPARTURE: WARNING, LANE DEPARTURE: ASSIST
The main windshield bracket holding the front camera (responsible for Driver's Assistant including front collision warning, pedestrian warning, lane departure warning, etc.) has the tendency to break on its own. The bracket is made of thin plastic and can melt under direct sunlight and/or usage of vehicle as the camera gets hot as well. Any reasonable exposure or usage will eventually cause the bracket to melt/deform and fail, causing the camera to fall from its original position. The misalignment of camera will cause a cascade of error codes and completely fail to work, rendering the entire safety systems to be useless. The bracket itself is not sold separately and requires the manufacturer to install a completely new windshield which is the only method of fixing this issue. Manufacturer and/or dealerships refuse to warranty if preventative methods are used (such as windshield tint) even though the camera or mounts remain untouched.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11542855September 6, 2023
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING, LANE DEPARTURE: ASSIST
Mount for BMW KAFAS camera melts/deforms in the heat (normal exposure). This causes the camera to become uncalibrated and disables Pedestrian avoidance braking as well as lane keep assist. I am unsure what other functions are unavailable. After 2+ months of waiting for a new part, the BMW dealer nor BMW NA could not give a timeline on when the windshield/mount would be available for replacement. This means that the safety features that were advertised and paid for by the owner are unavailable to the owner for an indeterminate amount of time. Forum participants indicate that this is a common problem with this model with some owners experiencing multiple failures of this safety system in a short period of time during summer months.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11526962June 14, 2023
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING, LANE DEPARTURE: BLIND SPOT DETECTION
The clips that hold the KAFAS camera system are faulty and easily break. The KAFAS unit gets exceptionally hot and damages the clips causing the unit to go out of alignment and then cause all of the safety features to fail. The fact that you have to replace the whole windshield to repair two small plastic clips is an egregious mechanical design failure, waste of resource, and just insane design.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11525876June 7, 2023
POWER TRAIN
After taking off from a stop light, heard a loud bang and after taking it to the dealer it turns out to be a broken rear right axle and diff retaining bolt. My car is a 2022 MY with 20k miles on it. This was the first time I have done a "hard launch". The car is bone stock, with no modifications whatsoever and all maintenance and repairs done at the bmw dealership. I am going after a warranty claim as this should be covered.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11525698June 6, 2023
POWER TRAIN
The contact owns a 2022 BMW X3. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle inadvertently decelerated while the accelerator pedal was depressed. The service vehicle warning light was illuminated. The contact stated that a message displayed on the instrument panel “Drivetrain Malfunction”. The vehicle was taken to the dealer however, the cause of the failure could not be duplicated. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 11,712.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11522820May 19, 2023
SERVICE BRAKES
The break pads wore out on the car at around 16,000 miles. Generally brake pads are supposed to last 35,000 to 40,000 miles. My sister in law has a BMW 4 series and their cars brake pads wore out at around 15,000 miles. I'm sure there are thousands of other BMW owners who have been experiencing this same issue When the dealership was confronted they admitted that BMW has changed to a different "softer" type of brake pads and they are regularly seeing that This should be considered as a defect and the cars recalled because BMW knowingly changed their brake pads to save money and has been installing cheap brake pads that don't even last 1/2 of what regular brake pads last BMW knowingly did this because before their service included the brake pads to be changed within 3 years or 36,000 miles. They removed the brake pads as part of the service included within the 36,000 and started selling additional warranty for the brake pads This would confirm that they knew the new brake pads that they were going to be installing were cheaply made and they were going to have a lot of people coming in to get them changed within the service time period of 36,000, so they removed that as being included and starting selling additional warranty for that. The NHTSA should have minimum standards for car parts across the board, so that BMW doesn't take advantage of their customers and install cheap parts so they can make more money We have leased/owned BMW's for 15+ years and have never had this issue. Since this was done on purpose by BMW, there should be a recall issued for the defective brake pads that they have been installing
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11509735March 1, 2023
SERVICE BRAKES, ENGINE
