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.
UNKNOWN. I went to do the smog check on my car and I found that I have a recall and the description on the paper is positive crankcase ventilation (pcv) valve heater
2006 BMW 330CI CENTER CONSOLE EXPLOSION POSSIBLY DUE TO DEFECTIVE PLASTIC MATERIAL NEAR GEAR SHIFTER. -Bubble on the console was produced by heat in the car that resulted in it bursting and the spattering of a black petroleum substance that could have distracted the driver or injured a passenger and/or driver. -The possibility of a reoccurrence does exit due to the ongoing heat wave in Minnesota. -The front car seats and console had nothing laying on top of them at the time of occurrence. -Car was inspected by local BMW dealer in Wayzata, Minnesota. -Car was also inspected by a collision repair center, referred by BMW dealer. -BMW corporate is aware of the issue and pictures were provided. -BMW corporate has denied assistance due to the age of the car per Logan @ BMW corporate on 07/19/2021. -I was told there had not been a recall or any other report of a similar incident from BMW.
After ~30 min driving on the capital beltway around Washington DC, I existed at exit 4 on I270 North). The engine suddenly evolved very fast when I was braking before a traffic light between I270 ramp and falls road. I felt like the car just wanted to keep moving. I ended up hitting a vehicle in the front though the damages on both were very minor. I immediately turned off the engine and place it in park. After a few minutes (the other driver and I exchanged contact info), I restarted the engine and the car seemed to work ok.
Sunroof exploded-while driving with my sunshade was open 6" and glass closed, at 2 pm on 8/14/19, 70 degree weather, at 65 mph I heard what I thought was a gunshot. Immediately after I was showered with glass into the interior of the vehicle. The glass hit my face and body and luckily I was not blinded and was able to pull over on the highway. This is a straight highway, rt 16 nh, and there were no overpasses or bridges, nor was there a vehicle in front or back of me or trees. (sunroof in 1 picture is tilted when I returned home open for photo purposes) I contacted BMW of stratham nh and they said there was no recalls on this issue and repairs would be $2,222. Through recent research on the BMW forums (https://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/showthread.php?T=120494) I have discovered many complaints on this very dangerous issue. I am very concerned since my wife also drives a BMW vehicle, X5 with a panoramic sunroof that has had reports that BMW is ignoring of the same dangerous issue with the glass sunroof reported. Please help!! someone is going to be fatally injured if this is not recalled.
- Springvale, ME, USA
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On 6-3-2016 my 2006 BMW 330xi started on fire in the parking lot at my place of employment. As I pulled my car into a parking space, I noticed smoke coming from under the hood. I parked the car, shut it off and I opened the hood and saw small flames on the driver's side of the engine compartment. I was able to put the fire out myself. I noticed that some engine components were burned and melted. At the end of the workday I had the car towed to ava restoration in dublin, New Hampshire. They completed the necessary repairs. The owner told me that there was a short in the PCV valve heater(also referred to as an angle connector) and it had caused damage to the intake manifold and wiring harness. After the repairs were completed I was able to continue driving my car. I contacted BMW in January 2018 after learning that they recalled 2007 models for the same component failure. I explained my situation to them and told them they should expand the recall to cover 2006 models also. I also told them that I wanted to speak to a representative about getting reimbursement for my repair costs. They told me I had to get my car examined at a local BMW dealer and that someone from their corporate office in New Jersey would call me about the matter. The representatives at the dealership were less than helpful and the representative from their corporate office left me a message at 8:45 pm one night and then never called me back after I tried to reach her several times and got only voice mail. I received a letter from BMW recently saying that my car now has a recall on the PCV valve heater, recall 19V-273. I believe that BMW knew about this problem for a long time and did not address it, willingly putting vehicle owners at risk. In addition, the owner of ava restoration told me he repaired a number of bmws that had fire damage caused by the same malfunction.
Door lock failure. This is very common with this model and it can be one of two things; a fuse or the door actuators. I got it back to fix engine issues and the doors would not unlock, except the drivers side, which I can do with the key lock. Other than that there is no way to get in the car that doesn't involve going in duke style through the window or through the sunroof or something.
