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2016 BMW X3

GasDiesel
Small Sport Utility Vehicle 4WD
4 EPA-rated configurations
Data refreshed 2026-09-11
F
Safety Signal
39 / 100 from the NHTSA recall record
Recalls3 critical5
Complaintsowner reports to NHTSA82
Crash ratingNHTSA overall5★
Fuel economybest combined, EPA30 mpg
20262025202420232022202120202019201820172016

The 2016 BMW X3 is sold in the U.S. as a gas and diesel compact SUV with 4 EPA-rated configurations. The most efficient version, the X3 xDrive28d, is EPA-rated at 30 mpg combined. NHTSA lists 5 recall campaigns for this model year, 3 rated critical, which gives it a Safety Signal grade of F. Owners have filed 82 complaints, most often about the electrical system. NHTSA crash-tested it at 5 stars overall.

Specs & fuel economy

Source: EPA fueleconomy.gov
ConfigurationPowertrainDriveEngine / motorCityHwyCombAnnual fuel*
X3 sDrive 28iGasRWD2.0L 4-cyl turbo212824$3,250
X3 xDrive28iGasAWD2.0L 4-cyl turbo212824$3,250
X3 xDrive35iGasAWD3.0L 6-cyl turbo192621$3,700
X3 xDrive28dDieselAWD2.0L 4-cyl turbo273330$3,000

*EPA estimate at 15,000 miles/year at EPA reference fuel and electricity prices. fueleconomy.gov record ids: 36139, 36141, 36142, 36143.

Factory warranty running out?

The 2016 BMW X3 is in the years where transmission, electronics and drivetrain repairs land on the owner. Compare extended-coverage quotes in about two minutes.

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Recalls (5)

Source: NHTSA recall database
!critical

Engine And Engine Cooling

720,796 vehicles
ProblemBMW 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 vehicles. An improperly sealed electrical connector on the water pump may be exposed to water and short circuit.RiskAn electrical short increases the risk of a fire.FixDealers 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.
NHTSA campaign 24V608000reported Aug 13, 2024BMW of North America, LLC
!critical

Fuel System, Diesel

50,404 vehicles
ProblemBMW 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 with an integrated cooler. The EGR cooler may leak internally, causing coolant to mix with diesel engine soot, which could result in smoldering particles and a melting intake manifold.RiskA melting intake manifold increases the risk of a fire.FixDealers 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 letter was mailed on January 18, 2022. The remedy is expected to be available in June 2022. Owner notification letters were mailed on July 6, 2022. Owners may contact BMW customer
NHTSA campaign 21V907000reported Nov 19, 2021BMW of North America, LLC
▲high

Fuel System, Diesel

11,216 vehicles
ProblemBMW 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.RiskFuel pump failure can cause an engine stall while driving, increasing the risk of a crash.FixDealers 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.
NHTSA campaign 21V586000reported Jul 29, 2021BMW of North America, LLC
!critical

Engine And Engine Cooling

44,368 vehicles
ProblemBMW 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) module with an integrated cooler. If the EGR cooler leaks internally, the coolant can mix with diesel engine soot. The high EGR temperatures may result in these particles possibly smoldering and melting the intake manifold.RiskThe melting intake manifold can increase the risk of a fire.FixBMW 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.
NHTSA campaign 18V755000reported Oct 25, 2018BMW of North America, LLC
▲high

Child Seat

188,668 vehicles
ProblemBMW 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 vehicles manufactured March3, 2014 to April 15, 2016. The affected vehicles have lower anchor bars for securing child restraint seats that may become damaged when using the European-ISOFIX-type, rigid-style connector, child restraint system.RiskDamaged lower anchor bars may increase the child's risk of injury in the event of a crash.FixBMW 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.
NHTSA campaign 16V333000reported May 23, 2016BMW of North America, LLC

NHTSA defect investigations

Fuel System, Diesel:Delivery:Fuel Pump — High pressure fuel pump failure open

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 engines. During the investigation, ODI sought to determine if the related defect allegation was limited in scope to the recalled population. After review of information request response materials from both FCA and BMW, NHTSA determined that sufficient information to identify a comprehensive recall population could not be produced by FCA and BMW.During the investigation FCA filed rec

Opened Mar 17, 2023 · action EA23001

Air Bags:Frontal:Passenger Side:Inflator Module — Desiccated Air Bag Inflator Rupture open

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 to burn too quickly when ignited. The rapid burning can cause the inflator to rupture during deployment, potentially causing serious or even fatal injury to vehicle occupants. See 2016 Blomquist Report at www.nhtsa.gov/sites/nhtsa.gov/files/documents/expert_report-hrblomquist.pdf.Consequently, all frontal inflators using propellant 2004 that do not contain a "desiccant" (a substa

Opened Sep 17, 2021 · action EA21002

Owner complaints

Source: NHTSA complaint database
82complaints filed

7 involved a crash · 3 a fire · 2 injuries · 0 deaths reported

Filed per year: 2015: 1 · 2016: 5 · 2017: 8 · 2018: 9 · 2019: 8 · 2020: 1 · 2021: 3 · 2022: 8 · 2023: 5 · 2024: 13 · 2025: 17 · 2026: 4

Most-cited components

Electrical System23
Engine And Engine Cooling18
Engine13
Unspecified12
Service Brakes10
Power Train9

What owners describe

“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 for the recall repair. …”Nov 20, 2024 · Engine And Engine Cooling · NHTSA owner report
“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 local dealer was not contacted. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable am…”Oct 30, 2024 · Engine And Engine Cooling · NHTSA owner report
“The contact owns a 2016 BMW X3. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the contact noticed a burning odor inside the vehicle. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer; however, the contact was informed that parts to repair the vehicle was not available. The …”Oct 28, 2024 · Engine And Engine Cooling · NHTSA owner report

Complaint counts are raw owner reports to NHTSA, not verified defects, and scale with how many were sold. Use them to spot patterns, not to rank.

Crash ratings

Source: NHTSA NCAP
ConfigurationOverallFrontalSideRolloverRollover risk
SUV AWD★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★☆17%
SUV RWD★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★☆17%

NHTSA New Car Assessment Program.

Other X3 model years

B

2026 BMW X3

2 recalls · 16 complaints

F

2025 BMW X3

9 recalls · 34 complaints

D

2024 BMW X3

4 recalls · 36 complaints

D

2023 BMW X3

4 recalls · 12 complaints

F

2022 BMW X3

8 recalls · 70 complaints

F

2021 BMW X3

11 recalls · 106 complaints

F

2020 BMW X3

16 recalls · 109 complaints

F

2019 BMW X3

10 recalls · 167 complaints

F

2018 BMW X3

11 recalls · 73 complaints

F

2017 BMW X3

6 recalls · 92 complaints

Sources & method

Safety Signal starts every model-year at 100 and subtracts points per open NHTSA recall campaign by severity: critical 15 (fire risk, park-outside or do-not-drive advisories), high 8 (brakes, steering, airbags, loss of drive power, structure, battery), moderate 6, minor 3 (software, labels, lighting fixed by an update). Floor 35. A ≥ 90, B ≥ 80, C ≥ 70, D ≥ 60, otherwise F. Complaint counts and NHTSA crash ratings are shown separately and are not blended into the grade.

EPA figures come from fueleconomy.gov vehicle records. Recalls, complaints, investigations and crash ratings come from NHTSA's public flat files, refreshed weekly.

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