This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.
So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.
When driving and after using brakes, the brakes do not let off, they drag. I was driving on the highway, and had to slow down for traffic and the car would not accelerate.This happened several times and I brought it to a BMW repair shop. They diagnosed it to be the ABS pump, replaced it with a used one and I have not had any problems since. I have researched this issue and found others with like make & model have had similar problems. Since this could cause the vehicle to slow down without actually braking, I worry about someone hitting the car from the back because the brake lights don't come on when this happens.
While driving down business 40 going about 60 mph, my car suddenly stopped in the left lane. The car was still running but it was as if someone had put on the brakes for me -- like a ghost in the machine. The car behind me was able to stop but within a couple of feet from rear ending me at a high speed. The cars behind him were swerving not to hit him. We are lucky it was not a multi car accident. I was able to get the car going by continuing to step on the accelerator. No lights on the dash came on not even a check engine light. I thought that perhaps I had done something to cause this and kept driving in the right lane at a lower speed. Then it happened again. Luckily no one was close behind me and this time I knew what was happening. I pulled over and put on my hazards and drove on the shoulder. The car was sputtering, the wheel was shaking. I pulled over and turned off the car. Let it rest and inspected the outside of the car. I went the next day to the BMW dealership -- they said to replace the brake calipers but I did not thing that was it --- as it seems almost like a force engaged the brakes, not that they failed. My foot had not been on the brakes when they engaged. I took it to another mechanic who was able to replicate this and said the car was unsafe to drive. I am only the 2nd owner and it has less than 50K miles. I then had it inspected at a different dealership who said it was the dsc which seems more likely as they were able to recreate the braking while driving. I then called BMW na who sent out and engineer but they are saying it is regular wear and tear on a car. This seems impossible to me. I have had brakes need replacing and rotors and nothing like this has ever happened. It was incredibly scary, and dangerous and I (and others) could have been seriously injured.
August 10, 2020. I was driving to the store abut 10 miles from home on a major highway and my 2013 BMW X328I, suddenly started to go crazy in a manner that I never experienced before a lot of lights such as, (engine, ABS, dsc, dtc, brakes, powertrain, and stimulation. The vehicle became non-drivable and a safety hazardous in nature that it almost cause an accident. I act in a emergency state of mind and was able to pull into a nearby parking lot at 15315 merry cat ln, belle haven, va 23306. I proceeded in calling the aaa towing company to take the vehicle to my place of resident.
On August 1st, we experienced a dangerous situation on the highway; the vehicle slowed down in traffic, hard jerking, smelled of burning fuel or fumes. We then took it to the BMW dealership in tallahassee which was two days after the incident. After they did a diagnostic on it, we were told it was a mechanical failure within the brake system and after they examined it and took it for a test drive, the brakes on both sides became extremely hot with extreme heat and smoking from both brakes. They explained the experience was very unusual and could have caused dangerous results on the road. We were told it wasn't in our best interests not to attempt to drive it more than 2 miles. We had no choice but to leave it across the street with carmax, the lien holder. Even though it is a manufacturer's issue the BMW dealership wouldn't help us unless we paid nearly 5K out of pocket. Carmax also wouldn't help unless we agreed to pay them as well. We are out of a major loss considering it's was defected by the manufacturer and we've only had the car 2 years. We were told we were lucky and that the tires would have caught on fire on the road.! we would appreciate your full investigation into this matter; we are not financially stable to incur such a financial loss as well as losing the vehicle. Thanks
The brakes are less or not responsive in city drive. I notified 3 times to dealer but they said no problem with the brakes. It must be something wrong in electronics. Alot of other owners of 2013 BMW X3 have same complaint. It is very risky. It happened 3 out of 4 times whike driving in 35 mph limits. Though the brakes feel good at high speed or highway limits
- Easton, MD, USA
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Last week when in city traffic, I depressed the brake to slow down, then lifted my foot off the brake. My car lurched forward and I immediately braked again to slow down and stop. This was not normal, had not happened before, and I decided to mention it during my next visit to BMW service. Last Saturday, Feb. 17, I was driving 20 -25 mph in a neighborhood, approaching a red light on river rd, bethesda. There was one car at the light. I braked to slow down, and realized that the car was not slowing down, braked again and it lurched forward and accelerated. I saw the speed the speedometer moving between 20-25, and the tachometer varying wildly between 1.5 - 2.5. I pressed very hard on the brake, which was harder to press down than ever before, pressed the park button and finally got the car to go into park before I arrived at the stopped vehicle in front of me. This all happened in less than 10 seconds. I immediately called BMW and took my car in, explaining what happened, still very shaken and afraid to drive the car. Afterwards, I looked on the internet, and read about other 2013 X3 drivers with the same experience. It did not appear that BMW was able to replicate the problem or that they repaired the cars to fix the problem. One person did have an accident and totaled the car. Thus far, BMW has told me they cannot replicate the problem. I requested the service manager to get involved and will ask to speak to the factory rep as well. This is a major safety hazard putting my life and others at risk. It is not safe to drive my car. I would like to know how many similar complaints have been filed with NHTSA and what NHTSA has done to address this serious safety flaw.
