2020 Bmw X4 problems, complaints & recalls
Most-reported problem areas: Seat Belts (2) · Electrical System (2) · Wheels (1)
🧭 Reliability snapshot
Compared against other Bmw X4 model years — complaint volume vs the model's median year, recalls and severity. How we score →
Safety recalls (10)
Electrical System:starter Assembly:relay 2025-09-23 · campaign 25V636000 · 199,674 vehicles ⚠ PARK OUTSIDE
Defect: BMW of North America, LLC (BMW) is recalling certain 2019-2021 BMW 330i, 2019-2022 BMW Z4, 2020-2022 BMW 530i, X3, X4, Toyota Supra, 2021-2022 BMW 430i, 430i Convertible, and 2022 BMW 230i vehicles. The engine starter relay may corrode, causing the relay to overheat and short circuit.
Risk: A short circuit in the starter relay may increase the risk of a fire.
Fix: Owners are advised to park their vehicles outside and away from structures until the remedy is complete. Dealers will replace the engine starter, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed February 6, 2026. Owners may contact BMW customer service at 1-800-525-7417. Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) involved in this recall became searchable on NHTSA.gov November 14, 2025.
Engine 2021-08-02 · campaign 21V598000 · 50,024 vehicles
Defect: BMW of North America, LLC (BMW) is recalling certain 2020 M340i, M340i xDrive, 540i, 540i xDrive, X3 M40i, 2020-2021 X4 M40i, 745Le xDrive, 2019-2021 Z4 M40i, and 2020-2021 Toyota Supra vehicles. During engine start, the engine management software may cause loss of braking assist. Full mechanical braking (without assist) remains available.
Risk: Loss of braking assist can increase the risk of a crash.
Fix: Dealers will update the engine management software, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed on September 17, 2021. Owners may contact BMW customer service at 1-800-525-7417.
Back Over Prevention:software 2021-02-19 · campaign 21V096000 · 13,858 vehicles
Defect: BMW of North America, LLC (BMW) is recalling certain 2019-2021 X3 sDrive30i, X3 xDrive30i, X3 M40i, X3M, X4 xDrive30i, X4 M40i, M550i, X4M, X5 sDrive40i, X5 xDrive40i, X5 xDrive50i, X5M, X5 M50i, X7 xDrive40i, X7 xDrive50i, X7 M50i, Alpina XB7, 330i, 330i xDrive, M340i, M340i xDrive, and 8 Series Coupe, Convertible and Grand Coupe, 840i, 840i xDrive, M850i xDrive, M8, 2020-2021 530e, 530e xDrive, 330e, 330e xDrive, 745Le, 745Le xDrive, X5 xDrive45e, X3 xDrive30e, X6 sDrive40i, X6 xDrive40i, X6 x
Risk: If the driver relies on only the rearview camera image, the missing or reduced rearview image view can increase the risk of a crash or injury.
Fix: BMW will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the rearview camera software and update it if necessary, free of charge. The recall began April 16, 2021. Owners may contact BMW customer service at 1-800-525-7417.
Back Over Prevention: Sensing System: Camera 2020-09-30 · campaign 20V598000 · 312 vehicles
Defect: BMW of North America, LLC (BMW) is recalling certain 2020-2021 X3 sDrive 30i, X3 xDrive 30i, X3M 40i, X3 xDrive 30e, X4 xDrive 30i, X4M 40i, 530i, 540i, 540i xDrive, M550i xDrive, M5, 550e, 550e xDrive, and 550e iPerformance vehicles. A small portion of the rearview image may be slightly obscured. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 111, "Rear Visibility."
Risk: If the driver relies on only the rearview camera image, the reduced rearview image view can increase the risk of a crash or injury.
Fix: BMW will notify owners, and dealers will inspect and, if necessary, program the rearview camera with updated software. The recall began November 18, 2020. Owners may contact BMW customer service at 1-800-525-7417.
Steering:linkages:tie Rod Assembly 2020-06-15 · campaign 20V355000 · 2,779 vehicles
Defect: BMW of North America, LLC (BMW) is recalling certain 2019 Z4 sDrive30i, 2019-2020 330i xDrive, M340i and M340i xDrive, 2020 X3M and X4M, and Toyota Supra vehicles. In certain driving conditions, such as high temperatures and rough road surfaces, a steering gear tie rod may become damaged, possibly resulting in a fractured tie rod.
Risk: A damaged or fractured tie rod may affect vehicle handling and control, increasing the risk of a crash.
