The door lock actuators have failed. This makes it so that the doors do not open when you are inside the vehicle attempting to get out by pulling the door handle. This is a safety issue not allowing me to get out of my vehicle. If this issue is not resolved by paying the $1500 to fix the issue the doors will stop opening completely making this even more of a safety issue over time. This issue only gets worse and is directly related to the functionality of the car. This door lock actuator should be recalled on all vehicles bmw makes that are having this same issue. This is a known long-standing issue with these vehicles and has yet to be recalled even though it is absolutely a safety issue. Bmw should not be able to profit off of their poor safety manufacturing mistakes.
BMW 3 Series door locks problems
57 of the 842 owner complaints about the BMW 3 Series describe doors won't lock, open or latch, most of them for the 2006 model year.
- owner complaints
- 57
- worst model year
- 2006
- typical repair cost reported
- $1,200
- typical mileage
- 68,000
By model year
Often reported together
What owners say
Stationary in parking lot. Front passenger door will not lock/unlock with any method attempted. Drivers door will only unlock using emergency key from exterior.
Doors will not unlock, serious hazard in emergency situation if doors won't unlock. Doors lock/unlock problem, I've had to exit thru windows. No manual unlock from inside vehicle. Mechanism is operational, must be computer problem. Fuse replaced,ckd many threads with same issue. Www.bimmerfest.com / 3 + times happened to me.
Our 2001 e46 has electronic door locks which are failing. My wife has found herself locked inside the car, unable to open the door. The locks freeze, and cannot be manually unlocked, trapping the occupant in the car. There is no mechanical override to the system. The incident occurred when she turned the car off and tried to open the drivers door to exit the vehicle.
The power door lock on passenger side cannot be unlocked either via remote or inside button. Worse, often when this happens, the door cannot be opened even by pulling on the handle from the inside! A passenger cannot get out of the car via the door. Furthermore, repeatedly attempts to have this fixed all fail within a short time.
Inside passenger door handle melting
Door locks failed. Can only open door with key.
Car has automatic door locks, uses a fob. Parked the car, locked the doors with the fob. When I tried to unlock the doors with the fob, it only clicks - did not unlock. Used the key to unlock the drivers door, but found that once locked, no doors will unlock, not even manually from inside the car. The only door that will lock or unlock is the driver's door, and then only with the key from the outside. The post that pops up and down to indicate that the door is locked is impossible to pull up, and pulling the inside door handle does nothing. This is obviously very dangerous. At the very least, they should redesign the locks so that they can be opened from inside manually in case of an electrical failure!!!!
As I put the vehicle in park and tried to exit the vehicle the door would not open. I pulled the handle and tried the key fob and nothing would make it unlock. I had to crawl to the passenger side to exit the vehicle. This is the second time this has happened and it is a known fuse problem that is faulty and very dangerous if you happen to be in an accident and need to escape your vehicle quickly. Having a driver door that absolutely will not open is a complete disregard for common sense and public safety.
Using key fob to unlock doors, sometimes only driver door unlocks. Sometimes no doors unlock/lock. Interior master lock switch sometimes works sometimes does not. Replaced switch twice. Been in car and unable to unlock any doors to get out of vehicle using electric systems and even manual ie. Door handles. In a non stressful situation, got out by rolling down window and inserting key in driver door to unlock. For panic situations bought a window shatter tool to break windows to get out.
Related recalls
No recalls on record for this model year.
Questions about the BMW 3 Series door locks
Which BMW 3 Series years have doors won't lock, open or latch problems?
The model years with the most reports are 2006 (25 complaints), 2007 (13 complaints) and 2003 (6 complaints).
How much does it cost to fix doors won't lock, open or latch on the BMW 3 Series?
Owners who mentioned a price put the repair at about $1,200 (median of 5 complaints that include a dollar amount). Costs vary with mileage, warranty and where the work is done.
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