NHTSA lists 111 complaints for the 2021 BMW X3, 5 of them mention a crash and 2 mention a fire. 2 complaints mention an injury, with 2 injuries and 0 deaths reported.
Data build 2026-10-08.
NHTSA lists this vehicle as BMW X3.
Recalls
See new recalls and investigations this week.
10 recalls.
Date: 2026-01-30. Systems: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM.
Defect: BMW of North America, LLC (BMW) is recalling certain 2021-2023 Toyota Supra, 2022-2023 2 Series Coupe, 2021-2024 5 Series (xDrive), 2021-2022 Z4, 2022-2024 4 Series (Gran Coupe), 2021-2024 4 Series (Convertible and xDrive Convertible), 2021-2023 4 Series (Coupe), 2021-2024 3 Series, 2021-2023 X4, 2021-2024 X3 vehicles. Please see the recall report for a complete list of all models. The engine star (excerpt)
Consequence: Fire increases the risk of injury. (excerpt)
Remedy: Dealers will replace the engine starter, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed July 21, 2026. Owners may contact BMW customer service at 1-800-525-7417 or Toyota's customer service at 1-800-331-4331. Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) involved in this recall will be searchable on NHTSA.gov beginning March 24, 2026. (excerpt)
Do not drive: No. Park outside: No.
Date: 2025-09-23. Systems: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM.
Defect: BMW of North America, LLC (BMW) is recalling certain 2019-2021 BMW 330i, 2019-2022 BMW Z4, 2020-2022 BMW 530i, X3, X4, Toyota Supra, 2021-2022 BMW 430i, 430i Convertible, and 2022 BMW 230i vehicles. The engine starter relay may corrode, causing the relay to overheat and short circuit.
Consequence: A short circuit in the starter relay may increase the risk of a fire.
Remedy: Owners are advised to park their vehicles outside and away from structures until the remedy is complete. Dealers will replace the engine starter, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed February 6, 2026. Owners may contact BMW customer service at 1-800-525-7417. Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) involved in this recall became searchable on NHTSA.gov November 14, 2025.
Do not drive: No. Park outside: Yes.
Date: 2024-10-15. Systems: STRUCTURE.
Defect: BMW of North America, LLC (BMW) is recalling certain 2018-2022 X3 sDrive30i, X3 xDrive30i, X3 M40i, and X3 M vehicles. The attachment for the rear cargo rail may become damaged in a rear crash and result in the cargo rail detaching.
Consequence: Interior rear cargo rail detachment during a crash can increase the risk of injury.
Remedy: Dealers will replace the rear cargo rail attachment bolts, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed December 12, 2024. Owners may contact BMW customer service at 1-800-525-7417. Vehicles in this recall were previously remedied for this issue under recall number 24V-534 and will need to have the new repair completed.
Do not drive: No. Park outside: No.
Date: 2024-07-17. Systems: STRUCTURE.
Defect: BMW of North America, LLC (BMW) is recalling certain 2018-2023 X3 sDrive30i, X3 xDrive30i, X3 M40i, and X3 M vehicles. The attachment for the interior cargo rail may become damaged in a rear crash and result in the cargo rail detaching.
Consequence: Interior cargo rail detachment during a rear crash can increase the risk of injury.
Remedy: Dealers will replace the rear cargo rail attachment bolts, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed January 2, 2024. Owners may contact BMW customer service at 1-800-525-7417.
Do not drive: No. Park outside: No.
Date: 2023-03-29. Systems: SEATS.
Defect: BMW of North America, LLC (BMW) is recalling certain 2019-2021 330i, 330i xDrive, M340i xDrive, 2020-2021 X3 sDrive30i, X3 xDrive30i, X3 M40i, X3M, 2021 X3 xDrive30e, X4 xDrive30i, and X4M vehicles. The seat frame may not have been welded properly to the seat rails.
Consequence: An improperly welded seat frame may not properly restrain the occupant during a crash, increasing the risk of injury.
Remedy: Dealers will replace the seat frame and back rest, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed May 22, 2023. Owners may contact BMW customer service at 1-800-525-7417.
Do not drive: No. Park outside: No.
Date: 2021-03-24. Systems: FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE.
Defect: BMW of North America, LLC (BMW) is recalling certain 2021 X3 sDrive30i, X3 xDrive30i, X3 M40i, X3M, and X4, and 2021 X4 xDrive30i vehicles. The inlet check valve weld may fail, allowing the filling pipe to separate from the fuel tank.
Consequence: Fuel may leak through the failed weld, increasing the risk of a fire.
Remedy: BMW will notify owners, and dealers will replace the fuel tank, free of charge. The recall is scheduled to begin May 17, 2021. Owners were also contacted by telephone. To date, all repairs have been done. No further owner notification letters will be sent. Owners may contact BMW customer service at 1-800-525-7417.
Do not drive: No. Park outside: No.
Date: 2021-02-19. Systems: BACK OVER PREVENTION.
Defect: BMW of North America, LLC (BMW) is recalling certain 2019-2021 X3 sDrive30i, X3 xDrive30i, X3 M40i, X3M, X4 xDrive30i, X4 M40i, M550i, X4M, X5 sDrive40i, X5 xDrive40i, X5 xDrive50i, X5M, X5 M50i, X7 xDrive40i, X7 xDrive50i, X7 M50i, Alpina XB7, 330i, 330i xDrive, M340i, M340i xDrive, and 8 Series Coupe, Convertible and Grand Coupe, 840i, 840i xDrive, M850i xDrive, M8, 2020-2021 530e, 530e xDrive, (excerpt)
Consequence: If the driver relies on only the rearview camera image, the missing or reduced rearview image view can increase the risk of a crash or injury. (excerpt)
Remedy: BMW will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the rearview camera software and update it if necessary, free of charge. The recall began April 16, 2021. Owners may contact BMW customer service at 1-800-525-7417. (excerpt)
Do not drive: No. Park outside: No.
