2003 BMW 330I Problems

TL* TAKATA RECALL. THE CONTACT OWNS A 2003 BMW 330I. THE CONTACT RECEIVED NOTIFICATION OF NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBERS: 11V438000 (EXTERIOR LIGHTING), 14V428000 (AIR BAGS), AND 15V318000 (AIR BAGS); HOWEVER, THE PARTS FOR THE RECALL REPAIRS WERE UNAVAILABLE. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE MANUFACTURER EXCEEDED A REASONABLE AMOUNT OF TIME FOR THE RECALL REPAIRS. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE AIR BAG AND SEAT BELT WARNING INDICATORS ILLUMINATED. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE TURN SIGNAL ON THE DRIVER'S SIDE MALFUNCTIONED BY BLINKING INTERMITTENTLY WHILE IN USE. THE CONTACT CALLED THE HIXSON BMW AND WALKER BMW DEALERS WHO BOTH STATED THAT THE PARTS WERE NOT AVAILABLE FOR THE REPAIRS. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURES. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 150,000. PARTS DISTRIBUTION DISCONNECT.

THE LOW BEAM REFLECTORS ON 2003-2004 ZKW HID HEADLIGHTS WERE MADE OF SOME MATERIAL THAT DEGRADED WHEN SUBJECTED TO THE HEAT PRODUCED BY OEM XENON BULBS. THIS RESULTS IN A SIGNIFICANT DECREASE IN LIGHT OUTPUT AS THE REFLECTOR BECAME SCORCHED. I DON'T KNOW THE EXACT INS AND OUTS, BUT I WOULD IMAGINE THAT BMW AND ZKW WERE AND ARE AWARE OF THE DEFECT AS THE NEWER, REDESIGNED HEADLIGHTS DO NOT SUFFER FROM THIS PROBLEM.

THE CAR WAS BEING DRIVEN BY MY HOUSE AND THE TRANSMISION STARTED SLIPPING AS WELL AS IT CATCHING AND BREAKING ONE OF THE AXLES LEAVING THE CAR TO BE STUCK NOT BEING ABLE TO MOVE PERIOD SURELY THE MOST IMPORTANT THING THIS RESULTED IN THE CAR GETTING HIT AND THE FUEL TANK EXPLODING MY AUNT WANT NOT ABLE TO MAKE IT OUT OF THE CAR TO GET OUT OF THE WAY AND AGAIN THIS CAR DIDN'T ALLOW THE AIR BAGS TO DEPLOY THE LOCATION IS UNKOWN

HI I HAVE TWO BMW'S THAT QUALIFY FOR THIS RECALL. I LEARNED ABOUT IT 6 WEEKS AGO. MY FIANC AND I HAVNT BEEN ABLE TO USE OUR VEHICLES IN ALMOST 2 MONTHS! I EVEN CALLED AND WENT TO THE BMW OF AND THEY SAID THEY WOULD ORDER THE AIR BAG FOR THE ONE AND OUR SECOND CAR THEY WOULD WRITE THE ORDER UP WHEN I LEFT THE DEALERSHIP . NEEDLESS TO SAY I EVEN BROUGHT OVER A DEALERSHIP MEMO FROM BMW BECAUSE I WORK IN THE AUTO INDUSTRY AND HAVE ACESSS TO IDENTIFIX.COM, I SHOWED THEM THE NOTICE WHERE THEY HAVE TO GIVE CUSTOMERS LOANER VEHICLES OR PAY UP TO $68 A DAY FOR A RENTAL CAR. THEY KEEP IGNORING MY CALLS.

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

NO EVENTS LEADING TO FAILURE CAR WILL RANDOMLY STALL WHEN STOPPED. PROBLEM CONTINUES TO PERSIST NOTHING HAS BEEN DONE. BMW CLAIMS THERE IS NO PROBLEM

THERE IS A PROBLEM WITH THE BMW 3.0L ENGINE WHERE IDLING ONCE THE ENGINE IS WARMED-UP IS USUALLY VERY ROUGH IN THE RANGE OF 500-700 RPM. THERE IS ALSO A TENDENCY TO DIP BELOW 500 RPM AND STALL OUT. THIS STARTED HAPPENING WHEN THE CAR ONLY HAD 700 MILES ON IT. I CONSIDER THE STALL A FAILURE.

MY 4TH GT RADIAL TIRE SIDE WALL BLOW OUT. ON 10/29/2017, MY 4TH TIRE BLEW OUT THE SIDE WALL ON THE HIGHWAY DOING 70 MPH. I HAVE SAVED THE THIS TIRE AND THE 3RD ONE THAT BLEW OUT A FEW MONTHS BACK FOR INVESTIGATION. I ALSO HAVE PICTURES.

I PURCHASED A SET OF 4 GT RADIAL TIRES FROM DISCOUNT TIRE DIRECT AND 3 OF THE 4 TIRES HAVE NOW BLOWN THE SIDEWALLS DUE TO AIR LEAK AT THE SIDEWALL. TIRE #1- RIGHT FRONT BLEW OUT ON 9/28/2016. TIRE #2- LEFT REAR- BLEW OUT ON 7/28/2017, TIRE #3- LEFT REAR ( MOVED THE TIRE FROM LEFT FRONT TO REAR) BLEW OUT ON 8/19/2017. WHEN I CALLED GT RADIAL TIRE TO FILE A COMPLAINT (SEPT 7, 2017 4:12PM EST), I ONLY GOT TO LEAVE A VOICE MAIL TO THEIR CONSUMER SERVICE PERSON. I NEVER GOT A CALL BACK. AFTER THE 3RD TIRE BLEW OUT, I QUESTIONED THE SAFETY OF THE TIRE AND THAT'S WHEN I LOOKED UP TIRE RECALL BY GT RADIAL AND FOUND THEIR TOURING TIRES OF THE SAME MODEL AS MINE HAD THE SAME DEFECT AND WAS RECALLED. I BELIEVE MY TIRES ARE ALSO DEFECTIVE. THE FOLLOWING ARE THE TIRE INFORMATION FROM THE SIDEWALL OF THE TIRE. I AM SAVING THE TIRE AND ALSO HAVE PICTURES. DOT CODE- 9UPE-00A-2114, E4 0257209-S, GT RADIAL- CHAMPIRO UHP1, SIZE= 255-35-18 94W XL

