The driver's seat frame is loose, it has a play and a when accelerating or reducing speeds. The frames produce a click and some noise is heard coming from the seat frame when accelerating or reducing speed. I am the original owner of this BMW 2021 X3.at 34,500 miles. as of this date.
NHTSA complaint #11740409 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The heated seat element had a runway incident that caused the seat to smoke and burn a hole through multiple layers and ultimately damaging the airbag sensor mat disabling the passenger airbag system
NHTSA complaint #11732108 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
After driving car a few minutes with the heated seats “on”, the driver’s seat became extremely hot. Driver burned finger upon checking the seat and a hole was burned through the seat upholstery. No warning lamps or messages appeared. We were concerned for further overheating or possible fire. Car has been at A & L Dealership, Monroeville, PA, since November 28, 2025. A & L Dealership notified us the vehicle had “short circuit in wiring”.
NHTSA complaint #11709186 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
For about 1 year now when there is someone in the passenger seat the car will randomly stop recognizing the seat is occupied and deactivate the air bags on the passenger side front. I took the car to bmw where it was diagnosed as a faulty seat mat. I called bmw corporate to try to get this issue resolved and they were unable to cover it under any warranty. After the battery replacement the car has lost all communication with the passenger seat safety restraints and now has a permanent air bag light
NHTSA complaint #11648941 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
I am reaching out with an official complaint regarding a defect in my BMW X3 M40i, which I purchased in November 2024 from Beverly Hills BMW with a mileage of 8,500 miles. The vehicle was certified under BMW’s CPO program, and I additionally purchased an extended warranty. Shortly I began experiencing discomfort while driving. When my back is fully pressed against the seat and my head rests on the headrest, my line of sight is not straight at the windshield but is instead shifted leftward, closer to the A-pillar. This misalignment significantly impairs visibility, making it difficult to maintain a proper driving position and increasing the risk of an accident. Additionally, this issue causes discomfort in operating the vehicle and results in back pain during long drives. I visited my local BMW dealer in Palm Springs, as the original dealer is quite far, and requested an inspection. The service foreman acknowledged something felt off, and an appointment was scheduled for an engineer’s evaluation on January 27, 2025. However, on January 29, my vehicle was returned to me with the claim that no issues were found. I asked how the engineer had inspected the seat and was informed that measurements were taken. When I requested photographic evidence of these measurements, I received images showing an engineer using nothing more than a simple wooden stick instead of professional measuring instruments such as levels, tape measures, or lasers. This method is completely inadequate for an objective and precise assessment of a potential structural defect. Even in these images, it is apparent that the seat is misaligned. Since the official assessment failed to provide objective results, I conducted my own measurements using a 360-degree laser level and determined that: The driver’s seatback is shifted 2 cm closer to the driver’s door; The seat is rotated at a noticeable angle toward the A-pillar. I hope for your assistance, as the seat frame is damaged and using the car is unsafe.
NHTSA complaint #11642915 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Intermittent, but frequent failure of seat occupancy sensor on front passenger seat. Appears to be related to occupancy weight sensor. As sensor is not functioning properly, passenger airbag is being unsafely deactivated, leading to lack of airbag deployment if a front end collision were to occur. Problem is reproducible, but has not been taken to dealer, nor has it been inspected. Warning alert displays, then turns off, then returns frequently while the front passenger seat is occupied.
NHTSA complaint #11610935 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Passneger occupancy sensor keeps failing due to a known issue with BMW X3 G01. Seat wiring circuit keeps experiencing electrical problems and failing to detect passenger. This can lead to airbags not deploying in the event of collision. Third time the issue has been repaired and customer was responsible for almost $1200 in costs
NHTSA complaint #11608576 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
I was driving my daughter to school this morning and turned on the seat warmers/heaters. After a few minutes on the road, I started to smell something burning. I couldn’t identify the smell and wondered if it was coming from the heater. I touched the left edge of the driver seat and was immediately burned on my hand. I quickly turned off the seat heaters and noticed that the left edge of the seat was burning. Yes, the safety of me and my daughter was at risk. I swerved when it burned me. No accident, fortunately. This is a known issue from what I’ve researched and it seems a recall was issued in 2006. So why not for this year. Same seat. Very dangerous. Could have been much worse.No, it has not been inspected. The damage is obvious and the only solution is to disable/not use it until a recall is issued. There were no warning lamps, etc. And the fuse didn’t blow, either. Problem has been reproduced.
NHTSA complaint #11554287 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
I continue to get airbag warning light and front passenger seat occupant detection malfunction. I was told by local mechanic that ACSM fault codes are 930A60 and 930A1C.
NHTSA complaint #11552082 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
AIRBAG LAMP REMIANS ON DUE TO FAILED PASSENGER SEAT OCCUPANCY DETECTION MAT. HONOLULU BMW DEALER CLAIMS RECALL 08V384000 WAS PERFORMED JULY 18, 2008- WHICH IS THE EXACT SAME DATE LISTED IN THE RECALL AS BMW'S REPORT DATE TO NHTSA. THE RECALL CAMPAIGN AND PROCEDURE DID NOT GET PUBLISHED OR BEGIN FOR NEARLY A YEAR LATER. THE RECALL CAMPAIGN ASKS THAT A SMALL STICKER BE AFFIXED ADJACENT TO THE VIN TAG- THERE IS NO STICKER, NOR IS THERE EVIDENCE OF A STICKER EVER HAVING BEEN THERE ( I KNOW WHAT IT SHOULD LOOK LIKE). THE VEHICLE HAS NOT BEEN REPAINTED.
