For every car sold, owners filed more complaints about the 2019 X3 than about the typical X3 year: 1.7 times as many. Among the 3 X3 years with enough complaints to compare, owners filed the fewest about the 2022 (0.44 per 1,000 sold) and the most about this one, the 2019 (0.76).
Safety complaints filed by owners in the first three years, per 1,000 sold.
1.7 times this nameplate’s own median
Counted from 50 complaints filed in the first three years, of 171 ever. 95% lower bound 0.55.
This year’s generation (2018–2024) drew 0.48 complaints per 1,000 sold taken together, against 0.50 for the 2011–2017 generation.
The model year carries far more information than the badge, so this is the comparison that matters. The bar is how many complaints each rate rests on.
| Model year | Per 1,000 | Complaints | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 0.17 | 3 | |
| 2009 | 0.17 | 2 | |
| 2010 | 0.16 | 1 | |
| 2011 | 0.54 | 15 | |
| 2012 | 0.29 | 9 | |
| 2013 | 0.61 | 20 | |
| 2014 | 0.37 | 12 | |
| 2015 | 0.46 | 15 | |
| 2016 | 0.60 | 23 | |
| 2017 | 0.57 | 24 | |
| 2018 | 0.35 | 18 | |
| 2019 | 0.76 | 50 | |
| 2020 | 0.32 | 21 | |
| 2021 | 0.50 | 34 | |
| 2022 | 0.44 | 31 |
No phrase appears often enough in these complaints to describe them reliably.
Failures cluster early, which is the signature of how the car was built rather than of wear. A low-mileage example has not yet passed the risk window.
That is not a clean bill of health, and not a criticism of the agency: investigations open for many reasons and complaint volume is only one of them.
For every car sold, owners filed more complaints about the 2019 X3 than about the typical X3 year: 1.7 times as many. Among the 3 X3 years with enough complaints to compare, owners filed the fewest about the 2022 (0.44 per 1,000 sold) and the most about this one, the 2019 (0.76). The typical year is the median across its model years.
The parts owners named most often in complaints filed to date: Electrical System (47), Unknown Or Other (43), Engine (35).
Complaint records cannot settle that on their own. They count safety problems owners chose to report to the federal government, not every repair. What they do show is how this year compares with the other X3 years: for every car sold, owners filed more complaints about the 2019 X3 than about the typical X3 year: 1.7 times as many.
Among years with enough complaints to compare, the 2022, at 0.44 per 1,000 sold. Every X3 year, ranked.
No guide we read covers the X3.
Example records behind this page, each on NHTSA’s own site: