Consumer Complaints
| Fail date | miles | occurences | Purchase date |
|---|---|---|---|
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | |||
| 02/03/2013 | 91000 | ||
| Tl- 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. mah | |||
| 02/03/2013 | 91000 | ||
| Tl-the contact owns a 2006 bmw 325i. the contact stated that while driving at low speeds it stalled without any warning. the vehicle was later towed to the dealer. after diagnosis they advised him that the cables to the battery were faulty and needed to be replaced. the vehicle was repaired for the battery cables. the manufacturer was contacted and they offered no assistance. the failure mileage was approximately 91,000. the current mileage was approximately 93,000. tb | |||
| 01/09/2013 | 135000 | ||
| 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. | |||
| 07/11/2011 | 82000 | 1 | |
| 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. *tr | |||
| 07/11/2011 | 82000 | ||
| 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 cas needs to be replaced. | |||
| 08/28/2012 | 80000 | 1 | |
| Tried to start car, put key in, pressed start button and an amber padlock icon appeared over a steering wheel icon - car won't start. *tr | |||
| 07/12/2012 | 117000 | 1 | |
| 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. *tr | |||
| 07/12/2012 | 117000 | ||
| 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. | |||
| 05/09/2012 | 50000 | ||
| Tl-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. kmj | |||
| 05/09/2012 | 50000 | ||
| Tl-the contact owns a 2006 bmw 325i. the contact stated while driving at 76 mph with the vehicle speed control on there was a noise and all the electrical parts of the vehicle shuts down. the contact merged the vehicle to the shoulder and calls the tow truck. the vehicle was towed to the dealer who stated the battery safety terminal was blown. the dealer stated they have no idea why this failure occurred. the dealer was continuing to inspect the vehicle. the manufacturer was notified who stated they will send a representative to inspect the vehicle. the failure mileage was 50,000. mw | |||
| 04/08/2010 | |||
| 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: http://www.arfc.org/complaints/2006/bmw/3_series/latches_locks_linkages/problem.aspx http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/archive/index.php/t-342620.html | |||
| 07/11/2011 | 127855 | ||
| 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. | |||
| 09/30/2011 | 75000 | ||
| Vehicle locks do not respond to unlock or lock command from key fob or from car unlock/lock switch. hazardous problem, potential life risk for children. | |||
| 01/04/2011 | 62000 | ||
| Passenger airbag / seat belt light came on and would not go out. there were multiple nhtsa recalls (pe07-045) and (ea08-001) but my vin falls outside of the recall because apparently i have sport seats. there are numerous complaints on various sites about this issue. bmwna stated they won't doofer to fix the issue since the vehicle was not included in the recall. dealers charge $1000+ to fix this defect. | |||
| 04/23/2011 | 42534 | ||
| I drive a 2006 bmw 325i. parked my car and got out just fine however my 3 passengers were unable to open there doors. the central unlocking button on the car's dash wouldn't unlock the doors and the keyless entry button wouldn't unlock the door either. all the passengers had to climb out the windows. after doing some quick research this appears to be a common problem in the 3 series however it's a problem that bmw refuses to fix unless the car is still under warranty. having passengers become unexpectedly trapped inside their car due to a common defect is major safety issue and it's a problem bmw should be forced to fix regardless of whether the car is still under warranty. | |||
| 04/02/2011 | 44650 | ||
| Central door locking system failed preventing any of the 4 doors and fuel door from opening. passengers couldn't open their doors and had to crawl up front to exit through the drivers door. there was no other way for them to exit the car, the doors were completely inoperable. replaced 15a fuse with 20a fuse as reccomended by bmw dealer which worked for a couple of weeks. problem resurfaced so i inspected the fuse previously replaced to discover it was blown again. now all power door locks work except front passenger. this issue really needs to be investigated soon. when there is a door unlocking failure, which according to many pages of complaints online is a very common occurrence with these cars, there is absolutely no way for passengers to exit - especially if they needed to exit quickly. it's very dangerous. | |||
