2008 BMW X3
This year drew an ordinary 190 complaints for a BMW X3 — the model's median is 96. What they were about is the unusual part: 7.9% of them mention say, against 2.1% across the other years of this generation.
Generation 1 of the BMW X3, which began in 2004 and ran to 2010. Everything below compares this year against the others in that generation, not against a different car wearing the same name.
NHTSA opened a defect investigation into this model year.
| Complaints filed | 190 |
|---|---|
| Median for this model | 96 |
| Involving a crash | 3 |
| Involving a fire | 9 |
| Recalls | 3 |
| EPA combined | 19.5 mpg |
What the complaints were about
- say — 7.9% of this year's complaints, against 2.1% across the other years of this generation (3.7×). Owners wrote it as: say, thousands, true, receipts.
- brought — 6.8% of this year's complaints, against 2.3% across the other years of this generation (2.9×). Owners wrote it as: brought, august, brought vehicle, vehicle brought.
- 328i — 6.3% of this year's complaints, against 2.1% across the other years of this generation (2.9×). Owners wrote it as: 328i, bmw 328i, october, warranty coverage.
Words owners used for the same problem are counted together, so a fault written four different ways is measured once. Grouped by which complaints they appear in, not by a list anyone wrote in advance.
What owners wrote
TAKATA RECALL -- BMW SENT ME A LETTER FOR THE RECALL, BUT SAYS THEY HAVE NO PARTS AND BY SUMMER MAY HAVE LIMITED PARTS. THEY QUOTED NHTSA WHEN I CALLED SAYING THEY ARE PROBABLY SAFE. WHAT IS THE POINT IF THERE ARE NO PARTS?
A RECALL WAS ISSUE FOR BLOWER MOTOR WIRING. IT HAS ALMOST BEEN A YEAR AND EVERY TIME I INQUIRE WITH THE DEALER THEY SAY THEY DON'T HAVE THE REMEDY AVAILABLE. SHOULD I BE CONCERNED ABOUT THE VEHICLE CATCHING FLAMES WHILE IN MY GARAGE?
Verbatim from NHTSA complaint filings, with identifying details removed.
Recalls for this year
- 20V017000 AIR BAGS Fixed free of charge.
- 17V605000 AIR BAGS Fixed free of charge.
- 17V683000 ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING Fixed free of charge.
How this was worked out
Every year of the BMW X3 was compared against its own history rather than against other cars, which removes popularity and age from the answer — a common car draws more complaints at equal reliability, and an older one has had longer to accumulate them. A year is flagged when it drew at least 2.5× this model's median and at least 50 complaints.
This is a fault record, not a review. Nobody files a federal complaint to say the car was fine, so it shows what tends to go wrong — not whether owners liked it, and not whether it is a good car.
Source: NHTSA complaints, recalls and investigations, retrieved . Look this vehicle up directly on NHTSA's site to check anything here.
Own a 2008 BMW X3? What happened to yours?
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