2007 BMW 328I

I WAS GOING ABOUT 50 TO 55 MPA WHEN MY TEMP LIGHT CAME ON, WITHIN A FEW SECONDS MY CAR LOST SPEED RAPIDLY AND COMPLETELY QUIT LOCKING EVERYTHING UP ON A BUSY HIGHWAY. I BOUGHT THE CAR AS A CERTIFIED PRE-OWNED WITH 100,000 MILE WARRENTY.WHEN I CALLED CENTURY BMW DEALER IN HUNTSVILLE, AL WHERE I PURCHASED IT I WAS TOLD MY WARRANTY WENT OUT TWO MONTHS AGO ON 5/15 ACCORDING TO DATE OF SHIPMENT, A FEW DAY'S BEFORE I HAD RECEIVED A NOTICE THAT MY FACTORY WARNING MAY BE EXPIRING BASED ON TIME AND MILES IT STATED THAT AVAILABLE COVERAGE EXPIRES ON 8/23/2013 WHICH WAS 21 DAY'S AFTER DATE OF FAILURE. I WAS TOLD THAT WAS TIME I HAD TO BUY ANOTHER EXTENDED WARRANTY, THAT IS NOT WHAT THE STATEMENT SAID.WHEN TOWED TO SHOP IT WAS THE WATER PUMP AND THERMOSTAT AT A COST OF $1,212.11 PLUS TOWING CHARGE THAT I DO NOT HAVE A BILL ON YET WHICH SHOULD HAVE ALSO BEEN COVERED. I AM JUST LUCKY THAT NO ONE BEHIND ME SLAMMED INTO THE REAREND OF CAR OF LUCKILY NOT TURNING IN ONCOMING TRAFFIC SINCE THERE WAS NO WARNING EXCEPT SECONDS BEFORE IT STOPPED COLD. I HAD TOOK THE CAR IN BEFORE BECAUSE I SMELLED ANTI-FREEZE AND WAS TOLD THERE WAS NO PROBLEM, AND HAVE AT TIMES SINCE THEN SMELLED ANTI-FREEZE BUT SINCE I HAD IT CHECKED OUT JUST THOUGHT MAYBE IT WAS SOMETHING ABOUT THAT MODEL. I HAVE SINCE FOUND OUT THIS WAS A COMMON PROBLEM WITH THIS MODEL, SO WHY WAS THEIR NO RECALL STATING THE DANGER OF THIS HAPPENING. AND WHY ARE THEY NOT HONORING THEIR WARRANTY. *TR

STEERING WHEEL LOCKED WILE DRIVING - VERY SIMILAR TO NHTSA CASE # 10194169. MY DAUGHTER WAS TURNING RIGHT INTO A PARKING LOT WHEN SHE NOTICED THAT THE STEERING WHEEL CAME TO A HARD STOP. WHEN SHE REALIZED THAT SHE WOULD NOT MAKE THE TURN, SHE TRIED TO TURN IT BACK TO THE LEFT BUT IT IMMEDIATELY LOCKED HARD IN PLACE. SHE PULLED FORWARD IN THE DIRECTION OF TRAVEL AND WAS ABLE TO STOP IN THE GRASS ON THE SIDE OF THE ROAD. AFTER SHE STOPPED SHE NOTICED THAT THE "SERVICE ENGINE SOON" WARNING MESSAGE WAS ILLUMINATED. SHE THEN TURNED THE CAR OFF AND BACK ON AND EVERYTHING WORKED NORMALLY AND SHE WAS ABLE TO DRIVE THE CAR ABOUT A MILE TO THE HOUSE. WE HAD IT TOWED TO THE LOCAL BMW DEALER - THE DEALER KEPT THE CAR FOR 3 DAYS WHERE THEY REVIEWED FAULT CODES (FOUND NONE), TRIED TO DUPLICATE THE PROBLEM (COULD NOT DUPLICATE), AND TOOK THE STEERING COLUMN APART (BUT FOUND NO PROBLEM). THE DEALER DID IMPLEMENT NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER 13V044000, BUT SAID THERE WAS NO INDICATION OF A PROBLEM WITH THE ELECTRICAL SYSTEM. NEEDLESS TO SAY I AM VERY CONCERNED ABOUT MY DAUGHTER DRIVING THIS VEHICLE, BUT HAVE NO OTHER CHOICE AT THE TIME. CAN THE NHTSA PROVIDE ANY FURTHER ASSISTANCE WITH THIS SITUATION. *TR

