2006 BMW 330I Complaints

THE NHTSA HAS ISSUED MULTIPLE RECALLS FOR THE AIRBAG SENSOR MAT PROBLEM IN BMW CARS HOWEVER MY CAR CONTINUES TO BE EXCLUDED FROM THE RECALL POPULATION DESPITE MEETING THE DESCRIPTIONS INCLUDED IN THE NHTSA RECALL NOTICES. *TR

MY 2006 BMW 330I BEGAN LEAKING OIL. AFTER INSPECTION IT WAS DETERMINED TO BE BROKEN BOLTS. THIS VEHICLE HAS BEEN PROPERLY CARED FOR. IT HAS NOT BEEN IN AN ACCIDENT AND HAS BEEN SERVICED AND MAINTAINED. AFTER ONLINE REVIEW, THIS PROBLEM HAS HAPPENED TO SEVERAL BMWS. THE OIL LEAKS ONTO BRAKES, BELTS, EXHAUST, ETC.... CAUSING A SEVERE SAFETY HAZARD. THIS NEEDS TO BE ELEVATED TO A RECALL. *TR

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2006 BMW 330I. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE SEAT BELT AND AIR BAG WARNING LAMPS ILLUMINATED. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER FOR DIAGNOSIS WHERE THE CONTACT WAS INFORMED THAT THE VEHICLE HAD A FAULTY SENSOR. THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 60,000. UPDATED 12/23/13*LJ UPDATED 12/20/13*CN BMW INFORMED THE CONSUMER THEY WOULD COVER THE COST OF THE PART ONLY, AND HE WOULD BE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE LABOR. UPDATED 12/24/13

I PURCHASED THIS BMW NEW FROM THE DEALER AROUND JUNE 2006 (PLEASE NOTE THE MILEAGE IS AN ESTIMATE) I'M WRITING TO REQUEST AN INVESTIGATION INTO MY CAR RELATING TO THE A POTENTIAL FAULTY PASSENGER AIRBAG SENSOR. THE PASSENGER INDICATOR LIGHT FOR "PASSENGER AIRBAG OFF" IS ACTIVATED DESPITE A PASSENGER BEING IN THE CAR. OVER THE YEARS, THE LIGHT RANDOMLY ACTIVATED WHEN A PASSENGER SAT IN THE SEAT. HOWEVER, IT WOULD TURN OFF AT TIMES SO I PRESUMED I HAD HIT A BUTTON ON THE CAR STEERING COLUMN FOR A CHILDREN'S SEAT WHICH CAUSED THE LIGHT TO ACTIVATE OR SOMETHING ELSE PERHAPS. BECAUSE I RARELY HAD PASSENGERS, I DIDN'T PAY ATTENTION. THE LIGHT WOULD DID NOT STAY LIT FOR MONTHS ON END. HOWEVER, NOW THE "PASSENGER AIRBAG OFF" LIGHT REMAINS ACTIVATED ALL THE TIME WHICH CAUSED ME TO INVESTIGATE. THIS IS NOT NORMAL WEAR AND TEAR. I SEE THERE IS A RECALL FOR 2006 3 SERIES BMW MODELS AND MORE FOR THIS PROBLEM. SPECIFICALLY, MY CAR IS A 2006 330I BMW WITH SPORT SEATS. I HAVE CALLED THE BMW DEALER, AND BMW NORTH AMERICA, BUT THEY ONLY CHECK THE VIN DATABASE AND TO DATE HAVE NOT INVESTIGATED FURTHER. HOWEVER, I HAVE ALERTED THEM THAT IT APPEARS BMW MAY HAVE FAILED TO RECALL A NUMBER OF AFFECTED VEHICLES GIVEN THE MANY COMPLAINTS I REVIEWED POSTED ON THE WEB BY 2006 BMW 330I OWNERS WHO HAVE THE SAME PROBLEM WITH THEIR VEHICLES AIRBAG DEACTIVATING, BUT RECEIVED NO ASSISTANCE FROM BMW. ONE OWNER STATED HE HAD (AT HIS OWN EXPENSE) REPLACED THE (DEFECTIVE) INSTALLATION/PART, (THE PART HE REMOVED WAS THE SAME ONE AS THE ONE UNDER RECALL BY BMW), BUT BMW LIKE WITH THE OTHER 2006 330I OWNERS WILL NOT BEAR THE REPLACEMENT COST BECAUSE HIS VIN WAS NOT INCLUDED ON THE LIST. PLEASE ASSIST WITH IDENTIFYING THE ADDITIONAL 2006 330I BMWS THAT WERE AFFECTED BY WHAT SEEMINGLY IS A DEFECTIVE DESIGN/COMPONENT. THANK YOU, SEE NHTSA ACTION NUMBER: EA08001. *TR

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2006 BMW 330I. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE DRIVER'S SIDE SEAT BELT SENSOR WAS ILLUMINATED INDICATING A DEFECT WITH THE SEAT BELT. THE CONTACT TOOK THE VEHICLE TO THE DEALER AND WAS INFORMED THAT THE SEAT BELT SENSOR HAD MALFUNCTIONED. THE CONTACT CALLED THE MANUFACTURER AND WAS INFORMED THAT THE VEHICLE WAS NOT INCLUDED IN NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 08V384000(AIR BAGS). THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 74,000.

