Every 2019 BMW X3 recall
Each campaign as NHTSA published it: what is wrong, what can happen, and the fix. Newest first.
Structure · NHTSA 24V764000
Oct 15, 2024Structure
- Problem
- BMW of North America, LLC (BMW) is recalling certain 2018-2022 X3 sDrive30i, X3 xDrive30i, X3 M40i, and X3 M vehicles. The attachment for the rear cargo rail may become damaged in a rear crash and result in the cargo rail detaching.
- Risk
- Interior rear cargo rail detachment during a crash can increase the risk of injury.
- Fix
- Dealers will replace the rear cargo rail attachment bolts, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed December 12, 2024. Owners may contact BMW customer service at 1-800-525-7417. Vehicles in this recall were previously remedied for this issue under recall number 24V-534 and will need to have the new repair completed.
Full recall details for 24V764000 →Structure · NHTSA 24V534000
Jul 17, 2024Structure
- Problem
- BMW of North America, LLC (BMW) is recalling certain 2018-2023 X3 sDrive30i, X3 xDrive30i, X3 M40i, and X3 M vehicles. The attachment for the interior cargo rail may become damaged in a rear crash and result in the cargo rail detaching.
- Risk
- Interior cargo rail detachment during a rear crash can increase the risk of injury.
- Fix
- Dealers will replace the rear cargo rail attachment bolts, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed January 2, 2024. Owners may contact BMW customer service at 1-800-525-7417.
Full recall details for 24V534000 →Air Bags · NHTSA 21V521000
Aug 7, 2021Air Bags:Frontal
- Problem
- BMW of North America, LLC (BMW) is recalling certain 2018-2019 X3 sDrive30i, X3 xDrive30i, X3 M40i and 2019 X4 xDrive30i, and X4 M40i vehicles. The front passenger seat occupant classification system may have been improperly assembled, which could result in the misclassification of the seat as unoccupied, and deactivate the front air bag.
- Risk
- A deactivated front air bag will not deploy in the event of a crash, increasing the risk of injury.
- Fix
- Dealers will replace the seat foam, which includes the occupant classification system, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed on September 3, 2021. Owners may contact BMW customer service at 1-800-525-7417.
Full recall details for 21V521000 →Back Over Prevention · NHTSA 21V096000
Feb 19, 2021Back Over Prevention: Sensing System: Camera
- Problem
- BMW of North America, LLC (BMW) is recalling certain 2019-2021 X3 sDrive30i, X3 xDrive30i, X3 M40i, X3M, X4 xDrive30i, X4 M40i, M550i, X4M, X5 sDrive40i, X5 xDrive40i, X5 xDrive50i, X5M, X5 M50i, X7 xDrive40i, X7 xDrive50i, X7 M50i, Alpina XB7, 330i, 330i xDrive, M340i, M340i xDrive, and 8 Series Coupe, Convertible and Grand Coupe, 840i, 840i xDrive, M850i xDrive, M8, 2020-2021 530e, 530e xDrive, 330e, 330e xDrive, 745Le, 745Le xDrive, X5 xDrive45e, X3 xDrive30e, X6 sDrive40i, X6 xDrive40i, X6 xDrive50i, X6 M50i, X6M, 530i, 530i xDrive, 540i, 540i xDrive, M550i xDrive, M5, 740i, 740Li, 740Li xDrive, M760i Drive, M760Li xDrive, 750Li xDrive Alpina, Alpina B7 xDrive, and 2021 4 Series Coupe 430i, 430i xDrive, M440i xDrive vehicles.
When shifting into Reverse, a small portion of the rearview image may be obscured, or the screen may not illuminate. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 111, "Rear Visibility."
- Risk
- If the driver relies on only the rearview camera image, the missing or reduced rearview image view can increase the risk of a crash or injury.
- Fix
- BMW will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the rearview camera software and update it if necessary, free of charge. The recall began April 16, 2021. Owners may contact BMW customer service at 1-800-525-7417.
Full recall details for 21V096000 →Electrical System · NHTSA 20V152000
Mar 18, 2020Electrical System: Instrument Cluster/Panel
- Problem
- BMW of North America, LLC (BMW) is recalling certain 2019-2020 X4 xDrive30i and X4 M40i, and 2018-2020 X3 sDrive30i, X3 xDrive30i, X3 M40i, and X3M vehicles. The instrument panel casing may not have been tightened properly to the passenger air bag.
