2013 BMW X3 Complaints

WE EXPERIENCED A COMPLETE ENGINE FAILURE WHILE DRIVING THE VEHICLE AT APPROXIMATELY 40 MILES PER HOUR ON A CITY STREET. WE RECEIVED A "DRIVETRAIN MALFUNCTION" WARNING, SOMETHING THAT WE HAVE RECEIVED INTERMITTENTLY OVER THE PAST YEAR, WHICH WAS PREVIOUSLY DIAGNOSED AS A MINOR ISSUE. WE NOTICED A CHANGE IN ENGINE NOISE AND PERFORMANCE, WHICH WAS UNUSUAL. WHILE ATTEMPTING TO BRING THE CAR TO A BMW DEALERSHIP FOR SERVICE, A "LOW OIL PRESSURE" WARNING CAME ON AND THE ENGINE QUIT APPROXIMATELY 10 SECONDS LATER. I WAS ABLE TO COAST THE VEHICLE INTO A PARKING LOT, WHERE WE HAD IT TOWED TO THE DEALERSHIP. THE DEALERSHIP DIAGNOSED IT AS A FAILURE OF THE TIMING CHAIN GUIDES AND ADVISED US THAT THE ENGINE NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THANKFULLY, WE WERE OPERATING UNDER THE FAVORABLE CONDITIONS TO SAFELY STOP THE VEHICLE; HOWEVER, THE FAILURE IS SUDDEN AND POTENTIALLY DANGEROUS. THROUGH RESEARCH, WE NOW KNOW THAT THIS IS A COMMON PROBLEM WITH THE ENGINE FOR THIS PARTICULAR YEAR AND MODEL. WE ATTEMPTED TO RESOLVE THE ISSUE WITH BMW NORTH AMERICA. THEY ARE AWARE THAT THIS IS A COMMON PROBLEM AND WERE UNWILLING TO PROVIDE ANY ASSISTANCE.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2013 BMW X3. WHILE THE CONTACT'S FIANC WAS DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 35 MPH, THE VEHICLE SHUT OFF. ALSO, 'DRIVE TRAIN MALFUNCTION, DRIVE MODERATE SPEED' WAS ILLUMINATED ON THE INSTRUMENT PANEL. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC WHO WAS UNABLE TO DIAGNOSE THE FAILURE. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO BILL DODGE AUTO PARK (888-464-1978, LOCATED AT 2 SAUNDERS WAY, WESTBROOK, ME 04092) WHERE IT WAS DIAGNOSED THAT THE VALVE COVER WAS CRACKED AND NEEDED TO BE REMOVED TO INSPECT THE TIMING CHAINS. THE TECHNICIAN STATED THAT THE ENGINE MAY NEED TO BE REPLACED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE AND DID NOT ASSIST. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 122,000.

UPON START UP THERE IS NO POWER ASSIST FOR 5-20 SECONDS. THIS STARTED TO OCCUR AT APPROX 60 THOUSAND MILES. DIAGNOSED AS FAILING EPS STEERING RACK.

THE ENGINE EXPERIENCED A SUDDEN ENGINE FAILURE WHILE DRIVING ON A HIGHWAY. THE FAILURE APPEARS TO BE FROM THE FAILURE OF THE PLASTIC GUIDE AND TENSIONING MECHANISM THAT IS USED IN TIMING CHAIN ASSEMBLY. THE PLASTIC BREAKS AND WEDGED BETWEEN THE TIMING CHAIN AND CRANKSHAFT TIMING SPROCKET CAUSING THE TIMING TO JUMP AND DAMAGE THE VALVETRAIN.

WHILE DRIVING STEERING STOPPED WORKING AND BECAME HARD TO STEERING , ERROR -DRIVE MODERATELY , INCREASED STEERING EFFORT REQUIRED ON DISPLAY , WHICH WAS EXTREMELY DIFFICULT AT SLOW SPEEDS , DEFINITELY A SAFETY ISSUE

