Consumer Complaints
| Fail date | miles | occurences | Purchase date |
|---|---|---|---|
| LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES | |||
| 09/01/2011 | 90000 | ||
| There is a well known issue with bmw model years 2006 and 2007 3 series models. there seems to be some problem with the door lock actuators and/or the fuse's for the door locks. when they fail you are only able to escape the car through the drivers side door. none of the other doors on the car will open from the inside or outside. in order to fix the issue you have to replace the door lock actuators and the fuse's. it really seems like there should be a recall on this issue as it is such a huge safety problem. what happens when i have a car full of people and heaven forbid it catches on fire or there is an accident and the drivers side door is damaged? we all die? | |||
| 07/10/2011 | 52000 | ||
| 2006 bmw 325i. after parking with my wife in the front seat and my elderly parents in the back seats, only the driver's side door would unlock. the central locking system would not unlock the doors. neither would the remote or the interior door handles. my wife and elderly parents had to climb over the center console and from the back seat to exit the car via the driver's door. this is a safety hazard if people are trapped in the car. what if there was a fire? this is due to a design flaw with bmw cars where a 15amp fuse was installed for the door mechanism. bmw has issued a service bulletin ( 51 19 07 ) which calls for replacing the 15amp fuse for a 20 amp fuse to resolve this issue. | |||
| 08/17/2011 | 70100 | ||
| When trying to unlock the vehicle using the remote, the doors would not unlock. the vehicle has only one manual unlock latch for key insert into the door on the drivers door. was able to unlock only the drivers door. the remaining three doors cannot be unlocked at all, not even when opening from the inside. also the gas tank door will not open either. this is not an isolated problem numerous vehicles of this make, model, and year are having the same issue. if there is an emergency, there is no way to get out of the three locked doors. huge safety concern!!!! found a blown fuse, and replaced, but it did not correct the problem. this is a serious issue, and there should be a recall for this problem. check the complaint list, please. | |||
| 06/26/2011 | 33600 | ||
| Door locks stopped working with key fob and central locking system. rear driver side door would not open at all. replaced fuse but this still did not allow door to open. this is a major safety issue!! | |||
| 05/30/2011 | 54000 | ||
| Door lock failure on 2006 bmw 325i. all the door locks will not unlock. the passenger side door and both rear doors will not unlock. i went to lock the car and heard a clicking noise and the doors locked but would not unlock. only the driver's side door can open now. i cannot even open the other doors with the key fob or the central locking button. we had to climb in the back and get our 7 month old baby out through the rear passenger window because the doors would not open. | |||
| 05/02/2011 | |||
| The key fob fails to lock/unlock the doors. the central lock/unlock switch fails to lock/unlock the doors to allow the driver to come out of the car. the door latch inside the car does not open the door either. they only way to open the door is to use the key to unlock the door from outside. | |||
| 04/04/2011 | 58000 | ||
| All the door locks would not work whether i used the key fob or the central unlock button. could not even open up doors from inside. if i would have had kids in my car and an emergency existed then i would have been unable to get them out the door let alone getting myself out. i replaced the fuse and the doors worked for a few weeks and now the door lock issue has resurfaced. i googled the problem and it turns out that bmw has had this door lock fuse/door actuator issue for a long long time, and there hasn't been a recall. this is dangerous (life threatening) and deserves a recall. bmw only wants to replace the 15a fuse with a 20a fuse for a fix, but doing this doesn't fix the root problem. | |||
| 05/02/2011 | |||
| The key fob fails to lock/unlock the doors. the central lock/unlock switch fails to lock/unlock the doors to allow the driver to come out of the car. the door latch inside the car does not open the door either. they only way to open the door is to use the key to unlock the door from outside. | |||
| 04/04/2011 | 58000 | ||
| All the door locks would not work whether i used the key fob or the central unlock button. could not even open up doors from inside. if i would have had kids in my car and an emergency existed then i would have been unable to get them out the door let alone getting myself out. i replaced the fuse and the doors worked for a few weeks and now the door lock issue has resurfaced. i googled the problem and it turns out that bmw has had this door lock fuse/door actuator issue for a long long time, and there hasn't been a recall. this is dangerous (life threatening) and deserves a recall. bmw only wants to replace the 15a fuse with a 20a fuse for a fix, but doing this doesn't fix the root problem. | |||
