The recall announced in the New York times today (wheels.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/03/26/BMW-recalls-nearly-1-3-million-vehicles-worldwide-for-battery-cable-flaw/?nl=automobiles&emc=edit_ws_20120327) announcing a recall of 6-series and 5-series bmws also potentially affected 2007 3-series bmws as well. At about 31000 miles, I began experiencing flickering headlights. The dealer diagnosed as a loose battery connection. The battery had never been changed/removed, so it should not have had a connection issue. Just thought you should know so if 3-series complaints are common you open up the investigation to explore the issue in 3-series designs.... I was lucky, caught it before damage/fire occurred.

- Summit , NJ, USA

My 2007 BMW 335I became very hard to steer during a drive down a steep grade. A battery not charging error would appear on dash shortly after... here is what happened. While driving down a steep hill and needing to break hard on a turn to avoid hitting a dead animal on the road I smelled burning rubber and then heard a noise this noise I discovered later in the day was my power steering belt breaking. I lost all power steering went off the road out off control due to lose of power steering and almost hit a bike rider and came very close to going off the side of road. Later that day I decided to google my problem and see if there would be an easy fix to this problem. I discovered there is not an easy fix for a broken belt on my modal of car. I discovered this is common on many BMW models and BMW is aware of it see sib 11-09-08. I quickly discovered that I am not the only owner out there with this problem. There are many others. BMW knows of the problem and has not recalled any cars. There documentation of the problem is under sib 11-09-08. I will be bringing my car back to dealer to have this problem resolve and hope they follow the sib 11-09-08 which notes new style sub frame replacement will be required. I believe an investigation needs to be made regarding power steering belts breaking. These belts should not be breaking under the condition I was driving and should be considered a major safety issue. I hope to see this resolved soon before someone is killed. At this time I don't feel the car will be safe to drive.

- Agoura Hills, CA, USA

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

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.

- Scottsdale, AZ, USA

After being service by dealer for 4 days which included the replacement of right headlight and ABS and brake system the car caught fire which seem to be related to electrical system. While driving the car heavy toxic smoke started coming out of ventilator of ac system. I immediately step out of the car and in a few minutes smoke and flames located in the engine in front of passenger seat burn the car. Flames and black plastic were coming also under the glove compartment right in front of passenger seat. Dealer quoted $25000 for repair and insurance company declared it total loss. Car was delivered to dealer who has kept it for a month, engineer from BMW North America came and inspected but no report has been issued by them or dealer. This company has no concern for safety of consumers and should be penalize. After having owned six BMW's I feel these autos are not safe.

- San Juan , PR, USA

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.

- Erie, CO, USA

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).

- Wylie, TX, USA

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.

- Winston Salem, ND, USA

Using the key remote would only lock the driver's door. Then when using the key remote to unlock the door, the lights flash and the lock "clicks" but the driver's lock wouldn't unlock. I used the metal key in the key fob to manually unlock the door and tried it all over again. Same thing happened...key remote would lock only the driver's door lock...key remote to unlock would flash the lights but not unlock the door...requiring me to use the physical key in the driver's door to unlock the driver's door. Thinking that the car was not registering that the other three doors were not locked, I physically locked the doors while inside the car by depressing the locks on the top of each door. Bad idea! nothing would work to unlock the car (with me inside!)...unlock button on the key remote...nope...lock/unlock button on the dash near the vents...nope....pull on the door handles of all the doors from the inside (multiple times)...nope. Ultimately, to get myself out of the car I had to roll down the driver's side window and used the physical key in the driver's door lock to manually unlock the drivers side door only.

- Alexandria, VA, USA

The contact owns a 2007 BMW 328I. The contact stated that the actuator failed on all four doors of the vehicle and none of the doors would open from the exterior or interior. The failure also prevented the door to the fuel tank from being opened. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where the actuators were replaced. The failure mileage was 68,000 and the current mileage was 74,000.

- Corona, CA, USA

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."

- Washington, DC, USA

There is a defect with the electronic steering wheel lock. The warning light came on, but the car functioned normally despite the owner's manual saying the car would not start. I thought it was a defective light, until I tried to start my car one morning. The electronic steering wheel lock would not disengage, and I had to get the car towed. It appears to be a complex problem as BMW dealer mechanics can only tell me that the steering column needs to be replaced. They will not tell me why it needs to be replaced or what is causing the problem. Estimates for repair have been between $1300 and $1800 depending on the dealer. I understand that cars break down but, after visiting BMW forums on the internet, it is plain to see that this is a known defect that BMW refuses to fix. One posting did indicate that the steering wheel locked up while the car was being driven causing a dangerous situation, but, in my case, the car was parked. This defect does pose to car owners a great inconvenience with possible unsafe consequences depending on the circumstances surrounding the car owner getting stranded. Furthermore, once stranded, the owner has little choice but to get it towed most likely to a BMW dealership and pay the large repair bill. (I tried an indy BMW specialist first. He could not fix it or even determine why it was occurring.) I am filing this complaint in the hope that any subsequent investigation by the NHTSA will reveal that BMW has let a known defect persist. Once that is discovered, BMW should be required to fix the defect and reimburse owners who have had to pay for a costly repair.

- Orange, CA, USA

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.

- Richmond, VA, USA

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.

- Lancaster, NY, USA

I have a 2007 328xi that currently has 51,000 miles. It is the second time that my locks in the vehicle have failed. The locks previously failed around 30,000 miles and were replaced under warranty, but now out of warranty I will be left to foot the bill myself. In the most recent incident, I was unable to unlock the car using the key fob or the button on the dash. I found myself locked in the vehicle and had to exit through the driver's window. Luckily, I was able to unlock the car from the outside using the valet key. The windows and trunk works, but the locks do not. When I press the lock and unlock button on the key fob and dash, I hear an audible sound as the car is trying to lock/unlock but the actuators in the doors do not function. It is a serious safety hazard if passengers cannot exit the vehicle for any reason. Please initiate an investigation and recall immediately. BMW engineers must design new locking system components that are not defective and do not fail every 20,000 miles.

- Mercer Island, WA, USA

BMW 2007 328 xi door lock fuse #57 blew. None of the interior doors would open from the inside. I had to roll the window down from the driver side door, use the key fob to unlock the door from the outside. I then had to pull my kids from the car through the windows as the other three of the four doors would not open. Forget the Toyota "accelerator"; this seems like a real safety issue.

- Ada, MI, USA

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.

- Kent, WA, USA

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!

- Scottsdale, AZ, USA

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.

- San Francisco, CA, USA

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.

- Markham, 00, USA