2007 BMW 328I locks problems

Filed Sep 2, 2016 · Body, Locks · 100,000 miles · DE

Tl* the contact owns a 2007 bmw 328i. The contact stated that the driver side door did not unlock even after manually using the key. In addition, the contact had to exit the vehicle through the passenger side door. The failure occurred without warning. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 100,000.

Filed Dec 28, 2014 · Body, Electrical · 68,243 miles · OR

Door locks would not open leaving me locked out of the car and stranded. Had to have the car towed 300 miles to get it back home where a bmw repair place was available. Had to replace both front door actuators at a cost of $600.00 just to get back inside my car. If a baby was trapped in the car it could of died by the time it was to get anyone to help get the doors open. The most dangerous design I've ever heard of. Interior door handles will not work and no way to get out of the car if it happened while I was inside.

Filed Oct 3, 2014 · Electrical, Locks · 120,000 miles · CA

The electrical door lock failed and prevented the driver's door to unlock from the inside causing the driver to be trapped inside the car. There is no manual way to unlock car door from inside.

Filed Jul 9, 2014 · Electrical, Locks · 85,000 miles · GA

I was driving my bmw 328i 2007 and had passengers in the car. Apparently one of the door lock fuses blew. I am unable to unlock any of the passenger doors with the key fob nor from the inside of the car. I am able to open the driver's side door manually but that is it. In other words, the passengers in my car could not manually open their doors at all. They had to crawl through the driver side to exit the vehicle! Thank god I wasn't in an accident, there wasn't a fire. I'm now being told that bmw has to "run a full diagnostic" but there is no way to open any passenger doors of the vehicle for entrance or exit unless I potentially spend thousands of dollars on an electrical system issue. Seriously? Does this seem safe to the average person?

Filed May 28, 2014 · Electrical, Locks · 88,000 miles · CA

Driver door will not unlock or open. According to dozens of forum posts, it's a known issue. Very dangerous if this fails in an accident and can't get out of the car. Only way to get in and out is through window or passenger door. It is possible for all locks to fail and only way to get out would be from the windows. Even door handle can't open door.

Filed Nov 2, 2012 · Locks · 38,000 miles · CA

Tl* the contact owns a 2007 bmw 328i. The contact stated that when entering or exiting the vehicle with the use of the key fob or manually, the four power door locks would not unlock however, the front driver's side door would unlock manually with the key. The vehicle had not been diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the problem. The approximate failure mileage was 38,000.

Filed Sep 25, 2012 · Locks · 63,000 miles · OK

Tl* the contact owns a 2007 bmw 328i. The contact stated that the rear driver's door would not unlock. The contact was unable to unlock the door using the manual key or the electronic key fob. The front driver's side door was also affected. The vehicle was taken to the dealer but a diagnostic was not performed. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure who was waiting for the results of the diagnostic. The VIN was not available. The approximate failure and current mileage was 63,000.

Filed Aug 31, 2012 · Electrical, Locks · 44,500 miles · AZ

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 federal safety agency.

Filed Jul 23, 2012 · Electrical, Locks · 57,000 miles · CA

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.

Filed Jun 27, 2012 · Locks · 3,000 miles · OK

The door locks would not work with the fob. I was locked in side the vehicle. When I finally got out and tried to open the doors from outside, the doors would not open. This situation has happened many times over the years. I was trapped inside the car during a heavy rain fall on the road last year due to the doors not unlocking.