general problems of the 2006 BMW 3 Series

Vehicle electric door locks (actuators) do not operate properly. Unable to exit driver's door from inside of vehicle by pulling handle. If there was a crash and/or fire, there would be no way to exit quickly. Common problem with this vehicle according to BMW forum in the internet (bimmerpost).

I went to pick up my daughter from marching band practice on a Saturday afternoon. When I pulled into the parking lot at her high school and got out, I went to lock the doors. I heard a strange sound and noticed that the drivers doors were locked, the passengers doors were unlocked. The key fob would not work anymore on any of the doors but would work on the trunk. I got in the front passenger door and crawled over to the driver side and tried the door and it would not open from the inside. The central lock button also would not work. I crawled out and tried the drivers side door with the key. It did unlock with the key. None of the other doors would respond from the inside. After I got the drivers side door to unlock with the key, my key fob would work on the drivers side door only. Because my kids decided to "help mom" by pushing the locks down manually - now all of the doors are locked and won't budge except the drivers side. I effectively can't use the car for anyone except myself because no one can enter - and more importantly exit from the car except for crawling over seats. This is a dangerous situation. There should be someone way to open the doors manually. Judging by the number of complaints - BMW is aware of this issue but chooses not to issue a recall.

Power door locks failed. No way to open passenger door even with internal handle. Passenger trapped and had to crawl over to driver's seat. Would be a catastrophe in an accident.

Door locks malfunctioned and driver became locked in car. Door locks could not be disengaged inside the car with keys, internal buttons, or door handles.

Door actuator has failed to work. Alarm also being effected. Known problem to manufacturer, BMW. Saftey concern if unable to exit vehicle in case of emergency .

Door locks on 2006 BMW 330xi suddenly stopped functioning properly midway through the day and were unable to be unlocked. I was able to open the door with the embedded physical key in the fob but when I got in the car and tried operating the doors they again locked but were unable to be unlocked neither by the unlock button on the console, the fob or the door handle. The only way I was able to exit the car was to roll down the drivers side window, and use the emergency mechanical key to unlock it by extending my hand out the window. Since the driver's side door is the only door with a physical keylock, it was the only door that was able to open. For the remainder of the day, all 3 passengers had to climb out of their windows to exit.

Doors failed and continue to fail to unlock. Passengers were stuck in vehicle. Driver's door was unlocked by opening window. Front passenger had to climb over console.

Failure of steering column lock, causing inability to restart automobile intermittently. I have read this is a common problem with early 2006 330i models, but a recall was never issued. My car has very low miles, so it was clearly a design flaw. BMW offered to supply the parts for free, however I feel this is a safety-related issue and should have been 100% covered by BMW as a recall and handled proactively by the company.

Went to unlock doors in 2006 BMW 330i and there was a rapid clicking sound in the front passenger door. The power locks failed to respond afterwards and all doors remained locked. The fob, nor the internal unlock button would allow the doors to be unlocked and attempting to open the doors from the inside did not work either. Only the driver's door can be manually unlocked by physical key or by pulling the handle from the inside. An initial attempt has been made to fix the problem by replacing the fuse #57 with a 20a fuse over the original blown 15a fuse.

I have a BMW 320d. A few days ago my wife was out somewhere and she locked the car it weren't locking so she opened the door and then press lock, it locked. When she came back she was trying to unlock it but it weren't unlocking. She had to use the take the key out of the fob and open it manually, then the alarm started going off so she had to turn the car on so it would stop. Now only the drivers side opens but you have to open it manually with the key, he rest won't open or close. I have been to the BMW garage and they said it will cost around £600 to replace the latches. I've only had the car for 3 years and you don't expect that to happen to a £27,000 car after only having it for 3 years. Also if their ever was an accident and the door latches stopped working no one would be able to get out, they would all have to rush out through the driver side door.

The door locks on my car failed resulting in not being able to unlock any of the doors with the key fob. I can unlock the driver side door with the valet key. None of the other doors can be unlocked and can not even be opened from the inside. If someone got locked inside the car, they could be in serious trouble. Not to mention the fact that if in an accident any passengers in my car would have been unable to get out because the door locks malfunctioned.

The door locks on my car failed resulting in not being able to unlock any of the doors with the key fob. I can unlock the driver side door with the valet key. None of the other doors can be unlocked and can not even be opened from the inside. This is a safety issue with the heat in southern California recently someone getting locked inside their car could be in serious trouble. Not to mention the fact that if in an accident any passengers in my car would have been unable to get out because the door locks malfunctioned.

Driver side door lock not unlocking with either the remote or manual handle inside, will only open with the key manually on the outside of the car.

Doors will not unlock from the inside. Occupants are locked in vehicle. Blown fuse (no 57) caused by amperage spike in one of the door lock actuators. Spike is due to contamination with silicone. BMW has issued a sib on this problem.

The contact owns a 2006 BMW 330i. The contact stated that the driver side door would not unlock neither from the inside nor the outside of the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where they stated that they would diagnose the vehicle and attempt to determine a remedy. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The failure mileage was 27,333 and the current mileage was 27,443.

Door locks will not open when inside the car using the remote or the lock/unlock button or the handle.

BMW door locks randomly and automatically engaged. This is one week after a service performed at the dealer for an electrical issue. Locks would not disengage except manually with emergency key (from outside). Driver's door is the only door that will open - others are inoperable. Fuel filler cap will also not open. Have researched and found this is a common problem. This should be researched by BMW and remedied at no cost to the consumer - this is definitely an inconvenience and could be dangerous or potentially fatal.

Failure of door lock actuators in 2006 BMW 330i. Inside lock/unlock button would not function, remote keyless entry would not unlock any doors, key would unlock driver front door, gas door could not open, no way to unlock/open passenger front/rear or driver rear doors even using inside handles. Children were in the car and had to exit either through the driver front door or through an open window. Serious safety issue preventing or delaying egress of passengers.

The driver door lock does not open using the remote. BMW is asking to pay them for diagnosis and eventual repair. I do believe this is a safety issue and the cost should be on BMW.

Can't recall the exact sequence of button pushing that resulted in my being locked inside the vehicle. Not even the double handle pull that usually releases the lock from the inside worked. Had to roll down the window and use manual key from the outside to unlock. Diagnosed as a blown fuse. Fuse was replaced. Now locks are intermittent again after 2 months of working ok. The car has had the actuator replaced before, now it appears to be broken again. Will not electrically lock or unlock now. This seams like a huge safety concern in the event of an accident.

BMW 325xi does not provide a manual door locking override for their cars. This lack of design makes their car a trap for all passengers when electronic system fails. One year after purchasing a car ( new ) BMW 325xi, the doors and window system failed in very dangerous way. With my baby and my wife on the back sit, when I try to exit the car the door system start shutting down, the doors and window system just would not open. The only one that open was the driver side one. After this incident it happened three more time. Once all four doors locked and I had to lean out the window and open the door with the manual key. The latest one was with my 7 month pregnant wife climbing out of the car through the front of the car. Once I pulled up the door knob with a plier, but the door still locked. My complaint is not that I need to fix the car, but the fact that this car does not provide a manual override to open the door in case the electric system fails. Basically all passenger can be trapped in the car and almost impossible to escape in the case of an accident.