Fix: BMW and Toyota will notify owners, and dealers will replace the steering gear tie rods, free of charge. The recall began August 14, 2020. Owners may contact BMW customer service at 1-800-525-7417 or Toyota customer service at 1-888-270-9371.
Seat Belts:pretensioner 2020-03-19 · campaign 20V164000 · 3,316 vehicles
Defect: BMW of North America, LLC (BMW) is recalling certain 2020 X3 xDrive30e, X4 xDrive30i, X4 M40i, X4M, 330i, 330i xDrive, M340i, 840i Gran Coupe, 840i xDrive Gran Coupe, M850i xDrive Gran Coupe, M8 Gran Coupe, X3 sDrive30i, X3 xDrive30i, X3 M40i, X3M, and 840i xDrive Convertible vehicles. The sensors in the front seat belt buckles may inaccurately detect a belted occupant as unbelted, possibly causing the air bag and seat belt pretensioners to deploy improperly in the event of a crash.
Risk: If the air bag and/or seat belt pretensioners deploy improperly in the event of a crash, there is an increased risk of injury to the driver and front passenger.
Fix: BMW will notify owners, and dealers will inspect and replace the front seat belt buckles, as necessary, free of charge. The recall began May 18, 2020. Owners may contact BMW customer service at 1-800-525-7417.
Air Bags:frontal:passenger Side:inflator Module 2020-03-18 · campaign 20V152000 · 15 vehicles
Defect: BMW of North America, LLC (BMW) is recalling certain 2019-2020 X4 xDrive30i and X4 M40i, and 2018-2020 X3 sDrive30i, X3 xDrive30i, X3 M40i, and X3M vehicles. The instrument panel casing may not have been tightened properly to the passenger air bag.
Risk: In the event of a crash necessitating air bag deployment, the air bag could damage the instrument panel and cause small pieces of the panel to strike the driver or other occupants, increasing the risk of injury.
Fix: BMW will notify owners, and dealers will replace the instrument panel casing, free of charge. The recall began May 15, 2020. Owners may contact BMW customer service at 1-800-525-7417.
Steering:rack And Pinion:pinion Shaft 2019-10-16 · campaign 19V738000 · 20 vehicles
Defect: BMW of North America, LLC (BMW) is recalling certain 2020 BMW X3 M40i and X4 M40i vehicles. The steering rack pinion teeth may break under load, resulting in a loss of steering control.
Risk: A loss of steering control increases risk of a crash.
Fix: BMW has notified owners, and dealers will replace the steering gear, free of charge. The recall began October 9, 2019. Owners may contact BMW customer service at 1-800-525-7417.
Back Over Prevention: Sensing System: Camera 2019-09-27 · campaign 19V684000 · 257,473 vehicles
Defect: BMW of North America, LLC (BMW) is recalling certain 2018 540d, 2018-2020 530i, 530i xDrive, 540i, 540i xDrive, M550i xDrive, M5, 530e, 530e xDrive, X3 sDrive, X3 xDrive, X3 M40i, X3 M, and 2019-2020 X4 xDrive, X4 M40i, X4 M, X7 xDrive, X7 M50i, 740Li, 740Li xDrive, 750Li, 750Li xDrive, 8 Series Convertible and Coupe 840i, 840i xDrive, M850i xDrive, X5 sDrive, X5 xDrive, X5 M50i, X6 xDrive, X6 M50i, 330i, 330i xDrive, M340i, M340i xDrive, Z4 sDrive, Z4 M40i, 740Le xDrive and 745Le xDrive, 2018-2
Risk: The lack of an image in the back-up camera display increases the risk of a crash.
Fix: BMW will notify owners, and dealers will update the back-up camera software, free of charge. The recall began November 8, 2019. Owners may contact BMW customer service at 1-800-525-7417 or Rolls-Royce at 1-877-877-3735. Toyota owners may contact Toyota customer service at 1-888-270-9371.
Suspension:front 2019-09-25 · campaign 19V678000 · 368 vehicles ⚠ DO NOT DRIVE
Defect: BMW of North America, LLC (BMW) is recalling certain 2020 X3 sDrive30i, X3 xDrive30i, and X3 M40i vehicles, X4 xDrive30i, and X4 M40i vehicles. The front axle swivel bearings may not have been properly heat treated during manufacturing, reducing their strength and possibly causing them to break.
Risk: Broken swivel bearings can cause a loss of vehicle control, increasing the risk of a crash.
Fix: BMW has notified owners and instructed them to not drive their vehicles. Dealers will replace the front axle swivel bearings, free of charge. Owners may contact BMW customer service at 1-800-525-7417.
