Owner-reported complaints naming the steering system, filed with NHTSA
Data refreshed
Reports naming the steering system — racks, columns, power-steering assist and steering linkage. 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. 24 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
ELECTRONIC STEERING WHEEL LOCK. THIS IS IN THE STEERING COLUMN WHEN IT FAILS THE CAR WILL NOT START. IT SEEMS TO BE A PRETTY COMMON PROBLEM. I WAS HOPING THERE WAS A RECALL FOR THIS ISSUE, BUT CAN NOT FIND ONE.
STEERING WHEEL LOCK UP LIGHT COME ON AND LOCK UP SOME TIME.
ELECTRONIC STEERING WHEEL LOCK MALFUNCTIONS WITHOUT NOTICE AND RENDERS THE CAR INCAPABLE OF STARTING. A YELLOW STEERING WHEEL ICON (OR RED IN SOME INSTANCES) APPEARS IN THE INFORMATIONAL PANEL ON THE DASHBOARD. THE ACCOMPANYING ERROR CODE IS CC-ID 187. THIS CONDITION WHEN IT OCCURS, WILL NOT ENERGIZE (DISABLES) THE IGNITION SYSTEM AND PREVENTS THE CAR FROM BEING STARTED. DRIVERS WILL BECOME STRANDED WHEREVER THEY HAPPEN TO BE ONCE THE CAR IS TURNED OFF AS THE ERROR NOTIFICATION APPEARS ONLY WHEN THE CAR IS SWITCHED OFF OR BACK ON. THERE ARE LITERALLY HUNDREDS OF SIMILAR AND IDENTICAL CASES ON THE INTERNET WHEN PERFORMING A GOOGLE SEARCH ON THIS ISSUE.
I JUST CAME BACK FROM A LONG FAMILY VACATIONS, I WAS DRIVING THIS VEHICLE ALL OVER THE STATES! I WAS SO LUCKY! THIS HAPPEN TO ME WHEN I GOT HOME , MY 2006 BMW 330I WHICH HAD A STEERING COLUMN MALFUNCTION AND FAILURE. MALFUNCTION OF INTEGRAL LOCK SENSOR IN STEERING COLUMN NECESSITATES REPLACEMENT OF ENTIRE STEERING COLUMN, IT IS A SAFETY PROBLEM AND SHOULD BE COVERED BY A BMW CUSTOMER SATISFACTION CAMPAIGN. BUT IS NOT!!! THE WARNING INDICATOR IN THE INSTRUMENT PANEL SHOWED AN ICON OF A STEERING WHEEL AND A LOCK AND THE VEHICLE FAILED TO START, I HAD TO HAVE THE CAR TOWED TO THE DEALERSHIP. I CONTACTED BMW CUSTOMER SERVICE, EXPLAINED MY PROBLEM AND WAS TOLD THEY COULDN'T DO ANYTHING TO COVER THIS VERY COMMON QUALITY PROBLEM AND WOULD NOT BE COVERED UNDER A MANUFACTURERS CUSTOMER SATISFACTION CAMPAIGN. ON THE NHTSA WEBSITE, THERE ARE MANY CASES REPORTED THAT THERE IS A PROBLEM! AND THAT'S WHY! I AM REPORTING THIS INCIDENT TO NHTSA IN HOPES THAT BMW WILL DO SOMETHING FOR OTHER OWNERS AS THE REPAIR BILL WAS $1000 AND SHOULD HAVE BEEN COVERED BY BMW. ALL I THINK ABOUT IS! IF THIS PROBLEM HAPPENED TO ME WHILE I WAS DRIVING WITH ALL MY FAMILY ON MY CAR! I THINK I GOT SO LUCKY! LOOK AT; SERVICE BULLETINS. YOULL SEE! SERVICE BULLETIN NO.: SIB-32-04-07 COMPONENT(S): STEERING BMW: A NEW TECHNICAL PROCESS HAS BEEN CREATED FOR BMW TO IDENTIFY CAUSES OF STEERING COMPLAINTS WITH A WIDE RANGE OF MODELS. *RM ((((SO! THEY KNOW! ABOUT THIS!!!)))) MAKE THIS A RECALL! BEFORE! THIS GETS LOCK WILE SOME ONE IS DRIVING AND GETS HURT!!!! *JS
