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.
Driver door will not unlock or open. According to dozens of forum posts, it's a known issue. Very dangerous if this fails in an accident and can't get out of the car. Only way to get in and out is through window or passenger door. It is possible for all locks to fail and only way to get out would be from the windows. Even door handle can't open door.
The vehicle automatically unrolls all windows and the moonroof whenever it rains. This is flooding and ruining the vehicle, and causing moisture to enter the electrical system and cause a significant fire hazard. There is a burning smell from the electrical system. The issue, which is well known on the blogosphere, is due to a faulty and improperly installed wiring harness (installed crooked), an electrical short in pins 18 and 19 for the door lock actuator, and improper moisture sealing for the harness and actuator. The manufacturer refuses to acknowledge or address the issue.
Locked in car due to failed door locks. Opened window to access manual door key but passenger crawled over to drivers side since this was the only way out.
The contact owns a 2007 BMW 328xi. The contact stated while the vehicle was parked and unoccupied, it unexpectedly ignited into flames. The fire department extinguished the fire and disconnected the battery. The fire originated in between the front windshield and upper hood area near the air bag housing. The fire was deemed as electrical. The vehicle was completely destroyed and towed to a savage facility. The manufacturer was notified of the defect. The approximate failure mileage was 133,000.
- Potomac , MD, USA
Search CarComplaints.com for these popular complaint phrases...
The automatic door locking function in my car has gone out twice in the last 8 months. The buttons inside the car and on the key fob did not open or lock the doors. The safety issue is that when this occurred, there was no way to open any of the doors from the inside of the car. The driver's side door is the only one that has a physical key slot. The car can only be unlocked from the outside when the automatic door locks fail. A person cannot open the doors using any of the handles, including the driver's side door handle when the locks fail. There is no way to exit the car from the inside when this fails. I had to pull a back seat passenger out the window to remove him from the car when the automatic locks failed the second time. Both times I was able to fix the problem by replacing first one, then two fuses in the box. BMW service departments do not consider this an emergency, so I had to do the repairs myself. I did not feel safe at all being unable to open any of the doors, and having to drive with the driver's side door unlocked. It is not easy to replace a fuse when the box is in the back of the glove box on the far side when it is impossible to open the passenger door. BMW said there may be something in the car that is causing this to fail for me and has quoted almost $200 for an assessment. This issue is a major safety problem. One can easily be stuck in the car as my passenger was with no way to get out besides the window. This car is not large enough to easily jump over consoles or seats. I called BMW and said this has to be a safety recall since you cannot exit the car when the system fails. There was no promise to make any changes to the cars or to assist me in any way.
At 65 mph on freeway, suddenly lost power. Vehicle immediately slowed to about 10 mph as I pulled off the freeway. Cars behind nearly ran me over. Drove slowly to BMW service who diagnosed "water pump short to ground" causing veh to lose power.
The door locking mechanism failed, making all of the passenger doors unusable, even from the inside. If there are people in the vehicle, they cannot get out except through the driver's door, representing a major safety hazard. In the case of fire or other emergency, passengers in my car would have been trapped, unable to escape the vehicle because there is no mechanical lock release on the inside of the car. BMW has released a service bulletin to replace fuse 57 with a 20 amp fuse instead of a 15 amp fuse, but this does not fix the basic problem of having no escape from the inside of the vehicle. Even after replacing the fuse with a 20A, it blew again and would have trapped passengers again. I feel very unsafe transporting my family in this vehicle knowing that this safety hazard has persisted so long without a recall.
I was trapped inside my vehicle with the driver's side door unable to unlock. I could not use the manual door handle on the inside or out. The interior door open button located on the dashboard would not unlock the driver's side door. The key fob would not unlock it. I finally had to maneuver across the center console and slide out through the passenger door. I was scared and frustrated. It was dark and in an empty parking lot.
Several times throughout the day after the car was parked, it was difficult to start and he battery indicator came on a few times. The final time after driving from Connecticut to queens NY, I was in a friends driveway after dropping them off from the airport, the car would not start even thought the lights were working. Eventually all power was lost. I had to have car pushed out if the driving and on to the street. Also to note earlier I was charging my cell phone, but it stopped charging. I went and purchase a new charged (usb adaptor) which did not work either, but worked when I hooked it up to the computer. The tow truck person was not able to get the car started with a jump, and indicated that it appeared to be an electrical issues. I reviewed the internet to see what the problem could be since my car has such low milage, and noticed there was a recall on my vehicle year and model from February 2013. I don't know if this is the same, but it sounds similar.
Brakes go out a lot front and rear on both my bmws, and passengers rear door locks stop working on both my BMW's 2006 325, and 328I 2007. Windows on both right rear doors work when they want to. I've been telling the BMW dealer about these things and all they say is what it will cost me to fix. I even told them about the electrical problems on both my cars and they had me pay for it, then later I find out it is a recall. But didn't get money back for me paying to get it fixed. Same thing about the brakes, both my bmws been in the shop more then 30 times or more apiece. Can someone help.
