How many recalls does the 2018 BMW X3 have?

The 2018 BMW X3 has 11 NHTSA safety recall campaigns on record.

How do I check if my 2018 BMW X3 has an open recall?

Enter your 17-character VIN at NHTSA's official recall lookup (nhtsa.gov/recalls) to see open, unrepaired recalls for your specific vehicle. Recall repairs are free.

What do owners complain about most on the 2018 BMW X3?

Of 102 NHTSA complaints on file, the most-reported component is electrical system.

2018 BMW X3 Recalls

Recalls on record Updated July 2026

The 2018 BMW X3 has 11 NHTSA recall campaigns affecting an estimated 574,604 vehicles. Recall repairs are always free at any authorized dealer. Owners have filed 102 complaints with NHTSA, most often about the electrical system. Last updated July 5, 2026.

Recall campaigns

STRUCTURE 24V764000 2024-10-15 8,725 affected

Defect

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.

Consequence

Interior rear cargo rail detachment during a crash can increase the risk of injury.

Remedy

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…

STRUCTURE 24V534000 2024-07-17 282,387 affected

Defect

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.

Consequence

Interior cargo rail detachment during a rear crash can increase the risk of injury.

Remedy

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.

AIR BAGS 21V521000 2021-07-08 138 affected

Defect

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…

Consequence

A deactivated front air bag will not deploy in the event of a crash, increasing the risk of injury.

Remedy

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.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 20V152000 2020-03-18 15 affected

Defect

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.

Consequence

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.

Remedy

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.

BACK OVER PREVENTION 19V684000 2019-09-27 257,473 affected

Defect

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…

Consequence

The lack of an image in the back-up camera display increases the risk of a crash.

Remedy

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.

SEATS 19V563000 2019-07-31 20 affected

Defect

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.

Consequence

In the event of a crash, there is an increased risk of injury if the seatback folds forward or rearward.

Remedy

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.

SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC 18V453000 2018-07-06 5,594 affected

Defect

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.

Consequence

A reduction of braking performance can increase the risk of a crash.

Remedy

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.

EXTERIOR LIGHTING 18V431000 2018-06-21 5 affected

Defect

BMW of North America, LLC (BMW) is recalling certain 2018 BMW X3 xDrive30i and X3 M40i vehicles. The rear turn signals on the outboard side panel will illuminate red, while the inboard turn signals simultaneously illuminate amber. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle…

Consequence

Turn signals that flash multiple colors may confuse other drivers, increasing the risk of a crash.

Remedy

BMW will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the rear turn signal lights, and replace if necessary, free of charge. The recall began August 20, 2018. Owners may contact BMW customer service at 1-800-525-7417.

LANE DEPARTURE 18V374000 2018-06-06 51 affected

Defect

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.

Consequence

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.

Remedy

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.

STRUCTURE 18V154000 2018-03-07 17,008 affected

Defect

BMW of North America, LLC (BMW) is recalling certain 2018 BMW X3 xDrive30i and X3 M40i vehicles. The rear spoiler may not have been properly attached during assembly, or may be missing screws, possibly causing the spoiler to detach while driving.

Consequence

If the spoiler detaches while driving, it can become a road hazard, increasing the risk of a crash.

Remedy

BMW will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the spoiler, correcting its attachment as necessary, free of charge. The recall is expected to begin May 1, 2018. Owners may contact BMW customer service at 1-800-525-7417.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 17V719000 2017-11-15 3,188 affected

Defect

BMW of North America, LLC (BMW) is recalling certain 2018 230i, 230i xDrive, M240i, M240i xDrive, M2, and X3 xDrive 30i SAV vehicles. These vehicles may have an error in the software for the instrument panel, causing the display to not properly illuminate. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the…

Consequence

If the display does not illuminate during start up or does not illuminate various control and warning symbols while driving, it can increase the risk of a crash.

Remedy

BMW will notify owners, and dealers will update the instrument cluster display software, free of charge. The recall is expected to begin January 8, 2018. Owners may contact BMW customer service at 1-800-525-7417.

Complaints by component

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

ENGINE

UNKNOWN OR OTHER

222

STEERING

AIR BAGS

EXTERIOR LIGHTING

STRUCTURE:BODY

SUSPENSION

ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING

SERVICE BRAKES

Total complaints102

What owners report

Verbatim reports filed with NHTSA, lightly edited for readability and with personal information removed.

“While driving on the interstate lost coolant through the oil cooler housing. I had to quickly get to the shoulder of the road having to cross several lanes of traffic. The car had to be towed. I had it towed to the dealership where I purchased it as I paid for an extended warranty. Warranty…”

ENGINE · reported 2026-02-21

“Vehicle lost coolant and warned me to pull over because of the engine overheating. Later was diagnosed with a leaking oil filter housing. Simply too early for such a component to fail. Left my wife stranded miles away from home in the snow.”

ENGINE · reported 2026-02-03

“Bmw installed a part that is failing quite a number of vehicles including this vehicle. The oil filter housing was not properly constructed at the factory. Fails.”

ENGINE · reported 2026-01-06

“Oil pump failure due to plastic brittle materials failing prematurely. It is a common problem that is well documented across the owners that have this vehicle.”

ENGINE · reported 2026-01-01

“This problem has occurred to me now twice. Both occurrences were on very cold days where the temperature was below 20 degrees f. The car starts promptly and runs, but the entire dashboard electronic instrument cluster is non-functioning and dark . In this condition, you cannot tell your speed,…”

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM · reported 2025-12-31

“This problem has occurred to me now twice. Both occurrences were on very cold days where the temperature was below 20 degrees f. The car starts promptly and runs, but the entire dashboard electronic instrument cluster is non-functioning and dark . In this condition, you cannot tell your speed,…”

EXTERIOR LIGHTING · reported 2025-12-31

“The front passenger seat occupancy sensor mat (cis) in my 2018 bmw x3 failed at 56,000 miles. This failure is confirmed by the specific bmw fault code 930a1c (seat occupancy detector malfunction) stored in the advanced crash safety module (acsm). The component is currently installed in the vehicle…”

AIR BAGS · reported 2025-12-23

“A bmw dealership has indicated that the motor mounts on my vehicle need to be replaced. My vehicle has under 29,000 miles, and these parts are designed to last for 60,000 to 100,000 miles. A premature collapse of the motor mounts indicates a manufacturing defect, material weakness or installation…”

ENGINE · reported 2025-10-15

Sources & methodology

Recall, complaint, and investigation records from official NHTSA datasets (FLAT_RCL, FLAT_CMPL, FLAT_INV), synced weekly. Counts reflect NHTSA records for the 2018 BMW X3 as of July 5, 2026. Complaint narratives are consumer-submitted and unverified. This page contains ads and affiliate links. Full methodology.