The braking system has stopped work and almost caused a crash. The brake guild and brake pads all check ok but vacuum has been lost to the booster. You can here the cam making noise when you start the vehicle and the noise has been since we purchased it and BMW states that's normal. I feel like the recall repair was not done correctly. Also there seem to be a drive train malfunction that BMW can not figure out. Please help
The contact owns a 2013 BMW X3. While driving approximately 60 mph, the brake pedal was depressed but the vehicle hesitated to stop. The vehicle was taken to a dealer for diagnostic testing. The contact received notification of NHTSA campaign number: 13V454000 (service brakes, hydraulic); however, the parts were unavailable to perform the repairs. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 3,000.
While traveling at relatively slow speed I attempted to brake and brakes were basically unresponsive. Had to really stomp on pedal to eventually get it to stop. Scary incident and could have been really bad in different conditions. So far isolated one time incident. Noticed there is a recall for these vehicles for this type of problem but for some reason my vehicle does not show it is included. Should it be?
On April 5th, 2015 at 10:00am. I drove my car to church (20 min drive / 10 miles @ 35-60mph speed) without any problems or indication of issues. At 11:15am I was in route to go home traveling about 35mph. When I reached a stop light...my cars eco-technology kicked in, and it turned off. Nothing out of the ordinary on any other day except that day. The engine light came on, the abd light came on, and alerts indicating my transmission was malfunctioning and my brakes weren't working. When the light turned green, my vehicle did not turn on. It shut off and would not restart. After 5 minutes of being idle in the middle of ongoing traffic and me panic-kingly pressing buttons on my key and on the dash...my car out of no where... turned back on. But my car was like in a "safe mode", I could not accelerate more than 15-20 mph and I'm not sure because the tachometer wasn't working or my indicators. The lights indicating that my transmission, brakes and engine were all still on and the alerts kept showing up on my navigation screen. I tried calling global assist, but the call would not go thru given my electrical issues. I tried sending a service request but that was also useless...and all of the service centers were closed on Sunday. I drove home parked my X3 and called the service center first thing Monday April 6th. (7:30am). They told me to drive it in, and once again dealt with the car not wanting to start... pushing buttons randomly on the remote until it decided it was ready to start. I drove it in this "safe mode" for approx 10 miles. And we are going on 4 weeks... and the dealer has been unable to repair my car and has not given me any resolution. My car has less than 35K miles and is a 2013. It seems like I shouldn't be dealing with this kind of issue so early on. I just want a new car at this point.
