2024 BMW X3

Rear cross traffic alert safety feature does not work as advertised and is poorly implemented on my 2024 BMW X3. It sometimes will give a visual or visual & audio indication but this is a very rare occurrence and is dangerous. By the time an alert is generated an accident will have occurred. It does not detect pedestrians walking behind the vehicle. It cannot be relied on and it's as if the vehicle does not have this common safety feature. My dealer was sympathetic but stated this is normal operation for this vehicle and other BMWs as well.

My vehicle doesn't warn me about rear cross-traffic or it stops for emergency. I paid for this option. Delaer checked the system and reassured me that everything is working. I have to backup to a busy street a few times a day and this system is not protecting me and I am afraid that I will get into a crash. I had several close calls and I am afraid of a crash with this system.

PROBLEM: I recently had incidents when the RAB (rear automatic brake) on the 2024 BMW X-3 vehicle DID NOT WORK on multiple. The vehicle never stopped as I backed out of my parking space and almost hit a pedestrian while simply rolling in reverse. Afterwards my husband, who had a similar incident with his BMW 540i, tested the RAB by perpendicularly slowly walking behind the car. He had to run out of the way when the vehicle was continuing to move when approximately 12” from me. I tested both vehicles, 540i & X-3, with the same results.  As a further test I placed a plastic figure that’s ordinarily used a warning to drivers of children playing in the area. Results while slowly backing was that the vehicle hit (bumped) the little green “man”. He previously did the same tests on 2024 540i, VIN [XXX] , with the exact same results. BMW of Wesley Chapel had no solution. We spoke with managers Doonan and Hernandez. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

After verifying that the vehicle is equipped with front amd rear cross traffic audio and visual alert features, I brought the car to the dealer because it was not showing any cross traffic alerts. They could not find any issues with the sensors, not could they explain why it was not working after checking that all of the configuration settings are correct. Only very close proximity detection of objects works, which confirms that the sensors do indeed function (e.g., coming close to a building or a person). The BMW user manual and video overview for this X3 vehicle confirm how it should work, but it does not function at all. You can see the cross-traffic functional overview in the BMW mobile application. This important safety feature does not work as represented by BMW, not can the certified dealer correct the problem.

There are no audible alerts and insufficient visual alerts to indicate when cross traffic is approaching from the rear left or rear right of the vehicle while backing up. The functionality only works when there is a blind spot to the immediate right or left of the vehicle. This is inconsistent with the industry standard. The current vehicle is a 2024 BMW X3 model year. However, in comparison to three other vehicles we operate which are all 2016 model years and poses this technology, it makes driving the 2024 BMW X3 a concern. We have reported this to our dealer, who has indicated the vehicle is operating as designed. This is contradictory to the lead technician at our dealership, who maintained that there should be a clear audible alert to accompany the minimal visual alert on the screen.