2006 BMW 3 Series Steering

THERE IS A KNOWN ISSUE WITH THIS MODEL BMW, THE ELV CONTROL /STEERING WARNING LOCK IS FAULTY. BMW ISSUED A TSB TO DEALERS THAT THIS IS AN ISSUE AND SHOULD ONLY BE FIXED IF A CUSTOMER BRINGS IN THE VEHICLE. THE ISSUE FROM WHAT I UNDERSTAND IS A SOFTWARE ISSUE AND CAN ONLY BE FIXED AT A DEALER. A RECALL SHOULD BE ISSUED, IF THE CONTROL CANNOT BE UNLOCKED THE CAR CANNOT START. SINCE BMW HAS RECOGNIZED THE ISSUE WITH A TSB, I AM UNSURE AS TO WHY A RECALL AS NOT BEEN ISSUED. THIS ISSUE IS STRICTLY RELATED TO THE BMW COMPUTER SYSTEM AND THE OWNERS CAN DO NOTHING TO PREVENT THIS FAILURE. *TR

STEERING COLUNM

CAR WAS DRIVING WHEN YELLOW STEERING COLUMN LOCK WARNING LIGHT CAME ON WHILE DRIVING ON STREET. MALFUNCTION OF INTEGRAL LOCK SENSOR IN STEERING COLUMN ELV ECU HARDWARE STEERING LOCK ERROR STEERING COLUMN LOCK YELLOW COLOR LEADS TO RED WHICH TOTALLY RENDERS CAR UNABLE TO START BMW HAS KNOW BULLETIN SIB-32-04-07

STEERING WHEEL LOCK UP LIGHT COME ON AND LOCK UP SOME TIME.

MY WIFE PARKED HER 2006 BMW 325I AND WHEN SHE TRIED TO START THE CAR THE ELECTRONIC STEERING WHEEL LOOK MALFUNCTION LIGHT CAME ON. SHE WAS UNABLE TO START THE CAR, MOVE THE CAR OR TAKE IT OUT OF PARK TO HAVE IT TOWED. THIS IS EITHER A BAD DESIGN BY BMW (IT ONLY HAPPENS IN 2006-7 MODELS) OR SAFETY DEFECT.

STEERING WHEEL LOCKS AND CAR WONT START

STEERING WHEEL LOCK HAS MALFUNCTIONED RENDERING THE CAR UNSTARTABLE..CAR WAS PARKED WITH WHEELS FACING STRAIT AHEAD AND UPON RESTART THE LOCK MALFUNCTIONED AND HAS BEEN STUCK IN THE LOCK POSITION.

THIS PAST WEEK A YELLOW PADLOCK POPPED UP ON MY DASHBOARD WHEN I WENT TO START MY CAR. UPON FUTURE RESEARCH I DISCOVERED THAT THIS IT IS A FAULT WITH THE ELECTRIC WHEEL LOCK. I HAVE YET TO FIND OUT WHAT THE ROUTE CAUSE YET BUT FROM WHAT I HAVE SEEN, THIS ISSUE IS WIDE SPREAD AND MANY CASES LEAD TO THE CAR NOT STARTING OR THE WHEELS LOCKING UP. THIS COULD COST UPWARDS OF $1500 TO REPLACE THE STEERING WHEEL COLUMN. I AM AFRAID IF THERE IS AN ISSUE WITH THE STEERING WHEEL COLUMN, IT COULD NOT ONLY PREVENT MY CAR FROM STARTING (AS IT HAS WITH MANY OTHER CASES), BUT COULD CAUSE MY STEERING TO LOCK UP WHILE I AM DRIVING. THIS IS SOMETHING I CAN BARELY AFFORD TO FIX, BUT ABSOLUTELY CAN'T AFFORD NOT TO. PLEASE LOOK INTO THIS. *TR

FIRST TIME I NOTICED THE ELV STEERING WHEEL LOCK MALFUNCTION. I JUST PARKED MY CAR, TURNED OFF ENGINE, AND TOOK OUT THE KEY FOB. I NOTICED ON THE INSTRUMENT CLUSTER A PICTURE OF A STEERING WHEEL AND A PAD LOCK. SO I PUT THE KEY FOB BACK IN THE SLOT AND THE CAR WOULDN'T START. THEN TRYING COUPLE TIMES TAKING OUT & PUTTING THE KEY FOB IN THE IGNITION SLOT AND TURNING THE WHEEL LEFT AND RIGHT, THE CAR FINALLY STARTED.

STEERING WHEEL LOCK LIGHT IS ON ENGINE DOES NOT START STEERING WHEEL DOES NOT MOVE IS LOCK

STEERING WHEEL LIGHT COMES ON VEHICLE DOES NOT START STEERING WHEEL LOCKS I HEAR FROM A FORUM THAT THIS IS A SERIOUS ISSUE CAN BE A REASON FOR A FATAL ACCIDENT.

