2004 BMW X3 seats problems
Owners reported seats problems in 33 complaints for the 2004 BMW X3, 18% of the complaints on file. It is the 2nd most reported problem area for this model year.
At a glance
- Complaints
- 33 18% of this year's complaints
- Typical mileage
- 77,000 miles 28 complaints with mileage
- Crashes and fires
- 0 and 11
- Injuries and deaths
- 11 and 0
Source: NHTSA owner complaints
When seats problems show up
View the numbers
| Mileage | Complaints |
|---|---|
| 0k to 20k miles | 3 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 1 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 1 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 10 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 5 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 2 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 1 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 4 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 0 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 0 |
| 200k+ miles | 1 |
What the data shows
Of the 28 seats complaints that report mileage, the median is about 77,000 miles, and 18% were reported before 60,000 miles.
These complaints mention 11 fires, 11 injuries.
What owners wrote
Tl*- the contact stated that whiled driving on the morning of 01/17/06, the thermostat on her seats turned on high. The contact stated that she smelled something burning and pulled to the side of the road. She then turned off the heater in the vehicle and opened the hood of the vehicle. The contact stated that she found nothing wrong. She got back in the vehicle and started driving without the car heater on. The contact stated that about 1/2 mile later she felt burning on her legs.
The heated seat malfunctioned and burnt a hole in the leather seat. This easily could have caused a fire, had I not turned off the heated seat immediately. The heater must have shorted out. The spot where the short occurred, on the side bolster in the seat bottom, gets very hot and burned the leather.
Other problems reported for the 2004 BMW X3
- Air bags 33 complaints
- Electrical system 20 complaints
- Engine 16 complaints