2001 BMW 325I Electrical Problems

I am having a major electrical short in my trunk area affecting my critical tail lights functionalities and common trunk function. I cannot use my turning signals or brake lights or lights in general when driving my vehicle from the rear my lights are not operable. This is a huge safety concern and risk that’s need to be recalled affecting millions I'm for certain. Along with that I am having steering issue with my steering rack called “steering Wander”. Not being able to control you vehicle with supreme confidence is a issue which can easily lead to collisions.

NHTSA ID

11435461

Incident

Oct 4, 2021

FAULTY TAIL LIGHTS- THE RIGHT TAIL BULB ASSEMBLY ON THE CAR GOT SO HOT IT MELTED ALONG WITH THE PLUG. I CALLED THE BMW HOT LINE 800-525-7417, THEY INFORMED ME THAT THE CAR HAD 2 RECALLS FOR AIRBAGS, ALSO TOLD ME THAT THE CAR HAD A FAULTY TAIL LITE REPAIR IN 2002. I TRAILERED THE CAR ON 4/11/18 TO SEWELL GRAPEVINE BMW, WHERE SCOTT LORD IN THE SERVICE DEPT TOOK IT IN. I ASK FOR THEM TO FIND OUT ALSO ABOUT THE TAIL LIGHT ASSEMBLY MELTING & I LEFT THE PART WITH THE CAR. ON 4/11/18 I RENTED THE SAME TRAILER & WENT TO PICKUP THE CAR, (I LIVE 40 MLS FROM THERE). UPON TALKING WITH MR. LORD, THE 2 RECALLS WHERE PERFORMED & HE SAID THE TECHNICIAN LEFT BROCHURES IN THE CAR ON HOW THE MELTED TAIL LIGHT IS REPAIRED & THAT THE CAR IS TOO OLD FOR THEM TO DO IT. FIRST OFF, THANKS TO NHTSA WEB SITE, I LEARNED THAT THERE WHERE 210,000 OF THESE CARS RECALLED FOR THE SAME PROBLEM, BEGINNING WITH THE YEAR OF THIS CAR. 2ND, I 'VE NEVER KNOWN A RECALL TO EXPIRE UNTIL FIXED. I CALLED BMW RECALL BACK 5/2/18 & SHE SAID NO RECALLS ARE SHOWING NOW & THAT I'D HAVE TO CONTACT NHTSA, SO HERE I AM, DO THEY FIX IT, OR SHOULD I CONTACT A LAWYER? THANK YOU NHTSA! I'M GLAD THERE WAS NOT A CAN OF GAS IN THE TRUNK

NHTSA ID

11091675

Incident

Feb 23, 2018

ALL 3 PASSENGER DOORS LOCK AND INTERMITTENTLY CAN NOT BE UNLOCKED. THIS HAS TO DO WITH A FAULTY GM5 MODULE.

NHTSA ID

10850810

Incident

Feb 22, 2016

Mileage

180,125 mi

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2001 BMW 325I. WHEN THE BRAKE PEDAL WAS DEPRESSED, THE PASSENGER SIDE TAIL LIGHT BECAME INOPERABLE. IN ADDITION, THE HEADLIGHTS FLASHED INDEPENDENTLY WITHOUT WARNING. THE CONTACT ALSO STATED THAT THE HEADLIGHTS BECAME INOPERABLE INTERMITTENTLY. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT DIAGNOSED OR REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 190,000.

NHTSA ID

10721126

Incident

Oct 15, 2014

Mileage

190,000 mi

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2001 BMW 325I. THE CONTACT RECEIVED NOTIFICATION OF NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 14V438000 (ELECTRICAL SYSTEM); HOWEVER, THE PART NEEDED TO DO THE REPAIR WAS UNAVAILABLE. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE MANUFACTURER EXCEEDED A REASONABLE AMOUNT OF TIME FOR THE RECALL REPAIR. THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE ISSUE. THE CONTACT HAD NOT EXPERIENCED A FAILURE.