I OWN A 2006 BMW 330XI. I'M HAVING PROBLEMS WITH THE STEERING COLUMN LOCK WHICH PREVENTS THE CAR FROM STARTING. THE PROBLEM STARTS WITH A YELLOW WARNING LIGHT THAT INDICATES THE STEERING COLUMN IS LOCKED. THE STARTING PROBLEM IS CONSTANT. WE ARE CONCERNED WE MAY GET STRANDED OR AS SOME HAVE REPORTED THE STEERING MAY LOCK WITH LITTLE OR NO WARNING . FROM WHAT I CAN FIND ON THE INTERNET IT APPEARS BMW IS AWARE OF THE PROBLEM. COMMENTS ARE BAD STEERING COLUMN. THE PROBLEM STARTED IN FEB. OF 2012 WHEN THE CAR ONLY HAD 9000 MILES AND MY EXTENDED WARRANTY HAD JUST EXPIRED. THE CAR NOW HAS 11000 MILES.THE DEALER HAS NOT BEEN ABLE TO HELP AND SUGGESTED ON SEVERAL OCCASIONS THAT I CONTACT BMW DIRECT. THE PROBLEM APPEARS TO BE COMMON FROM THE COMMENTS POSTED ON LINE BY BMW OWNERS OF 2006 ON. I RECENTLY CONTACTED BMW AND THEY SUGGESTED I HAVE THE DEALERSHIP PERFORM A DIAGNOSTIC TEST.THE TEST RESULT WAS DEFECTIVE STEERING COLUMN.THE FEE FOR THIS TEST WAS $145.91. THE ESTIMATE THEY PROVIDED TO REPLACE THE STEERING COLUMN IS $1,467.86 PLUS DIAGNOSTIC FEE OF $145.91. TOTAL COST $1,613.77. YOUR INVESTIGATION WILL SHOW THE DEFECTIVE STEERING COLUMN IS A COMMON PROBLEM. AS THE PROBLEM PERSIST THE SAFETY CONCERNS BECOME GREATER. IS A RECALL COMING AS THIS IS SERIOUS HIGHWAY SAFETY CONCERN? *TR
RECEIVED YELLOW STEERING WHEEL AND LOCK ICON WHEN TRYING TO START THE CAR. ATTEMPTED USING DIFFERENT KEYS, BUT THE CAR WOULD NOT START AND THE STEERING WHEEL REMAINED IMMOBILE. I EXITED THE CAR AND WAITED ABOUT 30 MINUTES TO TRY AGAIN, BUT RECEIVED YELLOW STEERING WHEEL WITH LOCK ICON AGAIN WHEN PUTTING THE KEY FOB INTO THE VEHICLE. WHEN I CALLED THE DEALERSHIP, I WAS QUOTED ABOUT $1200 AS SOON AS I DESCRIBED THE YELLOW STEERING WHEEL AND LOCK, WITHOUT THEM HAVING SEEN THE VEHICLE. THE SA ALSO MENTIONED THAT THE NEWER MODELS DON'T EVEN HAVE THIS FEATURE AT ALL. I WAS ALSO ADVISED THAT IT IS NOT A BMW RESPONSIBILITY OR DEFECT, AND THAT I WOULD BE RESPONSIBLE FOR ALL SHOP REPAIRS AND TIME. DOING RESEARCH ABOUT THIS ISSUE, I FOUND THIS IS A VERY WELL DOCUMENTED AND KNOWN ISSUE. THIS SEEMS TO BE DUE TO POOR DESIGN BY THE AUTO MANUFACTURER, SO MUCH SO THAT THE "FEATURE" ISN'T EVEN INCLUDED ON NEWER MODELS OF THE VEHICLE AT ALL. *TR
STEERING WHEEL LOCK MALFUNCTIONED AS EVIDENCED BY WARNING LIGHT. VEHICLE WAS IMMOBILE AND REQUIRED TOWING. COST FOR REPAIR = $1100.00. REPAIR SHOP SAID THERE WAS A CORE CHARGE FOR THE REPLACED UPPER STEERING COLUMN. THIS MEANS THAT BMW IS BUYING BACK THE MALFUNCTIONED UNITS TO EITHER DIAGNOSE, OR THEY'RE REBUILDING THEM AND MAKING MORE MONEY. EITHER WAY, IT'S AN KNOWN PROBLEM AND BMW ISN'T TAKING THE PROPER ACTION TO ENSURE OWNERS SAFETY. *TR
