2013 BMW X3 Complaints

INTERMITTENT WARNING MESSAGE DISPLAYING PASSENGER RESTRAINT SYSTEM MALFUNCTION. SERVICE ADVISER STATED THIS IS COMMON ON X3S. EXACT ISSUE WAS DEFECTIVE PASSENGER SEAT OCCUPANCY MAT (COST $1380). COMMON DEFECTS SHOULD BE COVERED UNDER A RECALL, BUT NO RECALL EXISTS FOR THIS ISSUE.

IN THE MORNING OF MARCH 25TH, 2019 IN RUSH HOUR HIGHWAY TRAFFIC THE BMW X3 2013 WITH 92,000 MILES ON ODOMETER CEASED NORMAL OPERATION AND WAS MAKING VERY LOUD METALLIC NOISE. CAR WENT TO "LIMP" MODE AND WAS ABLE TO BE DRIVEN OFF THE HIGHWAY AND PARK. CAR COULD NOT BE RE-STARTED AT THAT TIME. CAR WAS TOWED TO LOCAL BMW DEALERSHIP WHERE THE SERVICE DEPT DIAGNOSED CAR WITH MAJOR ENGINE FAILURE, ADMITTING WAS LIKELY RELATED TO MALFUNCTIONED TIMING CHAIN GUARD A KNOWN ENGINEERING DEFECT FOR THE BMW N20 28I ENGINE FOR THE 2013 MODEL YEAR. SUGGESTED RESOLUTION WAS NEW ENGINE QUOTED ORIGINALLY AT $16,000 BUT LOWERED TO $11,300 PLUS TAX FOR A CAR VALUED AT ROUGHLY $12,000. BMW NA OFFERED ASSISTANCE IN DISCOUNTING THE REPAIR TO THE QUOTED AMOUNT OF $11,300 BUT WILL NOT AUTHORIZE FULL COVERAGE FOR REPAIR COST AS CAR IS OUTSIDE OF THE EXTENDED WARRANTY OF 7 YEAR/70K. THE ORIGINAL WARRANTY WAS INCREASED DUE TO KNOWN DEFECTS AND FAILURES OF THE N20 ENGINE AND APPARENTLY NO PROACTIVE OFFER AT BMW NA'S EXPENSE TO FIX THIS ISSUE.

FOR THE PAST 3 MONTHS, I KEEP GETTING THIS MESSAGE ON THE DASHBOARD: DRIVETRAIN MALFUNCTION: DRIVE MODERATELY. MAXIMUM DRIVETRAIN OUTPUT AVAILABLE. CONSULT SERVICE CENTER. I HAD THE TURBO, VACUUM HOSE, REPLACED LAST MONTH. NOW IT IS DOING THE SAME THING OVER AND OVER AGAIN. WHY IS THIS HAPPENING?? PLEASE ADVISE!!

JANUARY 12, 2019 CAR WAS PARKED UNOCCUPIED ON STREET FOR 2+HOURS AFTER DRIVING IT 20 MILES. VEHICLE SPONTANEOUSLY CAUGHT FIRE AND BURNED TO THE GROUND, TOTAL LOSS. ENGINE REPLACED BY BMW ONE YEAR PRIOR UNDER WARRANTY FOR TIMING CHAIN GUIDE FAILURE. COMPLETE SERVICE PERFORMED BY BMW IN OCTOBER 2018. APPROXIMATELY 66,000 MILES ON VEHICLE.

