Woman Warns Against Buying This Car If You Are A Texan—She Says It 'Melted’: ‘What’s A Good SUV That Won't Melt On Me???’

A Texas woman claims parts of her BMW X3 are “melting” from the heat, and she needs new car-buying advice ASAP.

TikTok creator Ellie Peterson (@elliepeterson3) posted a video from inside the BMW X3 in question. “So, I’m officially due for a new car,” she says to start the video. “My car is falling apart, and I don’t recommend BMW because it has completely melted in the Dallas heat.”

Is The Dallas Heat ‘Melting’ This Woman’s BMW X3?

Anyone living in Dallas right now knows that North Texas is currently in the midst of an extremely hot summer. Temperatures were expected to reach between 102 and 105 degrees on Monday, and it could get even hotter as the week progresses. 

Apparently, that heat is taking a toll on Peterson’s BMW. She dips her hand into the interior door handle and shows viewers the results. “The black comes off on your hands,” she says. "Every single time I get in my car—on both sides. So, don’t recommend.”

In the caption, Peterson wrote, “Help, what’s a good SUV that won’t melt on me?”

Gallery: BMW X3 2025

Source: BMW

The ‘Sticky’ BMW X3 Interior Door Handle

YouTuber Chesapeake Motorwerks posted a video on this exact issue two years ago. The video is titled, “How to Replace Sticky BMW X3 Interior Door Handles.” The person behind the channel explains that the soft material the handle is made from appears to degrade over time, and that can cause a black residue to appear on your hands after touching it.

In order to avoid doing a more intensive replacement that would require taking off the entire door panel, the YouTuber recommends putting an aftermarket part on top of the original handle. Installation takes only a few seconds, and the part is considerably cheaper than the original, he says.

This also seems to be something of a legacy issue with BMW, because other owners online have posted about other parts of the door handle on other models melting as well. There are also melting fix covers that fit different BMW interior door pull handles.

If Not BMW, What Car Should Peterson Buy?

In the comments section of the video, viewers weighed in on the BMW X3’s “melting” door handle and offered suggestions of what cars Peterson should look into next.

“The same thing happened to my sister’s BMW in high school (we’re also from Dallas),” one person wrote.

“You can literally just replace those parts,” a second person said. “Holy moly," Peterson replied, “I’m just a girl.”

“Just park in a garage,” another person suggested. Peterson responded that she does already park in a garage as much as possible.

Motor1 contacted Peterson and BMW via email for comment. We will update this story if they respond.