2011 BMW X3 Complaints

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2011 BMW X3. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE VEHICLE FAILED TO START AFTER SEVERAL ATTEMPTS AND THE FOLLOWING WARNING MESSAGE APPEARED: "DRIVE TRAIN MALFUNCTION NOT RUNNING AT FULL CAPACITY, REDUCE AND DRIVE MODERATELY". THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC WHERE IT WAS DIAGNOSED THAT THE BATTERY NEEDED REPLACEMENT AND THE VANOS MALFUNCTIONED. THE INDEPENDENT MECHANIC REPLACED THE BATTERY AND ADVISED THE CONTACT TO CALL A LOCAL BMW DEALER TO HAVE THE VEHICLE SERVICED PER NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 14V176000 (ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING). THE DEALER WAS NOT CONTACTED BECAUSE THE VEHICLE WAS UNABLE TO START AND DUE TO BAD WEATHER. THE MANUFACTURER STATED THAT THE VIN WAS NOT INCLUDED IN THE RECALL. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 72,000.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2011 BMW X3. WHILE DRIVING AT UNKNOWN SPEEDS, THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL WAS APPLIED AND THE VEHICLE STALLED WITHOUT WARNING. ADDITIONALLY, WHEN THE TEMPERATURE GAUGE INCREASED, THERE WAS AN ABNORMAL SQUEALING NOISE. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC. THE LOCAL DEALER WAS NOT CONTACTED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT DIAGNOSED OR REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED AND REFERRED THE CONTACT TO NHTSA. THE VIN WAS UNKNOWN. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 109,000.

IN THE SUMMER OF 2014, THE PANORAMIC MOON ROOF EXPLODED FOR NO REASON. WHILE DRIVING TO WORK, WITH THE MOON ROOF SHADE CLOSED,THERE WAS A VERY LOUD "BANG". AFTER SAFELY PULLING TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD, AN INSPECTION REVEALED NO EVIDENT DAMAGE TO THE VEHICLE. AFTER PULLING INTO THE LOT AT WORK, A "RAINING' SOUND WAS COMING FROM THE ROOF. AS SOON AS THE SHADE WAS OPENED, SHATTERED GLASS FELL INTO THE CAB OF THE CAR. AN INTERNET SEARCH REVEALED THAT THIS WAS NOT AN ISOLATED CASE. IT WAS DRIVEN TO THE DEALER AND THE REPAIR WAS DONE AT NO COST AFTER SOME INTENSE CONVERSATION WITH MANAGEMENT. THE MOST RECENT ISSUE OF CONSUMER REPORTS HAD EXTENSIVE COVERAGE OF UNEXPLAINED MOON ROOF EXPLOSIONS. DURING THE COVERAGE, IT WAS ADVISED THAT INCIDENTS SHOULD BE REPORTED TO YOU SO FOLLOW UPS COULD BE DONE AS NEEDED. WE HAVE NO ISSUES WITH THE REPAIR, JUST THAT HAD WE NOT BEEN INFORMED AND INSISTENT, WE WOULD HAVE HAD TO PAY THE REPAIR BILL BECAUSE THE CAR WAS OUT OF WARRANTY. WE ARE NOT SURE OF THE EXACT DATE.

RECALL 16V311000,DRIVE SHIFT, MY CAR HAS DEVELOP THE SAME ISSUE THE OTHER MODELS OF THE SAME YEAR WHEN THIS RECALL WAS ISSUED,HOWEVER MY MODEL X3 IS NOT ON THIS RECALL.IF DRIVE SHIFTS BRAKES IN MY CAR DOES THIS MEAN IT COULDN'T CAUSE ME TO HAVE A ACCIDENT? THIS NEEDS TO BE ADDRESSED.PLEASE ADVISE.