I BROUGHT THE VEHICLE IN TO BMW AND STATED THAT THE STEERING WHEEL LOCK LIGHTS COME ON AND THE CAR WILL NOT START UNTIL A FEW TRIES. BMW COULD NOT FIND THE PROBLEM, SINCE THEN IT HAS PROGRESSIVELY GOTTEN WORST AND READING FORUMS, THERE SEEN TO BE A LEGITIMATE PROBLEM WITH THIS ISSUE. *TR
I AM GETTING A NEW MESSAGE ON MY CAR INDICATING THE WHEEL BEING LOCKED. THIS PROBLEM IS WELL DOCUMENTED AND IT SEEMS THERE SHOULD BE A RECALL. PLEASE CHECK OUT ALL THE COMMENTS ON THIS WEBSITE. HTTP://WWW.BIMMERFEST.COM/FORUMS/SHOWTHREAD.PHP?T=410153. MY HOPE IS THAT A RECALL HAPPENS. THIS 2006 BMW HAS BEEN A MAINTENANCE NIGHTMARE. HAVE HAD WAY TOO MANY PROBLEMS. WHAT CAN I DO? *TR
STEERING COLUMN. BMW PROBLEM, FACTORY ISSUE THAT NEEDS TO BE TAKEN CARE OF. STEERING LOCK LIGHT. *TR
THE TWO ISSUES ARE (1) AIRBAG MALFUNCTION AND (2) STEERING WHEEL MALFUNCTION. (1) THE FIRST ISSUE OCCURRED WHILE I WAS DRIVING ON CA I-80 TOWARDS BERKLEY FROM DAVIS ON 8/17/2012. AS I WAS DRIVING, THE CAR DISPLAYED A NOTIFICATION THAT THE PASSENGER AIR BAG WAS EXPERIENCING A PROBLEM AND SHUT OFF. THERE WAS A PASSENGER IN THE CAR. AS OF THIS DATE, THE AIRBAG IS STILL SHUT OFF. (2) THE SECOND ISSUE OCCURRED WHILE I WAS DRIVING ON CA I-280 FROM BURLINGAME TOWARDS MILLBRAE ON 8/30/2012. AS I WAS DRIVING, I NOTICED A STEERING WHEEL LOCK NOTIFICATION. LUCKILY, I WAS AT MY EXIT AND NEAR HOME SO I DROVE SLOWLY HOME. AFTER TURNING THE CAR OFF, THE STEERING WHEEL LOCKED UP. RESTARTING AND TURNING THE CAR OFF CAUSES THE STEERING WHEEL TO RANDOMLY LOCK/UNLOCK. I HAVE NOT DRIVEN THE CAR AFTER THE INCIDENT. *TR
BMW STEERING LOCK FAILURE I SHOULD BE REPLACE BY BMW BECAUSE ALL THIS MODELS HAVE THIS PROBLEM IS VERY UNSAFE BUT BMW DON'T WANT TO DO A RECALL IN THIS MATTER. *TR
WILL NOT START BECAUSE OF STEERING IN LOCK POSITION. AIRBAG AND SEAT BELT ERROR (RED ICON) IN PASSENGER SIDE. *TR
THE CAR CONSTANTLY DISPLAYS A STEERING WHEEL LOCK ICON WHEN I TRY TO START THE CAR. THIS ISSUE HAS BEEN REPORTED BY MANY DRIVERS AND IT CAN BE FATAL IF THE STEERING WHEEL LOCKS WHILE THE CAR IS MOVING. THIS NEEDS TO BE ADDRESSED RIGHT AWAY. *TR
STEERING WHEEL LOCK WARNING LIGHT ILLUMINATED IN RED ON DASH. THIS IS A COMMON PROBLEM WITH 2006 325I SERIES. BMW HAS DISCONTINUED THIS TYPE OF STEERING WHEEL COLUMN WHEN BUILDING THEIR 2007 VEHICLES BECAUSE ITS AN ISSUE. WHY HASN'T THIS BEEN RECALLED AND WHY HASNT ANYONE TAKEN ACTION ON THE INCIDENT? *TR
STEERING LOCK LAMP IS AMBER AND NOW RED. SAYS CAR WILL NOT START BECAUSE STEERING LOCK MECHANISM COULD ENGAGE. COULD POSSIBLY LOCK WHILE DRIVING. *TR
THERE IS A RED DASH WARNING LIGHT WITH A STEERING WHEEL AND LOCK. CAR WILL NOT START.