NHTSA ID

10703392

Incident

Sep 9, 2014

MY DOORS WON'T UNLOCK. I HAVE ACTUALLY BEEN LOCKED IN THE CAR, AND HAD TO CLIMB OUT MY WINDOW/SUNROOF. THIS SEEMS TO BE A COMMON PROBLEM MENTIONED ON MANY BMW ENTHUSIAST FORUMS. I WISH MORE OF THOSE WHO EXPERIENCE THIS PROBLEM WITH SUBMIT A COMPLAINT. I AM WORRIED ABOUT BEING IN AN ACCIDENT AND NOT BEING ABLE TO GET OUT OF MY CAR. SOMETIMES MY DOORS UNLOCK, SOMETIMES THEY DON'T. THIS IS ASSOCIATED WITH THE GM5 MODULE, AND A PERSON ONLINE EVEN SPECIALIZES IN FIXING IT SINCE IT IS SUCH A COMMON PROBLEM (HTTP://WWW.BMWGM5.COM). *TR

NHTSA ID

10618011

Incident

Sep 24, 2009

Mileage

69,000 mi

RIGHT SIDE REAR LIGHTS BURNED OUT REPLACED BULBS NOTHING HAPPENED UNPLUGGED THE HARNESS TO FIND #4 PRONG COMPLETELY BURNED AWAY ON CAR CHECKED THE LEFT SIDE AND THE SAME THING IS HAPPENING IT IS GETTING HOT AND LOOKS LIKE IT IS READY TO BURN OUT ALSO. *TR

NHTSA ID

10520794

Incident

May 23, 2013

Mileage

160,000 mi

HEADLIGHTS FLICKER ON AND OFF WHILE DRIVING. TAIL LIGHTS AND BRAKE LIGHTS NON-FUNCTIONAL. I BELIEVE THIS IS AN ISSUE RELATED TO PREVIOUS RECALL OF BMW'S RECALLED IN NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER 11V438000. I CALLED BMW WHICH TOLD ME MY CAR WAS NOT COVERED UNDER THAT RECALL. I BELIEVE THAT IT SHOULD BE. *TR

NHTSA ID

10497777

Incident

Feb 8, 2013

Mileage

100,000 mi

RIGHT SIDE TAIL LIGHTS FAILED IN THE MANNER DESCRIBED IN NHTSA CAMPAIGN ID NUMBER: 11V438000. THIS VEHICLE WAS MANUFACTURED IN 2000-10-30 AND THAT CAMPAIGN APPLIES TO VEHICLES MANUFACTURED AFTER 09-2001. *TR

NHTSA ID

10491570

Incident

Dec 1, 2012

PURCHASED THE CAR USED, IN JANUARY 2011, WITH APPROXIMATELY 110,000 MILES. VEHICLE HAD SEVERAL STORED ENGINE CODES, PO0300,171,174,1345,1351,1353; MOSTLY RELATING TO OXYGEN SENSORS AND THE MAF. ALL ENGINE HOSES, THE MAF, ALL 4 OXYGEN SENSORS AND THE IGNITION COIL PACKS WERE REPLACED BY A CERTIFIED MECHANIC. WITHIN 2 MONTHS OF NORMAL DRIVING, ALL CODES HAD RETURNED. MECHANIC IS UNABLE TO DETERMINE THE POINTS OF FAILURE FOR THESE ISSUES AND BMW DENIES ANY EXISTING PROBLEM THE PASSENGER SIDE AIRBAG LIGHT, TURNS ON AND OFF, RANDOMLY, WHETHER SOMEONE IS SITTING THERE, OR NOT. FAILURE OF THE SENSOR COULD CAUSE THE AB NOT TO DEPLOY DURING AN ACCIDENT, CAUSING SERIOUS, IF NOT FATAL, INJURY. BMW IS AWARE OF THE ISSUE, DOES NOT REPLACE/REPAIR. DOOR LOCK/WINDOW/WINDSHIELD WIPER CONTROL MODULE, KNOWN AS GM5, FAILS RANDOMLY AND OFTEN. IT HAS FAILED SEVERAL TIMES, WHILE I WAS IN THE CAR. SINCE IT DISABLES THE DOOR LOCKS AND WINDOWS, I WAS TRAPPED IN MY CAR FOR SEVERAL MINUTES. THANKFULLY, I HAD THE WINDOW ROLLED DOWN FAR ENOUGH TO PASS MY KEYS TO SOMEONE ON THE OUTSIDE, SO THEY COULD UNLOCK THE DOOR. IN AN ACCIDENT, PASSENGERS COULD BE STUCK, KEEPING EMERGENCY WORKERS FROM GIVING THEM MEDICAL ATTENTION, IN A TIMELY FASHION. BMW IS FULLY AWARE OF THE PROBLEM, BUT DENIES IT'S EXISTENCE. I ALSO RECEIVE RANDOM EXTERIOR LIGHT OUT WARNINGS, ON THE DASH. USUALLY, IT'S BOTH TAILLIGHTS, BUT MORE FREQUENTLY, IT IS THE DRIVER SIDE LIGHT SENSOR, THAT FAILS, THOUGH THE LIGHT IS ACTUALLY WORKING, JUST FINE. *TR

