2006 BMW 325XI Complaints

STEERING WHEEL LOCK ISSUE CAUSING ISSUES WHEN TRYING TO START IGNITION. THE STEERING WHEEL LOCK WILL HAPPEN 2-3 TIMES A WEEK AND EVENTUALLY DISABLE COMPLETELY AFTER A FEW MONTHS. HAD TO REPLACE WITH A NEW STEERING COLUMN. *TR

3 OF THE 4 DOOR LOCKS ON MY 2006 BMW 325XI FAILED. A FRIEND WAS IN THE PASSENGER SEAT AND ONCE WE STOPPED AND ATTEMPTED TO GET OUT, THE PASSENGER DOOR WOULD NOT OPEN. SHE WAS TRAPPED IN THE CAR AND HAD TO BE REMOVED VIA THE PASSENGER WINDOW. THE TWO REAR DOORS AND ONE PASSENGER DOOR WOULD NOT OPEN EITHER. THE BUTTONS WOULD NOT WORK TO OPEN THEM AND THE DOORS COULD NOT BE OPENED BY PULLING THE HANDLE INSIDE. MY 76 YEAR OLD GRANDMOTHER HAD JUST LEFT THE CAR 20 MINUTES EARLIER AND HAS DIFFICULTY WITH MOBILITY, IT WAS 94 DEGREES TODAY, WHAT WOULD I DO IF SHE WAS TRAPPED IN THE CAR IN THIS HEAT? THE PROBLEM IS CONSTANT AND NO CORRECTIVE ACTIONS HAVE BEEN TAKEN FOR FEAR OF FURTHER DAMAGE. *TR

I AM VERY FRUSTRATED AS I OWN A 2006 BMW 325XI WITH APPROX 55K MILES AND HAVE A PASSENGER SEAT AIRBAG MALFUNCTION. AT THIS TIME THE PASSENGER AIRBAG IS DEACTIVATED ALL THE TIME. THIS IS SOMETHING THAT HAS A RECALL BUT IT IS VIN SPECIFIC AND MY VEHICLE ISN'T INCLUDED. IF A QUICK INTERNET SEARCH IS PERFORMED THERE ARE MANY FORUMS WHERE PEOPLE HAVE THIS SAME EXACT ISSUE AND THEY ARE NOT INCLUDED IN THE RECALL. THE RECALL DESCRIBES MY PROBLEM VERBATIM BUT I AM NOT COVERED. THIS IS A SAFETY ISSUE BECAUSE MY PASSENGER AIRBAGS WILL NOT DEPLOY IF THERE WAS A CRASH. THEY WOULD NOT DEPLOY BECAUSE THE SENSOR IN THE SEAT IS BAD AND WAS ADMITTEDLY A POOR DESIGN. I DON'T THINK CONSUMERS SHOULD BE ON THE HOOK TO FIX SUCH A CRUCIAL FEATURE SUCH AS AIRBAGS OR ANY PART WITH A BAD DESIGN THAT COULD MEAN LIFE OR DEATH. I HAVE ALREADY SPENT MORE TIME ON THIS THAN I SHOULD HAVE BEEN REQUIRED TO. I TALKED TO MECHANICS AND THEY COULDN'T TELL ME WHY ONE WAS COVERED AND ANOTHER ONE NOT AS THEY ARE EXACTLY THE SAME SENSOR. I WOULD ASSUME MORE COMPLAINTS ARE NOT MADE BECAUSE OF THE TIME REQUIRED TO DO SO AND MOST PEOPLE JUST TAKE THEIR VEHICLES TO THE DEALER AND PAY THE PRICE. ESPECIALLY MOST BMW OWNERS. I HAVE BEEN AROUND AND WORKING ON VEHICLES MY WHOLE LIFE AND VERY SELDOM TAKE A VEHICLE TO A SHOP FOR REPAIR. I RESEARCH EVERYTHING I DO AND MY RESEARCH HAS SHOWN ME THIS IS A KNOWN ISSUE AND IT SHOULD NOT COST ME ANY MONEY. *TR

FRONT PASSENGER AIR BAG WARNING LIGHT ILLUMINATES AND WARNING SIGNALS SOUND EVERY TIME A PASSENGER SITS IN THE FRONT PASSENGER SEAT, REGARDLESS OF OCCUPANT SIZE. THIS RESULTS IN THE PASSENGER AIR BAG BEING DEACTIVATED. THIS HAS BEEN REPORTED TO BMW OF FORT MYERS (TWO OCCASIONS IN PERSON IN 2009 AND 2010) AND BMW (VIA THEIR ONLINE CUSTOMER EMAIL SYSTEM TWO TIMES IN 2010 AND 2011). NEITHER PARTY IS WILLING TO CHECK THE SYSTEM OR REPAIR IT EVEN THOUGH THE NHTSA WEBSITE INDICATES (1) BMW RECALLED 200,000 VEHICLES WITH THIS ISSUE AND (2) BMW HAS EXTENDED THE WARRANTY TO 10 YEARS WITHOUT ANY MILEAGE LIMIT. I NEED NHTSA'S ASSISTANCE IN GETTING BMW TO REVIEW AND FIX THIS ISSUE SIMILARLY TO THE HUNDREDS OF THOUSAND OF OTHER CARS THEY HAVE RECALLED.