ON 2/3/2011 MY VEHICLE HAD THE STEERING WHEEL LOCK WITH THE AMBER LIGHT. 2006 325I WAS TOWED TO THE DEALER. IT TOOK RE-PROGRAMMING AND THE STEERING COLUMN BEING REPLACED TO FIX THE VEHICLE. THERE ARE NUMEROUS 3 SERIES WITH THIS ISSUE IN US AND WORLD. THIS IS COMMON FOR THE E90S. BELOW IS A LIST OF THOSE THAT HAVE BEEN REPORTED TO YOUR AGENCY. BMW IS NOT ACKNOWLEDGING THE DEFECT YET THEY TOOK THIS FEATURE OUT IN 2008. REPORTS: 10380778, 10378186 - 330I 10322165 - 325XI 10380077, 10353644 - 325I 10173714,10369685,10341920,10341836,10238977,10181405 - 3 SERIES. *LN
FAILURE OF STEERING COLUMN LOCK, CAUSING INABILITY TO RESTART AUTOMOBILE INTERMITTENTLY. I HAVE READ THIS IS A COMMON PROBLEM WITH EARLY 2006 330I MODELS, BUT A RECALL WAS NEVER ISSUED. MY CAR HAS VERY LOW MILES, SO IT WAS CLEARLY A DESIGN FLAW. BMW OFFERED TO SUPPLY THE PARTS FOR FREE, HOWEVER I FEEL THIS IS A SAFETY-RELATED ISSUE AND SHOULD HAVE BEEN 100% COVERED BY BMW AS A RECALL AND HANDLED PROACTIVELY BY THE COMPANY. *TR
2006 BMW 330 XI WHEN PRESSING ON THE BRAKE THE CAR ACCELERATED WITH A LOUD NOISE, COULD NOT STEER THE CAR; CRASHED IN TREES. 24,323 MILES STILL UNDER NEW CAR WARRANTY. *TR
2006 BMW 330XI BRAKE FAILURE, ACCELERATION, NO STEERING. OCCURRED TWICE; BMW REPAIRED BY DEALER NEW BRAKES, COMPUTER; SECOND OCCURRENCE CAR DID NOT STOP UNTIL HIT TREES. *TR
I DRIVE A 2006 BMW 330XI WITH THE OEM BRIDGESTONE TURANAZA RUNFLAT TIRES. FROM 2006 TO TODAY I HAVE REPLACED ALL 4 OF MY TIRES AND RIMS TWICE AND STILL HAVE PROBLEMS WITH THE TIRES BEING TO ROUGH ON NEW YORK CITY ROADS WHICH MEANS IT JUST CRACKING AND BENDING EACH AND EVERY RIM ON MY CAR OVER TIME. NOW THIS PROBLEM WITH THE TIRES BEING TO ROUGH AND LACK OF CONTROL WITH THERE TIRES LEAD TO ANOTHER PROBLEM SOMETHING IN MY STEERING RACK HAS CRACKED. BMW NOT WANTING TO TELL ME WHAT PART OF THE STEERING RACK WAS BROKEN ALL THEY TOLD ME WAS IT WILL COST 3000 DOLLARS AND I COULDN'T PAY IT IN MONTHLY INSTALLMENTS, I HAVE BEEN TRYING TO ALERT THEM OF MY SITUATION FOR ABOUT 1 YEAR BUT THEY DO NOT TAKE ME SERIOUSLY SINCE I AM ONLY 22 YEARS OLD AND TAKE ME FOR A FOOL. AS OF YESTERDAY ALSO MY LOCK ACTUATORS WHICH IS THE PART OF THE CAR THAT ALLOWS YOUR ALARM TO UNLOCK YOUR DOORS ARE FROZEN AND WILL NOT UNLOCK ANY OTHER DOORS EXPECT THE DRIVER BY USING THE MANUAL KEY. FOR THE IM PAYING EVERYMONTH BMW IS NOT DIVING ME THE ULTIMATE DRIVING MACHINE, I WILL NOT RECOMMEND THIS CAR TO ANYONE SOUL IN THE NEW YORK AND I AM LOOKING TO TAKE LEGAL ACTION FOR MY RIGHTS AGAINST THE LACK OR QUALITY AND SAFETY THEY HAVE PUT ME IN OVER THE LACK YEAR. *TR
AUTOMOBILE WILL RANDOMLY VEER OR DRIFT IN EITHER DIRECTION. ACTION IS MORE SEVERE WHEN ROAD SURFACE IS LESS EVEN, BUT IT CAN OCCUR AT SLOW SPEED ON SMOOTH STREET. DEALER HAS CHECKED AND PERFORMED ALIGNMENT AND OTHERWISE CHECKED OUT THIS CONDITION. DEALER STATED IT IS "NORMAL" FOR SPORTS TIRES TO DO THIS. *NM
DT*: THE CONTACT STATED WHILE TRAVELING 40 MPH ON NORMAL ROAD CONDITIONS, THE BRAKE AND STEERING LIGHTS ILLUMINATED AND THE VEHICLE JERKED VIOLENTLY. ALSO, WHEN TRYING TO TURN IN ANY DIRECTION, A LOUD GRINDING NOISE WAS HEARD. AN EXTENDED STOPPING DISTANCE OCCURRED WHEN NORMAL BRAKING WAS ATTEMPTED. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE LOCAL DEALER WHO DETERMINED THE STEERING COLUMN WAS FAULTY AND NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. ALSO THE BRAKE PADS NEEDED TO BE REPLACED AND ADJUSTMENTS HAD TO BE MADE TO THE TIRE PRESSURE. THE DEALER PERFORMED THE NECESSARY WORK, BUT THE PROBLEM PERSISTED, AND CONTINUED TO JERK VIOLENTLY WHILE DRIVING. UPDATED 03/22/07 *JB UPDATED 03/30/07
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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