NHTSA complaint #11534460 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
A malfunction of the front seat occupancy mat will prevent the passenger air bag from deploying in the event of an accident and displays a malfunction warning. This malfunction has been the subject of several BMW NHTSA recalls but so far none have been issued for this vehicle.
NHTSA complaint #11504700 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Problem is that the display says "passenger restraint malfunction" -- which brings safety concern. Upon online search, it is likely caused by design flaw of passenger occupancy detector. Here are some reasons why it is design flaw (i.e. not just individual failure) 1. There has been a recall for the same problem for earlier year models (2006-2007 etc). It seems the other years have the same problem (previous recall wasn't a complete fix) 2. There is actually a third party electrical device online that bypass passenger occupancy detector (so that the car thinks passenger seat is occupied all the time) -- which indicates the commonality of the problem because it even became a profitable market.
NHTSA complaint #11479644 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The contact owns a 2007 BMW X3. The contact stated that while the heated seat was in the on position the driver's side seat became extremely hot and caught fire. The fire burnt through the seat and left a hole. There were no reported injuries. The driver was able to extinguish the fire. The contact called the local dealer and left a message but, the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted. The approximate failure mileage was 180,000.
NHTSA complaint #11449152 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The side seat rail plastic covers are easily detached from both driver and passenger side of front seats. On one occasion, the driver seat cover detached and slid forward near pedals while driving creating a potentially serious accident.
NHTSA complaint #11448559 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
I turned on my heated seat and within about a minute and a half I smelled a burning smell. Pulled over as I started to feel a burn on my leg because the seat heater has burnt through the leather in my car. This is a known problem at BMW and they have not issued a recall for this.
NHTSA complaint #11443453 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
ON DECEMBER 19, 2020 WHILE DRIVING WITH MY DRIVER'S SEAT HEATER ON WARMING MY SEAT DUE TO COLD WEATHER, I WAS ON MY WAY TO PICK UP MEDICATION AT THE PHARMACY WHEN I NOTICED A SHARP STING AND BURNING SENSATION ON MY LOWER RIGHT SIDE. I LOOKED DOWN AND NOTICED MY COAT ON FIRE. I IMMEDIATELY PULLED OVER AND TURNED THE CAR OFF. I GOT OUT, FRANTICALLY PATTED MY COAT THAT WAS BURNING, AND LOOKED AT MY SEAT TO SEE IF THERE WAS A FIRE AND THERE WAS A HOLE WHERE THE HEATER HAD BURNED COMPLETELY THRU THE LEATHER SEAT. I GOT BACK IN, DIDN'T TURN THE HEATER ON, AND WHEN I ARRIVED HOME I DIDN'T DRIVE UNTIL THAT MONDAY, DECEMBER 21, 2020 I DROVE TO MY LOCAL BMW DEALERSHIP THAT REGULARLY SERVICES MY VEHICLE AND EXPLAINED WHAT HAPPENED AND ASKED IF THERE WAS A KNOWN RECALL OR ISSUES. HE EXPLAINED IT WAS A KNOWN ISSUE WITH THE HEATER SYSTEM IN THE SEATS FAILING AND CAUSING DAMAGE BUT CURRENTLY NO RECALLS FOR THE ISSUE. I ASKED HOW COULD THAT BE WITH THE DANGER INVOLVED? I EXPLAINED IT COULD HAVE BEEN TRAGICALLY WORSE IF I HAD CAUGHT FIRE AND COULDN'T GET IT OUT. I WAS LUCKY I FELT IT QUICKLY AND WAS ABLE TO PULL OVER AND GET OUT OF THE VEHICLE. CHRIS AT CAIN BMW, NORTH CANTON, OHIO INSPECTED MU VEHICLE AND GAVE ME AN ESTIMATE OF $1,495.00 TO REPLACE THE PART OF MY SEAT AFFECTED WITH A NEW HEATING SYSTEM AND REPAIR. I FEEL THAT THIS SHOULD BE A RECALL DUE TO THE MANUFACTURER ALREADY KNOWING THERE'S AN ISSUE. I JUST WANT THEM TO RECALL VEHICLES THEY KNOW ARE AFFECTED AND REPAIR. OR AT LEAST VOLUNTARILY REPAIR VEHICLES THAT REPORT THE ISSUE. (JUST FOR CLARIFICATION: I WAS DRIVING THRU TOWN ON A STATE HIGHWAY AND CITY STREETS) I KEPT THE COAT THAT CAUGHT FIRE JUST IN CASE IT WOULD BE NEEDED LATER.
NHTSA complaint #11396729 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
WHILE DRIVING, I TURNED ON THE SEAT WARMER. WITHIN A FEW MINUTES, I SMELLED BURNING AND MY LEFT THIGH FELT HOT. I TURNED OFF THE SEAT WARMER AND THE SMELL ABATED. THE RESULTING BURN MARK WAS LEFT IN THE SEAT.
NHTSA complaint #11375141 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
DRIVERS FRONT SEAT ACTIVE HEAD RESTRAINT DEPLOYED. FAULT CODE 930958 STORED. GENERATOR FOR ACTIVE HEAD RESTRAINT NEEDS TO BE REPLACED. VEHICLE WAS IN GARAGE, WHEN STARTED THE ERROR WAS DISPLAYED AND IS DISPLAYED EVER TIME THE VEHICLE IS STARTED. THIS EXACT PART WAS RECALLED ON MY 2013 328I AUTO. IT SHOULD BE RECALLED ON THE 2015 X3 AS IT IS THE SAME PART AND IS DEFECTIVE. THANKS
NHTSA complaint #11364517 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.