WE PURCHASED A 2013 BMW X3 IN DECEMBER 2012. THE VEHICLE HAS BEEN DEALER SERVICED FROM DAY ONE. IN 2018, FAIRFAX BMW REPLACED THE TIMING CHAIN AT NO COST WHEN THE VEHICLE HAD ONLY 45K MILES WHICH IS HIGHLY UNUSUAL. IN EARLY AUGUST I WAS DRIVING ON INTERSTATE 81 SOUTH TRAVELLING FROM VIRGINIA TO ARIZONA. THE CAR BEGAN MAKING A TICKING SOUND WHICH BECAME PROGRESSIVELY LOUDER. I EXITED THE BUSY HIGHWAY AND BARELY MADE IT TO BMW OF ROANOKE, VA. I WAS TRAVELLING THE SPEED LIMIT WHEN THE PROBLEM BEGAN, AND WAS BARELY ABLE TO GO 45 MILES PER HOUR WHEN I EXITED. I SOON LEARNED THAT MY PARTICULAR ENGINE (F-25/N20) HAS A MAJOR DEFECT AND WILL LITERALLY BLOW UP WHILE DRIVING. BMW IS AWARE OF THE PROBLEM, AND HAS ENDANGERED MY HEALTH AND SAFETY BY REFUSING TO CORRECT THE PROBLEM. A CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT HAS BEEN FILED IN NEW JERSEY (CHRIS WILLIAMS, ET.AL. V. BMW NORTH AMERICA). THE DEALER IN ROANOKE SAID THE ENGINE IS UNREPAIRABLE WITH ONLY 51K MILES ON THE ODOMETER. ONE LAST OBSERVATION IN NOTICED IS THAT PRIOR TO STARTING MY TRIP I CHECKED THE ENGINE OIL LEVEL AND IT WAS ALMOST A QUART LOW WHICH HAD NEVER HAPPENED BEFORE. I FILLED THE ENGINE TO IT'S RECOMMENDED CAPACITY AND BEGAN MY TRAVEL. THERE IS A LIST OF AFFECTED VEHICLES WITH ENGINE DEFECTS, AND MY VEHICLE IS ON THE LIST.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2013 BMW X3. WHILE DRIVING 15 MPH AND APPROACHING A STOP SIGN, THE CHECK ENGINE WARNING INDICATOR ILLUMINATED AND "DRIVETRAIN MALFUNCTION" AND "LOW OIL PRESSURE" APPEARED ON THE INSTRUMENT PANEL. IN ADDITION, THE CONTACT STATED THAT A RATTLING NOISE WAS COMING FROM THE ENGINE COMPARTMENT AND THE VEHICLE STARTED TO SHAKE. THE CONTACT COASTED THE VEHICLE TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD AND POWERED OFF THE ENGINE. THE VEHICLE FAILED TO RESTART AND WAS TOWED TO THE CONTACT'S RESIDENCE. THE FOLLOWING DAY, THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC WHERE IT WAS DIAGNOSED THAT THE TIMING CHAIN WAS FRACTURED AND THE ENGINE NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT TAKEN TO A DEALER AND WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 79,000.

DRIVING ON HIGHWAY AROUND 70 MPH, DRIVETRAIN MALFUNCTION MESSAGE CAME ON MONITOR WITHIN A FEW SECONDS ANOTHER MESSAGE SAYING LOW OIL PRESSURE PULL TO SIDE AND CALL FOR SERVICE. MANGED TO PULL TO THE SIDE, BUT POTENTIAL WAS THERE AFTER LOSING POWER TO GET INTO AN ACCIDENT. I WAS 300 MILES FROM HOME ON JULY 4, 2019 NO SHOP WAS OPEN, SO HAD AAA TOW THE VEHICLE TO BMW DEALER, MET WITH THEM THE NEXT DAY AND FOUND OUT IT WAS A TIMING CHAIN ISSUE AND NEEDED A NEW ENGINE, HE ALSO INFORMED THIS WAS A KNOWN ISSUE AND THE BMW HAD EXTENDED THE WARRANTY TO 70K MILES, BUT SINCE I HAD 115K IT WAS OUT OF WARRANTY. CALLED CORPORATE BMW AND INFORMED THEM THAT THIS IS THE KNOWN ISSUE OF TIMING CHAIN AND THEY SHOULD PROVIDE ASSISTANCE, I HAVE BEEN DRIVING BMW FOR OVER 10 YEARS AND CURRENTLY OWN 2. THEY CAME BACK AND SAID THEY WILL NOT BE GIVING ANY GOODWILL OR ANYTHING TO HELP WITH THE REPAIR. THEY WOULD NOT STAND BY THEIR VEHICLE ON A KNOWN ISSUE WITH A LOYAL CUSTOMER. NEEDLESS TO SAY, I WON'T BUY A VEHICLE FROM A COMPANY THAT DOES NOT STAND BY THEIR VEHICLE. I HAVE LOOKED AT THE DATABASE AND FOUND MANY VEHICLES WITH THE SAME EXACT ISSUE, ENOUGH FOR BMW TO EXTEND THE WARRANTY FOR THIS ISSUE BUT CURRENTLY NOT ENOUGH FOR AN INVESTIGATION OR RECALL.

THE PASSENGER SENSOR MAT LINKED TO THE AIR BAG SYSTEM IS REPEATEDLY MALFUNCTIONING. IT IS OF THE SAME DESIGN AS PREVIOUSLY RECALLED SENSORS IN OTHER BMW MODELS. IT IS A SAFETY HAZARD AND SHOULD ALSO BE RECALLED.

FAULTY PLASTIC TIMING CHAIN GUIDE THAT FAILS PREMATURELY. AT 113,000, MY MECHANIC IS TELLING ME TO EITHER REPLACE THE TIMING CHAIN AND COMPONENTS, OR GET RID OF THE VEHICLE, AS THE ENGINE WILL EVENTUALLY FAIL IF THIS IN NOT ADDRESSED. AT NEARLY 5K OR MORE IN REPAIRS, THAT IS BASICALLY 50% OF THE VEHICLE'S RESALE VALUE. BMW IS AWARE OF THE ISSUE AND SHOULD ISSUE A RECALL FOR A BAD DESIGN AND FAULTY COMPONENTS. MANY OTHERS WITH THE BMW N20 ENGINE HAVE HAD THEIR ENGINE FAIL COMPLETELY, OR HAD TO PAY ASTRONOMICAL REPAIR COSTS TO CORRECT BMW'S DESIGN ERROR. A MULTI-BILLION DOLLAR COMPANY SHOULD BE HELD RESPONSIBLE FOR SELLING A PROBLEMATIC ENGINE, NOT THE OWNER.