Very loud noise (fan noise) coming from the engine compartment when the car was started from a cold start. Car is drive-able but seemed to lose some power. The noise may or may not come back during the next start. A few simple searches on google and from various BMW forums indicated that it's a very common problem for the 2006 BMW 330I E90 sedans and problem seem to be the faulty water pump and faulty thermostat. As there are no warning light nor any tell signs, the car could go from full performance on the freeway to limp mode (forceful slow-down mode) in the matter of a few seconds due to overheating of the water pump, and it could be very dangerous. The hidden error codes may be discovered with a vehicle specific scanning tool but there is no warning light or error light whatsoever to warn the owner unless the car is brought in to the shop and being scanned with the proper scanning tool. But if there is no warning/error light, no one would have thought to bring the car in for scanning.
Upon test driving on city street this vehicle with a friend and my brother we realized it had a hard limp to the front passenger tire. After returning it to the lot the salesman informed us it needed a sway bar replace to leave it a couple days and he would have it repaired. After picking it up driving on the city street I realized not only did it have a leak but there was a noise involved this time. I immediately called the car lot and they instructed me that it was only a mud flap rubbing the tire. After taking it to my personal mechanic he told me that my car had been in a severe accident and the entire under carrier was damaged and it was a miracle it was mobile. Quoted price for parts $280 and labor $2100. When taking it to roadshow BMW they stated there wasn't any recalls. Bottom line is parts fell from under the vehicle while driving on the highway exiting this includes the following: Fog light on passenger side, small grill on same side, large bolt (not sure where it goes or where it came from), and another piece of medal. At this point oil began to run out.this car leans to the right now and after owning it for 4.5 months it was mobile for maybe 3 weeks" oh and I almost forgot to mention the tracker stalls the car upon occasions when driving. I've requested for my title via phone twice, via certified letter and fax. I can provide documents upon request. However, I don't own a scanner but will be available to fax if you give me your fax number. I've paid my car balance off without a title"
I started the car and got a 'personal restraint system failure' message. I've checked message boards for BMW and apparently this is something they issued a recall for a few years back but now it shows 'no recall' when I type in my VIN. According to the message boards, others with the same message were told initially by BMW that this wasn't a recall but when pushed were told it was and it was fixed. I'm wondering about getting something about these recalls from your Agency before going to argue with the BMW dealership?
I was driving from school and push the gas and 15mph the car jerked in transmission light came on. The car went into safe mode. I could not drive over 40 mp. The dealer ship said the transmission mechatronic may have malfunction. Something inside of the transmission the manufacturer build it with a plastic valve cover it's common on BMW the transmission failure. There are over 67,000 complaints on line for the same issue. Where is the recall!. you pay for this expensive car to pay 7000 to fix. I am looking to start a law suit if they don't recall and fix this common expensive problem!
When there is a power failure in the 2006 BMW 330I, in this case caused by a blown fuse, the doors will not open either by attempting to electronically unlock them or by using the door handles. The only way I was able to exit the car was to roll down the driver's side window and use a manual key on the outside of the car to unlock the door. In the event of a total power failure and the power windows failed as well, it would be impossible to exit the vehicle other than by breaking the windows. This is a very dangerous design flaw. There should always be a way to exit the vehicle without having to rely on the vehicle's electrical system.
I was driving my 2006 BMW M3 convertible with the top down and secured on the highway. When, all of a sudden the rear boot cover which stores the convertible roof opens on it's own and slams against the roof, which I was driving on the freeway. The thump and air resistance almost caused me to loose control of my vehicle, but I was able to get off the freeway. The complete convertible mechanism was not functioning after this event, and I brought it to the nearest BMW dealership which is where I purchased my vehicle to begin with. After a day or so, I was told I had to come to the dealership and drive the vehicle home because they had to have a factory rep inspect the vehicle and it would take up to a few weeks. Not until I called BMW customer relations, did they say it was a mistake by the technician and that I would be able to leave my vehicle at the dealership and get a rental car. On Aug 3, 2007 a little over a week from the event, I was told that they would not cover this repair under warranty, and did not state why? I began to mention how I nearly lost control of my vehicle, and it was an obvious malfunction, and I insisted they send me documentation which stated why they did not believe the vehicle was covered under warranty. The service manager continued to waffle back and forth, and did not send me the proper paperwork but said he would contact me by the end of day or the following Monday because he was going to have another factory rep take a look at the vehicle.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Pomona, CA, USA