Latches/locks/linkage Problems of BMW 3 Series - part 1

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).

See all problems of the 2006 BMW 3 Series 🔎.

The doors will not unlock; from the exterior, only the driver's door can be opened with the key. From the interior, only the driver's door can be opened; none of the other 3 doors can be opened manually or by using the unlock buttons either on the dash or on the key. I think that this creates a very hazardous situation-if this failure occurred while the vehicle was occupied, passengers would only be able to exit through the windows or through the driver's door. This could result in injury or loss of life in some accident situations. I spoke to BMW north America about this problem and they said that they "probably would not be responsible for repairs" to this potentially dangerous situation.

See all problems of the 2007 BMW 3 Series 🔎.

As my wife open the door and sits , she pulled the door to close but it wont lock up try several times to do it with the remote but wont lock up. Afraid to drive car!!!.

See all problems of the 2013 BMW 3 Series 🔎.

The doors will not unlock with the remote key. The driver's door will unlock with the key inserted, but once inside the car, the passenger doors will still not unlock with the inside button or by pulling the unlock lever on each door. The levers do not work by pulling twice either. Very dangerous!!! I've had passengers who had to climb in and out over the console and into the back seats.

See all problems of the 2001 BMW 3 Series 🔎.

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.

Doors will not unlock or open. I was literally trapped inside my car in a parking lot. Drove vehicle home, had to put down window and have someone use valet key at my house to open the driver door. None of the other three passenger doors can be unlocked. Luckily no passengers in my vehicle. Was told there is a TSB related to this, however it is not recognized as a safety issue. Cannot understand how this is considered "safe" when if my vehicle was on fire and I had my children in their car seats in the back seat, there would be no way to open the doors to get them out. BMW is aware that the actuators are pulling too much current through the fuses and that the actuators need replaced. They are making tons of money off of charging people to repair this known problem as this is not something you can avoid having repaired unless you are willing to gamble on your own life or those of family/friends who may be in your vehicle when this occurs. There really needs to be a safety recall on this issue before someone loses their life as a result. I find it quite absurd that the NHTSA does not recognize this. Does someone need to die for this to be remedied? just because I drive a used BMW does not mean I have the money to have this repaired, yet I've got two very young children who ride in the backseat of this car on a daily basis. Looking at the number of complaints that have already been filed, obviously it appears that neither BMW nor the NHTSA seem to care about my safety, my family's safety or that of any of the other thousands of BMW owners who are having the same issue.

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.

Driver exited car to pump gas. Passengers remained in vehicle. Gas door could not be opened as main door lock was engaged (though drivers door was unlocked). Key fob unlock function would not work to unlock car / gas cap. Driver pushed key fob buttons to attempt unlock, drivers door became locked during this activity. Now no doors could be unlocked. Due to failure all doors experienced "2 pull" door unlock system failure, this "2 pull" system, that is supposed to ensure doors can be opened from inside if lock is engaged apparently require same power as general locking system. Driver could only enter car by using emergency key and unlocking driver's door. Passenger and rear doors remained lock (and are still locked / inoperable due to system failure). Power failure in door lock system (or other associated fault) made door operation impossible. All doors were completely inoperable from the inside. Passengers could not exit vehicle as doors were locked and handles did not work. Driver could not enter vehicle by key fob unlock function. Drivers door experienced intermittent operation until some kind of manual override, or some other system change, made drivers door functional by "2 pull" door unlock / open method. If driver had not been present (in store paying for gas or for some other reason) passengers would have been trapped in car. If any passenger had been physically disabled and unable to crawl out of car via drivers door there would have been no way for passenger to exit car !!!!!. Door lock system remains inoperable, passenger and rear doors still locked closed with no way to open them.

See all problems of the 2008 BMW 3 Series 🔎.

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.

The passenger side door lock will not work. The door stays locked and when it first occured the passenger had to crawl out the window. Neither the electronic key lock nor the pushbutton lock control on the console will open the door lock on the passenger side. All other locks work fine, including the trunk. The manual door opener will not open the passenger door either. This is extremely dangerous since, in the case of an accident, the passenger would be trapped in the vehicle.

See all problems of the 2003 BMW 3 Series 🔎.

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 would not open on 3 of the doors; had to crawl from backseat to front seat to start car. Once got home, had to crawl back out via the back seat. Extremely hazardous safety condition due to if there was an accident, myself nor my passengers, especially young children, wouldn't be able to escape. Took vehicle to local BMW dealer and he stated this was not the "1st" time he had seen this type of issue. Approximate cost is between $700 to $1,000 to fix. Contacted BMW customer relations and they are investigating issue.

