KnownCarProblems2016 BMW X3 Problems and Recalls
Owners filed 82 complaints with NHTSA about the 2016 BMW X3, most often about the engine (38% of complaints, typically around 84,500 miles). It is 14th of 23 X3 model years by number of complaints and has 5 recalls.
Most common 2016 BMW X3 problems
Engine
31 complaints · 38%Half of these problems showed up before 84,500 miles. Parts named most often: exhaust system, engine.
The contact owns a 2016 BMW X3. The contact stated while cold starting the vehicle, there was significant amounts of white and blueish smoke coming out of the exhaust pipe. The contact stated that the failure had been recurring. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed that oil was leaking…
The contact owns a 2016 BMW X3. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the contact noticed a burning odor inside the vehicle. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer; however, the contact was informed that parts to repair the vehicle was not available. The…
Electrical
23 complaints · 28%I drove my 2016 BMW X3 for about 30 miles on the highway. I exited the highway and came to a stop at a light. My rear hatch opened while at the light and my vehicle was in drive. I had two dogs in the rear area that nearly jumped out. We did determined that a key fob in a pocket probably was pressed. While the vehicle…
It had been raining in my area the week of 4/16/2021. On the evening of 4/16/2021 my rear hatch control and rear hatch alarm started malfunctioning. I discovered water had gotten into the electrical compartment in the rear hatch. I brought my SUV to the shop/dealer for repair and was told the sunroof frame was cracked…
Other or unspecified
12 complaints · 15%Half of these problems showed up before 24,000 miles.
May 31, while slowing to enter a toll booth, engine started revving uncontrollably, maintaining excessive speed. I braked hard and vehicle stopped in time to avoid a collision. Vehicle operated normally thereafter until august 27, when, stopped at a traffic light on a highway, engine again started revving, ranging…
Exploding sunroof. Happened without impact, on freeway, no nearby overpass and nothing traveling towards vehicle. Sounded and felt like a bomb was going off, which could have but fortunately did not cause me to lose control of vehicle.
Brakes
10 complaints · 12%Half of these problems showed up before 14,500 miles.
2016 BMW X3 xdrive28 I I pulled into a friend's driveway and applied the brakes approximately 2 feet from the closed garage door. My car "leapt " into the side of the house, then careened into the garage door. The car accelerated with such force that both airbags were deployed. I am sure that I did not hit the…
I had pulled into a parking lot traveling very slowly then turned left into a parking space with my foot on brake but just before coming to a complete stop the car suddenly surged forward at great speed, leapt over a concrete "log" designed to stop a vehicle and crashed into a concrete wall 3 feet in front of the car.…
Fuel system
10 complaints · 12%The contact owns a 2016 BMW X3. The contact received notification of NHTSA campaign number: 21v907000 (fuel system, diesel) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The contact stated that…
The contact owns a 2016 BMW X3. The contact stated that while driving approximately 75 MPH, the vehicle unintendedly decelerated and failed to properly accelerate. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, who was unable to determine the cause of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was…
Transmission
9 complaints · 11%A very dangerous and catastrophic situation is created when using the start/stop feature. When stopped at a traffic light or stopped in stop and go traffic on the highway this feature fails. Once this feature is engaged when the vehicle is stopped when the accelerator is pushed to start again the vehicle goes into…
While approaching a stoplight, braked, then went to accelerate and the vehicle totally shutdown and stopped while driving in traffic. This was a catastrophic failure, which could have killed both occupants of this vehicle. The check engine light was activated. Upon attempting to restart the vehicle to move it out of…
Seat belts
6 complaints · 7%Parts named most often: critical fasteners.
Seatbelt pretensioner failing to holdback passenger on deccelleration on exit ramp at 4 degrees incline or decline from 65 to zero on controlled decceleration
My 8-year old daughter was sitting on rear passenger size seat on a booster seat with seat belt on. She first played with my son who was sitting on a read driver seat on a car seat. Then she fell asleep. In this process the seat belt some how got wrapped around her. When we stopped for a bathroom break we unbuckled…
Wheels and tires
4 complaints · 5%Tire is a run flat type of tire and the wear of all four tires was severe on the inside of tire while tread across the rest of the tire was still satisfactory. Rear tire tread started separating and the vehicle had to be taken off the road due to the severity of the tread separation. Continued operation of the vehicle…
BMW tech looked tires over and found rear tires worn through inner edge to the point that it appears only the inner layer of rubber is holding the tire together. Full separation between the sidewall and face of the tire on both rear tires in some spots. Rear tires are dangerous and should not be used on the road or…
Complaints are owner reports to NHTSA, not verified defects. One complaint can name several components, so shares add up to more than 100%.
