There are 28 owner-reported electrical system complaints for the 2020 BMW X3in NHTSA's database. These are unverified consumer reports and may not reflect confirmed defects.
The contact owns a 2020 BMW X3. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V636000 (Electrical System); however, parts to do the recall repair were not yet available. The dealer was contacted; however, the parts were still not yet available. The manufacturer was not contacted. The contact had not experienced a failure.
The contact owns a 2020 BMW X3. The contact had received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V636000 (Electrical System). The local dealer was contacted who confirmed that parts were on backorder. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was contacted who confirmed the recall status. The contact had not experienced a failure. VIN tool showed no open recall.
The contact owns a 2020 BMW X3. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V636000 (Electrical System); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the fire risk was a major concern. In addition, the contact stated that the temperature was 14 degrees below freezing the past weekend where the contact resided. The contact inquired about what might happen if the vehicle were parked on the street in the neighborhood. The manufacturer was contacted; however, the contact was informed that the parts were not yet available. The contact had not experienced a failure.
The contact owns a 2020 BMW X3. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V636000 (Electrical System); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer was not contacted. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure.
The contact owns a 2020 BMW X3. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V636000 (Electrical System); 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 dealer was contacted and confirmed that the part to do the recall repair was not available. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure.
The contact owns a 2020 BMW X3. The contact stated that several attempts were needed while cold-starting the vehicle. The contact stated that prior to receiving notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V636000 (Electrical System); the battery was replaced; however, the vehicle was still difficult to start. The local dealer was contacted, and the contact was informed that the remedy was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was not informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 51,000.
The contact owns a 2020 BMW X3. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the emergency sensor warning light illuminated, as well as the camera system, the Forward Collision Avoidance warning light, and the key proximity features malfunctioned. The contact stated that the shark fin cover was missing from the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed, and determined that the backup battery and wiring harness were damaged due to water intrusion from the missing shark fin cover. The contact was informed that the backup battery, wiring harness, and shark fin cover need to be replaced; however, the vehicle remained unrepaired. The contact had contacted the insurance provider, and the insurance provider declined to cover the repairs under the comprehensive coverage, citing that the failure was a known issue with BMW vehicles. The manufacturer had not been notified of the failures. The failure mileage was 70,000.
Emergency call system - TCB module failure. A Telematics Control Box, is an embedded computer in my X3. It processes, and transmits data wirelessly. it is a hub for my car to connect services like GPS tracking, diagnostics, infotainment, emergency calls (e.g., eCall), and vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication, enabling real-time monitoring for safety, efficiency, and fleet management. It connects the car to the internet for emergency services. If the TCB were working properly it would call 911 automatically. It has failed and now it will not call automatically if I get into an accident. The car had less than 50K miles and the dealer wanted to charge $2500 to fix. This should be a recall due to the safety issue. This isn't just a minor inconvenience; it's a critical safety feature failure, disabling automatic crash notification and location services. It has disabled all other msg and the error msg stays on continuously and I am unable to see any other msg that could appear.
The contact owns a 2020 BMW X3. The contact stated that the vehicle hesitated while starting. The contact then stated that while at a relative's home, the vehicle failed to start after multiple attempts, with white colored smoke coming from the vehicle. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact used a code reader and retrieved DTC: 216113, 21611A, 21A511, and 216115. Due to the failure, the vehicle remained at the relative's home. Upon investigation, the contact discovered NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V636000 (Electrical System); and linked it to the failure. The manufacturer and the dealer were notified of the failure and confirmed that the vehicle was not included in the recall. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 90,500.
Appears to be related to recall 25V636. Vehicle is 2020 BMW X3 M40i, equipped with same engine as the Supra (B58). Engine would not start with the push of the "start button". Pressing a second time would sometimes start, but as time went on the number of presses required to start took minutes to up to 30 minutes before engine would start. Had starter motor replaced October, 2025 and mechanic observed that starter motor was shorting out, similar to existing recall. However, my vehicle is not included in the recall.
The contact owns a 2020 BMW X3. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V636000 (Electrical System). The local dealer was contacted on three occasions. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was contacted, but no assistance was provided. The contact had not experienced a failure.
There is an open recall(NHTSA Recall Number25V636) for my vehicle since September 2025 and there is still no remedy available from the manufacturer (BMW). I am told by the dealer that they won't have the part for next several months. This is unacceptable as I need to get the urgent safety recall fixed as soon as possible.
Announcing the recall in September 2025 and still no remedy available 4 months later is unacceptable. My car is at risk of catching fire randomly even if it's parked with ignition off. I need a fix and I need BMW to pay for it.
