Buying Advice BMW X3 (F25) 2010 – 2017 Common Issues Engines Inspection

Hi everyone, welcome at another buyers review, today we will focus on the second generation X3 that was launched in 2010 and run until 2017. The X3 is the smaller alternative to the X5 which the SUV from BMW. For those that are interested, I already reviewed the X5 and X6 on this channel. For this video I will focus on the second generation of the BMW X3 with the internal code F25. The first generation with the internal code E83, I did not make a video about that generation yet, please leave me a message in the comments if you want a buyers review on the E83 as well, that generation ran from 2004 until 2010.

Now let’s focus on the second generation and its reliability in this video.

In 2014 there was a facelift of the F25 and BMW stated this as the life cycle improvement, LCI for short. There are plenty of petrol and diesel engines to choose from, this could be a long distance cruiser on the weekdays and a small SUV and family car in the weekend. Driving capabilities on road are pretty good, off-road capabilities are non existence, this is a typical example of a lifestyle SUV. Natural competitors for the X3 are the Volvo XC60, the Audi Q5 and Mercedes GLK. Reviews on these competitors will come in the near future.

Lets start with the diesels, it is vital to try to prevent short distance trips as much as possible. This is never a good thing for a diesel engine. These engines need a longer time to warm up and short trips will polute the engine. It is vital to sometimes rev the diesels a bit higher to blow out soot. The two liter diesel engine in the X3 can suffer from a disconnected air hose to the air mass flow meter.

Another part that can fail on these cars are the thermostats and waterpumps, so keep a close eye on the temperature of the car. Luckely the parts to replace are not expensive but it takes some time to replace them so the hourly rate of the mechanic can make this expensive if done at the garage.

The four cylinder petrol engines have a chain tentioner of the engine. When this chain is worn out it is noticeable by a wining sound that changes when reving the engine. This could be expensive to fix and from 2015 onwards, so for the facelift, these issues should be dealt with. Or at least BMW made this chain more reliable. This could be a good reason to pick the facelift instead

When you go to the automatic transmission, the ZF, it is good to flush the gearbox once and a while, lets say every 100.000 KM. ZF and BMW claim that these gearboxes are maintenance free for life, but if you want to prolonge its life it is good to flush out dirt and tiny metal parts to stay ahead of problems.

Stock/factory alarm system can cause issues, you can either replace the system by an aftermarket system or make sure you have the code to deactivate the alarm in case of issues. Alarms could go off without any reason, this could be embarrassing.

Then two more issues when it comes to the chassis, this being a heavier car then lets say a 3 or 4-series, tires and brakes will wear down faster then you would expect, so put some money asside for repairs or replacements.

Also all four cylinders, either diesel of petrol can suffer from failing breaksystems due to a failing vacumpump for the brake distribution system.There been a recall for this by BMW, check if your car have had this recall done.

Hope this buyers review was useful and if so, subscribe to my channel for future buyers reviews. Thanks for watching.