The door actuator system on my 2007 BMW 3281 has failed twice, once locking me in and the other time immobilizing the car and stranding me for several hours.I noticed the first failure when I stopped for gas & could not open the fuel flap. I drove to the dealer but the driver side door would not open, either electronically or manually, and the windows would not lower and the other three doors would not open. Fortunately, the sun roof was not on the door circuit & I was able to toss out the fob key for someone to open the driver door and let me out. A mechanic replaced the 15 amp fuse in the door circuit with a 20 amp fuse and sent me on my way. Conclusion: This car is a death trap waiting to happen. The second incident occurred as I drove home after a state inspection. When I parked and hit the fob lock button, I heard a muffled noise. The fuse had blown again. I unlocked the car with the fob key and after much time and great effort, I installed a another 20 amp fuse. Because the passenger door won't open when the circuit blows, replacing the fuse is very difficult, next to impossible. It requires agility, know-how, and good conditions--not something you can count on in the general population. What can be done about this dangerous condition: Go back to mechanical locking, electronic locking is a bad solution at least, you can get out of the car. Second: Require BMW to recall the original actuators and replace them with new designs that, if they too fail, they fail in a door-open mode. At the very least, car manufacturers should be required to offer buyers a choice between mechanical and electronic door opening. Lives are at stake.
I was going about 50 to 55 mpa when my temp light came on, within a few seconds my car lost speed rapidly and completely quit locking everything up on a busy highway. I bought the car as a certified pre-owned with 100,000 mile warrenty.when I called century BMW dealer in huntsville, al where I purchased it I was told my warranty went out two months ago on 5/15 according to date of shipment, a few day's before I had received a notice that my factory warning may be expiring based on time and miles it stated that available coverage expires on 8/23/2013 which was 21 day's after date of failure. I was told that was time I had to buy another extended warranty, that is not what the statement said.when towed to shop it was the water pump and thermostat at a cost of $1,212.11 plus towing charge that I do not have a bill on yet which should have also been covered. I am just lucky that no one behind me slammed into the rearend of car of luckily not turning in oncoming traffic since there was no warning except seconds before it stopped cold. I had took the car in before because I smelled anti-freeze and was told there was no problem, and have at times since then smelled anti-freeze but since I had it checked out just thought maybe it was something about that model. I have since found out this was a common problem with this model, so why was their no recall stating the danger of this happening. And why are they not honoring their warranty.
The contact owns a 2007 BMW 328xi. The contact stated that while starting the vehicle the entire electrical system malfunctioned, locking all of the windows and doors. The vehicle would not start once the system malfunctioned. The contact had to wait 48 hours in order to restart the vehicle. The contact did not take the vehicle to a dealer. The failure mileage was 85,000. The VIN was not available.
My wife was attempting to exit car when she noticed that she was not able to open any of car doors - all the locks would not operate ! also, the door handles would not open the doors from the inside the vehicle. This issue is safety issue that needs to be looked at asap. I was able to see on line that number of like and kind complaints with the 2007 328 xi models...
Reference NHTSA campaign: 13V044000 my vehicle has been experiencing issues as exactly outlined in this recall notice such as the starting rough, not starting, battery indicator lamp lit, and other electrical issues. I have experienced a loss of power & degraded performance while driving although it has not resulted in a crash because I was able to safely pull my car over. I spoke with BMW customer relations and they said my VIN was not specified by this recall and to file a complaint with the NHTSA to get this resolved. I have researched many other 2007 3-series owners having similar issues and would expect this to be covered by the recall.
Doors will not unlock using the key fob or central locking button. Locked doors will not open from interior of vehicle, no way to unlock the rear doors and front passenger door when they are locked. Only way to exit vehicle is through driver's door if manually unlocked with key. Passenger doors will not open and gas door will not open.
The passenger side occupancy sensor is a known problem and I believe that the warranty extension has not covered all affected vehicles. My BMW 2007 328 convertible has the identical problem as identified below. I have repaired it and it has continued to malfunction numerous times since, while driving and while stopped, creating a safety issue for anyone in the passenger side should there be an accident. I believe this faulty part must have been used in my 2007 328 convertible. August 2008 -- BMW is recalling 200,000 my 2006 3 series (sport seat), my 2004-2006 5 series (standard and sport seat), and my 2004-2006 X3 passenger vehicles. A fatigue failure of the front passenger seat occupant detection mat can occur. If this happens, the front passenger air bags, with the exception of the head protection system, will be deactivated and the air bag warning lamp as well as the passenger air bag "on-off" lamp will be illuminated. 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. BMW will also extend the warranty on these vehicles to 10 years from first registration without any mileage limit. Owners may contact BMW at 1-800-525-7417. BMW is extending the warranty to 10 years from first registration without any mileage limit to the following vehicles: My 2006 6-series, 3-series (standard seat), my 2004-2005 Z4, my 2004-2006 7-series, my 2006 X5, and my 2004-2006 5-series (comfort seat). Under the extended warranty program, the occupant detection mat in a vehicle that experiences this specific issue will be replaced at no charge to the customer. This recall was the subject of an engineering analysis, EA08-001, conducted by the Office Of Defects Investigation. 08V384.
Went to unlock doors with key fob. All unlocked but drivers door. Had to use manual key. Once inside, relocked doors and then could not open drivers door. Only way to open drivers door is with manual key from outside. Huge safety issue BMW! and apparently a well known one.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- San Diego, CA, USA