I have two major concerns 1) When I drive in the snow and engage "traction control" the brakes stop working properly - to the point that I had to stomp on the pedal with both feet to get them to kick in. It was truly terrifying. Another friend with a 2023 model X3 experienced the exact same thing. No warning signs appeared and my car only has 9000 miles. This just happened so I have no complained to the dealer yet. 2) When I leave my house and head down hill to the stop sign the transmission automatically kicks itself out of "Drive" into "Neutral." This is also dangerous as I pull away from the stop sign into the street i have no idea when I hit the gas nothing will happen and I've almost gotten T-boned by cars who find me stalled in the middle of the road. I had the dealer look at this and they could not duplicate it. Meanwhile I had a 2023 loaner car from them that did the exact same thing! They said there have been no recalls for this so I felt it should be reported too.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11508835February 24, 2023
BACK OVER PREVENTION: WARNINGS, BACK OVER PREVENTION: REARVIEW SYSTEM BRAKING, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING
I have Lane keep assist set to Early with Steering intervention. LKA would sometimes shut off by itself in the 45-60 mph highway speed range in sunny weather with clear road markings, and sometimes would stay on even when my speed decreases even to 35 mph instead of 40 mph. I understand if weather is bad, LKA might not work, but I am very confused, in broad daylight, what would cause the LKA to turn on or off and deactivate/activate at different speeds? I have the standard PDC with the "forward and rear corner sensors that trigger a warning beep at approximately a 2 ft. distance from the object." Is there any way to control the distance the parking distance control sensors activate automatically like in Merc? Since I don't have Active Park Distance Control (Option ZX1) which "automatically applies emergency braking when the reversing vehicle gets too close to an object behind or at the side of the vehicle when a collision is imminent at speeds below 3 mph," would the car still auto brake for me if I am backing up reverse in a parking garage if there is cross traffic alert or I am hitting object behind me?
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11506555February 10, 2023
STEERING
2022 BMW X3. CONSUMER STATED THAT THEIR VEHICLE WENT OUT OF CONTROL WHILE DRIVING.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11506205February 8, 2023
SERVICE BRAKES, POWER TRAIN
When the vehicle is moving at a speed of 4mph and lower, it is impossible to shift the vehicle from neutral to drive without applying the brakes. I was pulling out onto a 4 lane road from a side street when I accidentally bumped the transmission gear shifter into the "N" neutral position. When I realized this (I was only going 4 mph at the time) I tried to shift it back into drive but it would not work. The vehicle made a sound that I was doing something wrong. I tried to shift it again (vehicle was probably now moving around 3 mph) and it gave me that same warning sound but this time I looked at the instrumentation panel and saw that the warning text displayed on the panel said that I needed to apply the brakes before I could shift it from neutral to drive. When I applied the brakes the vehicle came to a complete stop because I was going only 3mph and at that point I could shift the vehicle into drive. I believe that if I had pulled out with cars coming at a high rate of speed that I could have been hit on the drivers side because I had come to a complete stop in the right hand lane of the roadway. I could only imagine what could have happened to an inexperienced driver because I somewhat panicked and I have over 35 years of driving experience. This safety issue was brought up to BMW through their customer service/satisfaction center. The representative that I spoke with said he would forward the concern to their "research and design" unit but didn't know if they would respond. I have not brought the issue up with the dealership where I purchased the vehicle because I notified BMW directly. I am concerned that this design fault will one day cause catastrophic injuries.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11505806February 6, 2023
UNKNOWN OR OTHER, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL
At time of purchase sales executive mentioned about Adaptive cruise control is in build with premium package but it is not installed in my car.waiting for dealership to respond on my query.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11500542January 6, 2023
STRUCTURE:BODY
While driving at approximately 45 mph on Florida Highway 10 with no other cars around the sunroof suddenly shattered. There was a loud “pop” and the sound of glass hitting the top of the car. The sunroof and shade were closed at the time and most of the glass ended up in the street. There is considerable paint damage to the roof of the vehicle from the glass hitting it after shattering.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11489905October 19, 2022
UNKNOWN OR OTHER, ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
While driving on the highway my rear hatch opened and I was not given any warning that the hatch was open. My car was full of luggage on our return trip to florida and I could not see that the hatch had opened. We lost boxes that were in the trunk. It could have been a lot worse if we were not notified by passing drivers that something was wrong with my car. Looking for previous issues this happened in 2019 for my model car, BMW X3. I do not understand why this has happened again.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0

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