2006 BMW 325XI

WHILE DRIVING CAR WILL INTERMITTENTLY AND BRIEFLY EXPERIENCE FULL ELECTRONIC OUTAGE CAUSING THE INSTRUMENT CLUSTER, VEHICLE LIGHTS, AND ELECTRONIC STEERING COLUMN LOCK TO ENGAGE. AS SOON AS THE ELECTRONIC POWER RETURNS SERVICE LIGHTS DISPLAY ON THE DASHBOARD UNTIL I STOP, FULLY POWER OFF THE VEHICLE WITH THE IGNITION BUTTON AND RESTART THE CAR. THIS HAS ALL HAPPENED AT DRIVING SPEEDS RANGING BETWEEN 15 AND 70 MPH, FORTUNATELY WHILE DRIVING STRAIGHT. IF I OR ANYONE ELSE WOULD HAPPEN TO BE IN A TURN AND THE ELECTRONIC STEERING WHEEL LOCK ENGAGE THE RESULTS COULD POTENTIALLY BE LIFE THREATENING. THIS VEHICLE IS A PRIOR DEALER LEASE THEN SOLD TO A RENTAL COMPANY THEN PURCHASED BY ME. THE VEHICLE REMAINS UNMODIFIED AND HAS BEEB MAINTAINED AND SERVICED WITH ALL OEM OR EQUIVALENT PARTS.

THIS PAST WEEK A YELLOW PADLOCK POPPED UP ON MY DASHBOARD WHEN I WENT TO START MY CAR. UPON FUTURE RESEARCH I DISCOVERED THAT THIS IT IS A FAULT WITH THE ELECTRIC WHEEL LOCK. I HAVE YET TO FIND OUT WHAT THE ROUTE CAUSE YET BUT FROM WHAT I HAVE SEEN, THIS ISSUE IS WIDE SPREAD AND MANY CASES LEAD TO THE CAR NOT STARTING OR THE WHEELS LOCKING UP. THIS COULD COST UPWARDS OF $1500 TO REPLACE THE STEERING WHEEL COLUMN. I AM AFRAID IF THERE IS AN ISSUE WITH THE STEERING WHEEL COLUMN, IT COULD NOT ONLY PREVENT MY CAR FROM STARTING (AS IT HAS WITH MANY OTHER CASES), BUT COULD CAUSE MY STEERING TO LOCK UP WHILE I AM DRIVING. THIS IS SOMETHING I CAN BARELY AFFORD TO FIX, BUT ABSOLUTELY CAN'T AFFORD NOT TO. PLEASE LOOK INTO THIS. *TR

FIRST TIME I NOTICED THE ELV STEERING WHEEL LOCK MALFUNCTION. I JUST PARKED MY CAR, TURNED OFF ENGINE, AND TOOK OUT THE KEY FOB. I NOTICED ON THE INSTRUMENT CLUSTER A PICTURE OF A STEERING WHEEL AND A PAD LOCK. SO I PUT THE KEY FOB BACK IN THE SLOT AND THE CAR WOULDN'T START. THEN TRYING COUPLE TIMES TAKING OUT & PUTTING THE KEY FOB IN THE IGNITION SLOT AND TURNING THE WHEEL LEFT AND RIGHT, THE CAR FINALLY STARTED.

AFTER WORK YESTERDAY WHEN I TRIED TO START MY CAR, THE YELLOW LOCKED STEERING LIGHT CAME ON AND THE CAR WOULD NOT START. AFTER I JERKED ON THE STEERING WHEEL, THE LIGHT WENT OFF AND THE CAR STARTED. WHILE ON MY WAY HOME, ON THE HIGHWAY, THE STEERING LOCKED AGAIN AND THE RED LIGHT CAME ON. I WAS GOING ABOUT 75 MPH AT THIS TIME. I HIT THE CLUTCH AND BRAKES AND JERKED THE WHEEL AGAIN CAUSING IT TO RELEASE. LUCKILY IT WAS NOT RUSH HOUR. IT HAS BEEN PARKED EVER SINCE. IT HAS 114K MILES.

