Repair manuals and video tutorials on BMW X3

Engine

• Increase of oil consumption rate occurs at even minor overheating of petrol engines; this is caused by deposit buildup on piston rings. Visit a car service station to replace them or remove oil build-up. And our BMW X3 repair step-by-step video tutorials will help you with do-it-yourself oil replacement.
• Engines tend to overheat. Therefore, you need to keep the radiator clean and flush it every two years. If the radiator is leaking, you need to replace it immediately.
• After 70,000 kilometres, severe scoring may appear on camshaft journals in N20 petrol power units installed on X3 (F25). Frequent (every 10,000–15,000 kilometres at most) oil replacement can prevent this – these are the recommendations of most experts.
• The N47 4-cylinder diesel engine is notorious for quick timing chain wear out. To avoid its stretching as soon as by 30,000 kilometres, you should prefer a calm driving style.

Suspension

• Premature wear-out of bushes in upper control arms is specific for the rear suspension.
• The steering rack may start to rattle as the car mileage reaches 100,000 kilometres. This problem, as well as the one mentioned above, can only be solved by replacing the components.

Lighting

• Plastic headlight lenses tend to crack and become foggy. You can cover them with a protective film to avoid these defects.
• Corrosion of a circuit board is an often problem for LED lights installed on the rear door. Broken lighting units are replaced in an assembly. You can easily perform DIY repair and maintenance of your BMW X3 at home if you follow our step-by-step manuals.

Transmission

• Common issues are the short working lifespan of the front propeller shaft and fragile transfer case housing, particularly on E83 cars produced before the facelift.
• Transfer case elements on X-Drive all-wheel-drive versions corrode quickly. If this happens, you’ll notice jerks and vibration in this unit as soon as after 50,000 kilometres.
• Automatic transmissions are very demanding. They are sensitive to high engine rotation speed and minor overheating, and especially to soiled transmission oil. It is better to replace it every 40,000 to 60,000 kilometres. You can perform this task easily with our illustrated PDF manual on BMW X3 repair. It is available for free download.

Body

• Roof bars, door handles, painted bumper elements may lose their attractive appearance very soon.
• Plastic underbody elements and mudguards are very sensitive to dirt and thawing agents.
• Aluminium door sill covers corrode prematurely.
• The windscreen is quite fragile. It is very important to use only high-quality windscreen wiper blades and replace them in due time. You can rely on AUTODOC CLUB assistance in this matter: we’ve prepared a whole list of BMW X3 repair and maintenance manuals; they include a detailed video tutorial on installing new windscreen wiper blades.