Door locks do not open, doors not able to open. Fuel door trapped closed.

- Waukesha, WI, USA

On February 6, 2013, at around 7am, I was driving South on the taconic state parkway near pleasantville, NY on my way to work. My electrical systems suddenly started to fail, and I heard a crackling noise from the backseat. I looked in my rear-view mirror and I saw flames in the backseat. I pulled over on the right shoulder right before the pleasantville exit. I struggled to exit my car because the seatbelt was stuck as the entire backseat of my car was engulfed with me inside. After it finally released, I exited the burning car in a daze. A good samaritan stopped to help me, whose name and contact information can be provided. She put me in her car and we each called 911. A nys trooper created a police report, which can be provided. As we waited for firemen, the car was engulfed in flames and blew up twice. One of my co-workers stopped to help me and witnessed the car blow up. I have pictures showing the car completely engulfed and the entire car charred and unrecognizable after the fire was extinguished. I am now aware that, after the incident took place, BMW issued its largest recall ever in the U.S. of approximately 504K vehicles, including the same year, make and model as my car. The recall stems from a faulty battery connection. Importantly, the battery and the battery connection for bmws are in the trunk, which is where I believe the fire started in my car. As a result of numerous complaints and case studies, BMW had been aware of this battery-related defect on my car since 2010. I'm also aware that BMW has recalled other BMW models for a very similar battery issue that resulted in charring or fires in the bmws. The car is currently being held by traveler's insurance company and is available for your immediate inspection.

- Mohegan Lake, NY, USA

For a few months prior to June, vehicle electronics were flickering and key fobs were not working all the time. Thought it might be battery in key fob (replaced) but that didn't work so I replaced car battery. Still having issues took car to the dealership and they couldn't find any issues. A few weeks went by and on my way to work, car just shut off on the highway, I had to get over two lanes of traffic with dead car. I had the car towed to dealership. They found burnt power cable and fuse box. $1800 later car was repaired and there has been no electrical issues since. I heard from another dealership that the repair is something that started happening lately. Yesterday 19 Feb 2013 the recall notice came out on news, I hope I am reimbursed for repairs. [xxx] information redacted pursuant to the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).

- Greenfield , WI, USA

My wife was driving in the left center lane of interstate 384 in manchester ct. The car stalled and she was hit from behind by 3 other vehicles. She suffered back and neck injuries. This is related to the recent recall of bmws for a faulty battery cable. BMW would not acknowledge anything was wrong with the car. We traded the car in because we did not feel it was safe or reliable.

- Mansfield Center, CT, USA

The contact owns a 2007 BMW 328xi. The contact stated that he attempted to open the door but it failed to open since there was no power in the vehicle. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure but did not offer any assistance since the vehicle was not included on any recalls. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure and current mileage was 96,000.

- Rockville , MD, USA

I was leaving my place of employment when the vehicle cut out with no electrical power and the engine died. It restarted and I went home. The next morning the vehicle had no power and would not start. Upon investigation, the battery in the trunk had $12.60 volts and the fuses at the power distribution center/box had only 2.80 volts. With a screw driver I moved the large red battery cable going to the back of the pdc and all the lights came on. I subseqeuntly removed the pdc and inspected the main power lead. The terminal was corroded has a relatively loose fit and just clips to the back of the pdc, even though it is a large gauge wire.

- Gunnison, CO, USA

The doors will not unlock; from the exterior, only the driver's door can be opened with the key. From the interior, only the driver's door can be opened; none of the other 3 doors can be opened manually or by using the unlock buttons either on the dash or on the key. I think that this creates a very hazardous situation-if this failure occurred while the vehicle was occupied, passengers would only be able to exit through the windows or through the driver's door. This could result in injury or loss of life in some accident situations. I spoke to BMW North America about this problem and they said that they "probably would not be responsible for repairs" to this potentially dangerous situation.

- Elmwood, LA, USA

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!!!

- Perris, Ca, CA, USA

My 2007 BMW 328xi completely powered down while I was driving. I was forced to "coast" into a side lane on a busy road during the first occurrence. Since this first incident my car has been having this same exact issue - recently, much more frequently. I feel as if this is an incredibly dangerous issue since this has happened while I have been driving on incredibly busy streets and I could have easily gotten into some form of an accident.

