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 the federal safety agency. 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.
2004 BMW X3 electrical problems
18 complaints (13% of all complaints for this car). Typical mileage when it fails: 74,568. 1 crash reported.
- owner complaints
- 18
- of this car's complaints
- 13%
- typical mileage
- 74,568
- crashes
- 1
- recalls
- 0
Which part fails
- Ignition2
- Instrument cluster/panel1
At what mileage
Complaints by mileage at the time of the problem.
BMW X3 electrical problems in other years
Specific symptoms reported on the 2004 BMW X3 electrical
Phrases found in the owners' own descriptions, so one complaint can mention several symptoms.
Related recalls
No recalls on record for this model year.
What 2004 BMW X3 owners say
Most recent owner complaints, unedited.
Tl* the contact owns a 2004 bmw x3. While driving various speeds, the vehicle stalled and was unable to restart on several occasions. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic. Burdick bmw (5947 e circle dr, cicero, ny 13039, (315) 459-6000) was contacted, but the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 155,000. The VIN was not available.
Vehicle fires.
Driver's side seat burned through the seat and burned the jacket when the seat heater was turned on while my wife was driving. This is the second time it happened in this car. First time it happened while the car was under warranty, and the dealership (silver spring bmw of md) replaced the seat under warranty. In this case got lucky it did not catch fire or cause any injury to us. This situation easily could have ended up in a car fire. I was stunned to hear how lithely bmw na approach towards my concern when I called to lodge a complaint. At highway speed this could have been a fatal situation due to distraction this burn created worst car on fire.
Tl* the contact owns a 2004 bmw x3. The contact stated that the 4x4 warning lamp and the ABS warning lamp illuminated intermittently. The contact mentioned that the vehicle was previously involved in two separate crashes. After the most recent crash, the vehicle was taken to the authorized dealer and unknown repairs were performed and the warning lamps continued to illuminate for the ABS warning lamp and the 4x4 warning lamp. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failures. The details of the crash were unknown. The failure mileage was not available.
Driving on freeway and driver's side seat heater overheated burning seat and creating abundant smoke inside car's cabin. This was a very dangerous situation on the freeway and I have no doubt that the seat would have caught fire if I hadn't felt the burning sensation early enough. Dealer stated that they had never heard of this happening and quoted $1200+ repair. Researched online and found many similar occurrences. Decided not to repair and chance the same happening again. Disconnected wiring to seat heater.
Door locks work intermittently - key fob and central lock button work normally at times. Other times all will fail, causing all doors except for the driver's door to become locked from both the inside and outside, when this occurs the key fob and central button fail. This causes you to be locked in the vehicle if you are not in the driver's seat. The only key fob button to work when this occurs is the rear hatch. Other failures are when the doors will lock with the key fob, but only the driver's door will unlock using it.
As I was driving on the freeway with the driver's side heated seat on the low setting, I felt a sudden burning sensation on my back of my upper left thigh and shifted slightly, putting my hand under the area to see what was the matter. The rear area of the left side seat bolster had gotten so hot I had to turn off the seat heater immediately. I decided not to turn it on again until another time in late march when I again turned on the seat heater. The same sudden feeling of "overheating" was immediately felt in the same area, I turned off the seat heater, and I haven't used it since then. When my car was in for service for another issue, I mentioned it to my service advisor and asked whether he knew of other similar incidents or whether there was a bmw recall for the issue. He said no to both questions.
There was a very mild rain last two days in madison. Now my car has central lock problem and also wet floor. I'm happy that I was not driving the car while it was raining. I read over the internet that many bmw x3 have this water leakage and electrical problems. A wet interior and a live electrical system, and you know what might happen.
Short circuit in heating element for driver's side seat. Shocks occur through leather when heater is active. Turned off heat and discontinued use of heating element to avoid damage/burns. Passenger side heating element is still ok.
Questions about the 2004 BMW X3 electrical
Does the 2004 BMW X3 have electrical problems?
Owners have filed 18 complaints about the electrical of the 2004 BMW X3, 13% of all its complaints.
At what mileage do 2004 BMW X3 electrical problems start?
The typical (median) mileage in owner complaints is 74,568 miles.
Was there a recall on the 2004 BMW X3 electrical?
There is no recall for this problem on this model year.
What year does the BMW X3 have the most electrical problems?
The BMW X3 model years with the most electrical complaints are 2019 (47 complaints), 2020 (35 complaints) and 2021 (35 complaints).
Other 2004 BMW X3 problems
Seats 33Airbags 32Engine 17Transmission 11Acceleration 8Body 8Visibility 8Fuel system 7Lights 6Steering 5Suspension 5Tires 4Brakes 3Locks 2Wheels 2
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