ELECTRIC STEERING LOCK.

STEERING ENGINE LIGHT WARNING. STARTED WITH A SMALL RED LIGHT WHEN TURNING CAR OFF. THE FLASH OF RED WAS SO QUICK COULD NOT TELL WHAT SYMBOL IT WAS. THIS THEN TURNED INTO YELLOW WARNING WITH WRITTEN DESCRIPTION IN NAVIGATION/COMPUTER DISPLAY. STEERING ENGINE LOCK. TURN STEERING WHEEL LEFT AND RIGHT. DO NOT TURN CAR OFF WILL NOT RESTART. TOOK CAR IN TWICE NOT ANYTHING SHOWING ERROR OR PROBLEM. CALLED BMW N. AMERICA HAD NO IDEA WHAT THIS ILLUMINATED SYMBOL MEANT, CONNECTED ME TO A LOCAL DEALERSHIP AND THEY HAD NO IDEA. TOWED TO DEALER WHERE I PURCHASED THE CAR (I HAVE BEEN THE ONLY OWNER AND DRIVER). CAR HAS 44950 MILES. DEALER CALLED TODAY AND SAID STEERING COLUMN NEEDS TO BE REPLACED. THE YELLOW ILLUMINATION STAYED ON WHEN CAR WAS STATIONARY, IN MOTION AND TURNING WHILE ON CITY STREETS AND HIGHWAY. RED ILLUMINATION CAR WAS STATIONARY.

AFTER WORK YESTERDAY WHEN I TRIED TO START MY CAR, THE YELLOW LOCKED STEERING LIGHT CAME ON AND THE CAR WOULD NOT START. AFTER I JERKED ON THE STEERING WHEEL, THE LIGHT WENT OFF AND THE CAR STARTED. WHILE ON MY WAY HOME, ON THE HIGHWAY, THE STEERING LOCKED AGAIN AND THE RED LIGHT CAME ON. I WAS GOING ABOUT 75 MPH AT THIS TIME. I HIT THE CLUTCH AND BRAKES AND JERKED THE WHEEL AGAIN CAUSING IT TO RELEASE. LUCKILY IT WAS NOT RUSH HOUR. IT HAS BEEN PARKED EVER SINCE. IT HAS 114K MILES.

I WAS UNABLE TO START VEHICLE BECAUSE THE STEERING WHEEL WAS LOCKED, THERE WAS AN AMBER STEERING WHEEL SYMBOL BEING DISPLAYED. AFTER SEARCHING FOR ANSWERS, I FOUND THAT THIS IS A COMMON PROBLEM MANY DRIVERS HAVE HAD. THIS PROBLEM NEEDS TO BE FIXED AS IT IS NOT EASILY DETECTABLE AND CAN HAPPEN UNEXPECTEDLY. *TR

MY VEHICLE IS IN STORAGE FOR THE WINTER I START IT ONCE A WEEK THEN RECENTLY IT JUST STOP WORKING AND A STEERING WHEEL LOCK APPEARED ON THE DASHBOARD I RESEARCH IT AND THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE WHO HAVE A BMW 325I HAD THE SAME ISSUE . I FEEL BMW SHOULD REPAIR THIS MANUFACTURING DEFECT. *TR

I HAD BEEN USING THE CAR REGULARLY DRIVING TO AND FROM WORK. RANDOMLY THE YELLOW LIGHT POPS UP OF THE STEERING LOCK SIGN THEN A COUPLE DAYS LATER THE CAR SHUTS DOWN AND THE LIGHT TURNS RED. THE CAR THEN WOULD NOT START. THERE WAS NOTHING I COULD DO THE CAR WAS PARKED AT MY WORK AND WAS FORCED TO GET IT TOWED TO BMW. *JS

I WENT TO START MY BMW 330I AND A WARNING INDICATOR CAME UP AND SAID THERE WAS A STEERING LOCK MALFUNCTION. IT SAID TO MOVE THE STEERING WHEEL AND START THE CAR. I TRIED AND TRIED TO START THE CAR BUT IT JUST KEPT SAYING THE SAME THING. THE TEMPERATURE OUTSIDE WAS BELOW FREEZING. I WAITED A WHILE AND TRIED AGAIN AND IT STARTED. THERE ARE SEVERAL COMPLAINTS ABOUT THIS ISSUE AND IT NEEDS TO BE A RECALL. *TR

