NHTSA Complaint #10910802 — 2011 BMW X5

THE DRIVER SIDE DOOR LOCK CANNOT BE UNLOCKED MANUALLY WHILE DRIVER IS INSIDE THE PARKED CAR. THIS OCCURS FREQUENTLY, BUT NOT 100% OF THE TIME. THE BMW LOCKS UNLOCK MANUALLY BY PULLING ON THE DOOR HANDLE ONCE AND THEN PULLING A SECOND TIME TO OPEN THE DOOR. WHEN THIS DEFECT OCCURS, I CANNOT OPEN THE DOOR. THE ONLY WAY TO UNLOCK IS TO USE THE POWER DOOR LOCK SWITCH. THIS IS A SAFETY CONCERN BECAUSE I CANNOT UNLOCK AND OPEN THE DRIVER DOOR IF THERE IS AN ELECTRICAL FAILURE. THE PASSENGER SIDE DOOR HAD THE SAME FAILURE 18 MONTHS AGO AND I REPLACED THE LOCK ACTUATOR PERSONALLY. I DID NOT LOG A COMPLAINT BECAUSE I JUDGED IT AS AN EXCEPTION CASE. HOWEVER, TWO FAILURES ON TWO DIFFERENT LOCK ACTUATORS IN THE SAME CAR LEADS ME TO BELIEVE THERE IS AN INTRINSIC MANUFACTURING DEFECT.