Service bulletins (250)
Technical service bulletins are repair instructions manufacturers send dealers for known issues. Unlike recalls, the fix is not automatically free — but naming the bulletin at the service desk can save diagnosis time and support goodwill repairs.
Structure:body 2026-08-28 · B010226DCS · Other
bmw notice of the court’s final approval for shark-fin antenna settlement (x3, x4, x5, x6, x7)
Structure:body 2026-08-25 · B010226 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
rear roof antenna shark fin cover sealing issue
Engine 2026-08-03 · B010921 · Warranty Program/Extension
the nvld limited emissionrelated warranty for defects in materials or workmanship has been extended to 15 years/150,000 miles as determined from the original in-service date.
Engine 2026-07-17 · B110426 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
the manual starting of electronic engine oil level measurement from inside the vehicle, usually afterperforming an engine oil service task, is inoperative or it may lock up at between a 15% to 30% completionrate.
Electrical System 2026-07-10 · B840226 · Service Campaign
once the telematics module (tcb2) enters sleep mode, a bmw data services trigger for remote services(remote engine start, lock/unlock/climate conditioning) will not be able to reactivate the tcb2. due to this issue, remote services will not function in the vehicle when parked and locked.
Engine 2026-06-29 · B010324 · Warranty Program/Extension
the evap systems purge (vent) valve limited warranty for defects in materials and / or workmanship has been extended to 15 years / 150,000 miles as determined from the original first in-service / delivery date.
Showing the 6 most recent of 250 bulletins. Search all of them free at nhtsa.gov.
What owners report
2026-09-01 · Electrical System“on 8/31/2026 this 2020 bmw x4 was serviced at an authorized dealer (bmw of tyler) to execute the remedy for official nhtsa safety recall campaign 25v-636 (engine starter relay fire risk). incident description: within minutes of picking up the vehicle post-repair and entering an active roadway, the vehicle suffered an immediate, un-warned, total los…”
2026-06-09 · Wheels“i am filing a safety complaint for my 2020 bmw x4, vin [xxx]. the vehicle recently began making a noticeable noise while turning. i reported this to an authorized bmw dealer before/during service and requested review for possible front-end, steering, suspension, axle, swivel bearing, tie rod, thrust rod, or vehicle-control safety issues. the dealer…”
2026-03-10 · Structure:body“-electrical damage due to leak. water entered through the roof shark fin antenna, leading to corrosion /severe water damage to the telematics communication box module. -failure of bmw emergency sos call system, gps, and microphone/ voice for hands-free access. -warning notification on dashboard "emergency sos malfunction" -vehicle taken to bmw ce…”
2026-02-17 · Electrical System“the contact owns a 2020 bmw x4. the contact received notification of nhtsa campaign number: 25v636000 (electrical system). the local dealer was contacted, but the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. the manufacturer was not notified of the issue. the contact had not experienced a failure.…”
2026-01-03 · Suspension“i am filing a complaint regarding what i believe is a manufacturer defect in my bmw vehicle. during a recent visit to an authorized bmw dealership for a routine oil change, i was informed that the front tension joints (tension struts) must be replaced because the rubber bushings/gaskets are cracked and leaking fluid. my vehicle has fewer than 33,0…”
2025-09-19 · Seats“i went to the car wash and when i turned my car back on it stated the the driver's restraints system malfunction.…”
2025-07-07 · Engine“the oil filter housing on my bmw x4 failed randomly while parked over night causing my vehicle to be depleted off coolant. if you want to inspect the part you will have to reach out to bmw of columbus for documentation and i can provide the record for repair once complete.this caused my vehicle to be immobilized. if my vehicle had been on the road …”
2024-11-20 · Seat Belts“seatbelt driver restraint malfunctioning light came on . …”
2024-06-21 · Seat Belts · 42,000 mi“the contact owns a 2020 bmw x4. the contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the "restrain system fault" message was displayed. no warning lights were illuminated. the vehicle was taken to the dealer, who diagnosed a failure with the driver's side seat belt. the vehicle was not repaired. after investigating the failure, the contac…”
2024-02-14 · Unknown Or Other“my bmw x4m competition 2020 has pop off a sign that said chassis possible continue driving . it put me in sport suspension and it off traction mode . it is very dangerous for me to drive because in a snow or rainy day it very slippery and sometime i almost cash because slip indicators turn on . i cannot turn it off to drive safe and vehicle drive v…”
Excerpts of consumer complaints filed with NHTSA, lightly truncated. They are owner statements, not verified findings.