| 03/11/2011 | 71239 | ||
| Doors lock, but only driver door unlocks. used key only unlocked drivers door, used button on dash only unlocked drivers door, fob only unlocked drivers door. other three doors not unlocking. | |||
| 05/28/2010 | 65000 | ||
| Mi nombre es ettienne torres. soy de puerto rico y poseeo un bmw 325i 2006. el mismo el dia de ayer repentinamente comenzo a salir un humo entre el dash y toda la parte interior del vehiculo. en menos de 2 minutos se encendi en llamas,activamos al 911, cuando llegaron los bomberos en carro se habia quemado en su totalidad. entre otras cosas que hizo mientras se estaba quemando. necesito que me orienten al respecto de lo que debo hacer. mi email es lemrspr@hotmail.com | |||
| 08/20/2009 | 54000 | ||
| 2006 bmw 325i door lock system failure. the fuses relating the door lock system keep blowing out. they should recall for actuator change. | |||
| 10/31/2008 | 30000 | 1 | |
| I was driving about 10 mph in traffic on friday, oct. 31, 2008, at 5 p.m., in houston,when my 2006 bmw 325i began smoking in the passenger compartment and burst into flames by the time i got it parked. i first noticed the air conditioner was not functioning properly and then smoke immediately began filling the car. the car was totaled by the time the hfd arrived. the car was in good condition and had no recent service or problems. it had no previous electrical problems. the ac just began blowing warm air, and smoke started pouring into the compartment from above and below the dashboard - not from the ac. the car was running fine until it burst into flames. it had to be a mechanical defect or an electrical short of some kind. *tr | |||
| 01/09/2007 | 8000 | 2 | 08/31/2001 |
| Tl*the contact owns a 2006 bmw 325i. the contact stated that the interior door handles were replaced due to the paint peeling. he stated that the driver side door handle needed to be replaced again due to the same failure. also, the console was replaced because of the peeling paint. in march 2007 the steering wheel sensor failed and was replaced twice. in addition, the sun roof failed to activate and the vehicle failed to start because the steering wheel was locked. the mechanic stated that the steering wheel and sun roof were both caused by electrical failure. the vehicle speed and the weather conditions were not factors. the current mileage is 15,000 ,and failure mileage was 8,000. *ak | |||
| 11/23/2006 | 850 | 1 | 10/24/2006 |
| Climate control system, car interior, delivers 110 deg f air to floor vents when in automatic mode. the requested temperature is 70f and the actual temperature is 79f. this is a constant defect, not a one time occurrence. bmw advises the system works as designed. 2006 bmw 325xi, car mileage - 850 mi. *jb | |||
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM - IGNITION | |||
| 04/07/2006 | 1 | 03/30/2006 | |
| I just purchased a bmw 330 with an option called comfort access. this option allows the driver (with the key on his/her person) to unlock & start the car as well as and kill the engine (by pressing the start/stop button) & lock the vehicle, all without using a key....just need it in your pocket etc. the risk is that you can exit the vehicle and lock the doors w/o killing the engine. my concern is being distracted or forgetful and leaving the car running in our garage and having exhaust fumes enter the house! a simple fix would be to have the engine stop running when the driver exists the car and/or locks the doors from outside of the vehicle. *nm | |||
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM - IGNITION - MODULE | |||
| 08/09/2006 | 2000 | 100 | 02/27/2006 |
| Bmw 325i has an acceleration delay problem. when the driver demands a sudden increase in acceleration, the car hesitates anywhere from 1.5 to 3 seconds. this is a dangerous condition when someone is making a left turn in traffic, or getting onto a highway, or passing on a 2 lane country road, etc. other cars traveling at 60 mph are moving at 88 ft/sec. the amount of leeway this car needs is much too excessive. the car has been back to the dealer twice with the same diagnosis - problem not verified. friends who have driven my car think it is a dangerous condition. bad acceleration is just as bad as poor braking. *jb | |||