2008 Bmw X3 - Ratings, Complaints and Recalls

The 2008 BMW X3 has not been rated for its safety features by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). It is important to note that this particular model comes equipped with electronic stability control as a standard feature. However, it does not have forward collision warning or lane departure warning systems.

Despite the lack of safety ratings, the car has received a high number of complaints with 184 reported issues. Additionally, there have been 7 recalls associated with this vehicle, indicating some potential safety concerns that needed to be addressed by the manufacturer. It's advisable for potential buyers to consider these factors when evaluating the overall safety of the 2008 BMW X3.

auto generated summary, may be inaccurate.

Top stats at a glance

Complaint Count

184

Recall Count

7

Investigation Count

1

Safety Rating

Not Rated

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Safety Features

2008 BMW X3 4-DR w/SAB Safety Features

Here are the safety features that come as standard on the 2008 BMW X3 4-DR w/SAB

Electronic Stability Control (ESC)

ESC is an advanced safety feature in vehicles designed to help drivers maintain control during challenging driving conditions. By continuously monitoring various factors such as steering angle, vehicle speed, and individual wheel speeds, ESC can detect and reduce the risk of skidding or loss of control. It achieves this by automatically applying brakes to specific wheels to stabilize the vehicle.

Standard
Forward Collision Warning (FCW)

Forward Collision Warning (FCW) is a safety feature in vehicles that helps prevent frontal collisions by alerting the driver of an imminent collision with a vehicle or obstacle ahead. Using sensors such as radar or cameras, FCW monitors the distance and speed of vehicles in front, and if it detects a potential collision, it provides visual and/or auditory warnings to prompt the driver to take evasive action.

No
Lane Departure Warning (LDW)

Lane Departure Warning (LDW) is a safety feature in vehicles that alerts drivers when their vehicle unintentionally drifts out of its lane without signaling. Utilizing cameras or sensors to monitor lane markings on the road, LDW detects when the vehicle crosses these lines and triggers visual, auditory, or haptic alerts to notify the driver of potential lane departure.

No

2008 BMW X3 4-DR w/SAB Safety Ratings

Here we have the crash and rollover ratings for the 2008 BMW X3 4-DR w/SAB Where possible we've included the ratings for the oldest and latest models of this car so you can compare how the safety ratings have changed over time.

Frontal Crash Ratings

Combines Driver and Passenger star ratings into a single frontal rating. The frontal barrier test simulates a head-on collision between two similar vehicles, each moving at 35 mph.

Test 2005 Score 2008 Score 2024 Score
Overall Front Crash Rating Not Rated Not Rated 5
Front Crash Driver Side Rating Not Rated Not Rated 5
Front Crash Passenger Side Rating Not Rated Not Rated 5

Side Crash Ratings

Combines Side Barrier and Side Pole Star Ratings into a single side rating.

Test 2005 Score 2008 Score 2024 Score
Overall Side Crash Rating Not Rated Not Rated 5
Side Crash Drivers Side Rating Not Rated Not Rated 5
Side Crash Passenger Side Rating Not Rated Not Rated 5
Combined Side Barrier Pole Rating - Front Not Rated Not Rated 5
Combined Side Barrier Pole Rating - Rear Not Rated Not Rated 5
Overall Side Barrier Rating Not Rated Not Rated 5

Rollover Ratings

The Rollover Resistance test measures the risk of rollover in a single-vehicle, loss-of-control scenario.

Test 2005 Score 2008 Score 2024 Score
Rollover Rating Not Rated Not Rated 4
Rollover Possibility % 0% 0% 0%
Dynamic Tip Result No Tip
Side Pole Crash Rating Not Rated Not Rated 5

Complaints for the 2008 Bmw X3

This chart show the number of complaints for each car component. A Higher number of complaints could indicate that this car might have a common fault. Something to look out for when purchasing one.

Component Complaints

Choose a component to see what complaints people have made about them.

