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.
The door locks would not work with the fob. I was locked in side the vehicle. When I finally got out and tried to open the doors from outside, the doors would not open. This situation has happened many times over the years. I was trapped inside the car during a heavy rain fall on the road last year due to the doors not unlocking.
Suddenly all 3 doors (except one passenger door) fail to unlock and even the inside door knob wouldn't unlock the door. It seems to be a very well known problem but BMW wouldn't fix the problem before it happens, and my warranty period is over.
The power locks do not work. The locks on the driver and passenger front doors were locked but the back doors were not locked. I could not open the door on the front passenger at all. I could open the driver door manually and thats pretty much it.
Model: 2007 BMW 328I. The electronic "door actuators" failed. As a result, it became impossible to open any door of the vehicle from the inside, except the driver's door. When these electronic door actuators fail, passengers are trapped in or out of the vehicle. The service advisor at the dealership (weatherford BMW, berkeley, California) explained that he new exactly what was wrong with my vehicle because they received a bulletin regarding this (meaning this is a "known issue" to BMW with this model car! my question was if BMW has received major complaints about this particular issue, why would"nt it be recalled...he advised me that are normally pertained to "safety", we"ll what would you consider this situation...safe? $900 was my quote to have this fixed! ridiculous!!! we strongly suggest that this defect be investigated, and that the subject vehicles be recalled so that the defect can be corrected before deaths or injuries occur.
Door lock actuator failure: Front door lock actuators failed disallowing exit from all doors except the driver's side front door. Passengers could only exit the vehicle by crawling out of the driver's side front door. The front passenger door and both rear doors could not be opened by using the interior or exterior doorhandles. Furthermore, the electrical system disallowed any unlocking of these three doors as well. Fortunately, the car was not involved in an accident during this door lock actuator failure. During the time of this incident. Car was taken to BMW dealer (passport) for repair and when asked about the safety implications said it is unfortunate but all cars with electronic locks respond this way when the central locking system fails.
- Burke, VA, USA
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Car was parked, and when key fab was used to unlock the doors to enter the car the locks did not work. Only when the emergency key was used did the driver door open manually. No other doors would open locking any passengers in the car. Dealership recommended change of fuses which was done and did not solve the door lock problem. The central locking system was still not working. Dealer recommended changing the door actuators for $3000 even though this is a known safety issue. Central locking also caused the gas cap to remain locked and possibly stranding the driver at the gas station.
Car locks but then will not unlock, I have to manually unlock the driver door. Passenger doors will not unlock at all. This has happened to me twice, the fuse keeps blowing out. I have changed the fuse twice in 3 months. I have looked this problem up online and this seems to be a major problem for the 2007 BMW 328xi. This is obviously a huge safety problem and needs to be addressed. I have two children and the thought of something happening where we are unable to get out of the car frightens me.
Electric door locks failed on all four doors with no symptoms prior to complete system failure. Key fob and central locking system button inside car would not unlock any door. Doors would not open by pulling on interior door latch handles. The only way to enter/exit vehicle was by using key on exterior driver's side door to unlock the door, or through the windows. This seems like an extremely dangerous single point egress failure that could result in unnecessary injury or loss of life in emergency situations. I replaced the blown 15A fuse (#57) with a 20A fuse per si B51 19 07 twice. First functional test by pressing the central lock system button resulted in the new fuse blowing immediately each time. Further troubleshooting and repair will be necessary to resolve issue (likely by replacing faulty electro/mechanical door latch/lock/actuator mechanism).
Door locks would not open on 3 of the doors; had to crawl from backseat to front seat to start car. Once got home, had to crawl back out via the back seat. Extremely hazardous safety condition due to if there was an accident, myself nor my passengers, especially young children, wouldn't be able to escape. Took vehicle to local BMW dealer and he stated this was not the "1st" time he had seen this type of issue. Approximate cost is between $700 to $1,000 to fix. Contacted BMW customer relations and they are investigating issue.
