2014 BMW X3 Electrical System Problems

The contact owns a 2014 BMW X3. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V608000 (Engine and Engine Cooling, Electrical System); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer was contacted. 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 contact had not experienced a failure. VIN tool confirms parts not available.

The contact owns a 2014 BMW X3. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the contact noticed smoke coming from the engine compartment. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was able to be restarted. The contact received notification of the NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V608000 (Engine and Engine Cooling, Electrical System); however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The dealer was contacted and confirmed that parts were not yet available. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. 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 failure mileage was not available. VIN tool confirms parts not available.

See attached document for complaint.

Several warning lights flashed on and off while driving. My display/computer turned off and rebooted while driving. A day or two later the electric rear hatch stopped working. I opened the cover in the back where the spare is, and found several inches of water (4-5) in the well. I called the dealer first thing since it was a frightening thought thinking the car may blow up or trigger the airbag making me (or whoever is driving the car) crash into someone else. To my surprise there was no warning or recall on the problem. A surprise since a simple google search turned up pages of complaints, chat rooms and discussions concerning the same issue. This is where the battery is stored in this car. The battery was sitting in inches of water even though it is slightly elevated. The control module for the electric hatch (according to a schematic found by google) although in a separate raised styrofoam holder, was halfway submerged in water. Under the side panel was wet. In that side panel is the fuse/ relay panel. Water was dripping down the side of that wall and the insulation was wet and dripping at the bottom and into the bay. The safety of myself, the driver, or my wife the primary driver of the car could be affected in many unexpected/ unknown ways with a short on the fuse panel or worse yet water sloshing around a big 12 volt car battery. Could it explode? I don’t know. I vacuumed out the water and it has come back and fills a substantial amount in a couple weeks. About one inch per week. It is certainly ongoing. My wife won’t drive it so deduction tells me it is not coming in from driving it. It is available for inspection although I have not driven it to the dealer since it has been quite wet and is some distance away. I tried to follow your format and include all your requested details. If I have left anything out I am happy to answer any questions. Thank you for the opportunity to bring this to someone’s attention. Thanks again, [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA

The LED chips that control the running lamps in the rear and prone to fail based on my personal experience and reading forums; I've replaced 3 so far. However, BMW has yet to acknowledge the issue and will only sell you an entire brake lamp for $400+. You can find the chip that needs replacing on Amazon for ~$15 with a Lifetime Warranty through the Amazon retailer. During normal operation, these LED lights stay lit in the rear when you're not actively braking or signaling and when you're parking so they're important for any traffic following from behind especially if it's dark. I've seen other German auto manufacturers with similar issues where the rear LED lights no longer function due to defective chips or simply not making them easily available for repair should the chip fail.

No oil change or engine light on dash. Passed state emissions test with no indicator lights on weeks ago. Engine timing chain malfunction. A warning light displayed once the engine stopped my vehicle. Also, pressed SOS button for 911 after vehicle stopped right off highway and stopped mid intersection, but learned it doesn’t work after 5G towers upgraded.

OUR PARKED BMW X3 WAS IN OUR DRIVEWAY TURNED OFF WHEN IT SUDDENLY BURST INTO FLAMES AND ALSO CAUGHT OUR HOUSE ON FIRE AND OUR NEIGHBORS HOUSE. THERE IS CURRENTLY NO RECALL ON THIS YEAR AND MODEL. NO ENGINE LIGHTS WERE ON AND WE REGULARLY SERVICE OUR CAR ONLY WITH CERTIFIED BMW MECHANICS. THE CAR IS COMPLETELY BURNT TO THE GROUND. AFTER FURTHER RESEARCH THIS IS NOT THE FIRST TIME THE X3 HAS CAUGHT ON FIRE AND BURNT DOWN SOMEONE'S HOME AND YET NO RECALL AND BMW HAS YET TO TAKE RESPONSIBILITY. WE HAVE EVERYTHING ON OUR SECURITY CAMERAS.