HAS AN AIRBAG/SEAT BELT LIGHT ELIMINATED ON THE DASH. BMW HAS DIAGNOSED IT AS A FAILED PASSENGER SEAT SENSOR. 2006 330I SPORTS SEATS WERE RECALLED FOR THIS ITEM IN 2008. BMW RECALL ID # 57362 - AIR BAGS: FRONTAL RECALL DATE AUG 05, 2008 RECALL DATE: AUG 05, 2008 MODEL AFFECTED: 2006 BMW 3-SERIES SUMMARY: BMW IS RECALLING 200,000 MY 2006 3 SERIES SPORT SEAT, MY 2004-2006 5 SERIES STANDARD AND SPORT SEAT, AND MY 2004-2006 X3 PASSENGER VEHICLES. DEPENDING ON THE MANNER AND FREQUENCY OF THE FRONT PASSENGER'S ENTRY AND EXIT, SMALL CRACKS HAVE DEVELOPED IN THE MAT. IF THIS OCCURS, THE FRONT PASSENGER AIR BAGS, WITH THE EXCEPTION OF THE HEAD PROTECTION SYSTEM, WILL BE DEACTIVATED AND THE AIR BAG WARNING LAMP AS WELL AS THE PASSENGER AIR BAG "ON-OFF" LAMP WILL BE ILLUMINATED. CONSEQUENCES: IN THIS SITUATION THE FRONT PASSENGER AIR BAGS WILL NOT DEPLOY EVEN IF A SUFFICIENTLY SEVERE ACCIDENT WOULD OCCUR AND OCCUPANT PROTECTION PROVIDED BY THE SYSTEM WOULD NOT BE POSSIBLE. REMEDY: DEALERS WILL REWORK THE FRONT PASSENGER SEAT SENSOR MAT SO THAT EXTERNAL FORCE APPLICATION TO THE SEAT DOES NOT CAUSE A CRACK TO THE MAT. THE RECALL BEGAN ON NOVEMBER 6, 2008. BMW WILL ALSO EXTEND THE WARRANTY ON THESE VEHICLES TO 10 YEARS FROM FIRST REGISTRATION WITHOUT ANY MILEAGE LIMIT. OWNERS MAY CONTACT BMW AT 1-800-525-7417. POTENTIAL UNITS AFFECTED: 200000 NOTES: BMW OF NORTH AMERICA, LLC. UPDATED 07/30/13*LJ *TR

PASSENGER AIR BAG WARNING WILL ILLUMINATE INTERMITTENTLY WHILE DRIVING, WITH OR WITHOUT THE PASSENGER SEAT BEING OCCUPIED. BOTH THE SEAT BELT AND AIR BAG WARNING INDICATOR WILL ILLUMINATE. THE AIR BAG INDICATOR WILL GO AWAY AND MAY OR MAY NOT ILLUMINATE AGAIN. WHEN THIS STARTED HAPPENING IN OCTOBER OF 2012, THE INDICATOR WOULD APPEAR AND GO AWAY AND WOULD NOT COME BACK FOR MAYBE TWO OR THREE MONTH OF DRIVING. NOW, APPROXIMATE A YEAR LATER THE SYSTEM WILL ILLUMINATE, WHEN NO ONE IS OCCUPYING THE PASSENGER SEAT, OR ON START OF THE VEHICLE, OR AFTER THE VEHICLE HAS BEEN DRIVEN APPROXIMATE A 1/4 MILE. THIS APPEARS TO BE A LATENT SAFETY DEFECT FOR THE AIR BAG SAFETY SYSTEM IN THIS CAR. *TR

MALFUNCTION OF INTEGRAL LOCK SENSOR IN STEERING COLUMN NECESSITATES REPLACEMENT OF ENTIRE STEERING COLUMN AT COST OF $1300. THIS IS THE SECOND REPLACEMENT IN THIS VEHICLE, THE FIRST FAILED AT 80,000 MILES. SAME ISSUE WITH 2006 325I MODEL AT 90,000 MILES. UNDERSTAND THAT ELECTRONIC SENSORS WILL ALWAYS WEAR OUT AND FAIL BUT THIS IS DEFECTIVE ENGINEERING. THE SENSOR SHOULD BE A SEPARATE PART ANTICIPATING THE NEED TO REPLACE IT FROM TIME TO TIME. WOULD EXPECT MORE ATTENTION TO DETAIL AND MORE CONSIDERATION FOR THE PAYING CUSTOMER FROM GERMAN ENGINEERING. *TR

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2006 BMW 330I. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE SEAT BELT AND AIR BAG WARNING LAMP ILLUMINATED WHENEVER SOMEONE WAS OCCUPYING THE PASSENGER SEAT. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT TAKEN TO THE DEALER. THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE BUT DID NOT OFFER ANY ASSISTANCE SINCE THE VEHICLE WAS NOT INCLUDED IN RECALL NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 08V384000 ( AIR BAGS). THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 85,000. THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 95,000.

WHEN MY CAR REACHED ~75,000 MILES, THE PASSENGER RESTRAINT SYSTEM MALFUNCTION NOTIFICATION STARTED TO APPEAR ON THE CENTER CONSOLE. THE MESSAGE SEEMS TO CONVEY THAT THE AIRBAGS WILL NOT DEPLOY IN AN ACCIDENT. AFTER SPEAKING WITH BMW AND FINDING OUT THAT MY CAR FALLS UNDER THE RECALL FOR THIS EXACT SITUATION. BMW REFUSED TO FIX IT AND STATES THAT MY VIN IS NOT LISTED UNDER THE RECALL, EVEN THOUGH THE RECALL STATES THAT IT AFFECTS 2006 3-SERIES WITH SPORT SEATS (WHICH IS EXACTLY WHAT I HAVE). *TR