THE PASSENGER SIDE OCCUPANCY SENSOR IS A KNOWN PROBLEM AND I BELIEVE THAT THE WARRANTY EXTENSION HAS NOT COVERED ALL AFFECTED VEHICLES. MY BMW 2007 328 CONVERTIBLE HAS THE IDENTICAL PROBLEM AS IDENTIFIED BELOW. I HAVE REPAIRED IT AND IT HAS CONTINUED TO MALFUNCTION NUMEROUS TIMES SINCE, WHILE DRIVING AND WHILE STOPPED, CREATING A SAFETY ISSUE FOR ANYONE IN THE PASSENGER SIDE SHOULD THERE BE AN ACCIDENT. I BELIEVE THIS FAULTY PART MUST HAVE BEEN USED IN MY 2007 328 CONVERTIBLE. AUGUST 2008 -- 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. A FATIGUE FAILURE OF THE FRONT PASSENGER SEAT OCCUPANT DETECTION MAT CAN OCCUR. IF THIS HAPPENS, 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. 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. 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. BMW IS EXTENDING THE WARRANTY TO 10 YEARS FROM FIRST REGISTRATION WITHOUT ANY MILEAGE LIMIT TO THE FOLLOWING VEHICLES: MY 2006 6-SERIES, 3-SERIES (STANDARD SEAT), MY 2004-2005 Z4, MY 2004-2006 7-SERIES, MY 2006 X5, AND MY 2004-2006 5-SERIES (COMFORT SEAT). UNDER THE EXTENDED WARRANTY PROGRAM, THE OCCUPANT DETECTION MAT IN A VEHICLE THAT EXPERIENCES THIS SPECIFIC ISSUE WILL BE REPLACED AT NO CHARGE TO THE CUSTOMER. THIS RECALL WAS THE SUBJECT OF AN ENGINEERING ANALYSIS, EA08-001, CONDUCTED BY THE OFFICE OF DEFECTS INVESTIGATION. 08V384. *TR

BATTERY SEEMED TO HAVE DRAINED...WHEN GIVEN A JUMP AND POWER WAS RESTORED, THE CAR HAD A THE STEERING LOCKED LIGHT UP RED. THE CAR TURNED ON FOR A FEW TIMES AND NOW IT DOESN'T TURN ON AT ALL. THERE SEEMS TO BE POWER IN THE CAR AS EVERYTHING LIGHTS UP BUT WHEN ATTEMPTING TO START NOTHING HAPPENS AND THE ONLY LIGHT ON THE DASHBOARD IS THE ONE OF THE STEERING LOCKED IN RED!!!! THIS HAS TO BE A DEFECT!!! *TR