MY 2006 BMW 325XI HAS HAD THE AMBER STEERING LOCK LIGHT ON FOR OVER A MONTH AND WILL NOT GO OFF. IT IS A COMMON PROBLEM WITH THIS MAKE AND MODEL OF CAR AND BMW HAS REFUSED TO FIX IT. MY CAR IS 3000 MILES PAST THE WARRANTY AND IT NEEDS A NEW STEERING COLUMN. *TR

DAMAGED AIRBAG SENSOR MAT ON FRONT PASSENGER SEAT THAT DISABLES THE AIRBAG FROM DEPLOYING ON THE PASSENGER SIDE WHEN THE FRONT PASSENGER SEAT IS OCCUPIED. THIS IS A COMMON PROBLEM, THAT BMW ONLY RECALLED 200,000 IN 2008. VERY COSTLY AND DANGEROUS. *TR

I HAVE HAD THREE SEPARATE INSTANCES IN A NINE MONTH PERIOD STARTING IN MAY OF 2010 OF ALLOY WHEELS CRACKING ON MY 2006 BMW 325XIT, WHICH HAS RUN FLAT TIRES. THE DEALER SAID IT IS FROM HITTING POT HOLES, CURBS, OR PARKING BLOCKS. I FIND THIS TO BE VERY UNUSUAL AS I LIVE IN A WARMER STATE WHERE THERE ARE VERY FEW POT HOLES, AND I HAVE NOT HIT A CURB OR PARKING BLOCK. MOREOVER, IN THIRTY-THREE YEARS OF DRIVING, I HAVE NEVER HAD A SINGLE WHEEL CRACK ON ANY CAR THAT I OWNED. I ALSO OWN A 2002 BMW (THAT DOES NOT HAVE RUN FLATS) AND HAVE NEVER HAD A WHEEL CRACK ON IT. A REVIEW OF THE INTERNET REVEALS COMPLAINTS BY BMW OWNERS WITH RUN FLAT TIRES EXPERIENCING REPEATED WHEEL CRACKS. IT APPEARS THAT THE RUN FLAT TIRES MAY NOT COMPATIBLE WITH THE WHEELS. YET, NOTHING HAS BEEN DONE BY BMW TO RECALL OR CORRECT THE PROBLEM. THIS IS A VERY DANGEROUS SITUATION AND VERY EXPENSIVE WITH THE WHEELS COSTING $345 EACH TO REPLACE. *TR

DOOR LOCKING ISSUES, DOORS WILL NOT OPEN FROM INSIDE OF THE CAR WHEN HANDLE IS OPENED BY PASSENGERS. DOORS WILL NOT UNLOCK VIA KEY FOB. POSSIBLE ISSUE WITH CONTROL MODULE GM5 WITHIN THE BMW DASHBOARD. *LN

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2006 BMW 325XI. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THERE WAS AN ELECTRICAL ISSUE CONCERNING THE VEHICLE. THE DEALER REPLACED THE BATTERY BUT THE FAILURE CONTINUED. THE DEALER INSPECTED THE VEHICLE AGAIN AND STATED THAT THE INDEPENDENT BATTERY SYSTEM CORE HAD FAILED. THE VEHICLE WAS REPAIRED. THE CONTACT WAS LOCKED IN THE VEHICLE UNTIL ROADSIDE ASSISTANCE CAME OUT TO CHARGE THE BATTERY. THE VIN WAS UNAVAILABLE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 82,000 AND THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 94,000.

FRONT PASSENGER SEAT BELT LIGHT AND AIRBAG LIGHT STAY ON EVEN WHEN A PASSENGER IS SEATED IN CAR. BMW DIAGNOSED A PROBLEM WITH THE PASSENGER SEAT OCCUPANCY MAT. THIS IS THE SAME PROBLEM AS THE 2008 RECALL, BUT MY MODEL IS NOT INCLUDED IN THE RECALL. I SPOKE WITH THE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT OF BMW WHO SAYS THAT THEY ARE NOT RESPONSIBLE SINCE MY CAR WAS NOT INVOLVED IN THE RECALL. THEY SAID IT IS A DIFFERENT PART THAT WAS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE MAT NOT WORKING PROPERLY. I FEEL THAT SINCE MY CAR HAS THE SAME SAFETY PROBLEM, EVEN IF IT IS A DIFFERENT PART, IT SHOULD BE FIXED BY BMW WITHOUT COST TO ME.