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What 3 owners told NHTSA about the 2013 BMW 320xi

These are the actual owner complaints behind this car’s reliability verdict, filed with the federal government, unedited. They’re unverified reports, not confirmed defects: read them as leads for your pre-purchase inspection, not a diagnosis.

All (3)Airbags (1)Body & structure (1)Engine (1)

Newest first · 3 complaints

Nov 26, 2019Engine

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2013 BMW 320XI. WHILE THE VEHICLE WAS AT A STOP, SMOKE AND AN ABNORMAL BURNING ODOR WERE DETECTED. ALSO, THE CHECK ENGINE WARNING INDICATOR WAS ILLUMINATED. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO WIDE WORLD BMW (125 EAST ROUTE 59, SPRING VALLEY, NY 10977, 877-817-1952) WHERE IT WAS DIAGNOSED THAT THE OIL COVER HOUSING GASKET AND VALVE COVER GASKET WERE LEAKING OIL. THE VEHICLE WAS REPAIRED, BUT THE FAILURE RECURRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT CONTACTED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 15,000.

NHTSA ODI 11282404

Apr 11, 2018Body & structure

AFTER DRIVING THE CAR AND PUTTING IT INTO PARK AND TURNING OFF THE ENGINE; I AM NOT ABLE TO OPEN THE DRIVER SIDE DOOR. WHEN I PROCEED TO PULL THE DOOR HANDLE THE DRIVER SIDE DOOR SHOULD OPEN, BUT THE LOCK GOES UP BRIEFLY AS I PULL THE INSIDE DOOR LEVER, AND AS I RELEASE THE LEVER THE DOOR GOES BACK TO LOCK. THUS I AM LEFT TRAPPED INSIDE MY CAR WITHOUT BEING ABLE TO GET OUT OF THE DRIVER SIDE DOOR.

NHTSA ODI 11084657

Nov 15, 2016Airbags

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2013 BMW 320XI. THE CONTACT RECEIVED NOTIFICATION OF NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 16V071000 (AIR BAGS); HOWEVER, THE PART TO DO THE REPAIR WAS UNAVAILABLE. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE MANUFACTURER EXCEEDED A REASONABLE AMOUNT OF TIME FOR THE RECALL REPAIR. THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE ISSUE. THE CONTACT HAD NOT EXPERIENCED A FAILURE. PARTS DISTRIBUTION DISCONNECT.

NHTSA ODI 10926162

Working with the data? Download all 3 complaints as CSV · fetched from NHTSA July 28, 2026

How to use these: a complaint is one owner’s report, filed voluntarily and published unverified. Patterns matter more than any single story. If several owners describe the same failure at similar mileage, put that system at the top of your pre-purchase inspection list. Back to the full 2013 BMW 320xi verdict →