In stop and go traffic on the interstate I was braking after moving forward a few feet and the engine started racing causing the car to lurch forward (given I was on the brake) until the brake would not hold any longer at which point the car accelerated in traffic despite me pushing even harder on the brake. The brake was completely unresponsive at this point. I avoided rear ending the car in front of me by swerving around him but could not avoid the vehicle farther ahead in traffic and hit the right rear of a uhaul storage unit towed by a vehicle and the BMW flipped onto its right side. Miraculously, we walked away with only minor cuts, scrapes, and bruises. Seat restraints and airbags worked perfectly which is the only kind thing we can now say despite having no prior issues. Whether it is an onboard computer malfunction or not we will never own another BMW... and if the other online posts have been there when I purchased the vehicle in Sept 2012 (and had I read them) then I never would have purchased the vehicle. Coupled with other carcomplaint.com, BMW community blogs, and NHTSA posts surrounding 2012 and 2013 X3 events of the identical nature there should be an immediate investigation as to the simultaneous and concurrent event of the throttle acceleration while braking, and the brakes failing (as if the computer thinks the brake pedal is the gas pedal?).. and a recall before deaths occur... though it is likely they've already occurred since the dead can't testify as to a problem that other BMW dealer service departments fail to replicate and therefore discount. The back hatch of our vehicle also flipped open allowing items to fall onto the highway (despite no impact to the rear of the vehicle) though all passenger car doors remained closed. The vehicle has been totaled. We would certainly not get into that car ever again even if it were repairable.
My complaint is similar to the following: Quote NHTSA id number: 10546733 the issue is when you step on the brake the engine races and the car continues to move forward. It doesn't matter how hard you press on the brake you still go forward. End quote brake and accelerator pedals can be engaged simultaneously, particularly in hard braking this 4D 4X4 xdrive 28I (and never happened with our three previous bmws, which were sedans). Brake pedal application travel can easily fall under the distance to the floor of unapplied accelerator pedal. Traveling that distance the accelerator can simultaneously be depressed. BMW factory inspection found nothing out of spec. I can only conclude it's a design deficiency, a condition type BMW never admits, even if it corrects the condition later.
The issues started happening in July 2013. It progressed. The issue is when you step on the brake the engine races and the car continues to move forward. It doesn't matter how hard you press on the brake you still go forward. The car has been in the dealership 3 times in the last month, a total of 13 days and they are coming to pick it up again today. Yesterday I suffered the most scary incident as the car would not stop until I was in the middle of the intersection and was almost hit on both sides.
Car was traveling 35 mph when the brakes sudenly started slowing it down and dash lights were flashing. With the car stopped I shut the engine off and restarted the car and worked as it should have. A few days later the car had been driven and parked when I later went to start the car and nothing worked. The parking brake was on and it could not be turned off. After being towed to the dealer, I was told the problem with all the electrical malfuntions was a loose ground.
On the first occurrence I braked smoothly at a traffic light that was red as I approached. The vehicle stopped and then the engine revved and lurched forward slowly 3 to 4 times taking me through the intersection as I was pressing on the brake. I could not stop the vehicle. Once through the intersection I took my foot off the brake and applied the gas pedal and drove to a nearby parking lot. When I came out of a store after 45 minutes, I tested the brakes by driving slowly in the parking lot and applying the brakes several times. Each time but one the engine revved while I had my foot deliberately on the brakes, not on the gas or gas and brake. If I removed my foot from the brake, the revving stopped and gas operated appropriately. I drove home and called the dealer who had it towed, checked it out for a couple of days, could not reproduce the problem and said it was fine. It was raining on the day of the occurrence. The second occurrence happened 6 days after the first, another rainy day. I braked at a stop sign. The vehicle stopped and then the engine revved as I was pressing on the brake, then lurched forward once into the intersection. I immediately removed my foot from the brake and drove forward. This did not repeat as I drove home. Again the car was towed to the dealer, checked out by the dealer and an engineer from BMW na and nothing could be reproduced. They told me to take the car home. It had to be my error. I objected that I have never had any similar problem with any other car I've driven including the two BMW loaners they supplied. I told them I was unhappy with the decision not to check it out further especially since they had not made any attempt to test it in the rain. BMW na representative was adamant that it could not be the vehicle.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Jax , FL, USA