BMW X3 Owner Asked to Go to Official Dealer due to Risk of Driving by Itself

JAKARTA - BMW North America announced a recall of a number of units of the G45 generation BMW X3 due to a potential serious problem with the steering system. This problem is related to the steering software which in certain conditions can trigger unexpected steering wheel movement, even when the vehicle is stationary.

BMW explained that the steering software system supplied by Robert Bosch was not fully reliable. If one of the two channels on the steering torque sensor fails when the car is not moving, the diagnostic system may fail to detect the condition.

As a result, the steering wheel can move without the driver's command, as reported by Autoevolution, Tuesday, December 23. This problem was first identified on August 22, 2025, during the initial operation of the vehicle at the Spartanburg plant, South Carolina.

The facility is BMW's main production base for its SUV line, including the X4, X5, X6, X7, XM, and the luxury SUV Alpina XB7. Following up on the initial findings, BMW North America began an engineering review on September 1, 2025.

Less than two weeks later, the German manufacturer immediately implemented a stop-shipment order and temporarily closed the assembly line to limit potential risks. In the period from September to October, two initial reports were recorded regarding the unintentional movement of the steering wheel.

However, the number of reports continues to increase and several similar incidents were reported again in November, coinciding with the completion of BMW's internal investigation. As of December 4, 2025, a total of at least 21 cases have been reported to BMW North America.

The affected vehicles are the BMW X3 models of 2025 and 2026 which were produced between August 14, 2024 to October 20, 2025. The recall document has not specified whether all variants of the two model years are affected, or only certain configurations.

As a solution, BMW dealers have been instructed to perform a steering system software update at no cost to vehicle owners or renters. This update will also be available via the over the air (OTA) system.

BMW is scheduled to send an official notification to customers via first-class mail in early February 2026. Outside of the recall issue, the BMW X3 G45 still carries a number of significant improvements.

Even though it still uses the CLAR platform with rear-wheel drive character, the latest generation comes with a more monolithic design, a wider body position, and improved stability. The dimensions are indeed slightly larger than its predecessor, but the air resistance coefficient is actually better.

For the United States market, the BMW X3 is available in 30- and 6-cylinder M50 engine variants, both equipped with xDrive all-wheel drive as standard. This system uses an Active Torque Control transfer case that can deliver up to 50 percent of torque to the front wheels as needed.