KnownCarProblems2012 BMW X3 Problems and Recalls
Owners filed 42 complaints with NHTSA about the 2012 BMW X3, most often about the air bags (29% of complaints, typically around 88,000 miles). It is 17th of 23 X3 model years by number of complaints and has 2 recalls.
Most common 2012 BMW X3 problems
Air bags
12 complaints · 29%Half of these problems showed up before 88,000 miles. Parts named most often: sensor.
I am receiving a "passenger restraint malfunction" warning. This means that if I have any passengers in my car and an accident occur the air bag will not deploy on that side. This is a very unsafe situation that should be covered by BMW 10 year warranty.
Restraint system intermittently malfunction. Getting malfunction notification after vehicle start moving and sometimes when it's stationary. Some time message on display says 'passenger restraint system' and sometimes additionally to passenger, 'driver restraint system' comes up. When check with dealer and after…
Engine
10 complaints · 24%Half of these problems showed up before 77,000 miles.
Situation when starting a cold engine, a 'plume of blue smoke' can be seen emitting from the exhaust tailpipe for approximately 10-20 seconds. There is no engine malfunction light illuminated (no' turbocharger boost faults are stored) and no drivability issues are detected. Cause when the vehicle is parked overnight…
The contact owns a 2012 BMW X3. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle was shaking and hesitating during acceleration. An unknown warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who related the failure to NHTSA campaign number: 14v176000 (engine and engine…
Steering
7 complaints · 17%Half of these problems showed up before 62,000 miles.
When the temperature is above 90-degrees and while driving on a straight highway, the steering gets stiff and the car is difficult to steer. After many miles of this type of difficult driving across several days, the stiffness disappears. First occurred a year ago; went away, returned last month.
My wife was driving the vehicle on the highway, and the power steering failed causing a loss of control of the vehicle. Luckily she was not injured and the vehicle drifted to the right hand lane and off onto the shoulder. After the vehicle was brought home, the electronic steering unit later reset itself after the…
Transmission
7 complaints · 17%Half of these problems showed up before 62,500 miles.
Our X3 new X3 has surged violently ahead on two occasions now, on one occasion with foot on brake. BMW are denying any other examples of this problem exist, which by viewing this website clearly is not the case. I encourage all that have had this problem to lodge an official complaint to cause a full recall of this…
The contact owns a 2012 BMW X3. The contact stated that while driving at 65 MPH, the vehicle stalled without warning. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the bolt housing for the cam shaft detached and needed to be repaired. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was…
Speed control
6 complaints · 14%Half of these problems showed up before 25,000 miles.
In a single sitting vehicle in park, engine revved to 2500 then to 3500 and then to redline (approx 7500rpm). I shut down the engine and waited 5 minutes. Started engine and shifted to reverse. Engine revved to 2500 and I immediately shut down engine. Waited 10 minutes and tried again. After a period of idling…
Our X3 new X3 has surged violently ahead on two occasions now, on one occasion with foot on brake. BMW are denying any other examples of this problem exist, which by viewing this website clearly is not the case. I encourage all that have had this problem to lodge an official complaint to cause a full recall of this…
Brakes
5 complaints · 12%Our X3 new X3 has surged violently ahead on two occasions now, on one occasion with foot on brake. BMW are denying any other examples of this problem exist, which by viewing this website clearly is not the case. I encourage all that have had this problem to lodge an official complaint to cause a full recall of this…
When starting the car, the brake pedal does not depress a short distance before resistance as it did previously. Now, I have to push very hard to get it to depress any distance so that I can start the car. This usually does not occur when the ambient temperature is below 50 degrees or the car has been operated very…
Other or unspecified
5 complaints · 12%Takata recall: I recently bought my used car from a nissan dealership. Within the first month of operation, I noticed that a "passenger restraint system malfunction" would appear in the center console. It has not gone away since then. It will only display this message in the beginning when I turn my car on, while it's…
I am receiving a "passenger restraint malfunction" warning. This means that if I have any passengers in my car and an accident occur the air bag will not deploy on that side. This is a very unsafe situation that should be covered by BMW 10 year warranty.
Seats
4 complaints · 10%I am receiving a "passenger restraint malfunction" warning. This means that if I have any passengers in my car and an accident occur the air bag will not deploy on that side. This is a very unsafe situation that should be covered by BMW 10 year warranty.
My front passenger airbag seat occupancy sensor mat will intermittently malfunction. At times, the front passenger airbag will turn off, even with a passenger in the seat. If this were to occur, during and accident, with deactivation of the front passenger airbag there is increased the risk of injury or death.
Complaints are owner reports to NHTSA, not verified defects. One complaint can name several components, so shares add up to more than 100%.
2012 BMW X3 recalls
Air bags: inflator module
Risk: 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.
Fix: 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.
Full defect summary
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.
Child Seat: latch strap
Risk: Damaged lower anchor bars may increase the child's risk of injury in the event of a crash.
Fix: 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.
Full defect summary
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 anchor bars for securing child restraint seats that may become damaged when using the european-isofix-type, rigid-style connector, child restraint system.
Recall repairs are free at any franchised dealer. Enter your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls to see which recalls are still open on your car.
NHTSA defect investigations
Desiccated air bag inflator rupture
Summary
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 rupture during deployment, potentially causing serious or even fatal injury to vehicle occupants. See 2016 blomquist report at www.NHTSA.gov/sites/NHTSA.gov/files/documents/expert_report-hrblomquist.pdf.consequently, all frontal inflators using propellant 2004 that do not contain a "desiccant" (a substa
Questions about the 2012 BMW X3
- What are the most common problems with the 2012 BMW X3?
- By NHTSA owner complaints: air bags (12 complaints, typically around 88,000 miles); engine (10 complaints, typically around 77,000 miles); steering (7 complaints, typically around 62,000 miles).
- How many recalls does the 2012 BMW X3 have?
- 2 recalls listed by NHTSA, the latest from August 8, 2017 (air bags). Check your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls to see which ones are still open on your car.
- Is the 2012 a bad year for the BMW X3?
- It is 17th of 23 X3 model years by number of complaints, with 42 complaints. Complaint counts are not adjusted for how many cars were sold, so popular years collect more of them, and the newest years have had less time to.