1. Warning drive train malfunction 2. Drove moderately on way driving in to dealership for repair 3. Oil pressure low stop or risk damage to engine 4. Pulled over, had it towed to bmw 5. They called the next morning stating it was 17,000 mol due to engine being damaged after fragments went in from timing chain 6. Insurance adjuster went out and conquered bmw issue timing chain broke effecting engine oil pump and battery 7. Engine inoperable fucntionally totaled car waiting for bmw n america casemngr to return my call and hopefully offer to extend warranty or offer good will and fix -repair engine and all related to malfunction 8. Found out USA consumer class action suit is currently under way filed 12/12/19 against bmw for timing chain engine issue... Still without relief or vehicle and no personal funds to get car back again hoping for relief from bmw!
2013 BMW X3 engine complaints
Page 5 of 6: complaints 101 to 130 of 159, newest first, as owners wrote them.
Car was in motion on a suburb road when dashboard light up with 'drivetrain malfunction'.timing chain broke and damaged the engine. The car stopped in the middle of road on an incline, blocking the traffic that could cause accident. Vehicle odo was 84666. There is a tsb si b11 03 17 on this issue, but the warranty expired at 7 years / 70,000 miles.
We experienced a complete engine failure while driving the vehicle at approximately 40 miles per hour on a city street. We received a "drivetrain malfunction" warning, something that we have received intermittently over the past year, which was previously diagnosed as a minor issue. We noticed a change in engine noise and performance, which was unusual. While attempting to bring the car to a bmw dealership for service, a "low oil pressure" warning came on and the engine quit approximately 10 seconds later. I was able to coast the vehicle into a parking lot, where we had it towed to the dealership. The dealership diagnosed it as a failure of the timing chain guides and advised us that the engine needed to be replaced. Thankfully, we were operating under the favorable conditions to safely stop the vehicle; however, the failure is sudden and potentially dangerous. Through research, we now know that this is a common problem with the engine for this particular year and model. We attempted to resolve the issue with bmw north america. They are aware that this is a common problem and were unwilling to provide any assistance.
Tl* the contact owns a 2013 bmw x3. While the contact's fianc was driving approximately 35 MPH, the vehicle shut off. Also, 'drive train malfunction, drive moderate speed' was illuminated on the instrument panel. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic who was unable to diagnose the failure. The vehicle was towed to bill dodge auto park (888‑464‑1978, located at 2 saunders way, westbrook, me 04092) where it was diagnosed that the valve cover was cracked and needed to be removed to inspect the timing chains. The technician stated that the engine may need to be replaced. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and did not assist. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 122,000.
The engine experienced a sudden engine failure while driving on a highway. The failure appears to be from the failure of the plastic guide and tensioning mechanism that is used in timing chain assembly. The plastic breaks and wedged between the timing chain and crankshaft timing sprocket causing the timing to jump and damage the valvetrain.
We purchased a 2013 bmw x3 in december 2012. The vehicle has been dealer serviced from day one. In 2018, fairfax bmw replaced the timing chain at no cost when the vehicle had only 45k miles which is highly unusual. In early august I was driving on interstate 81 south travelling from virginia to arizona. The car began making a ticking sound which became progressively louder. I exited the busy highway and barely made it to bmw of roanoke, va. I was travelling the speed limit when the problem began, and was barely able to go 45 miles per hour when I exited. I soon learned that my particular engine (f-25/n20) has a major defect and will literally blow up while driving. Bmw is aware of the problem, and has endangered my health and safety by refusing to correct the problem. A class action lawsuit has been filed in new jersey (chris williams, et.al. V. Bmw north america). The dealer in roanoke said the engine is unrepairable with only 51k miles on the odometer. One last observation in noticed is that prior to starting my trip I checked the engine oil level and it was almost a quart low which had never happened before. I filled the engine to it's recommended capacity and began my travel. There is a list of affected vehicles with engine defects, and my vehicle is on the list.
Tl* the contact owns a 2013 bmw x3. While driving 15 MPH and approaching a stop sign, the check engine warning indicator illuminated and "drivetrain malfunction" and "low oil pressure" appeared on the instrument panel. In addition, the contact stated that a rattling noise was coming from the engine compartment and the vehicle started to shake. The contact coasted the vehicle to the side of the road and powered off the engine. The vehicle failed to restart and was towed to the contact's residence. The following day, the vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the timing chain was fractured and the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not taken to a dealer and was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 79,000.