- Risk
- In the event of a crash necessitating air bag deployment, the air bag could damage the instrument panel and cause small pieces of the panel to strike the driver or other occupants, increasing the risk of injury.
- Fix
- BMW will notify owners, and dealers will replace the instrument panel casing, free of charge. The recall began May 15, 2020. Owners may contact BMW customer service at 1-800-525-7417.
Full recall details for 20V152000 →Air Bags · NHTSA 19V291000
Oct 4, 2019Air Bags:Frontal:Passenger Side:Inflator Module
- Problem
- BMW of North America, LLC (BMW) is recalling certain 2019 X3 sDrive30i, X3 xDrive30i, X3 M40i, and X4 M40i vehicles. The instrument panel assembly may have been improperly manufactured, possibly affecting the deployment of the passenger's frontal air bag.
- Risk
- If the front passenger air bag does not deploy properly in the event of a crash, the occupant has an increased risk of injury.
- Fix
- BMW will notify owners, and dealers will replace the instrument panel assembly, free of charge. The recall began June 3, 2019. Owners may contact BMW customer service at 1-800-525-7417.
Full recall details for 19V291000 →Back Over Prevention · NHTSA 19V684000
Sep 27, 2019Back Over Prevention: Sensing System: Camera
- Problem
- BMW of North America, LLC (BMW) is recalling certain 2018 540d, 2018-2020 530i, 530i xDrive, 540i, 540i xDrive, M550i xDrive, M5, 530e, 530e xDrive, X3 sDrive, X3 xDrive, X3 M40i, X3 M, and 2019-2020 X4 xDrive, X4 M40i, X4 M, X7 xDrive, X7 M50i, 740Li, 740Li xDrive, 750Li, 750Li xDrive, 8 Series Convertible and Coupe 840i, 840i xDrive, M850i xDrive, X5 sDrive, X5 xDrive, X5 M50i, X6 xDrive, X6 M50i, 330i, 330i xDrive, M340i, M340i xDrive, Z4 sDrive, Z4 M40i, 740Le xDrive and 745Le xDrive, 2018-2019 640i xDrive Gran Turismo and Rolls-Royce Phantom, 2019 M850i xDrive Gran Coupe and Rolls-Royce Cullinan and 2020 Toyota Supra vehicles.
The back-up camera and display settings can be adjusted such that the rear view image is no longer visible and the system will retain that setting the next time the vehicle is placed in reverse. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 111, "Rearview Mirrors."
- Risk
- The lack of an image in the back-up camera display increases the risk of a crash.
- Fix
- BMW will notify owners, and dealers will update the back-up camera software, free of charge. The recall began November 8, 2019. Owners may contact BMW customer service at 1-800-525-7417 or Rolls-Royce at 1-877-877-3735. Toyota owners may contact Toyota customer service at 1-888-270-9371.
Full recall details for 19V684000 →Seats · NHTSA 19V563000
Jul 31, 2019Seats
- Problem
- BMW of North America, LLC (BMW) is recalling certain 2018-2019 X3 sDrive30i, xDrive30i and M40i and 2019 X4 xDrive30i and M40i vehicles. The front seatback frames may have been improperly welded, allowing the seatback to unexpectedly fold forward or rearward.
- Risk
- In the event of a crash, there is an increased risk of injury if the seatback folds forward or rearward.
- Fix
- BMW will notify owners, and dealers will replace the front seats, free of charge. The recall began September 27, 2019. Owners may contact BMW customer service 1-800-525-7417.
Full recall details for 19V563000 →Service Brakes, Hydraulic · NHTSA 18V453000
Jun 7, 2018Service Brakes, Hydraulic:Foundation Components:Disc:Caliper
- Problem
- BMW of North America, LLC (BMW) is recalling certain 2018-2019 BMW X3 sDrive30i, X3 xDrive30i, X3 M40i and certain 2019 X4 xDrive30i and X4 M40i vehicles. The rear brake caliper pistons on these vehicles may have an insufficient coating, potentially reducing rear brake performance.