The contact owns a 2020 BMW X3. The contact stated that upon starting the vehicle, there was an abnormal thumping sound coming from the vehicle. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact later received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V636000 (Electrical System); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer, and the contact was informed to leave the vehicle at the dealer overnight. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 60,000.
Backup camera failure , missing rearview image when car gear is shifted to R, increasing the risk of crash and injury. When reversing the backup camera does not display any image/video feed on the screen, only the collision warning system is displayed.
The contact owned a 2020 BMW X3. The contact stated that while her husband was driving 10-15 MPH in a parking lot and attempting to make a turn, the brake pedal was depressed, but the pedal travelled down to the floor, and the vehicle failed to respond. Additionally, the steering wheel seized, and the accelerator pedal was depressed, but the pedal travelled down to the floorboard, and the vehicle failed to respond. The contact stated that the vehicle became inoperable, causing the front driver's side bumper and door of the vehicle to crash into the rear-end of an unoccupied parked vehicle, and then the front end of the vehicle crashed into the side of another occupied parked vehicle. All the air bags of the vehicle deployed. There were no injuries sustained. A police report was filed. The police report confirmed that the impacts occurred a few moments before the contact received failure notifications on the vehicle mobile app. The vehicle remained inoperable and was towed to Spitler's Collision, where it was deemed a total loss. The Chevrolet dealer where the vehicle was purchased was notified of the failure. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and sent engineers who inspected the vehicle at Spitler's Collision 8 months later. The manufacturer later informed the contact that the collisions occurred because the driver did not turn away from the other vehicles and did not depress the brake pedal as needed, which the contact stated was the description of the failure. No further assistance was provided. The manufacturer and the auto finance company deemed the vehicle a total loss. The failure mileage was 67,540.
The accident happened at Noon on [XXX] at the Amazon Fresh/Post office parking lot’s far right exit lane facing [XXX] The address is [XXX] . We were leaving the parking lot and I stopped at the exit lane with 2 cars in front of us. After the first car exited, the second car, a black Ford Explorer, moved forward. I released the brake slightly but my foot was still on the brake pedal. At this moment, my car suddenly accelerated and quickly approached the Explorer. I immediately pressed the brake pedal hard but was unable to stop my car and hit the back of the Explorer. The Explorer was forced out in front of the stop sign but the driver was able to turn right to park at the roadside. With my foot still firmly on the brake pedal, my car kept on accelerating into [XXX] , crossing 5 lanes of traffic until we hit the roadside curb of westbound [XXX] . The car then swerved left and hit a roadside tree, turning sideways into [XXX] middle turn lane. During this entire time, I did not press the accelerator and the car was violently shaking and jerking right and left. As the car slowed down, I was able to steer the car to the right eastbound lane of [XXX] , next to the parking lot near Bank of America’s ATM sign. After I got out of the car, I noticed the front and right sides of the body and tires were damaged including crushing, dents, and significant scratching. The problem I believe is as follows: 1.Sudden Unintended Acceleration and Control Circuit Malfunction. 2.Airbags did not deploy even though we hit a car, curb and tree. 3.Onboard Data Recorder should have the information needed. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
I have records of over 900 other consumers including myself that have been asking BMW to fix a potential deadly lighting malfunction that leaves you with no dash lighting or a whiteout. This problem effects all the dash and HVAC controls where you can't see any the dash and safety components. I've reached out to BMW and they refuse to acknowledge the problem and have asked me to stop.
This is the message I get: "Driver restraint system malfunction. Passenger knee airbag rewired to control module . Carefully drive to the closest service center. Driver restraint system is reduced. Increased risk of injury in case of a collision. Continue wearing safety belt. Driver restraint system malfunction. " I went to Cavender BMW and was told the problem is with the Passenger knee airbag rewired to control module. The cost would be $1,400. I have 24,122 miles on the car. My salesman said that there have been quite a few of these problems. It seems there should be a recall if that is the case.
Received warning on screen. “Driver restraint system malfunction carefully drive to the closest service center driver restraint system is reduced. Increased risk of injury in case of collision. Continue using safety belt.” I took the car in, and this was the diagnosis: “Driver restraint system malfunction. Passenger knee airbag rewired to control module” 24,122 miles on the car. $1400
Showing 1–20 of 28 complaints
Complaints are unverified consumer reports submitted to NHTSA. A high complaint count may reflect vehicle popularity, not defect severity. Data sourced from NHTSA public records.
Data synced from NHTSA on Apr 26, 2026