THE CAR WAS BEING DRIVEN BY MY HOUSE AND THE TRANSMISION STARTED SLIPPING AS WELL AS IT CATCHING AND BREAKING ONE OF THE AXLES LEAVING THE CAR TO BE STUCK NOT BEING ABLE TO MOVE PERIOD SURELY THE MOST IMPORTANT THING THIS RESULTED IN THE CAR GETTING HIT AND THE FUEL TANK EXPLODING MY AUNT WANT NOT ABLE TO MAKE IT OUT OF THE CAR TO GET OUT OF THE WAY AND AGAIN THIS CAR DIDN'T ALLOW THE AIR BAGS TO DEPLOY THE LOCATION IS UNKOWN

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.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2003 BMW 330I. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE BRAKES SEIZED AND THE STEERING WHEEL BECAME DIFFICULT TO TURN THEN THE EML WARNING INDICATOR ILLUMINATED. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER WHO STATED THAT THE FUEL PUMP FRACTURED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 83,000.

2003 BMW 330I. CONSUMER STATES THAT RIGHT REAR LAMP INDICATOR WAS LIT ON DASHBOARD. CONSUMER IS REQUESTING REIMBURSEMENT OF PREVIOUS REPAIR BEFORE RECALL WAS SENT. *KB BMW INFORMED THE CONSUMER THAT THE PREVIOUS REPAIR WAS NOT CONSISTENT WITH BMW STANDARDS AND THEREFORE, THEY HAD NO RESPONSIBILITY TO REIMBURSE HER. RECALL # 11V438000. *JB

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

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2003 BMW 330I. AFTER THE CPNTACT HAD THE RIMS CHROMED THEY WOULD CONTINUOUSLY AND SLOWLY DEFLATE. THE TIRES HAD TO BE INSPECTED AND REINFLATED AFTER EVERY TRIP. THE FAILURE DID NOT OCCUR UNTIL AFTER THE RIMS WERE CHROMED. THE RIMS WOULD NOT HOLD AIR. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 40,000 AND CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 70,000. UPDATED 03-04-08 *BF

I HAD A FLAT TIRE ON H1 FREEWAY WESTBOUND BETWEEN KAONOHI & PEARL CITY EXIT WHERE THE H1 WIDENING CONSTRUCTION IS ON PROGRESS JUST BEFORE 10:00 AM ON 2/2/06. THERE ARE SEVERAL LARGE SIZE GRAVELS ON THE FAR LEFT LANE I WAS DRIVING. BY THE TIME I SPOTTED, IT WAS TOO LATE TO CHANGE THE LANE FAST ENOUGH DUE TO THE VEHICLE NEXT TO ME IN HEAVY TRAFFIC. MY LEFT FRONT TIRE & RIM GOT HIT BY ONE OF GRAVELS & EXPLODED I HAD AAA TO CHANGE MY SPARE & NEEDED TO PURCHASE ANOTHER RIM & TIRE COST ME $450

THE CAR WAS BEING DRIVEN BY MY HOUSE AND THE TRANSMISION STARTED SLIPPING AS WELL AS IT CATCHING AND BREAKING ONE OF THE AXLES LEAVING THE CAR TO BE STUCK NOT BEING ABLE TO MOVE PERIOD SURELY THE MOST IMPORTANT THING THIS RESULTED IN THE CAR GETTING HIT AND THE FUEL TANK EXPLODING MY AUNT WANT NOT ABLE TO MAKE IT OUT OF THE CAR TO GET OUT OF THE WAY AND AGAIN THIS CAR DIDN'T ALLOW THE AIR BAGS TO DEPLOY THE LOCATION IS UNKOWN

WHILE TRAVELING AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS, SERVICE ENGINE SOON LIGHT CAME ON AND CODE WAS P0741 WAS READ BY SERVICE TECHNICIAN. WHEN FIXED, TORQUE CONVERTER SEAL WAS DAMAGED AND NEW TORQUE CONVERTER WAS REQUIRED TO BE INSTALLED. THIS IS A KNOWN ISSUE WITH THIS TRANSMISSION. BMW SHOULD HAVE A RECALL, AS THE NEW SEAL IS THE SAME DESIGN AND WILL FAIL AGAIN. *TR

ON COLD DAYS, THE TRANSMISSION WOULD SLIP WHEN PUT INTO DRIVE FOR APPROX. 5-10 SECONDS BEFORE DRIVING. *PH ON VERY COLD DAYS, LETTING THE CAR SIT FOR ONLY 4 HOURS WAS ENOUGH TO CAUSE IT TO SLIP. THE MANUFACTURER WAS AWARE OF THIS PROBLEM. THE DEALER ORDERED AND REPLACED THE TRANSMISSION WITH A REMANUFACTURED TRANSMISSION AT NO COST. *NM

ENGINE STALLS/ ROUGH IDLE WHEN RPMS ARE LOW. FIX NOT AVAILABLE. *AK

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2003 BMW 330I. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE BRAKES SEIZED AND THE STEERING WHEEL BECAME DIFFICULT TO TURN THEN THE EML WARNING INDICATOR ILLUMINATED. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER WHO STATED THAT THE FUEL PUMP FRACTURED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 83,000.