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.
5/23/12 - vehicle would not start, needed to be jumped. Tachometer and speedometer would not function. Dealer charged battery - no fault codes found, all fuses ok, checked for power and ground - all ok. Dash cluster now operable. 6/6/13 - difficulty starting car - mileage 10151. Instrument cluster inoperable, fuel gauge, speedometer, fuel economy gauge, trip gauge reverted to almost zero. Dealer diagnosed, replaced and programmed instrument cluster, replaced battery, full maintenance performed - oil change, brake fluid, filters. Car now performs well - dealer did excellent turn around. Mileage reset at less that 10151.
My car was having an oil leak when I sent my car to get check they found out the bolts are broken which I did my research and I found out is a manufactures defect, because this bolts are place no to be taken off. This leakage has my car going crazzzy when I wash my car and I turn my fog lights on all the lights on my dash go on my engine goes off and smells like is about to burn this is a serious problem.
Car lost power abruptly while driving approximately 40mph in traffic. Upon looking into the rearview mirror, smoke was appearing from the trunk. We opened the trunk and saw part of the carpet, which covered the car battery, was burned. The positive battery cable somehow shorted and caused a small fire, causing the carpet and actual battery to burn. After the smoke cleared, the battery cable had a small slit in it and the copper cabling had turned to an oxidized white color. Luckily noone was hurt, but we spent our own money to have it towed and repaired. We complained to BMW North America but they simply said there was no recall. We had to buy our own expensive cable from a local BMW dealership and have it installed. It turns out BMW just recently started a positive battery recall program on various cars, but the 2006 325I is not in that list. The incident that happened to us last year is similar, if not worse, than what was described in their details of the current battery cable recall.
The contact owns a 2006 BMW 325I. The contact stated that while attempting to exit his residential driveway, the vehicle stalled without any warnings. The vehicle was taken to the dealer. The technician diagnosed that the rear electrical cable was defective and needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure but did not offer any assistance since the vehicle was not included in any recalls. The vehicle was repaired. The VIN was not available. The failure mileage was 92,000 and the current mileage was 93,000.
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.
- Redwood City, CA, USA
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The contact owns a 2006 BMW 325I. The contact stated that while driving at low, unknown speeds, the vehicle stalled without warning. The vehicle was later towed to the dealer where it was found that the battery cables were faulty and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was contacted but offered not assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 91,000. The current mileage was approximately 93,000.
I have a faulty passenger side seat occupancy sensor failure, as diagnosed by the local BMW dealership. The failure code is 93C3, and the issue appears to have been previously recognized by the manufacturer, and partially remedied with either an extended warranty or recall, allowable on only particular VIN numbers. The recall / extended warranty applies to particular 2006 3 series BMW vehicles manufactured prior to January 2006. The 93C3 seat mat occupancy failure in my vehicle causes the airbag and seat belt lights to illuminate on the dashboard of the vehicle. BMW usa has advised that the recall does not impact my vehicle, even though the seats, and manufacture date are within the recall parameters. The local BMW dealership, as well as independent shops have all advised that the failure should, by all qualifying means beyond VIN number identification, be covered under the recall or extended warranty, as this is the same failure as vehicles impacted by the referenced recall. Referenced NHTSA campaign id number: 08V384000 the BMW 325I vehicle I own was manufactured in August of 2005, equipped with standard seat. BMW usa has stated within the recall that they don't know how many vehicles are impacted by this issue and has only elected to remedy this issue on a predetermined set of vehicles. The manufacturer, BMW has been notified of this specific issue, and provided no assistance. They advised that all repairs are to be customer paid, and have refused to honor their recall. As of 1/22/2013, the vehicle remains unrepaired and a safety hazard. Many others have the same issue, as documented by NHTSA complaints. BMW stated consequence of non repair: In this situation the front passenger air bags will not deploy even if a sufficiently severe accident would occur and occupant protection provided by the system would not be possible.
The contact owns a 2006 BMW 325I. The contact stated that the vehicle informational system failed to notify that the battery was low and caused the vehicle to lose acceleration. The ABS and the stability control light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer. The battery was replaced and the computer informational system was reprogrammed. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure and current mileage was 24,162.
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.
The steering column lock was yellow, then went red and would not start. My mechanic got hit to go back to yellow, took it to BMW and they said the steering column needed to be replaced. Took the car home and to another mechanic who replaced the column, but it did not resolve the issue. Everyone tells me the case needs to be replaced.
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.
The vehicles electronic steering wheel lock mechanism has failed and vehicle will not unlock the steering wheel column nor start the vehicle with this problem in place. Hundreds of other complaints across the board with my same particular my (2006) can easily be found by a simple search on any given BMW blog/forum. This should definitely be a recall. What would happen if it had locked up while driving?? not safe at all and will certainly try everything I can to recoup the $1000+ I will be spending from BMW for the labor/repair that it will cost to have this ridiculous issue resolved.
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 325I. The contact was driving with the cruise control activated at 76 mph. An abnormal noise was heard from the vehicle as the electrical components failed and the vehicle stalled without warning. The vehicle was towed to the dealer who advised that the battery safety terminal failed. The dealer was unable to provide a cause for the failure. The manufacturer was notified who advised that they would send a representative to further inspect the vehicle. The contact was awaiting further diagnosis of the failure. The failure mileage was 50,000.
On May 2nd, during a rain storm, our 2006 BMW 3 series' windshield wipers stopped. We were able to get home safely and immediately called our service center, and made an appointment for the next day. The service center's owner/mechanic informed us, that there were 3 other 06 3 series in for the exact same problem. The invoice reads; work requested- diag wipers inop, work performed- replace jbe cont module(part# 63 21 5 897 528). A call was made to BMW, usa on May 11th and BMW does not have, to date, an open recall on the problem. This is disconcerting, since a small service center in the small town of bridgewater, MA. Had 4(including ours) 06 BMW 3 series in for the same problem, and on the same date.
The contact owns a 2006 BMW 3 series. While parked, the contact attempted to open the driver"S side door using the electronic key fob but the door would not open. The contact eventually opened the front driver"S side door with the handle and was able to enter the vehicle. The same failure occurred on all other doors. The vehicle was taken to the dealer for a diagnostic test. The technicians stated that the door actuators on all doors needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 50,700. Updated 05/31/12 the doors would not open from the outside or the inside due to the failure of the actuators. A mechanical override failed and the door handles would not work. The key only worked in the driver's door.
Number of deaths? none yet, but tbd for the future of this extremely unsafe condition. 2006 BMW 325I doors locks fail to open, and all interior door latches are inoperative. All doors are inoperative if one fuse (#57) fails or if the battery fails. This is a serious concern about safety. If there is a crash or fire, people can die inside the vehicle if the doors cannot be opened. When this fuse fails, interior and exterior door handles don't function. The only way to get people out of the vehicle is to remove the hidden key from the fob, open the driver's window and unlock the driver's door. That will allow the driver's door to open but none of the other doors will open. Is this allowable under NHTSA safety regulations? I can't imagine that it is. This is not an obscure occurrence either. It has happened to my car a few times and has been reported by many other people on BMW owner's forums and on NHTSA complaint forms. Links below: www.bimmerfest.com/forums/archive/index.php/T-342620.html
Water pump and thermostat both quit working at the same time. Causing absolutely no warning on the vehicle until it started overheating and smoking while driving on the highway. Could of caused a serious accident. Needed to immediately pull to shoulder. Note: Car has no oil temperature gauge.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Elm Grove, WI, USA