ELECTRIC STEERING LOCK LIGHT ON MY 2007 BMW 328I COUPE COMES UP IN RED AND CAR WON'T START... INITIALLY THOUGHT IT WAS THE BATTERY BUT AFTER GETTING A JUMP START AND THE POWER FLICKERED OFF AND ON DIFFERENT FEATURES IN THE CAR THE CAR NEVER STARTED, THE KEY FOB KEPT BEING REJECTED FROM THE IGNITION BOX AND THE CAR EVENTUALLY WENT DEAD. I HAD TO MANUALLY LOCK AND UNLOCK DOORS AND LEFT IT SITTING OVER NIGHT. THE CAR WAS JUMP START AGAIN THE NEXT DAY AND RADIO, LIGHTS, TRUNK, DOOR LOCKS, AND SEAT BELTS, ETC. APPEAR TO BE WORKING FINE ELECTRONICALLY BUT THE CAR STILL WOULD NOT START... THE BRAKES FEEL TIGHT AND THE STEERING COLUMN IS TIGHT BUT CLICKS WHEN TURN LEFT AND RIGHT (FEELS SEMI-ENGAGED IF THAT'S POSSIBLE)... WAS WONDERING IF THE BATTERY IS JUST LOW AND DOESN'T TRIGGER THE STEERING WHEEL LOCK? SHOULD WE DISCONNECT THE BATTERY AND RECONNECT OR REPLACE TO SEE IF IT TRIGGERS THE ELECTRIC STEERING WHEEL LOCK? THE ISSUE WITH THE BATTERY HAS HAPPENED ON SEVERAL OTHER OCCASIONS AND THE STEERING WHEEL LOCK LIGHT CAME UP YELLOW HOWEVER THE CAR STARTED IN THE PAST AFTER JUMP STARTING. THIS APPEARS TO BE A KNOWN PROBLEM AND I?M FORMALLY COMPLAINING IF THIS IS THE CASE FOR I?M TRYING TO AVOID ANY UNNECESSARY COSTLY REPAIRS SUCH AS REPLACING THE STEERING COLUMN OR REPROGRAMMING IN ANY WAY POSSIBLE IF A KNOWN FIX IS AVAILABLE OR FAULTY PRODUCT IS THE CAUSE. I ALSO FEEL THIS IS DEFINITELY A POTENTIAL SAFETY HAZARD :-/ *TR

A COPY OF AN EMAIL TO BMW: I HAVE BEEN REASONABLY HAPPY WITH MY 2007 328I UNTIL THE ELECTRONIC LOCKS FAILED. I COULD NOT GET IN MY CAR EXCEPT WITH A KEY. I COULDN'T OPEN ANY DOOR EXCEPT THE DRIVER'S DOOR EVEN FROM THE INSIDE! IF I HAD AN EMERGENCY BOTH MY PASSENGERS AND I WOULD HAVE BEEN TRAPPED. WHEN I LOOKED ONLINE, I FOUND THAT MY PROBLEM WAS NOT AT ALL UNIQUE MANY OTHERS HAVE EXPERIENCED THE SAME ISSUE WITH FAILING ACTUATORS. WHAT TROUBLES ME IS NOT THE FAILURE OF A PART (THOUGH I DO EXPECT BETTER OF BMW), BUT THE FACT THAT MY FAMILY'S SAFETY WAS POTENTIALLY COMPROMISED. MORE IMPORTANTLY, BMW HAS NOT ADDRESSED THIS ISSUE WITH CORRECTIVE PARTS AND PROCEDURES SO, I AM TOLD THAT IF THIS HAPPENS AGAIN, I COULD STILL FIND MYSELF TRAPPED IN MY CAR AFTER AN ACCIDENT. I EXPECTED BETTER WITH THE PURCHASE OF A BMW. I AM PROFOUNDLY DISAPPOINTED THAT BMW DOES NOT THINK ENOUGH OF ITS CUSTOMER'S SAFETY TO APPROPRIATELY ADDRESS AND CORRECT THIS ISSUE SO THAT THERE ARE ALWAYS MECHANICAL OVERRIDES OF THE ELECTRICAL SYSTEM. PERHAPS YOU HAVE DECIDED, LIKE FORD DID 40 YEARS AGO WITH THE PINTO, THAT THE COSTS OF SETTLING A FEW WRONGFUL DEATH CLAIMS IS CHEAPER THAN CORRECTING A SAFETY DESIGN DEFECT. IN LIEU OF A PROACTIVE ACTION ON YOUR PART, I HAVE FILED A COMPLAINT WITH THE NHTSA. *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