NHTSA Complaint #10425432 — 2006 BMW 325I

MY PASSENGERS AND I WERE TRYING TO GET BACK INTO MY PARKED CAR, BUT WHEN I USED MY KEY FOB TO UNLOCK THE DOORS ONLY THE PASSENGER DOORS UNLOCKED WHILE THE DRIVER'S DOOR DIDN'T. I TRIED TO UNLOCK THE DRIVER'S DOOR BY USING THE LOCK/ UNLOCK BUTTON LOCATED IN THE CAR. THIS DID NOT WORK, AND IT LOCKED THE PASSENGER DOORS AGAIN. I THEN TRIED TO UNLOCK THE DOORS SIMULTANEOUSLY BY TRYING THE KEY FOB AND THE MANUAL LOCK/ UNLOCK BUTTON INSIDE OF THE CAR A FEW MORE TIMES, BUT NONE OF THE DOORS UNLOCKED THIS TIME. WE ALL HEARD THE CAR ATTEMPTING TO LOCK AND UNLOCK, BUT THE LOCKS WERE NOT MOVING. I WASN'T ABLE TO UNLOCK ANY OF THE DOORS WITH THE KEY FOB OR WITH THE DOOR LOCK/ UNLOCK BUTTON INSIDE THE CAR, (THE PASSENGERS WERE ALREADY IN THE CAR) SO I USED THE EMERGENCY CUT-OUT KEY LOCATED INSIDE OF THE KEY FOB TO MANUALLY OPEN THE DRIVER'S DOOR TO GET IN. WHEN I STOPPED TO GET GAS ON THE SAME NIGHT, I FOUND OUT THAT THE GAS CAP WAS ALSO LOCKED, SO WE LEFT. WHEN WE ARRIVED BACK AT MY RESIDENCE, EVERYONE CLIMBED OUT OF THE DRIVER'S SEAT. FINALLY, THIS MORNING AFTER I MANUALLY UNLOCKED THE CAR WITH THE EMERGENCY KEY, I NOTICED THAT THE SEAT MEMORY WAS ALSO UNRESPONSIVE. WITH LESS THAN 1/8 OF A TANK LEFT, I WILL HAVE TO TOW THE CAR TO THE DEALERSHIP BECAUSE IT WILL NOT MAKE IT ON THE GAS LEFT IN THE TANK. THIS IS A SERIOUS ISSUE BECAUSE IF WE WERE TO HAVE GOTTEN IN ANY TYPE OF ACCIDENT OR WERE IN SOME UNFORESEEN TROUBLE WHILE IN THE CAR WITH ONLY SECONDS TO REACT AND GET OUT OF THE CAR, IT WOULD HAVE MOST LIKELY ENDED UP IN MULTIPLE FATALITIES BECAUSE OF THE INABILITY TO GET OUT OF THE VEHICLE IN A HASTY MANNER. PLEASE INVESTIGATE AND RECALL THIS ISSUE BEFORE SOMETHING LIKE THIS DOES HAPPEN DURING AND/ OR AFTER A CAR ACCIDENT AND PEOPLE DIE BECAUSE THEY ARE TRAPPED IN A CAR DUE TO THE ELECTRICAL/ LOCK MALFUNCTION. THANK YOU. *KB