Complaint:
"bmw fort lauderdale refuses to replace passenger side air bag! they claim only drivers side tanaka airbag needs replacement!"
Components Involved: AIR BAGS
Date of incident: 2021-12-01
Complaint:
"recall campaign number 17v-605. i need this part installed now."
Components Involved: AIR BAGS
Date of incident: 2018-03-11
Complaint:
"tl* the contact owns a 2008 bmw x3. the contact received notification of nhtsa campaign number: 17v605000 (air bags); however, the parts to do the repair were unavailable. the contact stated that the manufacturer exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair as the recall notice was received over a year ago. the dealer (niello bmw, 2020 fulton ave, sacramento, ca 95825, (916) 486-1011) was contacted and confirmed that the parts were not available for the recall remedy. the manufacturer was contacted several times and was unable to confirm when the parts were to become available. the contact had not experienced a failure. vin tool confirms parts not available."
Components Involved: AIR BAGS
Date of incident: 2018-10-07
Complaint:
"takata recall. i have not been able to have the defective airbags removed. i call my local dealer and all they say is that the airbags are backorder. when they receive them they will call me. i have waited over one year and no answer."
Components Involved: AIR BAGS
Date of incident: 2017-03-12
Complaint:
"the passenger seat occupancy sensor is defective. this is part of the "seat mat", which is under recall. bmw sent an initial notice of recall in september of 2017. as of april 20, 2018 the parts are still not available to perform this recall. over 7 months! no one at the dealer or bmw usa can give us a straight answer as to when the parts will become available. the q and a part of the notice indicates no one should sit in the passenger seat until this is fixed! why is bmw being allowed to continue to delay fixing this safety defect? i would like to know what the nhtsa is doing to make bmw repair this in a timely manner!"
Components Involved: AIR BAGS
Date of incident: 2018-04-04
Complaint:
"tl* the contact owns a 2008 bmw x3. the contact stated that nhtsa campaign number: 17v605000 (air bags) exceeded a reasonable amount of time for repair. the contact received the recall notification in september of 2017. the dealer leith bmw (5603 capital blvd, raleigh, nc 27616) stated that the parts were not available for the repair. the manufacturer was not contacted. the contact had not experienced a failure. vin tools confirms parts not available."
Components Involved: AIR BAGS
Date of incident: 2017-03-09
Complaint:
"tl* takata recall. the contact owns a 2008 bmw x3. the contact stated that nhtsa campaign number: 17v605000 (air bags) exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the repair. the contact received the recall notification in august of 2017. the dealer (bmw of devon, 20 lancaster ave, devon, pa 19333) could not provide a date for when the remedy would be available. the manufacturer was not notified. the contact had not experienced a failure. vin tool confirms parts not available."
Components Involved: AIR BAGS
Date of incident: 2017-01-09
Complaint:
"tl* the contact owns a 2008 bmw x3. the contact received notification of nhtsa campaign number: 17v605000 (air bags); however, the parts to do the repair were unavailable. the contact stated that the manufacturer exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. the dealer and manufacturer were not contacted to confirm part availability as the recall notice stated that owners would receive a second notice when parts become available. the contact had not experienced a failure. vin tool confirms parts not available."
Components Involved: AIR BAGS
Date of incident: 2019-03-02
Complaint:
"tl* the contact owns a 2008 bmw x3. the contact stated that the air bag warning light illuminated. the contact stated that the vehicle was brought to bmw gallery of norwood located at 918 boston providence hwy, norwood, ma to get nhtsa campaign number: 16v071000 (air bags) completed. upon checking the paperwork after leaving the dealer, they were informed that the recall had not been remedied. the dealer was contacted and they informed the contact that the campaign was unable to be done due to them not having a resolution. the manufacturer was notified of the issue. the contact's vin no longer showed under the recall due to bmw's system. the failure mileage was approximately 119,000."
Components Involved: AIR BAGS
Date of incident: 2018-04-08
Complaint:
"takata recall 1. bmw sent me recall notice in march 2016, with no follow up repair implementation as of nov. 2017 = 1.5yrs since the initial recall notice = unreasonably long? 2. when i go to safercar.gov / airbag recall.com & check my vin, my car does not show up w/ airbag inflator recall (it shows up for blower motor wiring recall, but that's it). maybe i'm missing something?"
Components Involved: AIR BAGS
Date of incident: 2017-09-11

Recalls for the 2008 Bmw X3

Component Recalls

Choose a component to see what recalls people have made about them.

