Recalls
| Campaign | Manufacturer | Manufacturing date | Type | # of units affected | Date Owner notified Mfg | Recall Initiated by | Manufacturers of recalled vehicles/products | Report Recieved Date | Record Creation Date | Regulation Part Number | FMVSS Number | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| STEERING - ELECTRIC POWER ASSIST SYSTEM | ||||||||||||||||
| 11V341000 | BMW OF NORTH AMERICA, LLC | from 04/27/2011 to 06/08/2011 | V (Vehicle) | 51 | 08/10/2011 | MFR | BMW OF NORTH AMERICA, LLC | 06/29/2011 | 06/29/2011 | |||||||
| Defect Summary | Bmw is recalling certain model year 2011 x3 passenger vehicles manufactured from april 27, 2011, through june 8, 2011. a control module in the electric power steering (eps) unit may malfunction, resulting in a sudden loss of power steering assistance. | |||||||||||||||
| Consequence Summary | Sudden loss of power steering assistance could increase the risk of a crash. | |||||||||||||||
| Corrective Summary | Bmw will notify owners and dealers will repair the vehicles free of charge. the safety recall is expected to begin during august 2011. owners may contact bmw customer relations and services at 1-800-525-7417. | |||||||||||||||
| Notes | Owners may also contact the national highway traffic safety administration's vehicle safety hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (tty 1-800-424-9153), or go to http://www.safercar.gov . | |||||||||||||||
Consumer Complaints
| Fail date | miles | occurences | Purchase date |
|---|---|---|---|
| STEERING | |||
| 06/25/2012 | 1 | ||
| My vehicle suddenly lost power steering control and a yellow warning symbol appeared on the instrument panel. i experienced the problem the first time while i maneuvered a corner. i was coming out of the turn and accelerating when the steering locked up, and the loss of steering control almost caused me to crash. i took the car immediately to murray motors (in denver, co) and was advised that there was simply a computer programming glitch that came from the factory; the service center advised they downloaded new software and the problem was solved. some weeks later, i again lost power steering suddenly while driving straight. i took the car into murray motors again and stressed the enormity of my concern over this frightening problem. after some days, murray motors advised me that the electronic power steering assist unit had failed. they represented they replaced the power steering rack, the electric motor mounted on the rack, and the eps module. i researched bmw recalls thereafter and found that a recall had been issued for this problem on several bmw models already. i called bmw's customer relations number (1-800-525-7417) and was informed that my vehicle vin number fell outside the scope of the current recall, and i was therefore never notified. i am writing the nhtsa to report that bmw's recall is not broad enough as defects in the eps module and related parts exist in vehicles beyond the immediate recall. i also want the nhtsa to know that murray motors allowed me to drive this vehicle out of their service center after the first (inadequate) repair, even though the steering complaints i reported to their service technicians were identical the description of the steering problem listed in bmw's recall letter for the x3 posted on their website. murray motors claims to have no knowledge of this defect in any x3. *tr | |||
| 06/25/2012 | |||
| My vehicle suddently lost power steering control and a yellow warning symbol appeared on the instrument panel. i experienced the problem the first time while i maneuvered a corner. i was coming out of the turn and accelerating when the steering locked up, and the loss of steering control almost caused me to crash. i took the car immediately to murray motors (in denver, co) and was advised that there was simply a computer programming glitch that came from the factory; the service center advised they downloaded new software and the problem was solved. some weeks later, i again lost power steering suddenly while driving straight. i took the car into murray motors again and stressed the enormity of my concern over this frightening problem. after some days, murray motors advised me that the electronic power steering assist unit had failed. they represented they replaced the power steering rack, the electric motor mounted on the rack, and the eps module. i researched bmw recalls thereafter and found that a recall had been issued for this problem on several bmw models already. i called bmw's customer relations number (1-800-525-7417) and was informed that my vehicle vin number fell outside the scope of the current recall, and i was therefore never notified. i am writing the nhtsa to report that bmw's recall is not broad enough as defects in the eps module and related parts exist in vehicles beyond the immediate recall. i also want the nhtsa to know that murray motors allowed me to drive this vehicle out of their service center after the first (inadequate) repair, even though the steering complaints i reported to their service technicians were identical the the description of the steering problem listed in bmw's recall letter for the x3 posted on their website. murray motors claims to have no knowledge of this defect in any x3. | |||