- Risk
- A reduction of braking performance can increase the risk of a crash.
- Fix
- BMW will notify owners, and dealers will bleed the rear brake circuit, free of charge. The recall began August 31, 2018. Owners may contact BMW customer service at 1-800-525-7417.
Full recall details for 18V453000 →Lane Departure · NHTSA 18V374000
Jun 6, 2018Lane Departure: Lane Keep: Steering Assist
- Problem
- BMW of North America, LLC (BMW) is recalling certain 2018-2019 BMW X3 xDrive30i, X3 sDrive30i, and X3 M40i vehicles equipped with the "Active Lane Keeping Assistant" option. The steering wheel may be incompatible with the lane keeping assistant function and may not detect if the driver's hands are off the wheel.
- Risk
- If the sensors do not properly detect the driver's hands are off the wheel, the driver may not be alerted by one or more warning signals, increasing the risk of a crash.
- Fix
- BMW will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the steering wheel, replacing it if necessary, free of charge. The recall began on July 19, 2018. Owners may contact BMW customer service at 1-800-525-7417.
Full recall details for 18V374000 →
2019 BMW X3 complaints and service bulletins
Owners filed 170 complaints with NHTSA about the 2019 BMW X3, reporting 5 crashes, 2 fires, 3 injuries. BMW has issued at least 330 technical service bulletins (repair instructions to dealers) for this model year. Complaints are unverified owner reports; a recall is the manufacturer’s admission of a safety defect.
Most-reported components
- Electrical System48
- Unknown Or Other43
- Engine34
- Structure32
- Forward Collision Avoidance14
- Service Brakes12
Service bulletins by component
- Electrical System (123)
- Equipment (100)
- Structure (33)
- Visibility (33)
- Engine and Engine Cooling (27)
- Engine (24)
Read BMW X3 owner complaints and bulletins, every year
What people reported
Owners have filed 170 complaints with NHTSA about the 2019 BMW X3. A few in their own words, shortened. Complaints are unverified and are not proof of a defect or of any recall.
Fire
“On Sept 16th, 2026 my wife was operating the vehicle under normal, routine driving conditions. While she was completely stopped at a stop sign the vehicle spontaneously caught fire. Description of the Issue and Damage: 1. There was no collision, impact, or external trauma prior to the fire. 2.”
2019 BMW X3Sep 17, 2026 · CA
Complaint filed with NHTSA, not verified by the agency · NHTSA complaint 11765067
Fire
“**Description of Incident** On **July 25, 2026**, I parked my 2019 BMW X3 xDrive30i in a parking lot and turned the engine off. The vehicle was shifted into Park, locked, and I walked into a nearby store.”
2019 BMW X3Jul 27, 2026 · CA
Complaint filed with NHTSA, not verified by the agency · NHTSA complaint 11752961
Injury reported
“At some point in June 2025, between approximately 11 a.m. and 2 p.m., I was driving southbound on the 110 Freeway in Los Angeles, just south of the 134 interchange, at approximately 45 mph. Traffic was light, with no vehicles in front of me and no vehicles attempting to merge into my lane.”
2019 BMW X3Jan 14, 2026
Complaint filed with NHTSA, not verified by the agency · NHTSA complaint 11710937
Crash
“Subject: Rear Differential Mount Failure and Driveshaft Breakage — Sudden Loss of Vehicle Control at Highway Speed Complaint Summary: While driving at highway speed, I experienced a sudden and extremely loud bang from the rear of the vehicle.”
2019 BMW X3Oct 23, 2025
Complaint filed with NHTSA, not verified by the agency · NHTSA complaint 11695243
Crash
“The TCB Module and Antenna failed due to a water leak through the sealed roof mounted "Shark Fin" Antenna on top of my vehicle. The vehicle is not completely safe to drive due to the failure of the TCB Module in which the Module activates the "Intelligent Emergency Call" in the case of an accident.”
2019 BMW X3Nov 25, 2024
Complaint filed with NHTSA, not verified by the agency · NHTSA complaint 11627239
Check your X3 by VIN
Not every 2019 BMW X3 is in every recall. Enter your 17-character VIN to see the recalls on record for your exact vehicle, then confirm which are still open at NHTSA.gov or with any BMW dealer.
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