NHTSA ID

10455224

Incident

Jan 10, 2011

CAR IS A BMW 325I. MODEL YEAR 2001. THE ELECTRICAL DOOR UNLOCK MECHANISM DOES NOT ALWAYS UNLOCK THE DOORS. IN PARTICULAR, THE BUTTON TO UNLOCK ALL DOORS WORKS INTERMITTENTLY. THIS PROBLEM HAS EXISTED FOR A NUMBER OF MONTHS NOW. I SUSPECT THAT IT IS RELATED TO A FAULTY GENERAL MODULE 5 UNIT IN THE CAR. ON RARE OCCASIONS UNLOCKING THE DOOR WILL NOT WORK WHEN PULLING THE DOOR LATCH WHEN THE ALL DOOR LOCK BUTTON IS NOT WORKING, LEADING TO DRIVER/PASSENGERS TRAPPED IN THE CAR. *TR

NHTSA ID

10405973

Incident

Jun 11, 2011

Mileage

156,111 mi

GM5, AND MASS AIRFLOW SENSOR NOT WORKING ON MY 2001 325I BMW. IT SHUTS OFF WHEN GET A DEAD STOP AND ABOUT TO TAKE OFF AGAIN. THE DOORS WILL UNLOCK AND LOCK AFTER PRESSING THE BUTTONS MULTIPLE TIMES. THE REMOTE AS WELL WILL NOT UNLOCK OR LOCK THE DOORS EVERYTIME. ITS AT RANDOM WITH NO SPECIFIC PATTERN. *TR

NHTSA ID

10403607

Incident

May 27, 2011

Mileage

113,025 mi

I HAVE A 2001 BMW 325I - 4 DOOR. THE PROBLEM I AM HAVING IS: INTERMITTENTLY (USUALLY WHEN HOT) THE DOOR LOCKS WILL NOT OPEN WITH THE BUTTON ON THE KEY - ALL FOUR. WHEN THAT HAPPENS, I CAN UNLOCK THE DRIVER'S SIDE DOOR WITH THE KEY BUT I CAN NOT OPEN THE OTHER THREE DOORS WITH THE BUTTON ON THE KEY, THE BUTTON ON THE DASH OR BY PULLING THE HANDLES. THE GAS LID DOES NOT UNLOCK EITHER. SOMETIMES JUST THE DRIVERS SIDE DOOR WILL OPEN WITH THE BUTTON ON THE KEY AND THEN - USUALLY - I CAN UNLOCK THE OTHER DOORS WITH THE HANDLES. SOMETIMES EVERYTHING WORKS FINE. THE TRUNK DOES NOT HAVE PROBLEMS UNLOCKING. I HAVE BEEN TOLD THE GM5 MODULE HAS A COMMON FAILURE THAT CAUSES THESE ISSUES. *TR

NHTSA ID

10285519

Incident

Sep 27, 2009

Mileage

130,000 mi

THE CONNECTORS ON THE REAR TAIL LIGHTS ARE DEFECTIVE THEY ARE BURNT AND SHORTED AND WIRE IS BURNT. IN SAME LOCATION. I HAVE TO REPLACE THE CONNECTOR, THE BURNT WIRE, AND THE TAILLIGHT ASSEMBLY ON BOTH SIDES. ITS THE SAME WIRE (BROWN #4 I BELIEVE). *TR

