2003 BMW 325I Complaints

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2003 BMW 325I. THE CONTACT STATED THAT NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 14V428000 (AIR BAGS) HAD EXCEEDED A REASONABLE AMOUNT OF TIME FOR REPAIR. THE DEALER STATED THAT PARTS NEEDED TO REPAIR THE VEHICLE WERE NOT AVAILABLE. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT MADE AWARE OF THE DELAY. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE VEHICLE HAD NOT EXPERIENCED THE FAILURE.

VEHICLE HAS RECURRING LOCKING ISSUE. WHEN INSIDE THE VEHICLE, DOOR LOCKS STOP FUNCTIONING. PRESSING DOOR LOCK BUTTON WILL NOT WORK. PRESSING BUTTON ON REMOTE WILL NOT WORK. ATTEMPTING TO MANUALLY OPEN DOOR USING DOOR HANDLE WILL NOT WORK. THIS IS A SAFETY ISSUE. THE LAST INCIDENT BOTH MYSELF AND MY CHILD WERE TRAPPED INSIDE THE VEHICLE IN THE HEAT AND HAD TO CALL 911 AS WE DID NOT HAVE THE KEY TO ROLL DOWN THE WINDOW. THE FRONT WINDOW HAD TO BE BROKEN AND WE HAD TO BE REMOVED THROUGH A WINDOW BECAUSE THE DOOR LOCKS WOULD NOT RELEASE. WE WERE TAKEN TO THE HOSPITAL FOR HEAT STROKE. WHEN I INVESTIGATED, I FOUND A GIRL DIED DUE TO THE SAME ISSUE. WHY HAS THERE BEEN NO RECALL? YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED AND THIS IS A FATAL ISSUE. HERE IS THE LINK TO THE GIRLS DEATH: HTTP://WWW.LATIMES.COM/LOCAL/LANOW/LA-ME-LN-GIRL-TRAPPED-IN-BMW-DIES-20140509-STORY.HTML. *TR

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2003 BMW 325I. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING AT APPROXIMATELY 45 MPH, THE CONTACT FALL ASLEEP BEHIND THE WHEEL AND CRASHED INTO A DITCH. THE AIR BAGS FAILED TO DEPLOY. THE CONTACT SUSTAINED UNKNOWN INJURIES THAT REQUIRED MEDICAL /ATTENTION. THE VEHICLE WAS DESTROYED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE ISSUE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 100,000. UPDATED 4/29/15*CN UPDATED 9/8/2017*CN

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2003 BMW 325I. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 20 MPH, THE REAR BRAKE LIGHTS FAILED TO ILLUMINATE. THE CONTACT REPLACED THE BULBS BUT THE FAILURE RECURRED SEVERAL TIMES. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT DIAGNOSED OR REPAIRED. THE CONTACT WAS MADE AWARE OF RECALL NHTSA CAMPAIGN ID NUMBER: 11V438000 (EXTERIOR LIGHTING), BUT DID NOT RECEIVE NOTIFICATION. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 200,000.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2003 BMW 325I. THE CONTACT RECEIVED A NOTIFICATION FOR RECALL NHTSA CAMPAIGN ID NUMBER: 14V428000 (AIR BAGS). HOWEVER, THE PARTS NEEDED FOR THE REPAIRS WERE UNAVAILABLE. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED OF THE ISSUE. THE CONTACT HAD NOT EXPERIENCED A FAILURE.

WHILE DRIVING ON THE FREEWAY MY ENGINE JUST SHUT OFF AND CONTINUES TO DO SO EVERY TIME I DRIVE MY CAR. SO, MY BRAKES AND STEERING LOCK UP BECAUSE THE ENGINE SHUTS OFF. MY MECHANIC TOLD ME THERE WAS A RECALL DME MS45 - FC28B2, 28AA, 28AC; INTERNAL RAM FAULTS MODEL E46 M54 WITH MS45.1 FROM 9/00 TO 7/06 E83 M54 WITH MS45.0/MS45.1 FROM 9/03 TO 9/06 E85 M54 WITH MS45.0 FROM 10/04 TO 1/06 E60 M54 WITH MS45.1 FROM 9/03 TO 3/05 SITUATION CUSTOMERS MAY COMPLAIN ABOUT A CRANK/NO START OR A ROUGH START SITUATION. THE "SERVICE ENGINE SOON LIGHT" OR THE DSC LIGHT IS ILLUMINATED, AND ONE OF THE 3 SCENARIOS MAY APPLY: FC 28B2 "RPM LIMITING RESET " IS STORED IN THE DME TOGETHER WITH ONE, OR MORE OF THE FOLLOWING FAULTS WHICH ARE CAUSED BY THE 28B2: FC 28AC - "NOMINAL TORQUE", FC 2796 - "THROTTLE FLAP: ADAPTATION WRONG", FC 27A1 - "THROTTLE FLAP: START CHECK", FC 2869 - "DME SELF DIAGNOSTIC: RAM CHECK FAILED". FC 28AA "IDLE SPEED REGULATOR" IS STORED IN THE DME. FC 28AC "NOMINAL TORQUE" IS STORED IN THE DME. CAUSE FAULT CODES 28B2, 28AA AND 28AC INDICATE AN INTERNAL DME RAM FAULT. PROCEDURE PERFORM THE APPROPRIATE DIS/GT1 TEST MODULES FOR THE 28B2, 28AA OR 28AC. REPLACE THE DME IF PROMPTED BY THE DIS/GT1 TEST MODULE RESULTS. IMPORTANT: DO NOT REPLACE THE THROTTLE BODY FOR THE THROTTLE FAULTS, STORED IN CONJUNCTION WITH FC28B2, EVEN WHEN THE TEST PLAN RECOMMENDS TO DO SO. PLEASE CAN I GET THIS REPAIRED AND COVERED FOR ALL THE COST BEFORE I KILL MYSELF OR MY GRANDCHILDREN... AT COURTESY MOTORS CHICO 2520 COHASSET RD. CHICO,CA 95973 THANK YOU KINDLY *TR