I WOKE UP ONE MORNING TO START MY VEHICLE AND AS I STARTED MY ENGINE I RECEIVED A WARNING SIGN. THE WARNING SIGN INDICATED A CIRCLE WITH AN EXCLAMATION POINT. I THEN NOTICED MY CAR WAS NOT ABLE TO SHIFT GEARS, LEAVING MY CAR IN PARK. I TOOK IT TO THE DEALER TO HAVE MY CAR DIAGNOSED AND THEY MENTIONED THAT MY STEERING COLUMN NEEDS TO BE REPLACED. AFTER A WEEK I WENT TO GET MY CAR FROM THE DEALER I WAS NOT ABLE TO AFFORD THE REPAIRS THAT NEEDED TO BE DONE. I THEN TOOK THIS ISSUE UP WITH MY DEALER AND WARRANTY WHERE THEY WAS NOT ABLE TO ASSIST ME WITH THIS ISSUE. I KEPT GETTING A RUN AROUND AND THE GENERAL MANAGER WHERE I GOT MY AT FROM TRIED TO HELP. HIS ASSISTANCE WITH MY CAR FAILED. HE COULDN'T DIAGNOSE THE PROBLEM THAT MY CAR WAS GIVEN. HE THEN RETURNED MY CAR AND MY CAR STILL HAS THIS ISSUE. I HAD MY CAR FOR ONLY A MONTH WHEN THIS ISSUE OCCURRED. *TR

STEERING WHEEL LOCK INDICATOR RENDERS THE VEHICLE NOT ABLE TO START. BMW SAYS THE ONLY SOLUTION IS A REPLACEMENT OF STEERING COLUMN. THE STEERING COLUMN WAS REPLACED AT 25000 MILES. 2 YEARS LATER AT 49000 MILES, THE VEHICLE WILL NEED TO DO IT AGAIN. THIS WILL BE THE 3RD SET OF STEERING COLUMN WITHIN THE LAST 7 YEARS. IT IS CLEANLY A DESIGN AND DEFECT. IT SHOULD BE RECALL. *TR

THIS VEHICLE, ALONG WITH HUNDREDS, MAYBE THOUSANDS, OF OTHERS ARE AFFLICTED WITH A KNOWN DEFECT BMW IS WELL AWARE OF (AND HAS SUBSEQUENTLY MADE ENGINEERING CHANGES AFTER 2006) INVOLVING THE STEERING WHEEL LOCK IN E90 AND E91 CHASSIS. AN AMBER OR RED STEERING WHEEL LOCK INDICATOR WILL LIGHT FOR NO APPARENT REASON NOR WARNING RENDERING THE VEHICLE NON-DRIVABLE (NOR TOWABLE) AND NON-STARTABLE. BMW SAYS THE ONLY SOLUTION IS A COMPLETE CHANGE OF THE STEERING COLUMN. A VERY EXPENSIVE REPAIR. THE OWNERS BLOG SHOWS HUNDREDS OF OTHER DISSATISFIED OWNERS WITH SIMILAR PROBLEMS. I THINK YOU SHOULD HAVE A RECALL OF THESE BMW'S BECAUSE OF THE OBVIOUS DEFECT IN ITS ENGINEERING. AND, FURTHERMORE, SINCE BMW CHANGED THE WHOLE STEERING LOCK SYSTEM IN THEIR LATER MODELS, THEY TOO KNEW OF ITS FAULTS. PROVING THEIR GUILT. *TR

EVER SINCE I PURCHASED THIS CAR, IT'D DISPLAY A YELLOW ICON WITH A STEERING WHEEL LOCK. ON THIS DATE, THE STEERING WHEEL LOCK FAILED TO DISENGAGE AND THE ICON WAS RED, LEAVING ME STRANDED. THIS SAME ISSUE OCCURRED TO MY FRIEND LAST MONTH AS HE HAS THE EXACT SAME CAR AS ME. ACCORDING TO MANY ONLINE SOURCES, MANY OTHERS HAVE HAD THE EXACT SAME ISSUE. *KB