Door lock actuator failure: Front door lock actuators failed disallowing exit from all doors except the driver's side front door. Passengers could only exit the vehicle by crawling out of the driver's side front door. The front passenger door and both rear doors could not be opened by using the interior or exterior doorhandles. Furthermore, the electrical system disallowed any unlocking of these three doors as well. Fortunately, the car was not involved in an accident during this door lock actuator failure. During the time of this incident, two people were in the car. The consequences of not having doors which can open from the inside of the car could prove deadly in an accident. A letter was written to BMW of North America, llc by the owner of this car in this report and their response on October 7th, 2011 was, "we have no response."
The contact owns a 2007 BMW 328I. The contact stated the key lock actuator failed; whenever she unlocked the doors the latch on the front drivers and front passengers side failed to lock. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who stated she needed all four actuators to function in order for the locks to work properly. The contact was advised that the repair cost was $1200 at her expense; however, the vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was unknown.
My door locks failed to unlock (with both the remote entry and the door lock switch located in the car) with the exception of the driver side door using the manual key turn. This was repaired by replacing the door lock actuators, under warranty.
Doors remained in locked position and would not respond to remote on fob or central door control internally. Driver, passenger, and rear doors would not open manually once door latch depressed. Driver door only opened through window to allow passengers in front and rear seats to exit. Obviously, very difficult to exit. After initial incident, no passengers could ride in car until issue was resolved.
The doors failed to unlock with the key fob. Only way to enter was with the key into the drivers door. The other doors failed to unlock from the inside, both by using the handle and the unlock button on the dash. Apparently, the door lock actuators are drawing more current flow and burning the 15A fuse installed. A BMW sb says to replace with a 20A fuse, however, the problem still exists. This creates an unsafe condition, in that no passenger(s) can exit the vehicle, and nobody, such as emergency personnel, can enter from the outside. The fuse isn't the answer, BMW knows about this problem and should deal with it in a manner that promotes safety of passengers, not profits for the dealers.
My doors have locked and will not unlock without a very expensive repair. I have to use the internal key from the key fob to unlock the driver door but there is no way to unlock any of the other doors. This is extremely dangerous as the other doors will not even unlock from inside the car. Also if you plan on having any passengers they all have to get in through the driver door, if in an accident they have to get out of the driver door, this is absolutely ridiculous and was expensive to fix!
My wife was unable to open the door on our 2007 BMW 328I. The door locks seem to be stuck with no way to open them except the drivers door which will still open with two pulls on the door release latch. All other doors and the fuel filler door are stuck closed. Very dangerous situation as everyone has to exit through the drivers door or through the electric windows. Obvious safety issue which seems to be very common with these cars. Should be recalled and have a fix which makes the doors open even with an electrical failure.
2007 328xi currently at 65700mi. Unable to unlock car using key fob or inside button on dash. Windows work, handles light up. Can hear an audible sound when car is trying to unlock. Cannot open without using valet key. Can exit from driver side only using handle. All other doors cannot unlock as well as gas cap. Safety hazard if passengers cannot exit vehicle for any reason.
2007 BMW 328I key fob no longer locks/unlocks all doors. This is a severe safety hazard. This has happened more than twice already. If there were an accident or if passengers were in the car, they would have to go out of the car through the car windows. Only the manual key opens the driver's side door.
Regular usage. One day, the central locking system simply died without warning and there is no alternative way of unlocking the passenger doors after the central locking system died.
Door locks failed to unlock either with the remote control or the inside door lock button (central locking system). Doors except for the drivers door would not open even using the inside door handles. The drivers door had to be opened from the outside using the key. My wife and I were locked in the car in temperatures exceeding 100 degrees. We did not even realize the locks did not work until we returned home from a brief trip. Had we been in an accident we would not have been able to get out of the car. The gas filler door is linked to the door locks and would also not open. It seemed that the door locks are only electronically controlled with no manual linkage since lifting the button on the door did not unlock the door. After finally getting out of the car I did some quick research online and found this to be a common problem. The fuse had blown so I replaced the fuse but I am sure it will fail again. Cannot trust the car now so will be getting rid of it. This is a dangerous design when the doors will not open from the inside when there is an electrical failure.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Oklahoma City, OK, USA