Recall:
"bmw of north america, llc (bmw) is recalling certain 2008-2013 128i and 135i convertibles, 128i, 135i, and m coupes, 2007-2010 x3 30si and x3 xdrive30i, 2013-2015 x1 sdrive28i, x1 xdrive28i and x1 xdrive35i, 2007-2013 328i, 328i xdrive, 335i, 335is, 335i xdrive and m3 coupes, 2006-2011 328i, 328xi, 328i xdrive, 325i, 325xi, 330i, 330xi, 335i, 335xi, 335i xdrive and m3, 2009-2011 335d, 2006-2012 325xi, 328i, 328xi and 328i xdrive, 2010-2011 x6 activehybrid, 2007-2013 328i, 335i, 335is, m3 coupes, x5 30si, x5 xdrive30i, x5 xdrive35i, x5 48i, x5 xdrive48i, x5 xdrive50i and x5 m, 2009-2013 x5 xdrive35d and 2008-2014 x6 xdrive35i, x6 xdrive50i and x6m vehicles equipped with non-desiccated driver frontal air bag inflators containing phase stabilized ammonium nitrate (psan) that were used as interim remedy parts for previous takata recalls. these inflators may explode due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to high absolute humidity, high temperatures, and high temperature..."
Consequence:
An inflator explosion may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants resulting in serious injury or death.
Remedy:

BMW will notify owners, and dealers will replace the driver air bag. On X5 and X6 vehicles, only the inflator will be replaced. All repairs will be performed free of charge. The recall began March 11, 2020. Owners may contact BMW customer service at 1-800-525-7417.

Component(s) Involved: AIR BAGS > FRONTAL > DRIVER SIDE > INFLATOR MODULE
Date of incident: 2020-01-15

BMW Overall Complaint Ranking

This table shows the ranking of car manufacturers when it comes to most complaints and recalls. The manufacturer with the most complaints is at the top. However this doesn't necassarily mean they should be avoided. Some manufacturers might just have more popular or affordable cars which a lot of people have bought. Which means there's more scope for a complaint to be made. Use the ranking table below as a part your wider research into buying a car.

BMW ranks 12 out of 44 in the complaints ranking table.

Manufacturer Complaint Count Recall Count Ranking
FORD 208,358 3,259 1
CHEVROLET 111,306 2,082 2
TOYOTA 81,019 1,852 3
HONDA 61,937 1,268 4
NISSAN 56,226 930 5
DODGE 45,756 827 6
HYUNDAI 44,150 649 7
GMC 34,441 1,410 8
KIA 29,832 501 9
CHRYSLER 27,698 254 10
TESLA 26,230 730 11
BMW 24,890 1,877 12
VOLKSWAGEN 23,125 829 13
MERCEDES-BENZ 19,066 2,925 14
SUBARU 18,513 703 15
MAZDA 10,599 364 16
PONTIAC 10,430 138 17
CADILLAC 9,434 444 18
AUDI 7,865 1,093 19
BUICK 7,851 279 20
SATURN 7,672 84 21
MERCURY 7,374 135 22
LEXUS 6,373 408 23
LINCOLN 5,897 423 24
ACURA 5,722 382 25
MINI 5,585 366 26
INFINITI 4,000 187 27
MITSUBISHI 3,912 397 28
VOLVO 3,875 727 29
PORSCHE 2,646 1,231 30
SUZUKI 2,272 123 31
FIAT 2,205 80 32
SAAB 1,536 76 33
JAGUAR 1,195 198 34
SMART 528 17 35
GENESIS 436 42 36
ISUZU 249 37 37
ALFA ROMEO 161 37 38
MASERATI 76 46 39
BENTLEY 46 159 40
POLESTAR 42 2 41
LUCID 14 6 42
CODA 4 2 43
MAYBACH 0 0 44

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