2011 BMW X3
This year drew an ordinary 250 complaints for a BMW X3 — the model's median is 96. What they were about is the unusual part: 9.6% of them mention fact, against 2.6% across the other years of this generation.
First year of a new generation. The BMW X3 was redesigned for 2011. A first year carries problems nobody has found yet, and they are found by the people who buy it — which is worth knowing before you become one of them.
| Complaints filed | 250 |
|---|---|
| Median for this model | 96 |
| Involving a crash | 6 |
| Involving a fire | 6 |
| Recalls | 4 |
| EPA combined | 21 mpg |
What the complaints were about
- fact — 9.6% of this year's complaints, against 2.6% across the other years of this generation (3.6×). Owners wrote it as: fact, wipers, despite, under bmw.
- pcv — 8.8% of this year's complaints, against 2.3% across the other years of this generation (3.9×). Owners wrote it as: pcv, valve, heater, valve heater.
- already — 8.8% of this year's complaints, against 2.8% across the other years of this generation (3.1×). Owners wrote it as: already, associated, about issue, ordered.
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
ONLY HAVE MY CAR FOR ONLY A YEAR. TAILLIGHT FROM PASSENGER SIDE: THE RUNNING LIGHT DEFECTS WHEN I HIT THE BRAKE THE BRAKE LIGHT COMES ON. I WAS TOLD I NEED TO REPLACE THE WHOLE ASSEMBLY LIGHT AND THIS IS WELL KNOWN FOR THIS CAR. YESTERDAY, WHILE I WAS DRIVING.…
while his granddaughter was attempting to start the vehicle, there was smoke coming from under the driver’s side hood, and the vehicle failed to start. The vehicle was towed to the local mechanic who diagnosed that the PCV heater had overheated and burned alon…
Verbatim from NHTSA complaint filings, with identifying details removed.
Recalls for this year
- 17V683000 ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING Fixed free of charge.
- 16V333000 CHILD SEAT
- 11V341000 STEERING Fixed free of charge.
- 23V707000 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 2011 BMW X3? What happened to yours?
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