2020 Bmw X3 Electrical Problems

Your car has been recalled due to a fire risk that can occur randomly, even when the car is parked and turned off. BMW announced this recall in September 2025, but four months later no fix is available. You need BMW to provide and pay for the repair to address this electrical system fire hazard.

Your car's Telematics Control Box (TCB) — the embedded computer that handles emergency calls, GPS, and crash detection — has failed. This means your car can no longer automatically call 911 if you're in an accident, and the error message is blocking all other dashboard messages from displaying. The dealer quoted $2,500 to replace it, which the owner believes should be covered under a safety recall.

Your 2020 BMW X3 is hard to start in cold weather, requiring multiple attempts to turn over. Even after replacing the battery, the problem persists. BMW has issued a recall for this electrical system issue, but the fix isn't available yet at dealerships.

Your car is subject to an open safety recall (NHTSA #25V636) that was issued in September 2025, but BMW hasn't provided a fix yet. Your dealer says the required part won't be available for several months, leaving your vehicle with an unresolved safety issue during this time.

Your BMW X3 has been identified in a safety recall (Campaign 25V636000) related to the electrical system. You've taken your vehicle to the dealer three times, but they haven't diagnosed or repaired the issue. The manufacturer also didn't provide assistance despite your attempts to contact them. While you haven't experienced an actual failure yet, this electrical problem should be addressed through the recall service.

Your 2020 BMW X3 is subject to a recall (NHTSA Campaign 25V636000) related to the electrical system. You've been notified of the recall, but the dealership has informed you that the necessary parts aren't available yet to complete the repair. The fix will require replacement of specific electrical components once they become available.

Appears to be related to recall 25V636. Vehicle is 2020 BMW X3 M40i, equipped with same engine as the Supra (B58). Engine would not start with the push of the "start button". Pressing a second time would sometimes start, but as time went on the number of presses required to start took minutes to up to 30 minutes before engine would start. Had starter motor replaced October, 2025 and mechanic observed that starter motor was shorting out, similar to existing recall. However, my vehicle is not included in the recall.

The contact owns a 2020 BMW X3. The contact had received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V636000 (Electrical System). The local dealer was contacted who confirmed that parts were on backorder. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was contacted who confirmed the recall status. The contact had not experienced a failure. VIN tool showed no open recall.

The contact owns a 2020 BMW X3. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V636000 (Electrical System); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the fire risk was a major concern. In addition, the contact stated that the temperature was 14 degrees below freezing the past weekend where the contact resided. The contact inquired about what might happen if the vehicle were parked on the street in the neighborhood. The manufacturer was contacted; however, the contact was informed that the parts were not yet available. The contact had not experienced a failure.

The contact owns a 2020 BMW X3. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V636000 (Electrical System); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer was not contacted. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure.

The contact owns a 2020 BMW X3. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the emergency sensor warning light illuminated, as well as the camera system, the Forward Collision Avoidance warning light, and the key proximity features malfunctioned. The contact stated that the shark fin cover was missing from the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed, and determined that the backup battery and wiring harness were damaged due to water intrusion from the missing shark fin cover. The contact was informed that the backup battery, wiring harness, and shark fin cover need to be replaced; however, the vehicle remained unrepaired. The contact had contacted the insurance provider, and the insurance provider declined to cover the repairs under the comprehensive coverage, citing that the failure was a known issue with BMW vehicles. The manufacturer had not been notified of the failures. The failure mileage was 70,000.

The contact owns a 2020 BMW X3. The contact stated that the vehicle hesitated while starting. The contact then stated that while at a relative's home, the vehicle failed to start after multiple attempts, with white colored smoke coming from the vehicle. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact used a code reader and retrieved DTC: 216113, 21611A, 21A511, and 216115. Due to the failure, the vehicle remained at the relative's home. Upon investigation, the contact discovered NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V636000 (Electrical System); and linked it to the failure. The manufacturer and the dealer were notified of the failure and confirmed that the vehicle was not included in the recall. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 90,500.