RECEIVED MULTIPLE ERROR MESSAGES "BATTERY DISCHARGING WHILE STOPPED" AND "INCREASED BATTERY DISCHARGE". I SMELLED BURNING PLASTIC. NEXT DAY I RECEIVED ERROR THE TPM HAS MALFUNCTIONED. I CONTACTED MY SERVICING DEALER AND EXPLAINED THE PROBLEM. HE STATED HE SEES THIS ALL THE TIME AND THE COST TO REPAIR IS $324 FOR A NEW RDC MODULE + ONE HOUR LABOR + TWO HOURS TO REPROGRAM. I REMOVED THE RDC MODULE AND FOUND EXTREME MOISTURE DAMAGE AND MELTED PLASTIC NEAR THE CONNECTOR IN THE MODULE. IN THE ATTACHED PHOTO, I ATTEMPTED TO CLEAN OFF CORROSION. AFTER MORE RESEARCH I FOUND A BMW TRAINING MANUAL DESCRIBING THE MODULE AND IT STATES THE MODULE IS WATER-PROOF.

GEAR SHIFT PARKING HAZARD ROLL BACK OR SAFETY WHEN PARKING

1) AT 14K MILES, THE TRANSMISSION TRANSFER CASE FAILED. LOCAL BMW SERVICE SHOP REPLACED THE CASE TO RESOLVE THE ISSUE. I WAS SURPRISED BY THIS ISSUE AT THIS LOW MILEAGE AS I HAVE BEEN DRIVING MANY CARS FOR PAST 25+ YEARS, BUT NEVER HAD SUCH PROBLEMS. 2) IN LAST WEEK OF JAN , MY CAR ENGINE COMPLETELY STOPPED AND CAR CAME OFF DRIVE MODE WHILE I WAS DRIVING MY CAR ON HIGHWAY. FORTUNATELY, THERE WAS NONE BEHIND MY CAR AND I WAS ABLE TO SAFELY STOP MY CAR WITH THE EMERGENCY LIGHTS ON. CAR WOULD NOT GO IN DRIVE MODE UNTIL I HAD STOPPED ENGINE COMPLETELY. I STARTED DRIVING AGAIN, AND FEW MINUTES LATER SAME THING HAPPENED AGAIN. FORTUNATELY AGAIN THERE WAS NO VEHICLES WERE BEHIND ME *BUT I WAS SCARED TO DEATH BOTH THE TIMES WITH HEART BEATING REALLY HARD.* 3) I THOUGHT I MAY INADVERTENTLY HAVE TOUCHED SOME BUTTONS, AND THIS MAY HAVE HAPPENED, SO I DECIDED TO BE MORE MINDFUL ABOUT NOT TOUCHING ANY BUTTONS ETC AND OBSERVE ONE MORE TIME. 4) 2 DAYS I DROVE THE CAR W/O ISSUE. 5) FEW DAYS LATER, WHEN I WAS DRIVING BACK HOME, SAME THING HAPPENED AGAIN AND LUCKILY THIS TIME TOO, I DID NOT HAVE ANY VEHICLE BEHIND ME. GIVEN, IT WAS LATE IN THE EVENING (SERVICE SHOP WAS CLOSED), I DECIDED TO TAKE THE VEHICLE TO DEALERSHIP NEXT DAY. 6) NEXT DAY I TOOK THE CAR TO DEALERSHIP AND THEY RAN DIAGNOSTIC AND FOUND NOTHING. BUT THEY DECIDED TO TALK TO BMW USA FOR FURTHER DIAGNOSIS. 7) TODAY, I RECEIVED A CALL FROM THE DEALERSHIP AND THEY SAID, BMW-USA DID NOT FOUND THE ANY CAUSE THAT MAY HAVE CAUSED THE ISSUE BUT GIVEN ENGINE INTERMITTENTLY STOPPED, THEY ARE GOING TO REPLACE THE WHOLE ENGINE. EVEN AFTER REPLACING THE ENGINE, I FEEL THAT THEY DID NOT ADDRESS THE ROOT CAUSE I SUSPECT THERE IS SOMETHING MORE TO IT AND THIS VEHICLE IS NOT SAFE TO DRIVE. REPORTING THIS SEE IF OTHERS HAVE EXPERIENCED THIS AND QUALIFY FOR RECALL.

ANIMAL CHEWED ELECTRICAL WIRING ON THREE DIFFERENT OCCASIONS RENDERING THE CAR NOT DRIVABLE. HAD TO BE TOWED THREE TIMES. MY CAR WAS PARKED IN MY GARAGE THE FIRST TWO TIMES AND THE THIRD TIME IN MY DRIVEWAY. I HAVE ALL INSURANCE DOCUMENTATION.

CIGARETTE LIGHTERS ARE NON OPERATIONAL. FUSES ARE BLOWN EVERY 2 TO 3 MONTHS. CONSTANTLY REPLACING FUSES. *TR