2007 BMW 328I Complaints

MY VEHICLE DISPLAYED A CODE, "TPM", WHICH MEANS, TIRE PRESSURE MONITOR, WHICH IS TO DETECT TIRE PRESSURE ISSUES FROM THE "RUN FLAT TIRES" THAT ARE STANDARD ON MY VEHICLE. I TOOK THE VEHICLE INTO MY DEALER AND THEY SAID, "THE TEMPERATURE SWING TRIPPED THE WARNING LIGHT". THEY RESET THE SYSTEM AND I CONTINUED TO USE MY VEHICLE AND WITHIN 3 DAYS, THE TPM LIGHT CAME ON AGAIN, AND I IMMEDIATELY DROVE OVER TO THE DEALER AGAIN. ON MY WAY TWO OF MY RUN FLAT TIRES LITERALLY SHREDDED AND I WAS FORCED TO HAVE THE CAR TOWED TO THE DEALER. THIS TIME THE DEALER DIAGNOSED THE PROBLEM WAS CAUSED BY THE NITROGEN THAT IS USED TO INFLATE THE TIRES, HAD ERODED THE INTERIOR LINING (WALLS) OF THE TIRES WHICH IS WHY THEY DID NOT DETECT THIS ISSUE 3 DAYS BEFORE. NOT ONLY DID I HAVE TO SPRING FOR 4 NEW TIRES, THAT HAVE 27K MILES ON THEM, I AM NOW FEARFUL OF THIS HAPPENING AGAIN. IF NITROGEN IS IN FACT DESTROYING THE TIRE FROM THE INSIDE OUT, THAN WHY IS THIS CHEMICAL BEING USED??? *TR

ON AUG 10, 2012, I WAS DRIVING MY 2007 BMW 328I ON MONTAGUE EXPY (COUNTY HIGHWAY G4) DURING THE PEAK TRAFFIC HOUR (6:30PM). OBVIOUSLY, AT THAT TIME, THE ROAD WAS PACKED WITH TRAFFIC, AND SUDDENLY MY CAR ENGINE EXTINGUISHED AND DIED RIGHT THERE IN THE MIDDLE OF THE EXPRESSWAY. I HAD TO STAY IN MY CAR FOR MY NEARLY 45 MINUTES, TOO TERRIFIED TO WALK OUT OF MY CAR AND ALSO TERRIFIED TO STAY INSIDE, WHERE I WAS EQUALLY VULNERABLE. THANKFULLY, THE CAR BEHIND ME HAD KEPT A GOOD DISTANCE AWAY AND STOPPED TOO; IF THE DRIVER WASN'T SO CAREFUL, ONE CAN ONLY IMAGINE A FAR WORSE SITUATION OCCURRING, SUCH AS A PILEUP. I HAVE KEPT A VERY GOOD MAINTENANCE RECORD ON THIS BMW 328I AND ALSO PURCHASED THE EXTENSION MAINTENANCE PROGRAM BACK WHEN I BOUGHT IT, AND THEREFORE, THIS MALFUNCTION ISSUE WAS MOST DEFINITELY NOT CAUSED BY OWNER IGNORANCE OR LACK OF CARE. AND YET, DESPITE HAVING TAKEN GOOD CARE OF MY CAR, I ALREADY HAD TO HAVE A MAJOR ENGINE REPAIR ON THE BMW WITHIN ITS FIRST TWO YEARS. AND JUST HALF A YEAR AGO, I HAD TO HAVE ANOTHER MAJOR STARTER REPAIR AS WELL - I COULDN'T EVEN START UP THE CAR ENGINE. AND NOW THERE'S THIS - A CAR STALL FROM A DEFECT WITH THE FUEL PUMP. I FIND THIS RECENT INCIDENT THE MOST AGGRAVATING AND DANGEROUS OF THEM ALL; I HONESTLY COULD HAVE DIED. THUS I AM FILING THIS COMPLAINT TO ALERT THE NATIONAL HIGHWAY TRAFFIC SAFETY ADMINISTRATION THAT THERE IS A PROBLEM IN PARTICULAR WITH THE BMW 328I. HOPEFULLY ONCE THIS PROBLEM IS DOCUMENTED AND BMW IS NOTIFIED, WE CAN SEE IF OTHER BMW 328I OWNERS HAVE BEEN EXPERIENCING SIMILAR PROBLEMS AS WELL, AND ULTIMATELY PREVENT BMW OWNERS FROM EXPERIENCING AN INCIDENT AS DANGEROUS AS MINE IN THE FUTURE. *TR