STEERING IS "STICKY" AND OFF CENTER FOR MY 2011 BMW X3 35I--ESPECIALLY AT HIGH SPEEDS DURING HIGHWAY DRIVING WHEN THE STEERING WHEEL IS TURNED FROM ITS CURRENT STATIC POSITION, HIGHER THAN NORMAL RESISTANCE TO TURNING IS FELT. ONCE THE INITIAL RESISTANCE IS OVERCOME, THE RESISTANCE LESSENS, RESULTING IN A TENDENCY TO TURN THE WHEEL FURTHER THAN WAS INTENDED. THIS MAKES IT DIFFICULT TO SMOOTHLY STEER THE CAR ON ITS INTENDED PATH AND RESULTS IN THE CAR WANDERING FROM SIDE TO SIDE WHICH MAKES IT DANGEROUS TO DRIVE AND VERY STRESSFUL ,I HAD BRAND NEW TIRES INSTALLED AND HAD NUMEROUS ALIGNMENTS DONE WHICH DID NOT IMPROVE THE DRIVING AT ALL ,THIS LEADS ME TO BELIEVE THE STEERING SYSTEM IS FAULTY AND SHOULD BE RECALLED.

3 OUT OF THE 4 LED TAIL LIGHTS HAVE STOP WORKING. THE CAR DID NOT GAVE ME ANY NOTICE OF THE TAIL LIGHTS FAILING. WHILE DRIVING ON A HIGHWAY, I WAS STOPPED BY A POLICE OFFICER AND GIVEN A WARNING. ON FURTHER RESEARCH, THERE IS A DESIGN FLAW WITHIN THE TAIL LIGHT SYSTEM THAT WILL CAUSE IT TO FAIL. IT SEEMS BMW ALREADY KNOWS ABOUT THIS ISSUE BUT ONLY COVERS REPAIR TO CARS UNDER WARRANTY. THEY HAVE RECOGNIZED THEIR DESIGN FLAW BUT HAVE NOT TAKEN STEPS TO FIX THE PROBLEM TO ALL AFFECTED CUSTOMERS. ON THE WORDS OF A POLICE OFFICER, THIS IS A SAFETY ISSUE THAT SHOULD BE TAKEN CARE ASAP. HTTP://WWW.LEDSUPPLY.COM/BLOG/COMMON-BMW-LED-TAIL-LIGHT-FIX/

GLOVE BOX IS COMING OUT. I HARDLY USED THE GLOVE BOX BUT THE SIDE PORTION OF IT IS COMING OFF.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2011 BMW X3. WHILE DRIVING VARIOUS SPEEDS, THE STEERING WHEEL FAILED TO TURN LEFT OR RIGHT INTERMITTENTLY AND THE CHECK ENGINE AND CHASSIS MALFUNCTION WARNING INDICATOR ILLUMINATED. THE CONTACT PULLED THE VEHICLE OVER TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD. THE CONTACT TURNED OFF AND RESTARTED THE ENGINE, AND THE VEHICLE RETURNED TO NORMAL. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER (BMW OF NORTH HAVEN (LOCATED AT 610 WASHINGTON AVE, NORTH HAVEN, CT 06473; (203) 239-7272) WHERE IT WAS DIAGNOSED THAT THE BATTERY AND THE ZGM MODULE NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE VEHICLE WAS REPAIRED. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE FAILURE RECURRED SEVERAL OTHER TIMES. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE SAME DEALER TWO OTHER TIMES. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT DIAGNOSED OR REPAIRED. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO ANOTHER DEALER (EUROPEAN CAR - BOSCH CAR SERVICE LOCATED AT 274 ALBANY TURNPIKE, CANTON, CT 06019; (860) 693-6383). THE DEALER STATED THAT THERE WAS AN OPEN NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 11V341000 (STEERING) FOR THE SAME FAILURE. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT DIAGNOSED OR REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS CONTACTED AT 800-525-7417 AND ADVISED THE CONTACT TO CALL NHTSA TO HAVE THE VEHICLE ADDED TO THE RECALL. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 98,257.

