NHTSA Complaint #10331302 — 2007 BMW 335I

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. *TR