2007 BMW 335I: key fob or push-button start problems

Filed Jun 24, 2013 · Electrical · 128,760 miles · VA

Arrived destination, exited car, locked doors via key fob. Returned four hours later, unable to unlock doors. Lights went on, so I knew key fob was working. Had to use valet key to open driver's door, no locks on other doors. Once in car tried to use door open button on dash, would not work, tried to unlock door from inside, could not unlock any of the doors. My wife had to crawl through open window on passenger side, and my two guests had to go through windows to sit in back seat. Once reaching our next destination attempted to used the door release again, nothing, then tried the door handles (front and back) would not work, back seat passengers had to exit through windows, and once we reached home my wife had to slide over console go out the drivers door, the only door that could be opened from the inside. Fyi both my wife and I are senior citizens, and not very happy with this current event. As a result all passengers were trapped inside car as all door locks, except drivers fail and no way to open car, this could have result into a serious problem if we were in an accident of fire with 3 of the 4 doors not being able to open from the inside. Brought to bmw dealer next day, they wanted between $800 and $1,000. To repair door lock actuators, unable to pay this now, car is sitting home in garage. Bmw never offered to pay this under the current conditions of so many complaints, this should be a recall. It is a safety hazard.

Filed Feb 23, 2013 · Electrical, Locks · 60,000 miles · CA

All doors except driver door are locked and cannot be open by passenger from inside using door handle; cannot be opened using the door lock switch on the dash board; cannot be opened using the key fob; cannot be opened from the outside door handle. Therefore all passengers have to exit through the driver door. Once being locked from the outside, the drive has to use the backup key in the key fob to unlock the door. This is a serious safety issue regarding exiting the car in emergency situation.

Filed Sep 24, 2012 · Electrical · 60,000 miles · IL

Key fob will not unlock doors. Valet key gets you into the drivers door, but the other doors will not unlock by any means, either by pulling the handle or by operating the interior unlock switch. In an accident that might disable the door unlock function, 3 of the 4 could not be opened for exit purposes.

Filed Jun 26, 2012 · Electrical · PA

The key fob did not unlock the car doors nor did the central control button inside the car unlock the doors. Only the drivers side door could open from inside the car. No other door could be opened from the inside with this malfunction. Found out a fuse went bad creating the problem.

Filed Mar 7, 2012 · Locks · 69,000 miles · AZ

Driver side door lock actuator failed. Cannot unlock driver side door from inside the car with central unlock, key fob, or door lever.

Filed Nov 5, 2011 · Electrical, Locks · 48,500 miles · CA

The automatic door locks on my car have quick working and the only way to enter or exit the car is through the driver door using the manual key fob. Passenger doors are inoperable from both interior and exterior. This presents a serious safety concern in the event of an accident or fire.

Filed Jan 22, 2011 · Electrical, Locks · 15,335 miles · MI

Door locks failed using key fob or button on dash. Followed service bulletin to replace fuse, but problem keeps reappearing. Passenger door inoperative even after fuse replaced and other doors working.

Filed May 19, 2010 · Locks · 22,500 miles · CA

On saturday evening, may 15, 2010, the door actuators of my 2007 bmw 335i blew out a fuse. As a result, none of the doors were capable of being opened, except for the driver's side door. The car's key fob could not unlock the doors. The lock button on the dash would not work. It was impossible to open any of the doors manually. There would have been no way a passenger could have exited the car, except by climbing through the driver's side door or by climbing out the windows. This is a serious safety issue and presents particular dangers to disabled passengers. This problem has been well-documented for 2007 3-series vehicles on the web. See http://www.aboutautomobile.com/complaint/2007/bmw/335i/latch,+lock+and+linkage and http://www.aboutautomobile.com/complaint/2007/bmw/328i/latch,+lock+and+linkage. This video on youtube represents exactly what happened to my car: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3v04l-isycs. I understand that bmw has a service bulletin for dealers regarding the problem. Dealers fix the problem only by changing the fuse. Staff at bmw san francisco, where I purchased the car (certified used) six weeks ago, told me today (may 19, 2010) that even with a new fuse, the problem could recur. I further understand that bmw has willfully refused to issue a recall. The fuse box is located in the glove compartment inside the car. Were the door actuators to cause a fire and the passenger doors incapable of being opened, passengers could very well suffer serious injuries or even death. The 335i manual indicates that meddling with the car's fuse box could result in a fire.

Filed Jul 20, 2009 · Locks · 29,759 miles · PA

Can not unlock doors using the key fob! Only driver door can be opened manually using the key inside the key fob! No other doors could be opened even manually using the interior door handles! (this is a design flaw that needs to be corrected otherwise it can cause serious issues if problem occurs in an accident that could make exiting the vehicle very difficult to impossible ).

Filed Jan 25, 2009 · Locks · 15,207 miles · IL

Door locks permanently locked from inside of car while I was I stopped at a mall parking spot with wife and 9 month old son. I could not unlatch the doors by using the door unlock button and through the key unlock button. (second time this has happened since my ownership began at 14400 miles and third in cars total history according to the ownership record). Car is still under warranty until december 24 2011. Just had this problem fixed on 1/8/2009 at perillo bmw in chicago il.I had to roll down my window, climb out, and then take the key out of the key fob and unlock the driver door. I had to have my wife climb in back to get son out of seat and pass him forward to the front seat so I could get him out through the drivers door. She climbed back into front and got out drivers door. This took approximately 4-5 minutes. If there was an accident or a car fire, there is now way I could have gotten my family out in a hurry. This problem has been reported on numerous bmw car club sites and there is really no quick fix but to replace door lock actuator or fuses. Even when these parts are replaced, the problem happens time and time again. This is very dangerous.