2006 BMW 3 SERIES Complaints

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

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

THE DOORS TO THE VEHICLE LOCKED AUTOMATICALLY AND COULD NOT BE OPENED FROM INSIDE THE VEHICLE. I HAD TO OPEN THE DRIVER SIDE WINDOW AND USE THE KEY FROM THE IGNITION FOB TO OPEN THE DRIVER DOOR FROM OUTSIDE. ALL OTHER DOORS REMAINED LOCKED AND COULD NOT BE OPENED FROM INSIDE OR OUTSIDE. I CONSIDER THIS A SAFETY ISSUE BECAUSE VEHICLE OCCUPANTS COULD BE TRAPPED IN THE CAR WITH NO WAY TO EXIT BESIDES CRAWLING THROUGH A WINDOW. I BELIEVE BMW SHOULD ISSUE A SAFETY RECALL TO REMEDY THIS DEFECT. *JS

MY VEHICLE APPEARS TO BE PART OF RECALL ON MAT SENSOR FOR PASSENGER SIDE AIR BAGS DEFECT, BUT WHEN I CALLED DEALER THEY SAID MY VIN # NOT IN RECALL.. HOWEVER, I HAVE HAD A WARNING MESSAGE THAT MY PASSENGER SIDE AIRBAG AND OR MY SEAT BELT TENSIONER WERE MALFUNCTIONING SINCE LAST JUNE, 2013.. WARNING IS STILL PRESENT, SO I FIGURE MY CAR MUST BE ONE THAT IS IN FACT EFFECTED AND SHOULD BE IN THE RECALL.. PLEASE ADVISE. *TR

I AM AN OWNER OF 2006 BMW 330I SEDAN WITH SPORTS SEAT (MANUFACTURE DATE: 5/2005). RECENTLY, THE PASSENGER AIRBAG SENSOR BECAME MALFUNCTION, AND THE PASSENGER SIDE AIRBAG IS INDICATED AS 'PASSENGER AIRBAG OFF' AS THE RESULT. AFTER RESEARCHING ON NHTSA WEBSITE, I NOTICED THAT THIS IS A KNOWN ISSUE, AND BMW IS ISSUING A RECALL ON AFFECTED VEHICLES. HOWEVER, IN FURTHER REVIEWING THE RELATED DOCUMENTS ON THE NHTSA WEBSITE, ALTHOUGH BMW HAS RECALLED 2006 330I SEDAN WITH SPORT SEATS, THE MANUFACTURE DATE OF THE AFFECTED VEHICLES THAT ARE INCLUDED IN THE RECALL ARE FROM DEC 2005 TO SEPT 2006, AND BECAUSE OF THIS, IT EXCLUDES MY VEHICLE. WITH OTHER COMPLAINTS LISTED, IT IS CLEAR THAT THE SAME ISSUE HAS IMPACTED A LOT OF OWNERS OF 2006 330I SEDAN WITH SPORT SEAT PRIOR TO THE MANUFACTURE DATE THAT BMW HAS SPECIFIED ON THE RECALL. DUE TO THIS REASON, THE RECALL SHOULD HAVE BEEN CONSIDERED TO INCLUDE EARLIER MANUFACTURE DATE OF THE MODEL CONSIDERED THIS IS NOT AN ISOLATED ISSUE. *TR

I RECEIVED A RECALL NOTICE FROM BMW IN JANUARY 2014 (RECALL CAMPAIGN NUMBER 13V-564: FRONT PASSENGER AIR BAG SEAT OCCUPANCY SENSOR MAT). THE RECALL NOTICE STATES THAT IN THE CURRENT CONDITION, THE VEHICLE IS UNSAFE TO DRIVE WITH A PASSENGER IN THE FRONT PASSENGER SEAT. THE RECALL NOTICE STATES THAT THE PARTS NEEDED TO PERFORM THE REPAIR ARE SCHEDULED TO BE AVAILABLE IN MARCH 2014. IT IS NOW MAY 6, 2014 AND BMW CUSTOMER RELATIONS HAS INDICATED THAT THE PARTS ARE STILL NOT AVAILABLE AND THEY ARE UNABLE TO PROVIDE AN ESTIMATE ON WHEN THEY WILL BE. IT HAS NOW BEEN NEARLY 5 MONTHS SINCE RECEIVING THE ORIGINAL RECALL NOTICE. DURING THIS TIME I ESSENTIALLY HAVE A VEHICLE THAT IS UNSAFE TO DRIVE WITH A PASSENGER IN THE FRONT PASSENGER SEAT. BMW DOES NOT APPEAR TO BE TAKING THIS ISSUE SERIOUSLY AND PROVIDING A PROMPT RESOLUTION TO THIS PROBLEM. I HAVE PLACED REPEATED CALLS INTO BMW CUSTOMER RELATIONS AND CONTINUE TO BE INFORMED THAT NOTHING CAN BE DONE UNTIL THE REQUIRED PARTS ARE MADE AVAILABLE. ANY ASSISTANCE YOU CAN PROVIDE IS GREATLY APPRECIATED. *TR

BMW 2006 325I . DRIVER'S AND/OR FRONT PASSENGER'S AIRBAGS MALFUNCTIONING LIGHT IN RED I HAVE CONTACTED PERFORMANCE BMW(919-942-3191) IN CHAPEL HILL, NC WHO STATES MY VEHICLE IS NOT PART OF THIS RECALL. I HAVE ASKED THE SERVICE PERSON THAT I SPOKE WITH (MONICA) TO HELP WITH CONTACTING BMW AND THEY REFUSED, STATING THEY DID HAVE THE PHONE NUMBER. I WOULD LIKE TO ASK THAT BMW USA PLEASE INCLUDE MY VEHICLE IN THE RECALL DUE TO THE SAFETY THAT IS INVOLVED WITH THE POSSIBILITY OF THE AIR BAGS NOT DEPLOYING IF THE VEHICLE WERE TO BE HIT OR INVOLVED IN AN ACCIDENT. NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 13V564000 COMPONENT(S): AIR BAGS POTENTIAL NUMBER OF UNITS AFFECTED: 76,565 MANUFACTURER: BMW OF NORTH AMERICA, LLC *JS

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

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2006 BMW 3 SERIES. THE CONTACT RECEIVED A RECALL NOTIFICATION OF NHTSA CAMPAIGN ID NUMBER 13V564000 (AIR BAGS) HOWEVER, THE CONTACT WAS UNABLE TO HAVE THE VEHICLE SERVICED UNDER THE RECALL DUE TO THE UNAVAILABILITY OF THE PART. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE PROBLEM AND THEY WERE NOT ABLE TO PROVIDE AN EXPECTED DATE FOR THE PART TO BECOME AVAILABLE. THE CONTACT HAD NOT EXPERIENCED A FAILURE. UPDATED 05/19/14*LJ THE CONSUMER STATED THE FIRST TIME THE WARNING LIGHT ILLUMINATED WAS IN 2009. THE DEALER AND MANUFACTURER REFUSED ACKNOWLEDGE A SAFETY ISSUE. PASSENGERS HAVE NOT BEEN PERMITTED TO RIDE IN THE FRONT SEATING AREA. UPDATED 05/28/2014 *JS