NHTSA lists 42 complaints for the 2012 BMW X3, 5 of them mention a crash and 1 mention a fire. 1 complaints mention an injury, with 1 injuries and 0 deaths reported.
Data build 2026-10-07.
NHTSA lists this vehicle as BMW X3.
At a glance
Complaints
42
With crash
5
With fire
1
With injury (complaints)
1
Injuries
1
Deaths
0
Recalls
2
Do not drive recalls
0
Park outside recalls
0
Recall potential units (maximum)
188,668
Investigations
1
Open investigations
1
Manufacturer communications
349
Complaints per 100k sold unavailable. No sales source is available for this record.
Where the complaints are
Top systems
System
Complaints
Share of this vehicle's complaints
AIR BAGS
12
28.6%
ENGINE
8
19.0%
POWER TRAIN
7
16.7%
STEERING
7
16.7%
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
6
14.3%
SERVICE BRAKES
5
11.9%
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
5
11.9%
SEATS
4
9.5%
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
2
4.8%
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
2
4.8%
Top subsystems
System
Subsystem
Complaints
AIR BAGS
SENSOR
5
One complaint can name several systems, so shares can add to more than 100 percent.
Confidence is the model's own probability for the label it chose (0 to 1), not accuracy.
Model-generated labels on tagged complaints only. Model years 2013 and newer are tagged in full; 2012 in part (see tagged_share); earlier model years have no tags. NHTSA's own flags remain separate in the complaints block.
Defect: BMW of North America, LLC. (BMW) is recalling certain 2012-2013 BMW X3 xDrive28i, X3 xDrive35i, and M6 Convertible vehicles and 2013 M6 Coupe vehicles. The affected vehicles have a driver's frontal air bag inflator that may have been improperly welded.
Consequence: In the event of a crash necessitating deployment of the driver's frontal air bag, the inflator housing could separate from the base plate and result in metal striking the vehicle occupants, potentially resulting in serious injury or death.
Remedy: BMW will notify owners, and dealers will replace the driver's front air bag module, free of charge. The recall began October 6, 2017. Owners may contact BMW customer service at 1-800-525-7417.
Defect: BMW of North America, LLC (BMW) is recalling certain model year 2011-2017, X3 sDrive28i, X3 xDrive28i and X3 xDrive35i, vehicles manufactured July 2, 2010 to April 14, 2016, 2015-2017 X3 xDrive28d vehicles manufactured March 10, 2014 to March 31, 2016, and 2015-2017 x4 xDrive28i, X4 xDrive35i and X4 xDriveM40i vehicles manufactured March3, 2014 to April 15, 2016. The affected vehicles have lower a (excerpt)
Consequence: Damaged lower anchor bars may increase the child's risk of injury in the event of a crash. (excerpt)
Remedy: BMW will notify owners, and dealers will weld a reinforcing bracket to the lower anchor bars and the vehicle body, free of charge. The recall began on July 13, 2016. Owners may contact BMW customer service at 1-800-525-7417. (excerpt)
Do not drive: No. Park outside: No.
Investigations
1 investigations; 1 open.
EA21002
Opened: 2021-09-17. Closed: Not listed.
Desiccated Air Bag Inflator Rupture
From 2000 through 2017, Takata produced millions of air bag inflators using two types of phase-stabilized ammonium nitrate ("PSAN") propellant -- propellant 2004 and propellant 2004L. After prolonged exposure to high temperature cycles and humidity, inflators using propellant 2004 can degrade, causing the propellant to burn too quickly when ignited. The rapid burning can cause the inflator to rupt
Systems: AIR BAGS.
Linked campaign numbers: None listed.
Manufacturer communications
349 manufacturer communications.
Communications by system
System
Count
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
116
EQUIPMENT
109
ENGINE
49
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
34
POWER TRAIN
23
EQUIPMENT ADAPTIVE/MOBILITY
22
STRUCTURE
21
FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE
16
10253326
Date: 2024-04-04. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: STRUCTURE.
While driving the vehicle on normal roads at10mph and above, a "cracking" sound from the top of the B-pillar(s) is heard.
10249437
Date: 2024-01-16. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, VISIBILITY.
The basic conditions for initializing the power windows are not met.
10249027
Date: 2024-01-11. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM.
The electrical system of BMW vehicles has been subject to an ongoing development process over the last few years. This has led to increased demands being placed on the battery. This document covers important information for the dealer on how to handle A A?A A A A discharged batteryA A?A A A A compl
10247574
Date: 2023-12-15. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: SEATS.
A noise can be heard from underneath the seat while the seat is being moved either forwards or backwards. This can occur to the driverA A?A A A A s and/or the passengerA A?A A A A s front seat.
10244239
Date: 2023-10-18. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: STRUCTURE, VISIBILITY.
This situation can result in two customer complaints: 1. Wind noise 2. Excess water entry
10238090
Date: 2023-05-01. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM.
After programming the head unit (HU-H2), activating the FSC (German word Freischaltcode) Enabling Codes repeatedly fails.
10235205
Date: 2023-03-01. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, EQUIPMENT.
The 3G network in the US has been shut down. This means that only the 4G network will be available. In the 4G network, voice calls will be transferred via the Voice over LTE (VoLTE) function. For this purpose, the SIM card must perform an IMS registration in the mobile communication network. Due to
10230717
Date: 2022-12-01. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE.
For the eligible vehicles, BMW of North America, LLC (BMW NA) is extending the limited warranty for the vehicle's Fuel Injectors to 10 years/120,000 miles as determined by the vehicle's original in-service date.
10227568
Date: 2022-10-01. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: AIR BAGS, BACK OVER PREVENTION, LANE DEPARTURE, SEATS, UNKNOWN OR OTHER.
According to the customer, the airbag warning light was on, but it may not be illuminated when the vehicle arrives in the workshop. 1. ACSM fault code "930A60 - Seat occupancy detection, front passenger; malfunction" is stored. The fault may or may not currently be present. Or 2. ACSM fault code "93
10225126
Date: 2022-09-01. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: EQUIPMENT.
Vehicle cannot be opened or closed using comfort access, engine start is not possible, and the vehicle may not start when placing the key against the steering column.
Notes on this record
Complaints from the API and bulk file are merged and deduplicated by ODI number; the API alone misses records.
System and subsystem counts are numbers of distinct complaints, recalls or communications that name them. One record can name several systems, so shares across systems can add to more than 100 percent; a single share never exceeds 100 percent.
Recalls are counted once per campaign, investigations once per action and manufacturer communications once per NHTSA id, even when NHTSA lists several model names for the same record.
A sales denominator is a calendar-year proxy, not the population of vehicles still in use. Rates are copied from verified pipeline output.