Owner-reported complaints naming the electrical system, filed with NHTSA
Data refreshed
Reports naming the electrical system — wiring, battery, charging, control modules, infotainment and electrical accessories. Every record below is an owner-reported complaint about the 2003 BMW 330I submitted to NHTSA — not a confirmed defect, not a recall and not a manufacturer bulletin. 10 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
ALL PASSENGER DOORS EXCEPT DRIVER DOOR CANNOT BE UNLOCKED OR OPENED USING ANY METHOD--THE KEY OR ANY UNLOCK BUTTON, OR USING EITHER INSIDE OR OUTSIDE DOOR HANDLES. THIS LEAVES ONLY THE FRONT DRIVER DOOR OPENABLE. THIS IS A HUGE SAFETY RISK. I CAN'T DRIVE THE CAR THIS WAY--I WOULD NOT BE ABLE TO GET MY KIDS OUT OF THE BACK SEAT. IT HAPPENS WHETHER THE CAR IS RUNNING OR NOT, AND MOVING OR NOT.
PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS INCIDENT HAPPENED PRIOR TO THE DATE AND MILEAGE NOTED ABOVE AS THE PREVIOUS OWNER HAD TO ALSO DEAL WITH THIS PROBLEM. I REPORT THE DATES AS WHEN I RECEIVED THE CAR WHEN IT CAME INTO MY OWNERSHIP ONLY. DRIVER'S DOOR LOCK FAILED TO ELECTRONICALLY AND MECHANICALLY UNLOCKED FROM THE INSIDE. THE DOOR CAN ONLY BE OPENED FROM THE OUTSIDE WITH A KEY. THIS POSES A POTENTIALLY GRAVE SAFETY CONCERN AS NO ONE CAN OPEN THE DOOR FROM INSIDE - ESSENTIALLY PASSENGERS MAY BECOME LOCKED-IN. CULPRIT APPEARS TO BE BMW E46 GM V MODULE FACTORY CODING WHERE GLITCH PREVENTS DOOR LOCKS FROM BEHAVING APPROPRIATELY. AFTERMARKET REPROGRAMMING FIXES THE ISSUE. THIS IS A VERY COMMON ISSUE FOR BMW E46 VEHICLES - INTERNET SEARCH "BMW GM V CONTROL MODULE" FOR DETAILS AND TESTIMONIALS. BMW SHOULD BE HELD RESPONSIBLE AND FIX THE ISSUE. *TR
ABOUT 2 OR SO YEARS AGO I STARTED TO NOTICE MY NIGHT DRIVING WAS BECOMING UNPLEASANT AND UNSAFE DUE TO THE FACT THAT MY HEADLIGHTS WERE LOSING OUTPUT. AFTER REPLACING THE PLASTIC LENSES NEW FROM BMW I THEN WENT ON TO BUYING NEW BULBS THINKING THAT WOULD MAKE A DIFF. IT DIDN'T. 10-12-12 TODAY MY LIGHTS ARE YELLOW/FOGGY ON THE INSIDE LIKE SMOKE HAS MADE THE LENSES OPAQUE AND MY OUTPUT IS BARELY SEEN, I LOOKED ON THE BACK WHERE THE BULB IS INSERTED AND IT SURE LOOKS BROWN IN THERE, I GET MORE LIGHT REFLECTED ON THE GROUND WHEN I TURN MY TURN SIGNALS THAN I DO ON THE HEADLIGHTS. AFTER GOING ONLINE AND SEARCHING, MY CAR CAME FROM FACTORY WITH A DEFECT ZKW XENON HEADLIGHT SYSTEM, WHICH 99% OF THE ZKW HEADLIGHT OWNERS OF E46 SEDANS FOUND ONLINE HAVE THE SAME ISSUE, ALL YOU HAVE TO DO IS GOOGLE "E46 ZKW BURNT BOWLS" . I HAVE A 4 MONTH OLD LITTLE GIRL, I CANNOT IMAGINE DRIVING WITH HER IN THE CAR ON A RAINY NIGHT AND MY CONCERN IS NOW MY BABY. I CAN SEND YOU PICTURES IF NEEDED PLEASE, THANK YOU FOR READING AND I APPRECIATE YOUR HELP. *TR