The contact owned a 2020 BMW X3. The contact stated that while her husband was driving 10-15 MPH in a parking lot and attempting to make a turn, the brake pedal was depressed, but the pedal travelled down to the floor, and the vehicle failed to respond. Additionally, the steering wheel seized, and the accelerator pedal was depressed, but the pedal travelled down to the floorboard, and the vehicle failed to respond. The contact stated that the vehicle became inoperable, causing the front driver's side bumper and door of the vehicle to crash into the rear-end of an unoccupied parked vehicle, and then the front end of the vehicle crashed into the side of another occupied parked vehicle. All the air bags of the vehicle deployed. There were no injuries sustained. A police report was filed. The police report confirmed that the impacts occurred a few moments before the contact received failure notifications on the vehicle mobile app. The vehicle remained inoperable and was towed to Spitler's Collision, where it was deemed a total loss. The Chevrolet dealer where the vehicle was purchased was notified of the failure. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and sent engineers who inspected the vehicle at Spitler's Collision 8 months later. The manufacturer later informed the contact that the collisions occurred because the driver did not turn away from the other vehicles and did not depress the brake pedal as needed, which the contact stated was the description of the failure. No further assistance was provided. The manufacturer and the auto finance company deemed the vehicle a total loss. The failure mileage was 67,540.

Backup camera failure , missing rearview image when car gear is shifted to R, increasing the risk of crash and injury. When reversing the backup camera does not display any image/video feed on the screen, only the collision warning system is displayed.

The accident happened at Noon on [XXX] at the Amazon Fresh/Post office parking lot’s far right exit lane facing [XXX] The address is [XXX] . We were leaving the parking lot and I stopped at the exit lane with 2 cars in front of us. After the first car exited, the second car, a black Ford Explorer, moved forward. I released the brake slightly but my foot was still on the brake pedal. At this moment, my car suddenly accelerated and quickly approached the Explorer. I immediately pressed the brake pedal hard but was unable to stop my car and hit the back of the Explorer. The Explorer was forced out in front of the stop sign but the driver was able to turn right to park at the roadside. With my foot still firmly on the brake pedal, my car kept on accelerating into [XXX] , crossing 5 lanes of traffic until we hit the roadside curb of westbound [XXX] . The car then swerved left and hit a roadside tree, turning sideways into [XXX] middle turn lane. During this entire time, I did not press the accelerator and the car was violently shaking and jerking right and left. As the car slowed down, I was able to steer the car to the right eastbound lane of [XXX] , next to the parking lot near Bank of America’s ATM sign. After I got out of the car, I noticed the front and right sides of the body and tires were damaged including crushing, dents, and significant scratching. The problem I believe is as follows: 1.Sudden Unintended Acceleration and Control Circuit Malfunction. 2.Airbags did not deploy even though we hit a car, curb and tree. 3.Onboard Data Recorder should have the information needed. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

This is the message I get: "Driver restraint system malfunction. Passenger knee airbag rewired to control module . Carefully drive to the closest service center. Driver restraint system is reduced. Increased risk of injury in case of a collision. Continue wearing safety belt. Driver restraint system malfunction. " I went to Cavender BMW and was told the problem is with the Passenger knee airbag rewired to control module. The cost would be $1,400. I have 24,122 miles on the car. My salesman said that there have been quite a few of these problems. It seems there should be a recall if that is the case.

I have records of over 900 other consumers including myself that have been asking BMW to fix a potential deadly lighting malfunction that leaves you with no dash lighting or a whiteout. This problem effects all the dash and HVAC controls where you can't see any the dash and safety components. I've reached out to BMW and they refuse to acknowledge the problem and have asked me to stop.

Received warning on screen. “Driver restraint system malfunction carefully drive to the closest service center driver restraint system is reduced. Increased risk of injury in case of collision. Continue using safety belt.” I took the car in, and this was the diagnosis: “Driver restraint system malfunction. Passenger knee airbag rewired to control module” 24,122 miles on the car. $1400

1. Whenever I refill my tank the car will start knocking. It will be only for 1 or 2 sudden jerks. I have tried every grade and nearly all the brands of fuel but its still the same. Even I escalated the same issue when I had my car service done. But to no avail. It happens when I refuel the tank. Otherwise, no issue to my surprise. I Need to know if it’s a known issue? If yes then why no one reached out to me to provide solution for it? Its been years i have tried to escalate it but no resolution. 2. When i use turn signals (either left or right) it start skipping click sound. even when the engine is ON and even when auto engine start is switched off. It happens not all the times but occasionally. I also escalated it when i went for service but i was told if its not logged in system then nothing cant be done. For both issues i dont see any resolution. First issue is way too annoying as sometimes i loose power to engine.