| 05/02/2011 | |||
| The key fob fails to lock/unlock the doors. the central lock/unlock switch fails to lock/unlock the doors to allow the driver to come out of the car. the door latch inside the car does not open the door either. they only way to open the door is to use the key to unlock the door from outside. | |||
| 04/04/2011 | 58000 | ||
| All the door locks would not work whether i used the key fob or the central unlock button. could not even open up doors from inside. if i would have had kids in my car and an emergency existed then i would have been unable to get them out the door let alone getting myself out. i replaced the fuse and the doors worked for a few weeks and now the door lock issue has resurfaced. i googled the problem and it turns out that bmw has had this door lock fuse/door actuator issue for a long long time, and there hasn't been a recall. this is dangerous (life threatening) and deserves a recall. bmw only wants to replace the 15a fuse with a 20a fuse for a fix, but doing this doesn't fix the root problem. | |||
| 05/02/2011 | |||
| The key fob fails to lock/unlock the doors. the central lock/unlock switch fails to lock/unlock the doors to allow the driver to come out of the car. the door latch inside the car does not open the door either. they only way to open the door is to use the key to unlock the door from outside. | |||
| 04/04/2011 | 58000 | ||
| All the door locks would not work whether i used the key fob or the central unlock button. could not even open up doors from inside. if i would have had kids in my car and an emergency existed then i would have been unable to get them out the door let alone getting myself out. i replaced the fuse and the doors worked for a few weeks and now the door lock issue has resurfaced. i googled the problem and it turns out that bmw has had this door lock fuse/door actuator issue for a long long time, and there hasn't been a recall. this is dangerous (life threatening) and deserves a recall. bmw only wants to replace the 15a fuse with a 20a fuse for a fix, but doing this doesn't fix the root problem. | |||
| 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. | |||
| 03/15/2011 | 49800 | ||
| Bmw has a service bulletin (sib-51-19-07) on the bmw vehicles: doors will not unlock using the key fob or central locking button. this is a major safety concern for when this occurs there is only one exit (and entry) into the vehicle and that is through the driver's side door. in the event of an accident and the ability/mobility of the passengers this may not be possible. my 2006 325i bmw (vin: wbavb13536kr59884) is having its front door locking/latching assembles replaced due to them malfunctioning and causing a short in the system. this short is causing the fuse which unlocks the doors to blow which creates a safety issue for passengers not being able to unlock their doors to exit the vehicle (except for the driver | |||
| 02/24/2011 | 38000 | ||
| All 4 doors will not unlock and open. | |||
| 01/31/2011 | 165000 | ||
| 2006 bmw 325i door lock/latch failure. unable to open doors with key fob. doors will lock but now not possible to open any doors with fob or with lock/unlock button inside car. must unlock driver's side door with valet key. fuel door also locked and will not open. all ready had this problem fixed approximately one year ago. | |||
| 01/21/2011 | 75000 | ||
| Doors will no longer unlock using remote key fob or interior door unlocking button. only driver's side door will open manually. | |||
| 01/04/2011 | 51000 | ||
| 2006 bmw 325 i - door lock actuators should have been recalled by bwm. they are faulty and bmw suggests when one fails you replace both for over $800.00. known problem by bmw but refuses to help, only charge | |||
| 12/01/2010 | 80000 | ||
| Went to unlock doors in 2006 bmw 325i and there was a rapid clicking sound in the front passenger door. the power locks failed to respond afterwards and both front doors remained locked. the fob, nor the internal unlock button would allow the doors to be unlocked and attempting to open the doors from the inside did not work either. only the driver's door can be manually unlocked by physical key, pulling the handle from the inside also did not open the door. | |||
| 10/28/2010 | 39415 | ||
| I was in my car (bmw 325i - 2006) with two kids, a toddler and a newborn. i locked the door and window because my toddler wanted to open the door. later i tried to roll down the rear window and heard a crack. the window was broken. this is a big safety issue especially you have kids in the car. i had to drive home with the window broken and down with my kids in there. the weather was cold and of course was very dangerous because my toddler knows how to open the seat belt and also possessed dangerous to other vehicles as she can throw toys out of the window. i will take my vehicle to bmw dealer tomorrow to see what they can do to fix the situation. i've never had expected that i can roll down the window while it is locked. how do i suppose to remember that the window has been locked or what if my spouse locked it while she drove. i've never had this issue with other vehicles. | |||
