2012 BMW X3
This year drew an ordinary 96 complaints for a BMW X3 — the model's median is 128. What they were about is the unusual part: 18.8% of them mention seat, against 3.4% across the other years of this generation.
Generation 2 of the BMW X3, which began in 2011 and ran to 2017. Everything below compares this year against the others in that generation, not against a different car wearing the same name.
| Complaints filed | 96 |
|---|---|
| Median for this model | 128 |
| Involving a crash | 12 |
| Involving a fire | 2 |
| Recalls | 2 |
| EPA combined | 21 mpg |
What the complaints were about
- seat — 18.8% of this year's complaints, against 3.4% across the other years of this generation (5.5×).
- none — 6.3% of this year's complaints, against 0% across the other years of this generation (31.3×).
- software — 6.3% of this year's complaints, against 0.8% across the other years of this generation (7.8×).
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
A malfunction of the front seat occupancy mat will prevent the passenger air bag from deploying in the event of an accident and displays a malfunction warning. This malfunction has been the subject of several BMW NHTSA recalls but so far none have been issued…
PASSENGER RESTRAINT SYSTEM MALFUNCTION MESSAGE DUE TO BAD SEAT PAD SENSOR WHICH TURNED OF THE PASSENGER SIDE AIR BAG INCASE OF AN ACCIDENT.
Verbatim from NHTSA complaint filings, with identifying details removed.
Recalls for this year
- 17V495000 AIR BAGS Fixed free of charge.
- 16V333000 CHILD SEAT
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 2012 BMW X3? What happened to yours?
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