| 01/10/2012 | |||
| Safety recall campaign 11v-341: electric power steering (eps) assist the above recall covered vehicles manufactured between feb 25, 2011 and june 8, 2011. my x3 was manufactured on june 4, 2011. yet i was not notified of the recall and have had the power assist fail 3 times. | |||
| 11/19/2011 | 4000 | ||
| This complaint is in reference to nhtsa report 11v-341. it concerns a malfunction of a control module in the electronic power steering (eps) unit in 2011 bmw x3 passenger vehicles manufactured from april 27, 2011 through june 8, 2011. one of these 51 vehicles is ours. my concern is that bmw did not notify us of the recall even though the company has known about the malfunction since june 2011.. (bmw reported a safety recall to nhtsa on june 28, 2011, as documented in a letter of july 1, 2011 from nhtsa to bmw, acknowledging the recall.) on saturday november 19, 2011, the warning, chassis stabilization malfunction! appeared on the video display of our x3 following engine startup. at the same time, steering was more difficult than normal. an hour later, during engine re-start, the warning did not recur, and steering was normal. personnel at our local bmw dealership were not able to explain our observations and told us via telephone to continue using the vehicle. in spite of that, we advised the dealership that we would bring the vehicle to them for evaluation on monday, nov 21. subsequently, i found documentation on-line that confirmed the malfunction and our observations. at present, the vehicle remains at the dealership awaiting a replacement eps unit. i remain concerned that bmw did not contact us concerning the recall, and also that our local bmw dealership had apparently not been told of the issue. that is the reason for my complaint. | |||
| 11/03/2011 | 1035 | ||
| Power steering failed. vehicle reported that steering may be impacted. a current campaign exists though this vin was not reported under existing campaign # 11v341000. | |||
| 08/15/2011 | 500 | ||
| Car reports steering malfunction and electrical power steering assist is not provided. appears similar to issue with power steering system covered by recall 11v341000, however bmwna confirms this vehicle is not impacted by recall 11v341000. | |||
| 02/23/2011 | 193 | ||
| Car veering to the right, increased on sudden stops; happens at various speeds. the prominent and dangerous condition is lag in acceleration. sent the following e-mail to dealer& bmw along with 3 service reports from dealer attempts to address: this x3 3.5i with all it is electronic engine/drive train controls is a nightmare. it?s a huge design flaw that is going to kill someone eventually. yet again, yesterday, i felt unsafe due to the hesitation. the car didn't move for about a second or two when i tried to make a left turn in an intersection and then again when i was on the highway changing lanes. there were cars heading towards me but the initial distance was quite comfortable and safe. with the hesitation of the x3, i was actually in a panic and stepped really hard on the gas pedal to avoid a potential collision. and since then i have been stepping on the gas pedal much harder, guzzling gas, not to mention rough starts off of a full stop. i have seen countless internet threads of people complaining about the same thing with the x3 model, both versions, however equipped. i would strongly suggest someone look at how this car?s software is failing to function and fix this thing. i will report the problem to the appropriate governmental agencies. the veering is still there and eventually i will come to pass the issue with the low tread life run-flats bmw's 2-23-11 visit, dealer aligned vehicle, kept car one day due to factory specs not yet being loaded on new vehicle model; on 7-13-11, dealer noted car left in transport mode, removed codes from computer software and car drove ok for 4 days; 7-23-11 took it back for same issue as noted above with lag in acceleration becoming dangerous and still veering, this time dealer noted nothing wrong with car after test drive comparison. gave car back, still have issues which prompted e-mail. | |||
| 05/13/2011 | 680 | ||
| Tl* the contact owns a 2011 bmw x3. the contact stated the vehicle would abnormally veer towards the right while driving at various speeds. the vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer where they were unable to diagnose the failure. the vehicle was not repaired and the manufacturer was made not made aware of the failure. the failure and current mileages were 680. the vin was unavailable. | |||
| 05/13/2011 | 680 | ||
| Tl-the contact owns a 2011 bmw x3. the contact stated the vehicle veers towards the passenger side while driving at various speeds. the vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer where they were unable to diagnose the failure. the vehicle was not repaired. the manufacturer was made aware of the failure. the failure and current mileages were 680. the vin was unavailable. sm. | |||