2025 BMW X3 Driver assistance Problems

Vehicle: 2025 BMW X3 30 xDrive | VIN: [XXX] | Dealer: Weatherford BMW of Berkeley | No crash, no injury Complaint narrative: My 2025 BMW X3 30 xDrive (VIN [XXX]) has an open, active safety recall. BMW of North America has confirmed to me in writing (Executive Customer Care case #[XXX], most recently June 18, 2026) that the remedy parts are not available, and it has provided no repair date or estimated availability. I first raised this in April 2026; it remains unrepaired. Because of the open recall, BMW Financial Services will not allow me to transfer or pay off my lease, yet I continue to be charged $631.98 per month for a vehicle I cannot transfer and that has an unremedied safety defect. BMW has not offered a loaner, interim payment relief, or a repair timeline. I am requesting that NHTSA note the extended unavailability of the recall remedy for this vehicle. The 2025 X3 30 xDrive is subject to multiple BMW safety recalls; at least one campaign — NHTSA 25V202000 (starter-generator / positive battery cable; risk of engine stall and fire) — was issued with an interim notice stating the remedy was not yet available and that a second notice would follow once the remedy is ready, which is consistent with what BMW has told me. I am seeking confirmation of the exact open campaign on my VIN and a timely, free remedy as required by federal law. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ID

11745088

Incident

Apr 15, 2026

Subject: Supplemental Evidence for Existing NHTSA Complaint / ODI #11711973 I am submitting supplemental safety information for my existing NHTSA vehicle safety complaint, ODI #11711973, involving my 2025 BMW X3, VIN [XXX] . Since filing, I had an additional BMW of Sterling visit/repair estimate dated April 22, 2026, mileage 17,628, RO #[XXX]. The dealer documented additional concerns including rough acceleration/jerking during the first drive of the day, intermittent A/C not blowing cold air and randomly blowing warm air, tire/wear concerns, left rear tire tread/screw concern, rear tires worn to 3mm, and alignment recommendation. This information supplements my existing complaint involving repeated unresolved safety/electrical/system concerns, including steering/safety concerns, driver-assistance/cruise-control malfunction, tire-pressure/tire-detection issues, key/door/alarm detection issues, HVAC/defrost malfunction, and unintended movement/self-activation concerns. Please add this information and the attached repair estimate/photos/videos to ODI #11711973. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ID

11739574

Incident

Apr 22, 2026

While actively driving at speed this loaner vehicle, the vehicle's Driving Assistance Professional Package (DAPP) completely deactivated without warning. This caused an immediate, unexpected loss of both adaptive cruise control and active lane-keeping steering assistance, requiring sudden manual emergency intervention to maintain control of the vehicle and avoid a collision. This is a severe safety defect. The vehicle has been presented to an authorized BMW dealership twice for this exact failure. It is currently on its second repair attempt and has been out of service for over 20 consecutive days. The dealership and manufacturer have been unable to permanently resolve my personal vehicle this electronic/steering system malfunction.

NHTSA ID

11727845

Incident

Mar 28, 2026

While actively driving at speed, the vehicle's Driving Assistance Professional Package (DAPP) completely deactivated without warning. This caused an immediate, unexpected loss of both adaptive cruise control and active lane-keeping steering assistance, requiring sudden manual emergency intervention to maintain control of the vehicle and avoid a collision. This is a severe safety defect. The vehicle has been presented to an authorized BMW dealership twice for this exact failure. It is currently on its second repair attempt and has been out of service for about 30 consecutive days. It is stilll in the shop. The dealership and manufacturer have been unable to permanently resolve this electronic/steering system malfunction. Additionally, they gave me another 2025 BMW X3 VIN [XXX] which experienced the same problem yesterday 3/28/2026 while I was driving about 35 miles per hour on the freeway. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ID

11727843

Incident

Mar 4, 2026

Vehicle: 2025 BMW X3 Complaint Description: I am reporting a serious safety defect involving sudden unintended acceleration, braking abnormalities, steering looseness, and electronic system failures. Within days of purchase, the vehicle began experiencing infotainment system freezing and electronic malfunctions. Over time, steering looseness and abnormal brake behavior developed. These issues were reported to authorized BMW service centers but were not corrected or properly documented. On May 17, 2025, while the vehicle was stationary and in park, it suddenly accelerated without driver input after a passenger exited the vehicle. I attempted to brake, but the vehicle continued forward and collided with a stone structure, causing injury. BMW later claimed driver error based on post-collision data but ignored extensive pre-collision defect evidence. The vehicle was returned from repairs and continues to exhibit malfunctions. I believe this vehicle presents a serious safety risk to drivers, passengers, and the public.

NHTSA ID

11711973

Incident

May 17, 2025

I am submitting a safety complaint regarding a recurring infotainment system failure involving the 2025/2026 BMW X3. While driving, the center display screen suddenly blacks out, which creates a serious safety hazard. This issue first occurred with my personal BMW X3. More concerning, the exact same failure occurred again while I was driving a BMW X3 loaner vehicle provided by the dealership. This indicates the problem is not isolated to a single vehicle but may be systemic. I was able to capture video evidence of the incident while driving, which clearly shows the screen going completely black: [XXX] When the screen blacks out, access to navigation, vehicle settings, driver assistance displays, and other critical information is lost while the vehicle is in motion. This creates a dangerous distraction and increases the risk of an accident. Despite previous service visits, the issue has not been resolved, and the occurrence in a second vehicle raises serious concerns about the reliability and safety of BMW’s infotainment system in the X3. And most importantly, this is the brand-new redesign BMW X3 2025 and 2026 model. Not any previous model, which raises more concerns. I believe this defect warrants investigation, as it directly impacts driver safety and may affect multiple vehicles. I am uncomfortable continuing to drive the vehicle under these conditions. Thank you for your attention to this matter. Sincerely, [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ID