Driving on highway around 70 MPH, drivetrain malfunction message came on monitor within a few seconds another message saying low oil pressure pull to side and call for service. Manged to pull to the side, but potential was there after losing power to get into an accident. I was 300 miles from home on july 4, 2019 no shop was open, so had aaa tow the vehicle to bmw dealer, met with them the next day and found out it was a timing chain issue and needed a new engine, he also informed this was a known issue and the bmw had extended the warranty to 70k miles, but since I had 115k it was out of warranty. Called corporate bmw and informed them that this is the known issue of timing chain and they should provide assistance, I have been driving bmw for over 10 years and currently own 2. They came back and said they will not be giving any goodwill or anything to help with the repair. They would not stand by their vehicle on a known issue with a loyal customer. Needless to say, I won't buy a vehicle from a company that does not stand by their vehicle. I have looked at the database and found many vehicles with the same exact issue, enough for bmw to extend the warranty for this issue but currently not enough for an investigation or recall.
Faulty plastic timing chain guide that fails prematurely. At 113,000, my mechanic is telling me to either replace the timing chain and components, or get rid of the vehicle, as the engine will eventually fail if this in not addressed. At nearly 5k or more in repairs, that is basically 50% of the vehicle's resale value. Bmw is aware of the issue and should issue a recall for a bad design and faulty components. Many others with the bmw n20 engine have had their engine fail completely, or had to pay astronomical repair costs to correct bmw's design error. A multi-billion dollar company should be held responsible for selling a problematic engine, not the owner.
Driving west on i84 in ct. Just east of exit 33 before rt 72 merge low oil pressure message comes on. Within 30 seconds drivetrain malfunction message appears and the engine starts to power down. Barely made it across the 2 lanes merging on the right and onto the shoulder before the engine lost power entirely and shut down. Could have been a total disaster given the high speed merge and volume of traffic.
I was driving down a busy road, moving at about 25 MPH and received the drive train warning and as I was pulling over, ir, then studently I got a message, engine loss power, and the car suddenly stop not have a chance to pull over ..how dangerous is this I was with my grand kids in the car . The car would not restart and had tow to the dealer .. Waiting for estimated ..dangerous situation pulling into traffic specially on a highway would never recommend this "ultimate driving machine" to anyone! They waiting for a fatal crash to take actions ??????
Driving on highway braking to slowdown at a light as I was coming into town. Message came on that oil pressure was low and to call roadside assist. Moved off highway and cut engine on and of twice. Message cleared but decided to drive home. Message came on drivetrain malfunction drive moderately so I continued on for about 1.5 miles at slow speed. A clicking sound could be heard. The car jumped into neutral so I coasted to a safe spot and tried to put car in drive unsuccessfully. Turned engine off and would not restart. Tow truck put on flatbed to mechanic who then ran a a scan. He said the engine is ruined and will need replacing. The dealer in san antonio, tx replaced the turbocharger twice with the last being in the fall of 2017. Nothing was mentioned that there was such a problem with this that an extended warranty had been given. Our car has 94,000 miles. We had just driven through houston in a storm. This could have cost us our lives if we had been stranded in the flooding highway blocking traffic let alone other lives.
Driving at normal speed. Notification appeared of drivetrain malfunction. I stopped the car on the side of the road and turned the engine off. Restarted the engine and the notification was off. Started driving again and notification came on low oil pressure. The engine started to make a loud ticking noise while I pulled off the road. Car was towed to my home. Contacted the dealer for service. They stated that it was likely a timing chain issue which they have extended the warranty to cover. My car has 88k miles. When I told them the mileage they told me it wasn't covered over 70k miles. They said that it sounded like the damage would likely ruin the engine and require possibly a new engine. Either way, it would be at least $1000 for the inspection and diagnosis. I have had regular service at the dealer and they never mentioned no checked for this potential problem while my vehicle was in for service when the mileage was under 70k.
Vehicle stopped in the middle of the road and sensors lite up and vehicle stalled. Mechanic determined it was the timing chain, warranty company demanded engine be opened up to check values, found timing chain bolt broken off in the engine not to be found. Warranty company blamed bolt and refused to pay repairs, new engine required since bolt could not be found. None issue with bmw
While driving on the highway low oil pressure light came on and the engine locked itself. Got towed to the dealer and was told timing chain problem and new engine potentially. After some research found the same incident happening to lots of people. I also found that there is an extended warranty on this 7/70,000. We were lucky to have 69,550 miles.