JAN/25/2019 4P CST, WIFE WAS DRIVING AT LOW SPEEDS, CAR SHOWED "ENGINE OIL PRESSURE LOW" WARNING, AND THEN STALLED AT THE INTERSECTION OF 15TH ST SE AND 5TH ST SE, MINNESOTA, MN. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO MOTORWERKS BMW SERVICE DEPT, 1300 AMERICAN BLVD W, BLOOMINGTON, MN 55420. SERVICE ADVISOR, LORREN, SUGGESTED THAT THE TIMING CHAIN BROKE, AND HAS CAUSED CATASTROPHIC, IRREPARABLE DAMAGE TO THE MOTOR, AND A NEW MOTOR WOULD BE REQUIRED. NOW, I'M NO CAR EXPERT, BUT THERE 1 THING FOR SURE THAT THERE NO WAY A TIMING CHAIN SHOULD JUST BREAK LIKE THAT, AND DESTROY THE ENGINE, UNLESS THERE A MAJOR DESIGN FLAW SO, I DID SOME DIGGING, AND THERE ARE A LOT OF SIMILAR CASES FOR 2013 X3 28I WITH N20 MOTORS. IT SEEMS LIKE BMW HAS AWARE OF THE DESIGN FLAW, AND BMW REDESIGNED THE PROBLEM COMPONENTS, HAD EXTENDED THE WARRANTY TO 7YRS/70K MILES, BUT NEVER ISSUED A SAFETY RECALL. THIS ISSUE IS SO WIDESPREAD THAT THERE'S ALREADY A CLASS ACTION FILED FOR THIS ISSUE - HTTP://BMWENGINEFAILURECLASSACTION.COM/ SOME REPORTS: HTTPS://DEFECTIVECONSUMERPRODUCTS.WORDPRESS.COM/2017/05/08/BMW-N20-N26-ENGINE-TIMING-CHAIN-ANDOR-OIL-PUMP-DRIVE-CHAIN-COMPONENT-FAILURE/ HTTP://BMWENGINEFAILURECLASSACTION.COM/?FBCLID=IWAR3-WGGD2DJJSWTIPHSQSUM9AVL43Q3LP3ZWJEQREXN3LUXIPQAR2V2O9YK HTTPS://WWW.CARCOMPLAINTS.COM/NEWS/2017/BMW-N20-N26-ENGINE-LAWSUIT-BLAMES-TIMING-CHAINS.SHTML HTTP://WWW.CARPROBLEMZOO.COM/BMW/X3/ENGINE-FAILURE-PROBLEMS.PHP HTTPS://WWW.CARCOMPLAINTS.COM/BMW/X3/2013/ENGINE/BROKEN_TIMING_CHAIN_GUIDE.SHTML HTTPS://WWW.FACEBOOK.COM/PAGES/CATEGORY/COMMUNITY/BMW-PROBLEM-TIMING-CHAIN-293617047394760/ HTTP://WWW.RIGHTFOOTDOWN.COM/CARS/AUTOMOTIVE-NEWS/BMW-REDESIGNS-N20-TIMING-CHAIN-COMPONENTS-N26-TOO/ HTTPS://WWW.BIMMERFEST.COM/FORUMS/SHOWTHREAD.PHP?T=901376 HTTPS://WWW.BIMMERFEST.COM/FORUMS/SHOWTHREAD.PHP?T=912547 HTTPS://X3.XBIMMERS.COM/FORUMS/SHOWTHREAD.PHP?T=1496333

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2013 BMW X3. AFTER THE CONTACT ADDED COOLANT TO THE VEHICLE, THE CHECK ENGINE INDICATOR ILLUMINATED AND "COOLANT LOW, REFILL COOLANT AND CHECK STATUS" APPEARED ON THE INSTRUMENT PANEL. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO STEVEN'S CREEK BMW (4343 STEVENS CREEK BLVD, SANTA CLARA, CA 95051, (800) 298-1501) WHERE IT WAS DETERMINED THAT THE VEHICLE WAS NOT INCLUDED IN A RECALL. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT DIAGNOSED OR REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE AND DID NOT ASSIST. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 70,000.

I WAS DRIVING ON THE HIGHWAY AT SPEED 55 - 65 MILES PER HR, THEN STUDENTLY I GOT A MESSAGE, ENGINE LOSS POWER, AND THE CAR SUDDENLY STOP. I WAS ABLE TO SLIDE TO THE SIDE OFF ROAD. CAR WAS TOWED TO BMX DEALER. THE I RECEIVED LATER, I HAD ENGINE FAILURE. THEY SAID IT IS COMMON PROBLEM DUE TO MANUFACTURER PROBLEM. CAR WAS 106,117 MILES. REALLY SURPRISING TO SEE CAR ENGINE FAILED THIS WAY. SOMETHING MUST BE WRONG WITH THE MANUFACTURE. ALSO SO DANGEROUS FOR A CAR TO FAILED STUDENTLY ON ROAD THIS WAY. RISK OF ACCIDENTS.

