This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.
So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.
Passenger doors would not unlock. All passengers needed to exit through the drivers door. This would be a safety issue if in an accident and passengers could not open door to exit vehicle.
The contact owns a 2006 BMW 325I. The contact stated that the electronic key fob failed to unlock the vehicle. The contact stated that the door had to be opened manually however the front and rear drivers side doors failed to open manually. The failure occurred on one occasion. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 123,000.
Door locks stopped working, couldn't get in or out of car or open the gas door. Replaced fuse #57 and now 3 of 4 locks are working. After doing online research I've found this is a very common problem on these cars and it is unsafe as I would not have been able to get out of the car if there was an emergency. It seems that this problem is so common that it would warrant a recall.
Rear door lock actuator would not allow rear door to open. Had fixed and then drivers door actuator failed and would not open. Could not get out of vehicle.
Vehicle electric door locks (actuators) do not operate properly. Unable to exit driver's door from inside of vehicle by pulling handle. If there was a crash and/or fire, there would be no way to exit quickly. Common problem with this vehicle according to BMW forum in the internet (bimmerpost).
- Montello, WI, USA
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Doors will not unlock from remote key or unlock button inside car or from doors handle inside or outside car and will trap passengers inside. Only driver side door opens with door key. Doors can not be locked from remote key except driver side door. Totally unsafe to drive for chance getting trapped inside car. No manual door open feature exists.
I was parking and turned off the car and was not able to open the driver's side door. Usually I just need to pull the handle twice and it opens but this time it would not open. I tried the electric remote to unlock the doors and it did not affect the locks. I tried the passenger door and it did not open either. I had to exit the car from the back doors. I determined a fuse was blown and replaced the 15A fuse with a 20A fuse as recommended by the BMW forum and it now works fine. The concern is if I had to exit the car from the front doors, I would have been trapped.
The rear door lock is not working - the handles do not open the door from the inside - the lock actuator is faulty and needs to be replaced again. So far I have had the front door lock actuators and the rear driver side actuators replaced. BMW will not fix the actuators even though the part has been changed out before, is a known issue, and the actuators have been superseded two times by BMW.
The contact owns a 2006 BMW 325I. The contact stated that all of the doors in the vehicle were locked and could not be opened. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where the technician diagnosed that the electric lock switch was defective and needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure and current mileage was 97,000.
My door lock actuator failed in the garage and I have not been able to open the doors either from outside or inside. It would have been dangerous if this had happened when the vehicle was occupied and there was an accident.
The door locks would not unlock from inside the vehicle using the central door unlock/lock button, key or manual door handle. Had this been an emergency would not have been able to escape quickly. Had to open window, reach outside and use the manual key to open door lock. There should be a recall on this known safety defect.
Yesterday, the doors on my 2006 325I wouldn't unlock with the key fob. I used the actual key to enter the car and the central locking/unlocking button does not unlock the doors. The door to the gas tank is also locked. There is no way to unlock any of the passenger doors which poses a safety hazard. In reading through online forums, this is a common problem that should be addressed by BMW. Thank you.
I went to pick up my daughter from marching band practice on a Saturday afternoon. When I pulled into the parking lot at her high school and got out, I went to lock the doors. I heard a strange sound and noticed that the drivers doors were locked, the passengers doors were unlocked. The key fob would not work anymore on any of the doors but would work on the trunk. I got in the front passenger door and crawled over to the driver side and tried the door and it would not open from the inside. The central lock button also would not work. I crawled out and tried the drivers side door with the key. It did unlock with the key. None of the other doors would respond from the inside. After I got the drivers side door to unlock with the key, my key fob would work on the drivers side door only. Because my kids decided to "help mom" by pushing the locks down manually - now all of the doors are locked and won't budge except the drivers side. I effectively can't use the car for anyone except myself because no one can enter - and more importantly exit from the car except for crawling over seats. This is a dangerous situation. There should be someone way to open the doors manually. Judging by the number of complaints - BMW is aware of this issue but chooses not to issue a recall.
Power door locks failed. No way to open passenger door even with internal handle. Passenger trapped and had to crawl over to driver's seat. Would be a catastrophe in an accident.
Door locks malfunctioned and driver became locked in car. Door locks could not be disengaged inside the car with keys, internal buttons, or door handles.
The contact owns a 2006 BMW 325xi. The contact stated that he was unable to open any of the vehicle doors, other than the driver side, by using the key fob or manually. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who diagnosed that one of the lock mechanisms was defective and the sensor was not strong enough as a result both the lock mechanism and sensor needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure who did not offer any assistance. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure and the current mileage was 76,000. Updated 06/06/12 the consumer stated the same failure occurred to the fuel door, rendering him unable to fuel the car. Updated 06/07/12
Vehicle locks do not respond to unlock or lock command from key fob or from car unlock/lock switch. Hazardous problem, potential life risk for children.
Door actuator has failed to work. Alarm also being effected. Known problem to manufacturer, BMW. Saftey concern if unable to exit vehicle in case of emergency.
My passengers and I were trying to get back into my parked car, but when I used my key fob to unlock the doors only the passenger doors unlocked while the driver's door didn't. I tried to unlock the driver's door by using the lock/ unlock button located in the car. This did not work, and it locked the passenger doors again. I then tried to unlock the doors simultaneously by trying the key fob and the manual lock/ unlock button inside of the car a few more times, but none of the doors unlocked this time. We all heard the car attempting to lock and unlock, but the locks were not moving. I wasn't able to unlock any of the doors with the key fob or with the door lock/ unlock button inside the car, (the passengers were already in the car) so I used the emergency cut-out key located inside of the key fob to manually open the driver's door to get in. When I stopped to get gas on the same night, I found out that the gas cap was also locked, so we left. When we arrived back at my residence, everyone climbed out of the driver's seat. Finally, this morning after I manually unlocked the car with the emergency key, I noticed that the seat memory was also unresponsive. With less than 1/8 of a tank left, I will have to tow the car to the dealership because it will not make it on the gas left in the tank. This is a serious issue because if we were to have gotten in any type of accident or were in some unforeseen trouble while in the car with only seconds to react and get out of the car, it would have most likely ended up in multiple fatalities because of the inability to get out of the vehicle in a hasty manner. Please investigate and recall this issue before something like this does happen during and/ or after a car accident and people die because they are trapped in a car due to the electrical/ lock malfunction. Thank you.
There is a well known issue with BMW model years 2006 and 2007 3 series models. There seems to be some problem with the door lock actuators and/or the fuses for the door locks. When they fail you are only able to escape the car through the drivers side door. None of the other doors on the car will open from the inside or outside. In order to fix the issue you have to replace the door lock actuators and the fuses. It really seems like there should be a recall on this issue as it is such a huge safety problem. What happens when I have a car full of people and heaven forbid it catches on fire or there is an accident and the drivers side door is damaged" we all die"
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Minneapolis, MN, USA