Owner-reported complaints naming the body or structure system, filed with NHTSA
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Reports naming the vehicle structure, frame, body panels, doors, hood and trim. Every record below is an owner-reported complaint about the 2006 BMW 3 Series submitted to NHTSA — not a confirmed defect, not a recall and not a manufacturer bulletin. 9 reports on file name it.
Complaints are reports submitted by owners and drivers to NHTSA. They are not verified and do not establish that a defect exists.
Shown in the owner’s own words, exactly as filed
DOORS WILL NOT UNLOCK, SERIOUS HAZARD IN EMERGENCY SITUATION IF DOORS WON'T UNLOCK. DOORS LOCK/UNLOCK PROBLEM, I'VE HAD TO EXIT THRU WINDOWS. NO MANUAL UNLOCK FROM INSIDE VEHICLE. MECHANISM IS OPERATIONAL, MUST BE COMPUTER PROBLEM. FUSE REPLACED,CKD MANY THREADS WITH SAME ISSUE. WWW.BIMMERFEST.COM / 3 + TIMES HAPPENED TO ME.
AS I PUT THE VEHICLE IN PARK AND TRIED TO EXIT THE VEHICLE THE DOOR WOULD NOT OPEN. I PULLED THE HANDLE AND TRIED THE KEY FOB AND NOTHING WOULD MAKE IT UNLOCK. I HAD TO CRAWL TO THE PASSENGER SIDE TO EXIT THE VEHICLE. THIS IS THE SECOND TIME THIS HAS HAPPENED AND IT IS A KNOWN FUSE PROBLEM THAT IS FAULTY AND VERY DANGEROUS IF YOU HAPPEN TO BE IN AN ACCIDENT AND NEED TO ESCAPE YOUR VEHICLE QUICKLY. HAVING A DRIVER DOOR THAT ABSOLUTELY WILL NOT OPEN IS A COMPLETE DISREGARD FOR COMMON SENSE AND PUBLIC SAFETY. *TR
DEC. 2008 I RECEIVED A CONSUMER ADVISORY LETTER FROM BMW OF NORTH AMERICA. THE LETTER STATES THAT DEPENDING ON THE MANNER AND FREQUENCY OF THE FRONT PASSENGER'S ENTRY AND EXIT, SMALL CRACKS MAY DEVELOP IN THE PASSENGER SEAT OCCUPANT DETECTION MAT. IF THIS CONDITION EXISTS, THE FRONT PASSENGER AIR BAG AND SIDE AIR BAG WILL DEACTIVATE, AND BOTH THE AIR BAG WARNING LAMP AND FRONT PASSENGER "ON-OFF" LAMP WILL ILLUMINATE. IN THIS SITUATION THE FRONT PASSENGER AIR BAG AND SIDE AIR BAG WILL NOT DEPLOY, EVEN IN A SEVERE ACCIDENT. THEY ARE EXTENDING THE WARRANTY COVERAGE FOR 10 YEARS. IN JANUARY OF THIS YEAR BOTH THE AIR BAG WARNING LAMP AND THE PASSENGER AIR BAG "ON-OFF" LAMP ARE ILLUMINATED IN MY 2006 325I BMW. THE LETTER STATES SHOULD THIS HAPPEN HAVE THE VEHICLE CHECKED WITHOUT DELAY AT AN AUTHORIZED BMW CENTER. I DID THAT AND WAS TOLD THE PROBLEM IS DIFFERENT FROM WHAT THE ADVISORY LETTER STATES AND WILL COST ME $1300.00. I CONTACTED BMW CUSTOMER RELATIONS OF NORTH AMERICA AND SPOKE TO A PERSON BY THE NAME OF "[XXX]" WHO TOLD ME SHE WOULD CHECK WITH THE AUTHORIZED BMW CENTER. I TOLD HER I AM THE ONLY DRIVER OF MY CAR AND VERY SELDOM DO I HAVE ANY PASSENGERS WITH ME AND I NEVER HAD ANY ACCIDENT WITH MY CAR, SO THE AIR BAGS NEVER DEPLOYED. SEVERAL WEEKS LATER HER REPLY WAS BECAUSE OF THE AGE OF MY BMW THEY WOULD NOT HONOR THE WARRANTY "BUT" THEY WOULD DISCOUNT THE COST OF THE REPAIR AND INSTEAD OF CHARGING $1300.00 THEY WOULD CHARGE $1002.00! SO THAT'S MY STORY AND MY AIR BAG WARNING LAMP IS STILL LIGHTED! INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6). *TR