MY 2003 BMW 325IT STALLS UNEXPECTEDLY WHILE DRIVING. THE ENGINE SHUTS DOWN, I LOOSE POWER STEERING, THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT GOES ON AND HAVE TO PULL OFF THE ROAD. I THEN PUT IT IN PARK AND START THE ENGINE AGAIN. THIS STARTED TO HAPPEN IN 2011 AND NOW OCCURS WITH INCREASING FREQUENCY. IT HAPPENED THREE TIMES IN 2014, INCLUDING TODAY OCTOBER 11, 2014, WHILE I WAS DRIVING ON A TWO LANE ROAD AT ABOUT 40 MPH. I AM VERY WORRIED ABOUT MY PERSONAL SAFETY AND HOPE TO HAVE AN EARLY RESPONSE FROM YOU ABOUT THIS CRITICAL MATTER. I HAVE ALSO WRITTEN TO BMW CORPORATION. I AM THE ORIGINAL OWNER OF THE CAR, BOUGHT ON OCTOBER 22, 2002 FROM VOB AUTO SALES 1396 ROCKVILLE PIKE, ROCKVILLE, MD 20852 USA. *TR

THERE IS A RECALL ON OUR CAR FOR AIR BAGS, BUT WE RECEIVED A LETTER SAYING THAT THERE ARE NO PARTS AVAILABLE. THERE IS NO INFORMATION ON HOW LONG IT WILL TAKE TO GET THE PARTS. *TR

REMOTE UNLOCKING/LOCKING WILL NOT FUNCTION. DOORS CAN NOT BE OPENED OR UNLOCKED FROM INSIDE VEHICLE WITH CENTRAL LOCK SWITCH OR WITH DOOR HANDLE, TRAPPING PASSENGERS INSIDE. THE DRIVERS WINDOW MUST BE ROLLED DOWN AND KEY USED TO UNLOCK DRIVER SIDE DOOR TO EXIT VEHICLE. CLIMBING OUT OF WINDOWS OR CLIMBING TO DRIVERS SEAT IS THE ONLY WAY OUT OF CAR, BMW STATES "NOT A SAFETY ISSUE". *TR

MY CURRENT VEHICLE IS A 2003 BMW 325I WITH BI-XENON HEADLIGHTS MANUFACTURED BY ZKW. OVER THE LAST YEAR OR TWO, THE LIGHT OUTPUT FROM THE XENON HEADLIGHTS HAD DROPPED TO THE POINT WHERE I GET ALMOST NO NOTICEABLE ILLUMINATION OF THE ROAD AT NIGHT (IN AVERAGE CITY LEVELS OF STREET ILLUMINATION). I TURNED TO USING MY FOGLAMPS TO BE ABLE TO SEE ANYTHING. MECHANIC INSPECTED THE HEADLIGHT ASSEMBLY AND THE UPPER PORTION OF THE PROJECTOR BOWLS ARE BURNED. THEY ARE MADE OF PLASTIC AND PAINTED WITH REFLECTIVE PAINT, BUT THE UPPER ~60% OF THE BOWL IS NOW BROWNED AND NONREFLECTIVE. THIS IS DUE TO AN INABILITY OF THE PAINT TO WITHSTAND THE HIGH TEMPERATURES GENERATED BY THE XENON BULBS. ALSO, THIS SEEMS TO BE COMMON TO MANY/ALL ZKW BRAND HEADLIGHTS UTILIZED IN 2003-2004 MODEL YEARS OF 3 SERIES (E46) BMW VEHICLES, ACCORDING TO POSTINGS ON THE BMW-OWNER FORUMS. REFLECTOR BOWLS CAN NOT BE PURCHASED AND REPLACED SEPARATELY AND THE ENTIRE HEADLAMP ASSEMBLY MUST BE REPLACED AT A COST OF APPX $2400. ZKW HAS CHANGED THE DESIGN SO THERE IS SUFFICIENT EVIDENCE TO SUGGEST THAT THEY AND BMW ARE AWARE OF THE DESIGN FLAW AND RESULTING SAFETY HAZARD. *TR