2000 BMW 323I: doors won't lock, open or latch

Filed May 18, 2012 · Body, Locks · 104,000 miles · WI

All passenger doors fail to open (even manually) due to a faulty gm5 (computer) or door lock actuator resulting in a hazard if there were to be a fire or accident.

Filed Oct 4, 2011 · Electrical, Locks · NC

The door locks of my car are electronically controlled via remote and a button on my center console. The gm5 door locking module has intermittent issues, one of which will not allow you to lock or unlock the doors while you are in the vehicle. In an emergency or accident one would not be able to exit the vehicle using the unlock button or remote.

Filed Oct 14, 2010 · Body, Locks · NC

Sometimes the doors on my 2000 bmw 323i will not unlock and when I use the key to unlock the door it will only open the driver side door. When this occurs the unlock button doesn't work and pulling the door handle does not work either. Passengers have to climb through the driver side door and in case of an emergency with there being only one escape route this could cause serious injury or death.

Filed Mar 29, 2010 · Locks · 122,000 miles · CA

The door locks on my car fail in the middle of the day, now almost every day. It is impossible to open the doors, except the drivers' door, from the inside of the car. This would be very dangerous in an emergency / accident, passengers would be unable to exit the vehicle. This appears to be a common bmw defect, I know many other owners who have suffered this problem. Why haven't these cars been recalled?

Filed Nov 19, 2009 · Locks · 85,000 miles · CA

The front passenger door on my bmw 323 cic (model year 2000) regularly fails to unlock preventing passengers entry or exit through this door. I replaced the actuator on the passenger door and the door still fails to unlock regularly using all possible means available, I.e. Key fob, interior unlock button, or pulling repeatedly on the door handle to attempt to open the door. They all fail leaving the passenger (front & back since I own a two door) trapped in the car and forced to climb out the driver's door after all other passengers have left the car. This is a safety issue for passengers in my car who are handicapped, recovering from surgery, not in good physical shape to climb over the middle console to exit the vehicle or if there is an accident. This also is a common issue on this model which bmw has not acknowledged and initiated a voluntary recall to fix. Given the safety issues that this type of common problem presents, I would like the federal safety agency to investigate and determine if bmw needs to be forced to do a recall to address this.

Filed Oct 20, 2009 · Locks · 77,230 miles · TX

We have a safety issue with our bmw 323i year 2000. The electric door locks will actuate and then you cannot get out of the car through 3 or 4 doors. The electric locks will not disengage and you cannot release them with the handle from the inside of the vehicle. Passengers are basically trapped inside the car and have to climb over the front seat to exit the vehicle. Problem has been recurring frequently. After an extended period of time, we are usually able to get the locks to work. I found 10 complaints filed on this same issue with one death and 3 injuries resulting from this malfunction. There are probably more complaints but I just looked at 3 vehicle years.

Filed Aug 21, 2008 · Locks · 115,000 miles · CT

Door locks cannot be opened from inside the car.