[stactum]

Guys,

I've been reading this forum for a while now and have 2013 X3 with N20 ordered, however I'd like to ask current X3 owners to comment on reliability of a car.

My wife has '06 RAV4 and we never had any major issues with the car. X3 suppose to be a replacement for it and I just want to ask how worried should I be about its reliability? It seems every other post has some notes about failing sensors, other things that needs to be fixed.

Consumer reports ranked reliability of X3 above average.
So help me understand, as an owner of X3 should I be expecting trips to the service fairly often?

Thanks for all your help in advance.

[Nahoa]

No. I've only been in for things I consider minor and reasonable (not desirable, but reasonable). I needed an alignment and there was a bubble in my dash pad from delivery so they replaced that (did a very nice job). I'll cross 20k miles on today's commute. While that's not a lot of miles, it seems to me a good amount in terms of working through any initial problems.

Keep in mind that blogs tend to concentrate the negative. They're places for people to seek answers when the have problems and to vent about them. You'll see many fewer writing in to just note that things are working fine.

That said, you'll notice there are a number of people writing in here to say how much they like their X3, how well it drives, and how reliable/problem-free it's been. I bet there aren't that many other blogs like this out there -- I've looked for some on other cars I thought were more popular, trendy, and appealing to those who like to tweak and such and to my surprise found nothing.

[cheesebag]

5000 miles in a Diesel.... not a problem yet.

[Polar_Bimmer]

Almost 10 000 km (6 200 miles) in 9 months ... not a problem yet

[02420X3]

10,000 miles. No issues.

[Harplayr]

Going on a year without any issues.
Most trouble free car I've owned so far.

[tuco44]

I have 17,000 kms in the eleventh month of ownership. No issues at all.

[Irish-Texan]

35i w/Msport 8,400 miles over 7 months. 25.4 mpg with 60% highway miles.
Zero issues. Only negatives are ergonomic irritations compared to my previous X5 namely placement of heated steering wheel control, rear auto hatch opener and audio controls on the right side of the steering wheel. Also miss the X5 comfort seats.
Only significant vehicle issue in over 30 years of owning multiple vehicles was a first gen Honda CRV whose transmission failed at 14,000 miles.

[ninoo]

9000 mls since May 2011. Air sensor failed bringing on engine emissions light. Replaced /repaired efficiently by main dealer, otherwise no problems

[Horsedoc67]

15000 mi in 8 mo. and have had nothing go wrong. Not 1 visit to the dealer. I still love the car in every way. I love my Z4 too but it spends more time in the garage since I have the X3(9000 mi in 27 months)

[X34B]

This is great to hear since I just picked up a 12' 28i
Cheers from a fellow Southern Californian!

Originally Posted by Horsedoc67

15000 mi in 8 mo. and have had nothing go wrong. Not 1 visit to the dealer. I still love the car in every way. I love my Z4 too but it spends more time in the garage since I have the X3(9000 mi in 27 months)

[caz681]

All car forums have a disproportionate number of people with problems. Very few people rush to online car forums to post comments with titles like, "My car worked perfectly today!" Well, unless that happens to be a rare occurance.

My 2011 X3 35i has the issue with the engine RPM's surging sometimes immediately after startup, and the sun roof developed a very annoying squeak when it was cold out. I consider these minor issues, particularly since mine is within the first model year of the re-design; and while the wait for the software fix for the engine surge seems to be dragging on, I do expect that to eventually be resolved.

[Fryguy29]

Originally Posted by stactum

Guys,

I've been reading this forum for a while now and have 2013 X3 with N20 ordered, however I'd like to ask current X3 owners to comment on reliability of a car.

My wife has '06 RAV4 and we never had any major issues with the car. X3 suppose to be a replacement for it and I just want to ask how worried should I be about its reliability? It seems every other post has some notes about failing sensors, other things that needs to be fixed.

Consumer reports ranked reliability of X3 above average.
So help me understand, as an owner of X3 should I be expecting trips to the service fairly often?

Thanks for all your help in advance.

I have not had any problems with my 2011 x3. That being said, if you are expecting the reliability of a Toyota, forget it.

[stactum]

Originally Posted by Fryguy29

I have not had any problems with my 2011 x3. That being said, if you are expecting the reliability of a Toyota, forget it.

I think talking about Toyota's reliability nowadays is more perception than real facts. My wife had Corolla that was burning oil at 80K miles and had some body hardware issues. Her RAV4 have had issues too (AWD computer and something else) so I wouldn't say that Toyota stands for reliability necessary.

Having said that, I do understand that BMW are generally more complex cars and potentially more things can to go wrong, but it's great to hear that most people are not having issues with X3.

[MattUK]

5000 Miles in mine.. few rattles that were quickly fixed, but mechanically no problem.. and I've been driving BMW's for years and they are solid and always have been

[Humbug]

Originally Posted by Horsedoc67

15000 mi in 8 mo. and have had nothing go wrong. Not 1 visit to the dealer. I still love the car in every way. I love my Z4 too but it spends more time in the garage since I have the X3(9000 mi in 27 months)

Shouldn't you have had your first service by now?

11,000 miles on mine now in eight months. No problems at all.

[dudley07726]

579 problem free miles so far. Whoopee!

[Ural]

After almost 29000 kms done since August '11, I can say that I am not a big fan of its interior quality or sound insulation, but those are the only complaints I may have. Truck is definitely reliable so far.

[jsbos]

2012 28i with 1600 trouble free miles. I'd rather drive a BMW full of rattles than a Toyota without any...