VehicleVerdict

2020 BMW X4 problems

Verdict · NHTSA data

Limited data — recalls on file

NHTSA has just 23 complaints on file for the 2020 BMW X4 — too few to judge reliability from owner reports alone — but 10 recall campaigns apply to this year, so any used example should have its VIN checked for completed recall work.

23

NHTSA complaints

10

Recalls

0

Investigations

2

Crash-involved

0

Fires reported

0

Injuries

0

Deaths

NCAP overall

How does 2020 compare to other X4 years?

X4 NHTSA complaints by model year, 2020 highlighted30 complaints2014: 0 complaints2015: 30 complaints2016: 16 complaints2017: 8 complaints2018: 19 complaints2019: 12 complaints2020: 23 complaints2021: 7 complaints2022: 4 complaints2023: 10 complaints2024: 3 complaints2025: 0 complaints2026: 0 complaints
X4 NHTSA complaints by model year, 2020 highlighted. Red bars are years to avoid.

See all X4 years to avoid →

What are the most common 2020 BMW X4 problems?

ComponentComplaintsShare
Airbags313%
Other313%
Electrical System313%
Suspension313%
Seat Belts29%
Driver Assistance29%
Lighting14%
Seats14%
Steering14%
Body & Structure14%
Engine14%
Tires & Wheels14%
Transmission14%

Does the 2020 BMW X4 have recalls?

10 NHTSA recall campaigns on file. Recall repairs are free at franchised dealers.

25V636000Electrical SystemSeptember 23, 2025 · 199,674 units

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.

Consequence

A short circuit in the starter relay may increase the risk of a fire.

Remedy

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 will be searchable on NHTSA.gov beginning November 14, 2025.

21V598000EngineAugust 2, 2021 · 50,024 units

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.

Consequence

Loss of braking assist can increase the risk of a crash.

Remedy

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.

21V096000Driver AssistanceFebruary 19, 2021 · 13,858 units

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 xDrive50i, X6 M50i, X6M, 530i, 530i xDrive, 540i, 540i xDrive, M550i xDrive, M5, 740i, 740Li, 740Li xDrive, M760i Drive, M760Li xDrive, 750Li xDrive Alpina, Alpina B7 xDrive, and 2021 4 Series Coupe 430i, 430i xDrive, M440i xDrive vehicles. When shifting into Reverse, a small portion of the rearview image may be obscured, or the screen may not illuminate. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 111, "Rear Visibility."

Consequence

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.

Remedy

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.

20V598000Driver AssistanceSeptember 30, 2020 · 312 units

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."

Consequence

If the driver relies on only the rearview camera image, the reduced rearview image view can increase the risk of a crash or injury.

Remedy

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.

20V355000SteeringJune 15, 2020 · 2,779 units

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.

Consequence

A damaged or fractured tie rod may affect vehicle handling and control, increasing the risk of a crash.

Remedy

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.

20V164000Seat BeltsMarch 19, 2020 · 3,316 units

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.

Consequence

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.

Remedy

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.

20V152000AirbagsMarch 18, 2020 · 15 units

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.

Consequence

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.

Remedy

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.

19V738000SteeringOctober 16, 2019 · 20 units

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.

Consequence

A loss of steering control increases risk of a crash.

Remedy

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.

19V684000Driver AssistanceSeptember 27, 2019 · 257,473 units

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, 2018-2019 640i xDrive Gran Turismo and Rolls-Royce Phantom, 2019 M850i xDrive Gran Coupe and Rolls-Royce Cullinan and 2020 Toyota Supra vehicles. The back-up camera and display settings can be adjusted such that the rear view image is no longer visible and the system will retain that setting the next time the vehicle is placed in reverse. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 111, "Rearview Mirrors."

Consequence

The lack of an image in the back-up camera display increases the risk of a crash.

Remedy

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.

19V678000SuspensionSeptember 25, 2019 · 368 units

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.

Consequence

Broken swivel bearings can cause a loss of vehicle control, increasing the risk of a crash.

Remedy

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.

Consumer complaints filed with NHTSA

Representative excerpts, cleaned of personal information. These are consumer statements, not verified defects.

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…

Complaint filed with NHTSA · Suspension · November 21, 2023

ON JUNE 21, 2020, ON A CITY STREET. MY WHITE BMW WAS TRAVELING WESTWARD AND A BLACK BMW WAS TRAVELING SOUTHBOUND. THE BLACK BMW RAN ITS RED LIGHT TO MY GREEN LIGHT. WHEN WE COLLIDED IN THE INTERSECTION THE COMPLETE FRONT END OF MY WHITE BMW IMPACTED THE BLACK BMW DRIVER'S SIDE, FROM APPROXIMATELY…

Complaint filed with NHTSA · Other · June 21, 2020 · crash

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.

Complaint filed with NHTSA · Electrical System · February 17, 2026

ON JUNE 21, 2020, ON A CITY STREET. MY WHITE BMW WAS TRAVELING WESTWARD AND A BLACK BMW WAS TRAVELING SOUTHBOUND. THE BLACK BMW RAN ITS RED LIGHT TO MY GREEN LIGHT. WHEN WE COLLIDED IN THE INTERSECTION THE COMPLETE FRONT END OF MY WHITE BMW IMPACTED THE BLACK BMW DRIVER'S SIDE, FROM APPROXIMATELY…

Complaint filed with NHTSA · Airbags · June 21, 2020 · crash

I own the car since brand new from dealership and never have incident. Couple weeks ago, started having issues with digital main instruments panel. Suddenly when I turn on the car in the morning the dash simply does not work. I got alert saying one the safety system is malfunctioning but not say…

Complaint filed with NHTSA · Driver Assistance · November 1, 2023

2020 BMW X4 — common questions

Is the 2020 BMW X4 reliable?

The record is thin — 23 NHTSA complaints — so owner-report data can't strongly confirm reliability either way, though 10 recalls should be verified as completed.

What are the most common 2020 X4 problems?

According to NHTSA complaint data, the leading problem areas are airbags (3 complaints), electrical system (3 complaints), suspension (3 complaints).

Does the 2020 BMW X4 have recalls?

Yes — NHTSA lists 10 recall campaigns affecting the 2020 BMW X4. Recall repairs are free at franchised dealers; check the VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls to confirm the work was done.

Which BMW X4 years should you avoid?

Based on complaint rates and open investigations, the X4 years to avoid are 2015, 2018, 2016, 2017. The cleanest record among X4 years belongs to 2026.

Related

Based on NHTSA ODI data through June 2026. Complaints are consumer-reported and unverified. Updated July 5, 2026.

Compiled by Sharon Ben-Moshe, Founder.