NHTSA ID

10283676

Incident

Jul 19, 2009

Mileage

101,000 mi

I HAVE A 2001 BMW 2.5 AUTOMATIC WITH ABOUT 55K MILES. THE SERVICE ENGINE SOON LIGHT CAME ON AROUND 12K AND THE DEALER REPLACE THE COIL. IT CAME ON AGAIN SEVERAL TIME LATER OVER THE COURSE OF 2 YEARS FOR FEW DAYS. EVERY TIME BY THE TIME I TOOK THE CAR TO THE DEALER, THE SES DISAPPEARED AND DEALER CAN'T FIND ANY THING WRONG. HOWEVER, I NOTICE THAT WHEN THE LIGHT IS ON, THE ENGINE RUN ROUGH AND ACCELERATION IS SLOW. MY CAR IS OUT OF WARRANTY NOW AT 55K AND THE LIGHT IS ON FOR THE LAST FEW DAYS. ALSO, BMW IS FAMOUS FOR PROBLEM WITH THE WINDOWS REGULATOR. DEALER REPLACES THREE OF THE FOUR WINDOWS REGULATORS ON THREE DOORS DURING WARRANTY BUT NOW THE FOURTH ONE HAS FAILED. WHAT THIS MEANS IS THAT NOW ALL THE WINDOWS REGULATOR ON ALL THE FOUR DOORS HAS FAILED. PLEASE HAVE BMW RECALLED THE ISSUE WITH IGNITION COIL AND FIX THE WINDOWS REGULATOR. THANK YOU VERY MUCH

NHTSA ID

10098811

Incident

Nov 1, 2004

Mileage

54,500 mi

THE ELECTRICAL BOX HAS MALFUNCTIONED. AS A RESULT THE STEERING LOCKS AND THE ENGINE STALLS WITHOUT WARNING. PLEASE PROVIDE ADDITIONAL INFORMATION. *PH

NHTSA ID

10048405

Incident

Oct 29, 2003

Mileage

35,000 mi

HALOGEN HEADLIGHTS & TURN SIGNALS GO ON AND OFF WHEN THE VEHICLE DESIRES. HAS BEEN TAKEN IN FOR EXAMINATION ON 4 SEPARATE OCCASIONS. CURRENTLY THE TURN SIGNALS ARE OUT AGAIN AND HAVE NOT BEEN REPAIRED. FRONT DRIVER SIDE WINDOW INOPERABLE, FRONT PASSENGER SIDE WINDOW INOPERABLE, SUNROOF CLIPS BROKEN, BOTH REAR SIDE DOOR PANELS HAVE FALLEN OFF. ALL HAVE BEEN TAKEN IN AT SEPARATE TIMES AND ALL HAVE BEEN REPAIRED. *JB

NHTSA ID

10028572

Incident

Nov 27, 2001

WHILE MY FOOT WAS FIRMLY ON THE BREAK, MY 2001 BMW 325I SEEMED TO SPEED UP AND CAUSED ME TO CRASH INTO THE BUILDING I WAS PARKING IN FRONT OF. SEVERE DAMAGE ACROSS THE BOTTOM OF MY RIGHT FOOT( A BRUISE THE SHAPE OF THE BRAKE PEDAL } ALONG WITH OTHER FOOT AND ANKLE INJURIES INDICATE MY FOOT WAS INDEED ON THE BRAKE AND NOT ON THE ACCELERATOR AS ONE MIGHT THINK. THE DAMAGE TO THE CAR $ 5,000.00. NO ANSWER FOR WHAT HAPPENED FROM DEALER. APPROX SEVEN MONTHS LATER, WHILE ON AN OPEN ROAD APPROACHING STOP LIGHT AGAIN WITH MY FOOT ON BRAKE, CAR REVVED UP TO 4,000 RMP THEN BACK DOWN AND STALLED. CAR WOULD NOT START AFTER THIS. TOWED TO DIFFERENT BMW DEALER WHO CLAIMED FAULTY GAS SENSORS WERE TO BLAME. SENSORS TOLD ENGINE CAR NEEDED GAS WHEN INDEED IT DID NOT. *NLM

NHTSA ID

10010507

Incident

Nov 13, 2001

Mileage

5,000 mi