My 2013 x bmw was giving a message on the dash board stating if I stop the engine I may not be able to re-start the car. On april 17, 2019 I drove to prime motor group bmw of norwood, ma for service. I was told that the replace a part and the car cannot start, at this point I was getting an e-mail from the dealer with an estimate cost of close to $5,500 to repair it. At the time taking the car for the problem, there were 5 recalls pending for my car that needed immediate attention repair, but the recalls was kept secret from me until on april 24, 2019 I towed the car back to the dealer to replace the battery for $525 as I was toll by the service counselor to get that start back. As off now, my car is still seating at the dealer, but I don't have $5,500 to repair the engine and the electrical issues.
I was driving in the highway with my 7 month old baby and all of the sudden my car stops, it was towed to the closest bmw dealer. One day later I get a notification in my email that the engine is no longer working due to a timing chain problem. The total cost for repair is 15k!
2013 bmw x3 sdrive28i (f25) timing chain rail guide failed at 70,800 miles on route 80, near akron, ohio. "low oil pressure" warning displayed on dashboard, traveling around 77mph on cruise control. Bmw of akron said that bmwna will cover 35% of the cost of a "goodwill" engine replacement. Out of pocket expense: $7,706.67. The car is currently worth $14,000 retail at this point (april 2019).
In the morning of march 25th, 2019 in rush hour highway traffic the bmw x3 2013 with 92,000 miles on odometer ceased normal operation and was making very loud metallic noise. Car went to "limp" mode and was able to be driven off the highway and park. Car could not be re-started at that time. Car was towed to local bmw dealership where the service dept diagnosed car with major engine failure, admitting was likely related to malfunctioned timing chain guard a known engineering defect for the bmw n20 28i engine for the 2013 model year. Suggested resolution was new engine quoted originally at $16,000 but lowered to $11,300 plus tax for a car valued at roughly $12,000. Bmw na offered assistance in discounting the repair to the quoted amount of $11,300 but will not authorize full coverage for repair cost as car is outside of the extended warranty of 7 year/70k. The original warranty was increased due to known defects and failures of the n20 engine and apparently no proactive offer at bmw na's expense to fix this issue.
January 12, 2019 car was parked unoccupied on street for 2+hours after driving it 20 miles. Vehicle spontaneously caught fire and burned to the ground, total loss. Engine replaced by bmw one year prior under warranty for timing chain guide failure. Complete service performed by bmw in october 2018. Approximately 66,000 miles on vehicle.
Jan/25/2019 4p cst, wife was driving at low speeds, car showed "engine oil pressure low" warning, and then stalled at the intersection of 15th st se and 5th st se, minnesota, mn. The vehicle was towed to motorwerks bmw service dept, 1300 american blvd w, bloomington, mn 55420. Service advisor, lorren, suggested that the timing chain broke, and has caused catastrophic, irreparable damage to the motor, and a new motor would be required. Now, I'm no car expert, but there 1 thing for sure that there no way a timing chain should just break like that, and destroy the engine, unless there a major design flaw so, I did some digging, and there are a lot of similar cases for 2013 x3 28i with n20 motors. It seems like bmw has aware of the design flaw, and bmw redesigned the problem components, had extended the warranty to 7yrs/70k miles, but never issued a safety recall. This issue is so widespread that there's already a class action filed for this issue - http://bmwenginefailureclassaction.com/ some reports: https://defectiveconsumerproducts.wordpress.com/2017/05/08/bmw-n20-n26-engine-timing-chain-andor-oil-pump-drive-chain-component-failure/ http://bmwenginefailureclassaction.com/?fbclid=iwar3-wggd2djjswtiphsqsum9avl43q3lp3zwjeqrexn3luxipqar2v2o9yk https://www.carcomplaints.com/news/2017/bmw-n20-n26-engine-lawsuit-blames-timing-chains.shtml http://www.carproblemzoo.com/bmw/x3/engine-failure-problems.php https://www.carcomplaints.com/bmw/x3/2013/engine/broken_timing_chain_guide.shtml https://www.facebook.com/pages/category/community/bmw-problem-timing-chain-293617047394760/ http://www.rightfootdown.com/cars/automotive-news/bmw-redesigns-n20-timing-chain-components-n26-too/ https://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/showthread.php?t=901376 https://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/showthread.php?t=912547 https://x3.xbimmers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1496333
Tl* the contact owns a 2013 bmw x3. After the contact added coolant to the vehicle, the check engine indicator illuminated and "coolant low, refill coolant and check status" appeared on the instrument panel. The vehicle was taken to steven's creek bmw (4343 stevens creek blvd, santa clara, ca 95051, (800) 298-1501) where it was determined that the vehicle was not included in a recall. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and did not assist. The failure mileage was 70,000.