2016 BMW X3 recalls
Electrical: connectors/plugs/receptacles
Risk: An electrical short increases the risk of a fire.
Fix: Dealers will inspect and replace the water pump and plug connector as necessary, and install a protective shield, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed on march 28, 2025. Owners may contact bmw customer service at 1-800-525-7417.
Full defect summary
Bmw of north america, llc. (bmw) is recalling certain 2012-2015 x1 sdrive28i, x1 xdrive28i, 2012-2016 z4 sdrive28i, 528i, 528i xdrive, 328i, 328xi, 2016-2018 x5 xdrive 40e, 2014-2016 228i, 228xi, 428i, 428i xdrive, 328xi gran turismo, 2013-2017 x3 sdrive28i, x3 xdrive28i, 2015-2018 x4 xdrive28i, 2015-2016 428xi vehicles. An improperly sealed electrical connector on the water pump may be exposed to water and short circuit.
Fuel system: fuel system, diesel
Risk: A melting intake manifold increases the risk of a fire.
Fix: Dealers will replace the EGR cooler and inspect the intake manifold, replacing it as necessary, free of charge. This recall includes all vehicles previously recalled under 18v-755. Vehicles previously recalled under 18v-755 will need to have the new remedy performed for this recall. An interim owner notification letter was mailed on january 18, 2022. The remedy is expected to be available in june 2022. Owner notification letters were mailed on july 6, 2022. Owners may contact bmw customer service at 1-800-525-7417.
Full defect summary
Bmw of north america, llc (bmw) is recalling certain 2013-2018 328d, 328d xdrive, 2014-2018 328d sports wagon, 328d xdrive sports wagon, 2014-2016 535d, 535d xdrive, 2015 740ld xdrive, 2015-2017 x3 xdrive28d sav, and 2014-2017 x5 xdrive35d sav diesel vehicles equipped with an exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) module with an integrated cooler. The EGR cooler may leak internally, causing coolant to mix with diesel engine soot, which could result in smoldering particles and a melting intake manifold.
Fuel system: fuel pump
Risk: Fuel pump failure can cause an engine stall while driving, increasing the risk of a crash.
Fix: Dealers will replace the high-pressure fuel pump, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed on january 14, 2022. Owners may contact bmw customer service at 1-800-525-7417.
Full defect summary
Bmw of north america, llc (bmw) is recalling certain 2014-2018 328d, 328d xdrive, x5 xdrive35d, 2014-2016 535d, 535d xdrive, 2015 740ld xdrive, and 2015-2017 x3 xdrive28d vehicles. The high-pressure fuel pump may fail.
Engine: gas recirculation valve (egr valve)
Risk: The melting intake manifold can increase the risk of a fire.
Fix: Bmw will notify owners, and dealers will inspect and replace the EGR cooler as necessary. If a leak has already occurred, the engine intake manifold will also be replaced. These repairs will be made free of charge. The recall began may 13, 2019. Owners may contact bmw customer service at 1-800-525-7417.
Full defect summary
Bmw of north america, llc (bmw) is recalling certain 2013-2018 bmw 328d and 328d xdrive, 2014-2018 328d sports wagon and 328d xdrive sports wagon, 2014-2016 535d and 535d xdrive, 2015 740ld xdrive, 2015-2017 x3 xdrive28d sav and 2014-2017 x5 xdrive35d sav vehicles equipped with an exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) module with an integrated cooler. If the EGR cooler leaks internally, the coolant can mix with diesel engine soot. The high EGR temperatures may result in these particles possibly smoldering and melting the intake manifold.
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
High pressure fuel pump failure
Summary
The office of defects investigation (odi) opened pe21-021 on october 14, 2021, to investigate incidents alleging a stall/loss of motive power as a result of high-pressure fuel pump failures in certain model year (my) 2019-2020 ram 2500, 3500, 4500, and 5500 heavy duty trucks equipped with 6.7l cummins turbodiesel engines. During the investigation, odi sought to determine if the related defect allegation was limited in scope to the recalled population. After review of information request response materials from both fca and bmw, NHTSA determined that sufficient information to identify a comprehensive recall population could not be produced by fca and bmw.during the investigation fca filed rec
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 2016 BMW X3
- What are the most common problems with the 2016 BMW X3?
- By NHTSA owner complaints: engine (31 complaints, typically around 84,500 miles); electrical (23 complaints); other or unspecified (12 complaints, typically around 24,000 miles).
- How many recalls does the 2016 BMW X3 have?
- 5 recalls listed by NHTSA, the latest from August 13, 2024 (electrical). Check your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls to see which ones are still open on your car.
- Is the 2016 a bad year for the BMW X3?
- It is 14th of 23 X3 model years by number of complaints, with 82 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.