FIRST THE DRIVER SIDE DOOR LOCK ACTUATOR WOULD NOT UNLOCK SO I WOULD HAVE TO USE THE KEY TO UNLOCK THE DRIVER DOOR. BOUGHT A NEW ACTUATOR AND HAD IT REPLACED. NOT EVEN ONE MONTH LATER THE BACK SEAT DRIVER SIDE DOOR LOCK ACTUATOR WENT OUT AS WELL. HOWEVER THERE IS NO KEY HOLE FOR THE BACK DOOR AND IT CANNOT BE OPENED FROM THE INSIDE. I WAS TOLD BY A BMW DEALER THAT I WOULD HAVE TO HAVE THE DOOR TORN OFF AND REPLACED WITH A NEW DOOR BECAUSE THERE WAS NO WAY TO OPEN THE DOOR. BUT WAIT THERE'S MORE! BOTH BACK WINDOW REGULATORS WENT OUT AS WELL! GOT THE BACK SEAT PASSENGER SIDE FIXED. BUT CAN'T GET THE DRIVER SIDE DONE YET. THIS ALL HAPPENED WITHIN A YEAR. *JS
REAR DOOR LOCK ACTUATOR WOULD NOT ALLOW REAR DOOR TO OPEN. HAD FIXED AND THEN DRIVERS DOOR ACTUATOR FAILED AND WOULD NOT OPEN. COULD NOT GET OUT OF VEHICLE. *TR
POWER DOOR LOCKS FAILED. NO WAY TO OPEN PASSENGER DOOR EVEN WITH INTERNAL HANDLE. PASSENGER TRAPPED AND HAD TO CRAWL OVER TO DRIVER'S SEAT. WOULD BE A CATASTROPHE IN AN ACCIDENT. *TR
DOOR LOCKS ON 2006 BMW 330XI SUDDENLY STOPPED FUNCTIONING PROPERLY MIDWAY THROUGH THE DAY AND WERE UNABLE TO BE UNLOCKED. I WAS ABLE TO OPEN THE DOOR WITH THE EMBEDDED PHYSICAL KEY IN THE FOB BUT WHEN I GOT IN THE CAR AND TRIED OPERATING THE DOORS THEY AGAIN LOCKED BUT WERE UNABLE TO BE UNLOCKED NEITHER BY THE UNLOCK BUTTON ON THE CONSOLE, THE FOB OR THE DOOR HANDLE. THE ONLY WAY I WAS ABLE TO EXIT THE CAR WAS TO ROLL DOWN THE DRIVERS SIDE WINDOW, AND USE THE EMERGENCY MECHANICAL KEY TO UNLOCK IT BY EXTENDING MY HAND OUT THE WINDOW. SINCE THE DRIVER'S SIDE DOOR IS THE ONLY DOOR WITH A PHYSICAL KEYLOCK, IT WAS THE ONLY DOOR THAT WAS ABLE TO OPEN. FOR THE REMAINDER OF THE DAY, ALL 3 PASSENGERS HAD TO CLIMB OUT OF THEIR WINDOWS TO EXIT. *TR
TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2006 BMW 330XI (NA). WHILE THE VEHICLE WAS PARKED, THE CONTACT NOTICED THAT THE PAINT ON THE LEATHER WAS PEELING ON THE DOOR HANDLES, GEAR SHIFTER, CENTER CONSOLE AND THE RADIO. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO AN AUTHORIZED DEALER WHO TOLD HIM TO CONTACT THE MANUFACTURER; THE MANUFACTURER REFERRED HIM BACK TO THE DEALER TO TAKE PICTURES AND THEY WOULD HAVE A REGIONAL MANAGER CONTACT HIM. THE MANAGER STATED THAT THEY WOULD PAY FOR THE PARTS BUT NOT THE LABOR. THE VEHICLE HAD NOT BEEN REPAIRED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 36,000 AND THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 40,200.
FUSE BLOWN AND DEFECTIVE FRONT DOOR LATCH ASSEMBLY LED TO DOOR LOCKS REMAINING ENGAGED. OPENED THE DRIVER DOOR WITH THE METAL KEY. DOORS WERE NOT ABLE TO BE OPENED BY USING THE INSIDE HANDLES. IF THIS HAD HAPPENED IN A CRASH, THE OCCUPANTS WOULD HAVE BEEN TRAPPED. *TR
Higher-selling and older vehicles accumulate more reports. Counts are not failure rates and are not directly comparable between vehicles that sold in very different numbers.
Categories with enough reports to have a page of their own
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