11708119

Incident

Dec 31, 2025

My wife was driving our 2025 BMW X3 in traffic and when the car in front braked suddenly. She tried to change lanes but clipped the car in front, resulting in nearly $22 thousand in damages. BMW's review of the car's "black box" purportedly shows that the Forward Collision Mitigation system engaged, but only a split second prior to the crash, which my wife did not experience. BMW's review also purports that my wife did not brake, which she also disputes. Even more concerning is that the parts need to repair the car seem to be completely unavailable from BMW--the car has been sitting in a body shop for almost 2 months and BMW has "no ETA" for the parts.

NHTSA ID

11688420

Incident

Jul 31, 2025

Rear view camera can be obstructed entirely by other full screen elements when interacting with hard of soft buttons. This 100% reproducible effect results in the need to occasionally shift back into park and then reverse to restart the rvc process and have the video appear on top of other on screen content. This appears to violate fmvss rules for reverse cameras.

NHTSA ID

11679260

Incident

Aug 7, 2025

My accident on [XXX] with my 2025 BMW X3 VIN [XXX] was avoidable and caused by either failure in design, or in execution in two BMW systems, I'll discuss rear emergency braking here. Pictures and videos (even one of the crash) can be downloaded here: [XXX] . I was driving the car in what I believe to be an assisted parking situation, but the car did not follow the assisted path. I've filled out a safety report on that already. According to page 172 of BMW’s 416 page manual, there is a rear collision mitigation function with audible, visual, and autonomous braking. The system provided no warning of any kind—not audible, visual, or any braking whatsoever to avoid this accident. My husband had installed a trailer hitch on this vehicle. That involved removal of the bumper fascia that houses some sensors that may be involved in rear autonomous braking. However, my husband reports that the fascia was removed and replaced without incident and in exactly the same location as it originally was. We never experienced any error codes of any kind from the vehicle at any time and these sensors were working during parking to note proximity to other vehicles. There is nothing in the owner's manual to indicate any issues with removing the bumper when installing a hitch. The trailer hitch was purchased from [XXX] and they have 2 videos regarding hitch installation on the 2025 BMW X3 and my husband says he installed it consistent with these videos, as well as the PDF from the hitch manufacturer. None note having to readjust the safety system after installation of the hitch. BMW has not specifically claimed that the trailer hitch was involved, but did note that it was installed. They are involved in assessing this accident. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ID

11669573

Incident

Jun 19, 2025

My accident on [XXX] with my 2025 BMW X3 VIN [XXX] was avoidable and caused by either failure in design, or in execution in two BMW systems, I'll discuss parking assist here. Pictures and videos (even one of the crash) can be downloaded here: [XXX] Prior to the accident my husband set a backing up path “Home 1” within the BMW parking assist program for me to follow to align the car when backing into our driveway. This takes over braking and steering to move the car on a predetermined path and stops at the end. I have successfully used it many times. It shows up as an option when backing near the top of our driveway. In the video of the crash ([XXX]), the car turns into the driveway, slows to a rolling stop, and then continues back and crashes. I pressed the “Start Home 1” icon to enable it when I thought the car was stopped but retrospectively was likely rolling very slowly at the top of the driveway. The icon showed me the “Home 1” path as being accepted by changing from “Start Home 1” to “Cancel Home 1” thus I believed the car was following the “Home 1” path, but the car evidently did not actually engage “Home 1.” My husband's investigation shows that this happens if the car is not fully stopped, even while the brake pedal is pressed, while pressing the “Start Home 1” button. This behavior is documented in the mp4 ([XXX]). I thought that “Home 1” was engaged and the car following the predetermined path, even though in retrospect, it was not. Evidently, the car was rolling backward in reverse on a downgrade NOT following the "Home 1" path. The car gave me the opportunity to cancel the "Home 1" path even though the car wasn't following it! By the time I saw the car was not stopping, I pressed the brake pedal hard, but it was too late to avoid the car hitting our house, damaging car and house. BMW has the car and is investigating. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ID

11669566

Incident

Jun 19, 2025

The contact owns a 2025 BMW X3. The contact stated that while driving 1 MPH in stop and go traffic and approaching another vehicle, the vehicle suddenly accelerated and bucked four times. There were no warning lights illuminated. The local dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was approximately 1,000.

NHTSA ID

11655994

Incident

Apr 17, 2025

Mileage

1,000 mi

While driving away from a stop sign in clear bright daylight weather conditions, the car automatically instituted an emergency stop almost causing the car behind me to rear end my car. I am assuming that it was the "drive off safety feature" and after turning off that safety feature and had no repeat. To be clear, I actually have no idea what software system cause the emergency breaking but there were no obstructions, pedestrians or other things that should have triggered the stop.

NHTSA ID

11643698

Incident

Dec 25, 2024

While driving on a state highway in cruise mode, the vehicle displayed a “CHECK CONTROL” message: •Support from Driver Assistance restricted •You can continue driving. Driver Assistance permanently restricted. •Check Control messages (1) Suddenly, the car exited cruise mode. While this is designed as a safety feature, it should not disengage abruptly during driving, as it may lead to potential risks. This a second biggest issue with this vehicle within just a few months of purchase.

NHTSA ID

11628791

Incident

Nov 28, 2024