PASSENGER RESTRAINT SYSTEM MALFUNCTION WARNING APPEARS MOSTLY WHEN NO ONE IS IN THE SEAT

VEHICLE HAD POOR ACCELERATION WHEN DRIVING ON THE ROAD. BROUGHT IT INTO BMW SERVICE CENTER AND WAS INFORMED THAT THE TIMING CHAIN AND OIL CHAIN HAD FAILED AND I NEEDED A NEW ENGINE. NO PRIOR PROBLEMS BEFORE THIS. ONLY 90000 MILES ON THE VEHICLE.

DRIVING THE CAR ON THE HIGHWAY WHEN THE SCREEN ON THE CAR FLASHES A 'DRIVETRAIN MALFUNCTION ERROR', NO PRIOR ISSUES OR WARNINGS AND IT SAID TO DRIVE MODERATELY, NO OTHER WARNING OR TO STOP. I PULLED INTO THE NEAREST DEALER WHICH WAS LESS THAN A MILE AWAY AND TURNED THE CAR OFF, THE SERVICE MANAGER CAME OUT AND TRIED TO TURN THE CAR BACK ON AND COULDN'T, SO THEY REPLACED THE BATTERY AND WERE ABLE TO START IT EXCEPT THEY COULDN'T GET THE CAR OUT OF PARK, THE CAR WAS FLAT BEDDED TO THE BMW DEALER AND AFTER A MONTH THEY LET ME KNOW THAT MY CAR HAD COMPLETE ENGINE FAILURE DUE TO THE TIMING CHAIN BREAKING WHICH CAUSED THE 'CATASTROPHIC ENGINE FAILURE'. I HAVE READ HUNDREDS IF NOT THOUSANDS OF OTHER STORIES THAT MIRROR MY EXPERIENCE TO A TEE, SOME HOWEVER WERE NOT AS LUCKY AS I WAS TO BE ABLE TO GET OUT OF THE MIDDLE OF THE HIGHWAY/ROAD BEFORE THEIR CAR COMPLETELY LOCKED UP AND DID NOT MOVE. BMW ADMITS THAT THESE CARS HAVE ISSUES WITH THE TIMING CHAIN MATERIAL THEY USED, WHICH HAPPENS TO BE PLASTIC; HOWEVER, DUE TO THE COST OF REPLACING ALL OF THESE PARTS IN THE KNOWN CARS THAT THEY WOULD COST BMW NA MORE $500 MILLION. IF THE NHTSA DOES NOT STEP IN AND FORCE THEM TO FIX THESE FAULTY PARTS THEY WILL END UP HAVING ONE OF THESE BMW'S WITH THE N20 OR N26 ENGINES FAIL WHILE DRIVING ON A ROAD AND SOMEONE IS GOING TO END UP GETTING KILLED BECAUSE OF IT. BMW IS HIDING THE SEVERITY OF THESE FAILURES IN THEIR PARTS AND BECAUSE NOBODY HAS DIED OR FACED AN INJURY THEY WILL NOT TAKE THE INITIATIVE AND ISSUE A RECALL, THEY JUST EXTENDED THE WARRANTY FOR THE REPLACEMENT OF THESE PARTS FOR AN ADDITIONAL 10K MILES BECAUSE THEY KNOW THE PLASTIC TIMING CHAIN LASTS ON AVERAGE TO ABOUT 70K WHICH IS WHY THE WARRANTY IS NOW FOR 7 YEARS/70K MILES OR WHICHEVER COMES FIRST. IN CLOSING, MY CAR ENGINE FACED ENGINE FAILURE AND COMPLETELY SEIZED AT 77K MILES.