A BLOWN FUSE CAUSED THE DOOR UNLOCKING MECHANISM TO FAIL, TRAPPING OCCUPANTS IN THE CAR. THE DOORS COULD NOT BE OPENED BY ANY MEANS, AS THE FAILURE ALSO DISABLED THE NORMAL MECHANISM BY WHICH PULLING ON AN INTERIOR DOOR HANDLE RELEASED THE ASSOCIATED LOCK. THE SOLE EXCEPTION IS THAT THE DRIVER'S DOOR COULD BE OPENED BY ROLLING DOWN THE WINDOW, AND REACHING OUT AWKWARDLY THROUGH THE WINDOW TO THE EXTERIOR DOOR HANDLE WITH THE MECHANICAL AUXILIARY KEY. HOWEVER, THE ONLY EXIT AVAILABLE TO BACKSEAT PASSENGERS WAS THROUGH THE WINDOWS, ASSUMING THE PASSENGERS WERE SMALL ENOUGH TO FIT THROUGH THEM. NEITHER OF THESE MODES OF EGRESS WOULD BE SATISFACTORY IF EXIT NEEDED TO BE QUICK. FORTUNATELY, THIS PARTICULAR FAILURE HAPPENED TO MY FAMILY WHILE THE CAR WAS SAFELY PARKED. IN THE EVENT OF A COLLISION OR FIRE THAT REQUIRED RAPID EVACUATION OF THE VEHICLE, HOWEVER, THIS WOULD BE A POTENTIALLY LIFE THREATENING SITUATION. IDEALLY, THE LOCKS SHOULD BE MECHANICALLY LINKED TO THE DOOR HANDLES SO THAT AN ELECTRICAL FAILURE WOULD NOT RENDER IT IMPOSSIBLE TO OPEN THE DOORS. ABSENT THAT, AT LEAST HAVING INDIVIDUAL FUSES FOR EACH LOCK ACTUATOR WOULD LEAVE THREE FUNCTIONING DOORS IF ONE FAILED. *TR

THE FUEL SYSTEM FAILED WHEN THE CAR WAS AT 80MPH. THE CAR WAS LATER DIAGNOSED FOR FUEL PUMP FAILURE. *TR

VEHICLE WILL NOT START, REPLACED BATTERY AND ICON DISPLAYING ELECTRIC STEERING LOCK (ELV) SHOWS IN THE DASHBOARD. VEHICLE WILL NOT START AS STEERING WHEEL IS LOCKED AND CAN NOT BE RELEASED DEALER SAYS THE STEERING WHEEL COLUMN NEEDS TO BE REPLACED. THIS IS AN EXTREMELY COMMON PROBLEM WITH THESE CARS, DEALER SAID THE SEE ABOUT 3 CARS A WEEK WITH THIS PROBLEM. *TR

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2007 BMW 328I. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE VEHICLE WOULD STALL SPORADICALLY. THE COOLANT WARNING LIGHT WOULD ILLUMINATE AFTER THE FAILURE. THE CONTACT TOOK THE VEHICLE TO THE DEALER BUT WAS INFORMED THAT THERE WERE NO FAILURES FOUND WITHIN THE VEHICLE. THE DEALER AND MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 70,000.

RED INDICATOR FOR ELECTRONIC STEERING WHEEL LOCK MALFUNCTION. CAR FAILED TO START UNLESS MULTIPLE ATTEMPTS TO UNLOCK COLUMN BY INSERTING AND REMOVING KEY. DEALER SAYS THE COLUMN NEEDS TO BE REPLACED, AND THE CAR REPROGRAMMED TO "ACCEPT" THE NEW COLUMN. THE CAR IS COVERED UNDER A CPO WARRANTY, SO THE PARTS WILL BE COVERED, BUT THE "REPROGRAMMING" IS NOT. AN INTERNET SEARCH FOR "BMW ELECTRIC STEERING WHEEL LOCK MALFUNCTION" RETURNS MULTIPLE INSTANCES OF THE FAILURE MODE. IN SOME CASES MULTIPLE TIMES PER VEHICLE. PLEASE HELP US! BMW IS IGNORING THE ISSUE OR KICKING-THE-CAN DOWN THE ROAD UNTIL THE VEHICLE IS OUT OF WARRANTY. *TR

THE DOOR LOCKS WOULD NOT WORK WITH THE FOB. I WAS LOCKED IN SIDE THE VEHICLE. WHEN I FINALLY GOT OUT AND TRIED TO OPEN THE DOORS FROM OUTSIDE, THE DOORS WOULD NOT OPEN. THIS SITUATION HAS HAPPENED MANY TIMES OVER THE YEARS. I WAS TRAPPED INSIDE THE CAR DURING A HEAVY RAIN FALL ON THE ROAD LAST YEAR DUE TO THE DOORS NOT UNLOCKING. *TR

I DROVE MY CAR APPROXIMATELY 2 MILES THEN GOT HOME AND TURNED MY CAR OFF. 10 MINUTES LATER I LOOK OUT THE WINDOW AND MY CAR IS ON FIRE. THE FIRE DEPT. STATED THAT THE FIRE STARTED AROUND THE PASSENGER SIDE HEADLIGHT AND THAT IT LOOKED LIKE AN ELECTRICAL FIRE. *TR

SUDDENLY ALL 3 DOORS (EXCEPT ONE PASSENGER DOOR) FAIL TO UNLOCK AND EVEN THE INSIDE DOOR KNOB WOULDN'T UNLOCK THE DOOR. IT SEEMS TO BE A VERY WELL KNOWN PROBLEM BUT BMW WOULDN'T FIX THE PROBLEM BEFORE IT HAPPENS, AND MY WARRANTY PERIOD IS OVER. *TR