- Silver Spring, MD, USA

I own a 07 BMW 328xi, on 10/03/12 I got out of my car and tried locking it and only two doors locked. The doors would not unlock with the fob or the door switch located in the car. In order to get into car I had to climb over the passengers seat and when it was time to get out the same had to happen. I called my local dealer and they told me that it was a actuator problem, so asked if there was anything I could do to get the doors unlocked till my appt. I made. He proceeded to tell me no and upon reading some forums he could have said use the key hidden in the fob to unlock the door or check the #57 fuse which controls the locks. Unfortunately, I pretty disappointed with my dealer because he could have potently put me in a dangerous situation, he could have told me these things but he choice to say nothing to get me in there. This is a know problem with BMW's and could be a dangerous problem if the car was to run off the road in a body of water and the person has to over seats to get because of the drivers door not being able to open.

- Auburn, MA, USA

91 year old person could not get out of the car, fuse 57 failed and all doors were locked and also door handles and key fob were inoperative. BMW should have a mandatory recall for this dangerous safety issue. If an accident occurs, people could be trapped in the car. What a disgrace BMW!

- Hamilton, NJ, USA

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 :-/

- Richmond, VA, USA

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.

- Tucson, AZ, USA

The contact owns a 2007 BMW 328xi. The contact stated that the vehicle was equipped with a keyless ignition start and the engine would not start. In addition, the battery failed to jump start. After waiting forty eight hours the engine started upon engaging the push button ignition. The failure occurred six times. On a separate occasion when driving the engine stalled without warning and restarted immediately. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer for diagnosis. There was no trouble detected. The vehicle had not been repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the problem. The approximate failure mileage was 85,000.

- Hockessin, DE, USA

Doors will not unlock or open. I was literally trapped inside my car in a parking lot. Drove vehicle home, had to put down window and have someone use valet key at my house to open the driver door. None of the other three passenger doors can be unlocked. Luckily no passengers in my vehicle. Was told there is a tsb related to this, however it is not recognized as a safety issue. Cannot understand how this is considered "safe" when if my vehicle was on fire and I had my children in their car seats in the back seat, there would be no way to open the doors to get them out. BMW is aware that the actuators are pulling too much current through the fuses and that the actuators need replaced. They are making tons of money off of charging people to repair this known problem as this is not something you can avoid having repaired unless you are willing to gamble on your own life or those of family/friends who may be in your vehicle when this occurs. There really needs to be a safety recall on this issue before someone loses their life as a result. I find it quite absurd that the NHTSA does not recognize this. Does someone need to die for this to be remedied? just because I drive a used BMW does not mean I have the money to have this repaired, yet I've got two very young children who ride in the backseat of this car on a daily basis. Looking at the number of complaints that have already been filed, obviously it appears that neither BMW nor the NHTSA seem to care about my safety, my family's safety or that of any of the other thousands of BMW owners who are having the same issue.

- Dillsburg, PA, USA

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.

- Palo Alto, CA, USA

I drove my car approximately 2 miles then got home and turned my car off. 10 minutes later I look out the window and my car is on fire. The fire dept. Stated that the fire started around the passenger side headlight and that it looked like an electrical fire.

- Tulsa, OK, USA

Suddenly all 3 doors (except one passenger door) fail to unlock and even the inside door knob wouldn't unlock the door. It seems to be a very well known problem but BMW wouldn't fix the problem before it happens, and my warranty period is over.

- Mountain View, CA, USA

2007 328I -- I was driving thru my neigborhood in nyc and the car suddenly shut down completely; no power, no brakes, absolutely nothing at all.. and the thing is no warnings ever showed up.. I hope everyone who's had problems like this reports them to bwm because this is unacceptable and extremely dangerous. I'm lucky I was driving locally and there weren't any cars around because it was the scariest thing I've ever experienced driving a car. Hope BMW steps up before something catastrophic happens, like Toyota had them.

- Ridgewood, NY, USA

Model: 2007 BMW 328I. The electronic "door actuators" failed. As a result, it became impossible to open any door of the vehicle from the inside, except the driver's door. When these electronic door actuators fail, passengers are trapped in or out of the vehicle. The service advisor at the dealership (weatherford BMW, berkeley, California) explained that he new exactly what was wrong with my vehicle because they received a bulletin regarding this (meaning this is a "known issue" to BMW with this model car! my question was if BMW has received major complaints about this particular issue, why would"nt it be recalled...he advised me that are normally pertained to "safety", we"ll what would you consider this situation...safe? $900 was my quote to have this fixed! ridiculous!!! we strongly suggest that this defect be investigated, and that the subject vehicles be recalled so that the defect can be corrected before deaths or injuries occur.

- San Pablo, CA, USA