Electric door locks failed on all four doors with no symptoms prior to complete system failure. Key fob and central locking system button inside car would not unlock any door. Doors would not open by pulling on interior door latch handles. The only way to enter/exit vehicle was by using key on exterior driver's side door to unlock the door, or through the windows. This seems like an extremely dangerous single point egress failure that could result in unnecessary injury or loss of life in emergency situations. I replaced the blown 15a fuse (#57) with a 20a fuse per si b51 19 07 twice. First functional test by pressing the central lock system button resulted in the new fuse blowing immediately each time. Further troubleshooting and repair will be necessary to resolve issue (likely by replacing faulty electro/mechanical door latch/lock/actuator mechanism).

Door locked in position, unable to get out of car. No manual way to get out of car. Huge safety issue. Finally able to unlock using key. When speaking to BMW service center (walters of riverside) about issue, they said if key would have been in ignition the car would have unlocked. Now episode happened again, but unable to get out of car. Key does not work even if in ignition. Luckily, the passenger door was unlock and I was able to crawl out. Now doors are lock so I will have to have the car towed. I am unable to get into the car.

Regular usage. One day, the central locking system simply died without warning and there is no alternative way of unlocking the passenger doors after the central locking system died.

I have a 2007 3 Series. Prior to that, I owned a 2000 BMW 3 Series that never had this problem. I came out to my car and was unable to unlock the door with remote. After checking to make sure it wasn't the battery in the fob, I then had to manually use key to open driver's side door. Then upon being inside car, I was unable to unlock door using button on dash. My car is in shop and I am told it is a blown fuse needing an actuator replaced. I was told it's also affecting my gas tank, meaning I would be unable to open gas tank to put in gas. After researching, this seems to be a common problem with 2007 3 Series. And a huge safety issue of getting trapped in your car. I am really upset I am having to shell out money for this, as my car is out of warranty. My car is in mint condition with 25k miles. I hope this will be seriously considered for a recall as this a potential safety hazard/law suit!.

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 contact owns a 2008 BMW 320i. The contact stated that the electronic keys failed and passenger side doors would not lock; the driver side door was the only one to unlock. The passengers had to exit from the driver side. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer where the vehicle was repaired (repairs were unknown) under warranty. The manufacturer had not been notified. The failure mileage was approximately 20,000.

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.

The unlock control button on the center console does not unlock the passenger side door and does not unlock the 2 doors in the back. This failure occurs intermittently. When the failure occurs, only the driver can exit the car by using the manual door latch lever. The other passengers are trapped unless they climb out the window or climb into the front seat and then exit through the front seat door. A proper safety design and operation would allow the manual door unlock latch levers to work at all times and especially when the electrical or electronic systems have failed. As I routinely drive with a 4 year old and a 19 month old in their car seats which are in the back seat of my 2004 BMW , I am very concerned about our safety should there be a situation that I would have to remove them from the car quickly and the door locks had failed. The BMW service believes a module has to be replaced at a parts cost of $1000 and will not cover this cost. The car has only 29,000 miles but is out of warranty. I see that others have complained to NHTSA about this same problem in BMW 3 Series and BMW 325xi.

See all problems of the 2004 BMW 3 Series 🔎.

I have intermittent problems on hot days unlocking my car doors. My key button does not always open the door. I have to manually open the door. The real problem is when I'm inside the car, the unlock button does not work, even when I manually pull on the door handles from inside the car, the doors continues to be locked. This creates a very dangerous situation and a major safety hazard for all the passengers because the doors do not open. Once the car is cooler, they start to work again. I'm afraid that if I ever get into a car accident, nobody will be able to get out of the car. There is no BMW recall for failed locks. Please help. [xxx] information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).

See all problems of the 2002 BMW 3 Series 🔎.

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.

Door un-lock relays in the gm5 module fail over time and eventually result in occupants being unable to get out of the car without extraordinary effort. Problem is worse in warmer months.

2008 BMW, electronic door locks stuck in locked position, must open driver side door with valet key. Remaining doors stuck in locked position, making it impossible for passengers to leave vehicle in an emergency situation. Related problem is that gas cap (which locks when doors are locked) will also not open.

Passenger side door and both rear doors failed to open. All three doors remained locked and could not be open from inside by using the mechanical handles. Neither the remote key nor the regular key was able to unlock the doors.