The 2016 BMW X3 has 5 NHTSA recall campaigns affecting an estimated 1,015,452 vehicles. Recall repairs are always free at any authorized dealer. Owners have filed 116 complaints with NHTSA, most often about the electrical system. Last updated July 6, 2026.
BMW of North America, LLC. (BMW) is recalling certain 2012-2015 X1 sDrive28i, X1 xDrive28i, 2012-2016 Z4 sDrive28i, 528i, 528i xDrive, 328i, 328xi, 2016-2018 X5 xdrive 40e, 2014-2016 228i, 228xi, 428i, 428i xDrive, 328xi Gran Turismo, 2013-2017 X3 sDrive28i, X3 xDrive28i, 2015-2018 X4 xDrive28i, 2015-2016 428xi…
Consequence
An electrical short increases the risk of a fire.
Remedy
Dealers will inspect and replace the water pump and plug connector as necessary, and install a protective shield, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed on March 28, 2025. Owners may contact BMW customer service at 1-800-525-7417.
BMW of North America, LLC (BMW) is recalling certain 2013-2018 328d, 328d xDrive, 2014-2018 328d Sports Wagon, 328d xDrive Sports Wagon, 2014-2016 535d, 535d xDrive, 2015 740Ld xDrive, 2015-2017 X3 xDrive28d SAV, and 2014-2017 X5 xDrive35d SAV diesel vehicles equipped with an Exhaust Gas Recirculation (EGR) module…
Consequence
A melting intake manifold increases the risk of a fire.
Remedy
Dealers will replace the EGR cooler and inspect the intake manifold, replacing it as necessary, free of charge. This recall includes all vehicles previously recalled under 18V-755. Vehicles previously recalled under 18V-755 will need to have the new remedy performed for this recall. An interim owner notification…
BMW of North America, LLC (BMW) is recalling certain 2014-2018 328d, 328d xDrive, X5 xDrive35d, 2014-2016 535d, 535d xDrive, 2015 740Ld xDrive, and 2015-2017 X3 xDrive28d vehicles. The high-pressure fuel pump may fail.
Consequence
Fuel pump failure can cause an engine stall while driving, increasing the risk of a crash.
Remedy
Dealers will replace the high-pressure fuel pump, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed on January 14, 2022. Owners may contact BMW customer service at 1-800-525-7417.
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING18V7550002018-10-2544,368 affected
Defect
BMW of North America, LLC (BMW) is recalling certain 2013-2018 BMW 328d and 328d xDrive, 2014-2018 328d Sports Wagon and 328d xDrive Sports Wagon, 2014-2016 535d and 535d xDrive, 2015 740Ld xDrive, 2015-2017 X3 xDrive28d SAV and 2014-2017 X5 xDrive35d SAV vehicles equipped with an Exhaust Gas Recirculation (EGR)…
Consequence
The melting intake manifold can increase the risk of a fire.
Remedy
BMW will notify owners, and dealers will inspect and replace the EGR cooler as necessary. If a leak has already occurred, the engine intake manifold will also be replaced. These repairs will be made free of charge. The recall began May 13, 2019. Owners may contact BMW customer service at 1-800-525-7417.
CHILD SEAT16V3330002016-05-23188,668 affected
Defect
BMW of North America, LLC (BMW) is recalling certain model year 2011-2017, X3 sDrive28i, X3 xDrive28i and X3 xDrive35i, vehicles manufactured July 2, 2010 to April 14, 2016, 2015-2017 X3 xDrive28d vehicles manufactured March 10, 2014 to March 31, 2016, and 2015-2017 x4 xDrive28i, X4 xDrive35i and X4 xDriveM40i…
Consequence
Damaged lower anchor bars may increase the child's risk of injury in the event of a crash.
Remedy
BMW will notify owners, and dealers will weld a reinforcing bracket to the lower anchor bars and the vehicle body, free of charge. The recall began on July 13, 2016. Owners may contact BMW customer service at 1-800-525-7417.
Complaints by component
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
22
1fires
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
16
1fires
ENGINE
12
1crashes1fires
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
12
SERVICE BRAKES
10
6crashes
POWER TRAIN
8
FUEL SYSTEM, DIESEL
5
SEAT BELTS
5
2injuries
AIR BAGS
4
2crashes
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM
4
1fires
Total complaints116
What owners report
Verbatim reports filed with NHTSA, lightly edited for readability and with personal
information removed.
“Key details of bmw egr recall: • affected models: primarily 2013-2018 bmw 328d/xdrive, 535d/xdrive, 740ld, x3 xdrive28d, and x5 xdrive35d. • the problem: the exhaust gas recirculation (egr) cooler may leak coolant internally, which can mix with soot to form flammable deposits, potentially…”
“The contact owns a 2016 bmx x3. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the accelerator pedal was depressed; however, the vehicle failed to accelerate as intended. The rpm was elevated; however, the vehicle failed to respond as intended. The vehicle was driven to the…”
“The contact owns a 2016 bmw x3. The contact received notification of nhtsa campaign number: 24v608000 (engine and engine cooling, electrical system). The vehicle was taken to the dealer for the recall repair; however, the dealer refused to perform the recall repair and stated that since the…”
“The contact owns a 2016 bmw x3. The contact received notification of nhtsa campaign number: 24v608000 (engine and engine cooling, electrical system). The vehicle was taken to the dealer for the recall repair; however, the dealer refused to perform the recall repair and stated that since the…”
“The contact owned a 2016 bmw x3. The contact stated that while parking in the garage, the warning message "engine overheated" had displayed, but the temperature gauge displayed a normal temperature reading. The contact noticed smoke coming from under the hood before entering the home, along with a…”
“Bmw has not been able to offer a repair for the engine coolant pump recall issued in august 2024. I wanted to register a formal complaint because I would like to get this repaired and off my vehicle record. I have not experienced any problem with the recalled part yet.”
“The contact owns a 2016 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 contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time…”
“The contact owns a 2016 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 contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time…”
Defect investigations
InvestigationEA21002 Opened 2021-09-17 · open
Desiccated Air Bag Inflator Rupture
From 2000 through 2017, Takata produced millions of air bag inflators using two types of phase-stabilized ammonium nitrate ("PSAN") propellant -- propellant 2004 and propellant 2004L. After prolonged exposure to high temperature cycles and humidity, inflators using propellant 2004 can degrade, causing the propellant…
InvestigationEA21002 Opened 2021-09-17 · open
Desiccated Air Bag Inflator Rupture
From 2000 through 2017, Takata produced millions of air bag inflators using two types of phase-stabilized ammonium nitrate ("PSAN") propellant -- propellant 2004 and propellant 2004L. After prolonged exposure to high temperature cycles and humidity, inflators using propellant 2004 can degrade, causing the propellant…
InvestigationEA23001 Opened 2023-03-17 · open
High pressure fuel pump failure
The Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened PE21-021 on October 14, 2021, to investigate incidents alleging a stall/loss of motive power as a result of high-pressure fuel pump failures in certain model year (MY) 2019-2020 Ram 2500, 3500, 4500, and 5500 heavy duty trucks equipped with 6.7L Cummins turbodiesel…
Recall, complaint, and investigation records from official NHTSA datasets (FLAT_RCL,
FLAT_CMPL, FLAT_INV), synced weekly. Counts reflect NHTSA records for the 2016 BMW X3 as of
July 6, 2026. Complaint narratives are consumer-submitted and unverified. This page
contains ads and affiliate links. Full methodology.