THERE APPEARS TO BE A CHRONIC DEFECT ON BMW X3S (2011-2017 F-25 CHASSIS) OF LET TAIL LIGHT FAILURES DUE TO DEFECTIVE LED CURRENT REGULATOR CIRCUIT BOARDS. OUR X3 HAS HAD 3 OF THE 4 LED TAIL LIGHTS FAIL BECAUSE OF EXACTLY THE SAME DEFECT. SOME OF THE LED CURRENT REGULATOR BOARDS WERE APPARENTLY POORLY SOLDERED AND SOLDER JOINT FAILURE CAUSE COMPLETE OR PARTIAL LOSS OF THE TAIL LIGHTS. THE "ON-BOARD" LIGHT MONITORING SYSTEM ON THE VEHICLE DOES NOT REPORT THE LIGHT FAILURE, SO THE OWNER IS USUALLY NOT AWARE THAT THE VEHICEL HAS NO TAIL LIGHTS VISABLE. ON OUR X3 THE LED TAIL LIGHT FAILURE WAS TRACED TO THE SAME COMPONENT ON ALL (3) LIGHTS. TEH CIRCUIT BOARD (LABELED VALEO B 003809.2) HAD A RESISTOR (R750) THAT WAS NOT SOLDERED PROPERLY. RE-SOLDERING THE COMPONENT FIXED THE PROBLEM AND RESTORED CORRECT LED TAIL LIGHT OPERATION. THERE ARE MANY ON-LINE REPORTS OF BMW X3S HAVING EXACTLY THIS PROBLEM. THIS IS NOT THE WELL-KNOWN 3-SERIES AND 5-SERIES TAIL LIGHT ISSUE RELATED TO CONNECTOR GROUND ISSUES. THE X3 TAIL LIGHT ISSUE IS DUE TO POOR CIRCUIT BOARD MANUFACTURING LEADING TO EARLY FAILURES. IT IS ESPECIALLY OC CONCERN BECAUSE THE OWNER MAY EXPECT TO BE NOTIFIED OF THE LIGHT FAILURE BY THE BMW ON-BOARD MONITOR SYSTEM (WHICH WILL REPORT HEADLIGHT, TURN SIGNAL OR BRAKE LIGHT FAILURES BUT NOT THE LED TAIL LIGHTS LOSS. WHEN THE CIRCUIT BOARD FAILS, THE LED LIGHTS ARE NON-FUNCTIONAL. IT DOESN'T MATTER IF THE VEHICLE IS RUNNING OR PARKED WITH PARKING LIGHTS TURNED ON. THE TAIL LIGHTS ARE STILL DARK. IN MY OPINION, THIS CONSTITUTES A SERIOUS SAFETY ISSUE FOR ALL "F-25" BMW X3S AND SHOULD BE THE BASIS FOR A RECALL. THE (PLUG-IN) CIRCUIT BOARDS CAN BE EASILY REMOVED AND REPLACED WITHOUT REPLACEMENT OF THE ENTIRE (EXPENSIVE) (ABOUT $340 EACH) TAIL LIGHT ASSEMBLY.

AS TEMPERATURE GAUGE RISES ABOVE FIRST HASH MARK A WARNING COMES ON THE SCREEN CAR RUNNING HOT DRIVE SLOW AND GET SERVICED. ONCE TEMP REACHES BEFORE THE MID-POINT WHICH IS 250 SO AT ABOUT 230 TO 240 DEGREES THE CAR LOOSES ALL POWER. PUTTING THE PEDAL TO THE FLOOR IT DOWN SHIFTS ENGINE RACES AND CAR GOES NO WHERE SLOWS DOWN TO 10 MPH THIS IS REALLY DANGEROUS WHEN THERE IS NOWHERE TO PULL OVER IN TRAFFIC. CAR SHOULD NOT BE PROGRAMMED TO CUT POWER IN THIS CONDITION HAD MY WIFE ALL FREAKED OUT.