NHTSA Complaint #10706058 — 2007 BMW 328I

MY WIFE AND I HAVE A 2007 BMW 328I. IN 2010, WE GOT IN THE VEHICLE AND THERE WAS A STEERING WHEEL LOCK WARNING ON THE DASH. WE TOOK IT TO GET LOOKED AT AND THEY STATED IT WAS A "FAULT CODE". WE HAD THE EXACT SAME EXPERIENCE IN 2012 AND 2014 WITH THE SAME RESULT, "FAULT CODE". WE NOW HAVE THIS ICON WARNING AGAIN. THIS TIME WE ARE TOLD THAT THE WHOLE STEERING COLUMN WILL NEED TO BE REPLACED ($1200). ACCORDING TO MANY REFERENCES, THIS IS A COMMON PROBLEM AND BMW IS AWARE OF IT. ALSO, ACCORDING TO SEVERAL REFERENCES, THERE IS NO WARNING OR PREDICTION WHEN THE STEERING WHEEL LOCK WILL FAIL IN THE LOCKED POSITION. IF YOU ARE FIRST GETTING INTO THE VEHICLE AND THE STEERING WHEEL LOCK HAS FAILED IN THE LOCKED POSITION, IT WILL NOT ALLOW YOU TO START THE ENGINE. THE QUESTION THAT I HAVE IS WHETHER THE STEERING WHEEL LOCK CAN FAIL IN THE LOCKED POSITION WHILE THE VEHICLE IS BEING DRIVEN. APPARENTLY, THIS QUESTION HAS BEEN RAISED BY NUMEROUS PEOPLE. I HAVE ASKED THIS QUESTION TO THE DEALERSHIP AS WELL AS SEVERAL BMW WEBSITES. THE RESULTS ARE, THEY DON'T KNOW OR THE ANSWERS HAVE BEEN INCONSISTENT AND OFTEN CONTRADICTORY. ASIDE FROM THIS PARTICULAR PROBLEM BEING FAR TOO FREQUENT TO IGNORE BY BMW, THIS APPEARS TO BE A VERY REAL SAFETY CONCERN. BMW CONTINUES TO IGNORE THIS PROBLEM. *TR