| 10/17/2010 | 83270 | ||
| The door locks have failed twice on my 2006 bmw 325i. the only possible way to open the car is by using the exterior key. the rear doors will not open and the ppassengers had to crawl across the seats to exit the car. they just failed without warning. | |||
| 10/03/2010 | 49634 | ||
| The driver's side locks would not unlock on the door. the passenger's side was unlocked and wouldn't lock back. i had to climb across the passenger's seat to get out. this is a terrifying experience especially when thinking about what happens if there's an emergency and this happens. very freightening. | |||
| 08/31/2010 | 29000 | ||
| I have a 2006 bmw 325i. the car has automatic locks that can be triggered with a remote key or inside the car with a lock/unlock button in the dashboard. the unlock feature has failed and i am unable to unlock the car with either the remote or the lock/unlock button in the dashboard. in addition, the only door that can be unlocked from either inside the car or outside the car is the driver's side front door. all the other passenger doors are locked and cannot be unlocked or opened. this obviously creates a major safety issue. the gas tank is also locked when this happens, however, this can be overcome through the manual gas tank release in the trunk. the lock failure must be remedied with some type of repair, either of a fuse or a repair of the actuators. | |||
| 10/11/2007 | 18885 | ||
| Tl- the contact owns a 2006 bmw 325i. the contact states the doors will not open from the inside or the outside causing someone to be trapped inside the vehicle. the dealer diagnosed it and stated that it seems to be that the fuses are being blown causing the electronic locks to malfunction.this has been the second time where the contact has been trapped inside the vehicle. there have been no repairs. the failure mileage was 18885 and the current mileage was 60000.cv | |||
| 06/03/2010 | 69200 | ||
| Tl-the contact owns a 2006 bmw 325i. while the vehicle was parked, the contact and occupants attempted to exit the vehicle locked doors. however, the front driver side automated door lock mechanism was the only functioning device in the vehicle that would allow the door to unlock. the vehicle occupants exited from the front driver side door. the vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer where the technician stated the failure was contributed to a defective door latch. the vehicle had not been repaired at the time of the complaint due to the excessive repair cost. there was a technical service bulletin related to the defect. the technical service bulletin number was unknown. the contact had significant concern of the safety hazard. the failure mileage was 69,200. js | |||
| 12/03/2009 | 58000 | 1 | |
| Without warning or indication of a pending failure, the electric door locks failed to unlock all four doors. the lock/unlock switch on the dash would not unlock the doors nor would the unlock button on the key remote. the only door that can be unlocked is the driver?s door and only when using the integrated key directly with the exterior of the door or using the ?double jerk? mechanism (mechanical override) of the inside door handle. none of the passengers doors have the ?double jerk? mechanism (mechanical override) and anybody riding as a passenger would be stuck in the car with a means of exit other than the driver?s door or the windows. in conjunction with this failure, the gas compartment and the electrical rearview mirrors stopped working. the dealer attributed the failure to damaged battery, battery cables and the door actuators, but refused to cover the costs for fixing the problem. my car has turned into a death trap. an ex-mechanic of the dealer has said that this is a common problem he has seen. this is a safety issue that needs to be addressed now before some gets seriously injured or even dies as a result of this design defect. *tr | |||
| 11/10/2009 | 24000 | 1 | |
| The door locks will not unlock with the remote. the doors cannot be opened from the inside. only the drivers door can be unlocked using a the spare key. this is a safety hazard if there were to be an accident, i would be stuck in my car. there would be no way for the doors to be opened in case of an emergency. this is a very common problem with this make. its attributed to a faulty design. *tr | |||
| 10/30/2009 | 30000 | 1 | |
| The door locks will not unlock with the vehicle's remote. the doors cannot be opened from the inside. the driver door can be unlocked using a manual key but all 3 other doors remained locked due to the fact they are controlled by the remote. the doors cannot be unlocked by depressing the button to unlock the doors. *tr | |||