Date: 2020-09-30. Systems: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM.
Defect: BMW of North America, LLC (BMW) is recalling certain 2020-2021 530e, 530e xDrive, 530e iPerformance and X3 xDrive30e and MINI Cooper Countryman All4 SE, 2020 BMW i8, and 2021 330e, 330e xDrive, 745Le xDrive and X5 xDrive45e vehicles. Debris may have entered one or more of the hybrid battery cells during their production. (excerpt)
Consequence: The debris could result in a short-circuit, increasing the risk of fire or injury. (excerpt)
Remedy: BMW will inspect and, if necessary, replace the battery module free of charge. The remedy is currently being developed. Until the remedy is completed, drivers are instructed to not charge their vehicles. Drivers are instructed to not drive in manual mode, sport mode, and to not use the shift paddles. Owners were notified of the safety risk October 23, 2020. The recall began November 24, 2020. (excerpt)
Do not drive: No. Park outside: No.
Date: 2020-09-30. Systems: BACK OVER PREVENTION.
Defect: BMW of North America, LLC (BMW) is recalling certain 2020-2021 X3 sDrive 30i, X3 xDrive 30i, X3M 40i, X3 xDrive 30e, X4 xDrive 30i, X4M 40i, 530i, 540i, 540i xDrive, M550i xDrive, M5, 550e, 550e xDrive, and 550e iPerformance vehicles. A small portion of the rearview image may be slightly obscured. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standa (excerpt)
Consequence: If the driver relies on only the rearview camera image, the reduced rearview image view can increase the risk of a crash or injury. (excerpt)
Remedy: BMW will notify owners, and dealers will inspect and, if necessary, program the rearview camera with updated software. The recall began November 18, 2020. Owners may contact BMW customer service at 1-800-525-7417. (excerpt)
Do not drive: No. Park outside: No.
Date: 2020-08-18. Systems: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM.
Defect: BMW of North America, LLC (BMW) is recalling certain 2021 330e and X5 xDrive45e, 2020-2021 X3 xDrive30e, and 2020 MINI Countryman SE ALL4 vehicles. Loose welding beads may form a conductive path between the hybrid battery cells which could lead to a short-circuit. (excerpt)
Consequence: A short-circuited hybrid battery may increase the risk of a fire. (excerpt)
Remedy: BMW will notify owners, and dealers will inspect and, if necessary, replace the battery modules, free of charge. BMW issued owners an interim notification on October 16, 2020. Although potentially affected BMW owners received interim owner notification letters, all potentially affected BMW owner vehicles have been remedied; therefore, BMW Final owner notification letters will not be necessary. (excerpt)
Do not drive: No. Park outside: No.
Manufacturer communications
195 manufacturer communications.
Communications by system| System | Count |
|---|
| EQUIPMENT | 74 |
|---|
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | 57 |
|---|
| STRUCTURE | 27 |
|---|
| VISIBILITY | 20 |
|---|
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING | 17 |
|---|
| ENGINE | 12 |
|---|
| EQUIPMENT ADAPTIVE/MOBILITY | 11 |
|---|
| STEERING | 11 |
|---|
11035500
Date: 2026-07-17. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, ENGINE.
The manual starting of electronic engine oil level measurement from inside the vehicle, usually afterperforming an engine oil service task, is inoperative or it may lock up at between a 15% to 30% completionrate.
11035497
Date: 2026-06-29. Type: Warranty Program/Extension. Systems: ENGINE.
The EVAP systems purge (vent) valve limited warranty for defects in materials and / or workmanship has been extended to 15 years / 150,000 miles as determined from the original first in-service / delivery date.
11032731
Date: 2026-05-06. Type: Warranty Program/Extension. Systems: ENGINE.
The EVAP systems purge (vent) valve limited warranty for defects in materials or workmanship has been extended to 15 years / 150,000 miles as determined from the original in-service date.
11017504
Date: 2025-04-30. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: SERVICE BRAKES.
The vehicle applies the brakes on its own when reversing onto an inclined roadway or driveway. This appliesonly to the situation where the Active PDC option is activated via the iDrive.
11013058
Date: 2025-01-06. Type: Warranty Program/Extension. Systems: AIR BAGS.
The limited warranty for the Knee Air Bag wire harness repair cable procedure for defects in materials and / or workmanship has been extended to 10 years / 120,000 miles as determined from the original first in-service / delivery date.
11008994
Date: 2024-10-11. Type: Service Campaign. Systems: UNKNOWN OR OTHER.
DELIVERY STOP: REAR CARGO RAILS
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.
10252031
Date: 2024-03-14. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: EXTERIOR LIGHTING.
One or more of the LED daytime running lights are dim or discolored.
10252033
Date: 2024-03-14. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: SUSPENSION.
During inspection and/or diagnosis there is noticeable dirt/grease buildup on the axles near the inner and/o router CV boots.
10250374
Date: 2024-02-16. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, VISIBILITY.
An interference noise (groaning noise) can be heard from within the heating and air-conditioning unit in thecenter of the instrument panel. The groaning noise always occurs when either a ventilation flap, air stratification flap or the recirculated airflap moves to a different position. Due to the