2021 BMW X3
This year drew an ordinary 208 complaints for a BMW X3 — the model's median is 96. What they were about is the unusual part: 6.7% of them mention several times, against 1.9% across the other years of this generation.
Generation 3 of the BMW X3, which began in 2018 and ran to 2024. 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 | 208 |
|---|---|
| Median for this model | 96 |
| Involving a crash | 6 |
| Involving a fire | 4 |
| Recalls | 11 |
| NHTSA crash rating | 5/5 |
| EPA combined | 24.5 mpg |
What the complaints were about
- several times — 6.7% of this year's complaints, against 1.9% across the other years of this generation (3.5×). Owners wrote it as: several times, traffic light.
- company — 6.7% of this year's complaints, against 2.3% across the other years of this generation (3×). Owners wrote it as: company, inspect, exists.
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
OUR CAR HAS JUST SHUTDOWN ALTOGETHER WAITING AT A TRAFFIC LIGHT. ALSO, THE MAIN CONSOLE ABOVE THE STEERING WHEEL HAS GONE COMPLETELY BLACK SEVERAL TIMES WHILE DRIVING.
Vehicle is experiencing critical mounting component failure very early on. Vehicle has under 50k miles but the engine mounts and thrush rod bushings are failing, putting the car at risk when driving or starting. It has been inspected by the dealership and the…
Verbatim from NHTSA complaint filings, with identifying details removed.
Recalls for this year
- 20V598000 BACK OVER PREVENTION
- 21V096000 BACK OVER PREVENTION Fixed free of charge.
- 21V199000 FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE Fixed free of charge.
- 20V601000 ELECTRICAL SYSTEM Fixed free of charge.
- 20V490000 ELECTRICAL SYSTEM Fixed free of charge.
- 23V211000 SEATS Fixed free of charge.
- 24V534000 STRUCTURE Fixed free of charge.
- 24V764000 STRUCTURE Fixed free of charge.
Showing 8 of 11. The rest are on NHTSA's site.
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 2021 BMW X3? What happened to yours?
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