| 03/13/2009 | 68000 | 1 | |
| The door locks will not unlock with the vehicle's remote. the doors cannot be opened from the inside. the driver door can be unlocked using a manual key but all 3 other doors remained locked due to the fact they are controlled by the remote. the doors cannot be unlocked by depressing the button to unlock the doors. if my son and i were in a wreck and the driver side damaged we would not be able to get out of the car. *tr | |||
| 12/05/2008 | 44000 | 1 | |
| The car locks fail to lock or unlock, one time locking me inside my car. the manual locks also stop working so using a key or opening from the inside with the handle is impossible. i had the problem repaired the first time in december and they replaced the locking mechanisms for the front driver door and gas cap door. in january, my locks failed again. this time forcing me to crawl in and out my front passenger's side door to gain access to my car. the dealer this time replaced the door lock fuse. this is a safety hazard if there were to be an accident, i would be stuck in my car. *tr | |||
| 12/02/2008 | 40000 | 1 | |
| I was at the store when the car locks jammed. the only way to get into the car was by manually using the key. the key fob would not unlock the door. the real issue was that the only door that could be opened was the drivers side using the manual key. all the others were jammed shut. there would be no way for those doors to be opened in case of an emergency. this is a very common problem with this make. its attributed to a faulty design. see threads and youtube video. http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?p=3080752 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3v04l-isycs the consequences are that if there is an accident, there is no way to get to passengers, also, fire situations would be deadly, submerging in water could also prove to be a disastrous. the only repair is replacement with the same actuator, but the problem is only a temporary fix. over time it will reoccur. it is a design flaw. employee: kennedy space center space shuttle program (united space alliance) safety, quality, and mission assurance engineer *tr | |||
| 09/27/2008 | 1 | ||
| For no reason one day, my door unlock button does not work and i am not able to open the door by pulling on the door handle. the only way to open the door is to use the key and open it from the outside. this only works for the driver door, and you are not able to open any of the remaining doors. this could be a severe safety issue especially if the car is in an accident in which people would not be able to get out. the failure has been consistent and is not intermittent and should be corrected for all cars on the road, since people could die. the only way to exit the vehicle would be to climb out of the windows. the car effected is 2006 bmw 325i. *tr | |||
| 09/26/2006 | 31400 | 1 | |
| While i was traveling out of town my 2006 bmw 325i had a major locking failure. i could not unlock the doors of the car except for the drivers side door. this to me is a safety hazard because all other doors where not operable, thus no one could safely get out of the car if we had been in an accident, the safety unlock would not have worked. *tr | |||
| 07/26/2008 | 34300 | 1 | |
| I was inside my car in a parking lot and the electric door locks failed to unlock the doors. the switch on the dash would unlock the doors nor would the remote. the door handles inside the car would not open the door either. luckily i remembered that if i held down on one of the buttons on the remote control the windows would open. i then had to climb out of the window. the temperature inside the car was more than 100 degrees. this is a very serious problem. if i had not had the remote, i would have been trapped inside the car! *tr | |||
| 03/22/2008 | 38000 | 2 | 12/24/2005 |
| Tl*the contact owns a 2006 bmw 325i. the contact stated that all of the locks failed to unlock in 2007. all of the locks are electronic and there is a master unlock button on the dashboard. the contact was unable to exit the vehicle and had to drive to the service dealer in order to be let out of the vehicle. the dealer had to reset the computer chip in the locks. on march 22, 2008, the failure recurred and the dealer had to replace all the door locks. immediately after the replacement, the electric mirrors failed. the dealer stated that the motor failed simultaneously. the dealer provided the contact with a new vehicle. the failure and current mileages were 38,000. | |||
| LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES - DOORS - LATCH | |||
| 02/03/2007 | 1 | ||
| Regarding his defective 2006 bmw 325i customer is seeking full reimbursement, replacement of the car or upgrade**cc the sunroof and door locks malfunctioned, the brake pads were faulty. while driving, the consumer noticed the hood was vibrating. the consumer managed to pull over and discovered the hood wasn't leveled. the driver side didn't seem to fully adhere to the body of the car. *jb | |||