2017 BMW X3
This year drew an ordinary 92 complaints for a BMW X3 — the model's median is 128. What they were about is the unusual part: 6.5% of them mention various, against 1.9% across the other years of this generation.
Last year of its generation. This BMW X3 ran from 2011 to 2017, so it had the whole run for its faults to be found and fixed. Last years are usually the most sorted of a generation.
NHTSA opened a defect investigation into this model year.
| Complaints filed | 92 |
|---|---|
| Median for this model | 128 |
| Involving a crash | 10 |
| Involving a fire | 2 |
| Recalls | 6 |
| NHTSA crash rating | 5/5 |
| EPA combined | 24 mpg |
What the complaints were about
- various — 6.5% of this year's complaints, against 1.9% across the other years of this generation (3.4×). Owners wrote it as: various, driving various, rear tire.
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
notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V608000 (Engine and Engine Cooling, Electrical System). The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, she observed an odor emanating from the front of the vehicle. The contact stated that there were no warnin…
while driving at various speeds, the message that the "Engine was Overheated" was displayed on the instrument panel with the RPM elevated. Due to the failure, the vehicle was towed to a dealer and was diagnosed with a defective water pump. The vehicle was not…
Verbatim from NHTSA complaint filings, with identifying details removed.
Recalls for this year
- 18V755000 ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING Fixed free of charge.
- 21V907000 FUEL SYSTEM, DIESEL Fixed free of charge.
- 21V586000 FUEL SYSTEM, DIESEL Fixed free of charge.
- 16V704000 STEERING
- 16V333000 CHILD SEAT
- 24V608000 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 2017 BMW X3? What happened to yours?
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