Timing chain broken
I was driving on the highway at speed 55 - 65 miles per hr, then studently I got a message, engine loss power, and the car suddenly stop. I was able to slide to the side off road. Car was towed to bmx dealer. The I received later, I had engine failure. They said it is common problem due to manufacturer problem. Car was 106,117 miles. Really surprising to see car engine failed this way. Something must be wrong with the manufacture. Also so dangerous for a car to failed studently on road this way. Risk of accidents.
Vehicle had poor acceleration when driving on the road. Brought it into bmw service center and was informed that the timing chain and oil chain had failed and I needed a new engine. No prior problems before this. Only 90000 miles on the vehicle.
Driving the car on the highway when the screen on the car flashes a 'drivetrain malfunction error', no prior issues or warnings and it said to drive moderately, no other warning or to stop. I pulled into the nearest dealer which was less than a mile away and turned the car off, the service manager came out and tried to turn the car back on and couldn't, so they replaced the battery and were able to start it except they couldn't get the car out of park, the car was flat bedded to the bmw dealer and after a month they let me know that my car had complete engine failure due to the timing chain breaking which caused the 'catastrophic engine failure'. I have read hundreds if not thousands of other stories that mirror my experience to a tee, some however were not as lucky as I was to be able to get out of the middle of the highway/road before their car completely locked up and did not move. Bmw admits that these cars have issues with the timing chain material they used, which happens to be plastic; however, due to the cost of replacing all of these parts in the known cars that they would cost bmw na more $500 million. If the federal safety agency does not step in and force them to fix these faulty parts they will end up having one of these bmw's with the n20 or n26 engines fail while driving on a road and someone is going to end up getting killed because of it. Bmw is hiding the severity of these failures in their parts and because nobody has died or faced an injury they will not take the initiative and issue a recall, they just extended the warranty for the replacement of these parts for an additional 10k miles because they know the plastic timing chain lasts on average to about 70k which is why the warranty is now for 7 years/70k miles or whichever comes first. In closing, my car engine faced engine failure and completely seized at 77k miles.
Faulty timing chain and guides. Bmw is already aware of this issues with the n20 type of engine and extended out a warranty many of the vehicles but most of the timing chain fail just after the 70k mile limit imposed in the extension. Bmw offered me no help in this matter and I had to pay out of pocket for a repair on a vehicle that should have been repaired.
Drive train light came on as I was on parkway and car lost power going from 55 to 30 MPH. Informed that there is a timing chain issue
At approx. 60,200 miles, I was driving down a secondary road, moving at about 45 MPH and received the drive train warning and as I was pulling over, I received the low engine pressure warning. I was able to pull over and turn off the engine and have my vehicle towed.
I have a 2013 bmw x3 with 85k miles and was driving on a 4-lane highway at 55 MPH when a warning light came on indicating a drivetrain malfunction and that I should 'drive moderately'. Within seconds, a second warning light came on indicating low oil pressure and that I should 'add a quart of oil'. I immediately pulled over to the side of the road where the car shifted into neutral without me touching the gear shift. I turned the car off to check the owner's manual about the drivetrain warning light, and the car would not restart. The entire scenario lasted about 10-15 seconds, and prior to this, I had no problems with the car and was diligent about performing routine service according to the manufacturer's instructions. The car was towed to the closest bmw dealership. I received a call the following day notifying me that catastrophic damage had occurred to the engine and that I needed a new engine! Apparently, the timing chain guide broke, the pieces fell into the oil pan and lodged against the screen that keeps debris out of the engine, and starved the engine of oil. While I am concerned about the $12,000 repair bill, I am equally concerned about the danger that is posed by the sudden and complete disablement of the vehicle that could result in injury or death to the car owner or to another driver who encounters the disabled car on a busy highway. This is a recurring problem. I spoke with 3 service advisors at 3 different dealerships, and the service advisors said 'it is a recurring problem'. I also reviewed the federal safety agency and carcomplaints.com websites and found numerous complaints about the same problem. I anticipate more incidences of timing chain guide failure more drivers reach 75k plus miles.
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