The contact owns the 2020 BMW X3. The contact purchased the vehicle in March of 2021 and then received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 20V601000 (Electrical System) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the vehicle had been at the dealer since December of 2021 unrepaired. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The contact was provided with a loaner vehicle. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. Parts distribution disconnect.

The contact owns a 2020 BMW X3. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 20V601000 (Electrical System) however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The local dealer was contacted, and it was confirmed that the part was not available. 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. Parts distribution disconnect.

On August 31, 2020, I purchased a new 2020 BMW X3E, manufactured and warranted by BMW, from Habberstad BMW, located at 945 East Jericho Turnpike, Huntington Station, New York 11746. On or about October 14, 2020, I was notified by a BMW Safety Recall regarding a defective battery in my hybrid vehicle. I later learned that on or about September 2, 2020, BMW submitted a Part 573 Safety Recall Report to the NHTSA, that on August 11, 2020, BMW decided to conduct a voluntary safety recall, and that per the Safety Recall in August 2020, BMW dealerships were expressly told NOT to sell any new motor vehicles that were subject to this recall. Thus, when I purchased my new vehicle, BMW and the dealership knew about the safety recall and they still sold me the vehicle. The value of the vehicle has cratered since the Safety Recall was announced and I made payments for the vehicle and maintained insurance on the vehicle for many months while the safety defect was being addressed by BMW. I attempted to resolve these issues with BMWNA for a sum on money and for BMW to take back the defective vehicle, but no agreement was reached. Finally, I recently filed a lawsuit against BMW of North America, LLC and Habberstad Motorsport, Inc. under the New York State Lemon Law, for unlawful and deceptive trade practice, and for fraudulent inducement. All relevant documents, including the Summons and Complaint from the lawsuit are attached to this Vehicle Complaint Form. I would be happy to provide additional documentation or answer additional questions on this matter.

TAILGATE OPENED SPONTANEOUSLY WHILE DRIVING ON A CITY STREET. HAD TO STOP AND CLOSE THE TAILGATE FROM THE OUTSIDE (INTERIOR SWITCH DID NOT WORK).

ALARM SPONTANEOUSLY TRIGGERED (WHISTLING SOUND AND FLASHING LIGHTS) TWICE. THE FIRST TIME, THE VEHICLE HAD COME TO A STOP AND WAS IN PARK (PASSENGERS IN VEHICLE), WITH THE ENGINE RUNNING IN DRIVE-READY MODE. THE ALARM TURNED OFF BY ITSELF AFTER ABOUT 10 SECONDS. THE SECOND TIME, THE ALARM TRIGGERED WHILE DRIVING ON A CITY STREET. IT STAYED TRIGGERED FOR SEVERAL MINUTES, EVEN AFTER STOPPING AND TURNING THE VEHICLE OFF AND ON SEVERAL TIMES. (WE DIDN'T TRY TO LOCK THE VEHICLE.) THE ALARM WAS FINALLY TURNED OFF PRESSING THE ALARM BUTTON ON THE KEY FOB.

MEDIA COUNSEL KEEP SHUTTING DOWN

THE BACK UP CAMERA FAILS TO SHOW THE IMAGES AND PDC SENSORS DO NOT BEEP. EVEN WHEN IN REVERSE THE CAMERAS MALFUNCTION AND FREEZE. WAS PARKING IN A TIGHT SPOT AND NONE OF THE PDC SENSORS AND CAMERAS WORKED. EVEN WITH OPTION TO AUTOMATICALLY COME ON THE PDC AND CAMERA SYSTEM DID NOT TURN ON EVEN AT VERY SLOW SPEED IN THE PARKING GARAGE. AFTER PARKING AND LIFTING THE FOOT OFF THE BRAKE THE CAR HIT THE WALL AND THEN PDC SENSORS BEEPED AFTER THE IMPACT AND CREATED DAMAGE TO THE FRONT END OF THE CAR.