10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
0 / 3
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
23,457 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

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.

2015 BMW X3 electrical problems

electrical problem

Find something helpful? Spread the word.
Get notified about new defects, investigations, recalls & lawsuits for the 2015 BMW X3:

Unsubscribe any time. We don't sell/share your email.

2015 BMW X3 Owner Comments

problem #9

Jan 082025

X3

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

The vehicle was driven 30 miles and parked at 9am weather was in the 30s-40s F. There were no check engine light, warning lights or abnormal readings on the gauges during the commute. At approximately noon, the vehicles was started and idled for approximately 20 min, it was not driven or moved from the parking spot, the car did not reach full operating temp. Smoke with a burnt plastic and electrical odor was noted emanating from under the hood while parked idling. The car was immediately shut off and exited. The driver went inside to get help. After returning to the vehicle in approximately 5minutes it was fully engulfed in flames. The fire department came to put out the fire. The vehicle is a total loss. The fire damaged adjoining vehicles and the property where it was parked. The vehicle was towed back to my residence where it remains for evidence. Upon review of BMW recall 24v-608 i performed an inspection of the water pump electrical connection plug and identified there is evidence of an electrical short on the plug which appears to have burnt through the connector prior to the major engine compartment fire. I have contacted BMW to file a complain and have followed up multiple times with the point of contact identified to me by BMW, but have been unsuccessful to date to establish communications with the BMW representative.

- Woodstock, GA, USA

problem #8

Dec 232024

X3

  • miles
I was driving on the interstate [XXX] when the car (2015 x3 BMW xDrive28d) went into neutral out of nowhere and the car completely stopped and never came back on. I was just about to get off of the next exit and did not make it I was stuck in the middle of the interstate scared no one would pull over to help me it was dark when all of this was taking place cars were speeding and would come up on the car at the last minute to go around almost causing a accident once they realized the car wouldn-??t start. When trying to see if the car would turn back on it wouldn-??t things came up on the screen saying power train along with the check engine light and some smoke was coming from underneath the hood it was also saying battery not charging. I had to wait 2hrs for a tow truck to get the car back to my house and the police never came. On [XXX] I then had the car towed to bmw dealership (Bmw of Bloomfield) in New Jersey where the vehicle is currently at they have told me it was a fuel pump issue. This has never happened to me before until the night of [XXX]. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

- Plainfield, NJ, USA

problem #7

Aug 262024

X3

  • miles
Intermittent, but frequent failure of seat occupancy sensor on front passenger seat. Appears to be related to occupancy weight sensor. As sensor is not functioning properly, passenger airbag is being unsafely deactivated, leading to lack of airbag deployment if a front end collision were to occur. Problem is reproducible, but has not been taken to dealer, nor has it been inspected. Warning alert displays, then turns off, then returns frequently while the front passenger seat is occupied.

- Durham, NC, USA

problem #6

Apr 012022

X3

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

When driving for more than 10 minutes I am noticing smoke coming from the near the engine compartment and strong smell of burning plastic. It smells and appears as if something will catch on fire if I don-??t shut off the vehicle. A similar issue was previously reported for older models, which had led to a recall. In that recall the problem stemmed from a manufacturing defect involving the PCV valve heater, which helps recirculate waste gases within the engine. The heater could short-circuit, overheat, and catch fire. This defect is now effecting my own vehicle, which is a 2015 BMW X3.

- Hoboken, NJ, USA

problem #5

Jun 012018

X3

  • 36,000 miles
I am writing this letter to complaint the ridiculous experience with BMW. I bought my BMW X3 2015 brand new from P & w BMW dealer on Dec 16, 2014. I do not have any problem until six months ago. My comfort access feature is broken. On 06/18/2018 I went to sewickley BMW to complaint about my comfort access not working properly, they did not do anything. Then again on 08/30/2018 I went to sewickley BMW again, this time they claim that it might be the key fob battery. So, I purchased battery from amazon and replaced them. They are still not working. On Nov 26 2018, I went to P & w BMW, they only gave some suggestions and no any repair attempt. On Dec 4 2018 I brought my car to P & w BMW again and still nothing. They are still not be able to fix it. I complaint to BMW customer relations many times. They claim that dealer is only place can do anything for me. I complaint to P & w BMW service director tony dave, they claim they can't do anything if BMW is not authorized. Basically, nobody wants to do anything to fix the problem. I tried to talk to technician to help them troubleshooting, nobody wants to talk to me. I am so amazed that they are hoping not doing anything will fix my problem or just blame user will work. I have attached my service invoice and video for your review.

- Sewickley, PA, USA

problem #4

Oct 212018

X3

  • 76,000 miles
BMW diesel recall - while driving on highway my vehicle caught fire and burned. The car is a total loss. There was no warning lights when the car was started to indicate anything was wrong. The car lost power at 72 mph and my husband was able to get the car to the shoulder of the highway.

- Twin Lake, MI, USA

problem #3

Mar 042018

X3

  • 90,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

On March 4, 2018, while at a red light at an intersection in boca raton, fl, all of sudden, no warning, my BMW X3 started to smell of smoke, then smoke started to come out of the hood. I had to barely make it to the side of the road, leave it at an entrance of a plaza, which then began to smoke overwhelmingly. Once I made it out of the car, the flames came out of the hood and the car became fully engulfed within seconds.

- Delray Beach, FL, USA

problem #2

Feb 212015

X3

  • 112 miles
There were a total of 4 incidences. 2/21/15 took BMW X3 xdrive28I to dealer with 112 miles on car, after car engine revved higher as I was coming down a hill to a complete stop. I had to practically stand on the brake for car to stop. Acceleration lasted about 4 seconds after stopping. Had to keep my foot on brake during that time. It happened a second time on the way to dealer; going up a slight hill, while coming to a complete stop. Prior to the above date, on 2/16/15, car also accelerated by itself while driving about 55 mph on the highway. I had to step on break to slow down. Later that day the car accelerated by itself while rolling in a parking lot. I had to break hard to stop it. On 2/21/15 the dealer requested BMW na to send their engineers to check out the car. 2/24/15 BMW na advised me that "the car only does what you tell it to do with one of the controls.the engineers will be going to the dealership to check if anything is wrong with" my 2015 X3 xdrive. I advised them "they were looking for the wrong thing since there is something wrong with a car that accelerates when you are stepping on the break." They "should be looking for what is wrong with my X3." 3/4/15 BMW na advised that engineers had looked at the car at the dealership and it will take 7 to 10 business days for their decision. 3/10/15 BMW na advise me that the engineers checked out my X3 and the car is "performing as designed". I asked "is the X3 designed to accelerate when you are trying to stop the car"" the dealer also says there is nothing wrong with the car. When I told dealer "if it starts acting up again I will bring it right back" dealer said "that's up to BMW". since my BMW X3 sometimes accelerates when you are trying to stop and while at road speed, something is wrong with the car. Everything has to go through the computer. Might it be the computer program design"

- Huntington, NY, USA

problem #1

Nov 212014

X3

  • 9,003 miles
The contact owns a 2015 BMW X3 diesel. The contact stated that the vehicle failed to start intermittently. The vehicle was towed to the dealer. The technician was unable to duplicate and diagnose the cause of failure. Also, the contact mentioned that while driving 55 mph on an interstate, the vehicle stalled without warning. The vehicle was towed again to the dealer. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 9,003.

- Waldorf, MD, USA

Not what you are looking for?