CENTRAL LOCKING MECHANISM IS GOING CRAZY. IF I WERE IN A CRASH, THE CAR IS SUPPOSED TO UNLOCK THE DOORS, TURN ON THE FLASHERS, ETC. THIS WILL NOT HAPPEN WITH THE CENTRAL LOCKING MECHANISM WORKING INTERMITTENTLY. IF I AM INJURED IN AN ACCIDENT IT MAY BE MORE DIFFICULT FOR PARAMEDICS TO GET TO ME. I WAS ACTUALLY LOCKED IN MY CAR TODAY WHEN I ARRIVED AT SCHOOL. I HAD TO CRAWL OUT THE WINDOW AND THANKFULLY I WAS ABLE TO ROLL UP THE WINDOW WITH THE KEY IN THE DOOR. I HAVE READ THAT THIS MAY STOP WORKING AS WELL. THIS IS VERY CONCERNING, ONLINE I HAVE READ THAT THIS CAN COST AROUND $750.00 TO FIX AT THE LOCAL BMW STEALERSHIP (WHOOPS, DEALERSHIP). BMW SHOULD FIX THIS IF THEY ARE CONCERNED WITH THEIR DRIVERS SAFETY. *TR
INTERMITTENT FAILURE OF DRIVER AND PASSENGER SIDE TAIL LIGHT ASSEMBLY DUE TO BURNT CONNECTOR PINS AND CONNECTOR HOUSING. INADEQUATE CONNECTOR/WIRE RATING. SHOULD BE SUBJECT OF A RECALL FROM A RESPONSIBLE CAR MANUFACTURER. UNSAFE TO DRIVE IN THE DARK. BLEMISH ON THE ULTIMATE DRIVING MACHINE. INTERMITTENT FAILURE OF THE MOSTLY PASSENGER SIDE HEAD LIGHT. OCCASIONAL FAILURE OF THE DRIVER SIDE HEAD LIGHT. NORMALLY THE LIGHT BULB WOULD REQUIRE REPLACEMENT, BUT OFTEN THE WHOLE LIGHTING UNIT IS CONSIDERED FAILING BY THE DEALER. COST OF REPLACEMENT IS EXTREMELY HIGH. *TR
THE PASSENGER DOORS FAIL TO OPEN WITH THE INTERNAL DOOR UNLOCK BUTTON. THIS IS DUE TO FAILURE OF DOOR UNLOCK RELAYS IN THE GM5 MODULE. THIS COULD RESULT IN A SIGNIFICANT SAFETY ISSUE IF A FAILURE OF THE UNLOCK RELAY HAPPENS WHEN ATTEMPTING TO UNLOCK PASSENGER DOORS IN AN EMERGENCY TO RETRIEVE PASSENGERS. *TR
MY CAR WILL NOT UNLOCK RELIABLY VIA THE REMOTE CONTROL OR THE CENTER UNLOCK/LOCK BUTTON. I CAN'T GET INTO THE CAR WHEN THIS PROBLEM HAPPENS. THE GENERAL MODULE(GM5) IS GOING BAD AND THE CAR WILL ONLY UNLOCK WHEN IT FEELS LIKE IT. FROM WHAT I UNDERSTAND THIS IS A NORMAL ISSUE WITH MY 2003 BMW 330I. HOPEFULLY BMW WILL FILE A RECALL ON THIS ITEM SO I DON'T HAVE TO PAY THE $790 THE DEALERSHIP CHARGES FOR THIS KNOWN PROBLEM. THANKS [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6) *KB
CAR STALLS. CAR DISPLAYS ERRATIC IDLE. CAR ENGINE STUMLE. *AKS
CAR STALLS. *AK
ERRATIC ENGINE IDLE AND STALL.AT IDLE ENGINE RPMS WILL DROP CAUSING A STALL/STUTTER. THIS HAPPENS FREQUENTLY AND IN ALL TYPES OF WEATHER CONDITIONS. THIS EFFECTS ALL 330I ZHP (PERFORMANCE PKG) MODEL.*AK
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
Data on this page last refreshed .