I JUST CAME BACK FROM A LONG FAMILY VACATIONS, I WAS DRIVING THIS VEHICLE ALL OVER THE STATES! I WAS SO LUCKY! THIS HAPPEN TO ME WHEN I GOT HOME , MY 2006 BMW 330I WHICH HAD A STEERING COLUMN MALFUNCTION AND FAILURE. MALFUNCTION OF INTEGRAL LOCK SENSOR IN STEERING COLUMN NECESSITATES REPLACEMENT OF ENTIRE STEERING COLUMN, IT IS A SAFETY PROBLEM AND SHOULD BE COVERED BY A BMW CUSTOMER SATISFACTION CAMPAIGN. BUT IS NOT!!! THE WARNING INDICATOR IN THE INSTRUMENT PANEL SHOWED AN ICON OF A STEERING WHEEL AND A LOCK AND THE VEHICLE FAILED TO START, I HAD TO HAVE THE CAR TOWED TO THE DEALERSHIP. I CONTACTED BMW CUSTOMER SERVICE, EXPLAINED MY PROBLEM AND WAS TOLD THEY COULDN'T DO ANYTHING TO COVER THIS VERY COMMON QUALITY PROBLEM AND WOULD NOT BE COVERED UNDER A MANUFACTURERS CUSTOMER SATISFACTION CAMPAIGN. ON THE NHTSA WEBSITE, THERE ARE MANY CASES REPORTED THAT THERE IS A PROBLEM! AND THAT'S WHY! I AM REPORTING THIS INCIDENT TO NHTSA IN HOPES THAT BMW WILL DO SOMETHING FOR OTHER OWNERS AS THE REPAIR BILL WAS $1000 AND SHOULD HAVE BEEN COVERED BY BMW. ALL I THINK ABOUT IS! IF THIS PROBLEM HAPPENED TO ME WHILE I WAS DRIVING WITH ALL MY FAMILY ON MY CAR! I THINK I GOT SO LUCKY! LOOK AT; SERVICE BULLETINS. YOULL SEE! SERVICE BULLETIN NO.: SIB-32-04-07 COMPONENT(S): STEERING BMW: A NEW TECHNICAL PROCESS HAS BEEN CREATED FOR BMW TO IDENTIFY CAUSES OF STEERING COMPLAINTS WITH A WIDE RANGE OF MODELS. *RM ((((SO! THEY KNOW! ABOUT THIS!!!)))) MAKE THIS A RECALL! BEFORE! THIS GETS LOCK WILE SOME ONE IS DRIVING AND GETS HURT!!!! *JS

STEERING LOCKS UP. *TR

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2006 BMW 330XI. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE STEERING WHEEL SEIZED. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER WHERE IT WAS FOUND THAT THE STEERING LOCK MECHANISM HAD FAILED. THE VEHICLE WAS REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS CONTACTED ABOUT THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 70,000. THE VIN WAS NOT AVAILABLE. *TR

THIS BMW HAS AN ISSUE WITH THE STEERING COLUMN LOCK AND ON MY CAR, THE COLUMN HAS ALREADY BEEN REPLACED. THIS IS DUE TO A FAULTY ELV. IN THE EVENT OF A FAILURE OF THE ELV, THE CAR IS DISABLED LEAVING PEOPLE STRANDED! BMW'S FIX FOR THIS IS EITHER A REPROGRAM OR REPLACE THE ENTIRE STEERING COLUMN, AGAIN IN MY CASE. THIS DOES NOT COME CHEAP! BMW MUST BE HELD RESPONSIBLE FOR CORRECTING THIS PLAGUE PROBLEM! *TR

JUST HAD CAR SERVICED AND LOOKED OVER ON WEEK LATER STEERING WHEEL LOCK CAME ON WHEN I USED IT DAY BEFORE. HAD NO WARNING, WOKE UP IN THE MORNING TO GO TO WORK AND STEERING WHEEL LOCK SYMBOL CAME UP AND CAR WILL NOT START. *TR

RECEIVED YELLOW STEERING WHEEL AND LOCK ICON WHEN TRYING TO START THE CAR. ATTEMPTED USING DIFFERENT KEYS, BUT THE CAR WOULD NOT START AND THE STEERING WHEEL REMAINED IMMOBILE. I EXITED THE CAR AND WAITED ABOUT 30 MINUTES TO TRY AGAIN, BUT RECEIVED YELLOW STEERING WHEEL WITH LOCK ICON AGAIN WHEN PUTTING THE KEY FOB INTO THE VEHICLE. WHEN I CALLED THE DEALERSHIP, I WAS QUOTED ABOUT $1200 AS SOON AS I DESCRIBED THE YELLOW STEERING WHEEL AND LOCK, WITHOUT THEM HAVING SEEN THE VEHICLE. THE SA ALSO MENTIONED THAT THE NEWER MODELS DON'T EVEN HAVE THIS FEATURE AT ALL. I WAS ALSO ADVISED THAT IT IS NOT A BMW RESPONSIBILITY OR DEFECT, AND THAT I WOULD BE RESPONSIBLE FOR ALL SHOP REPAIRS AND TIME. DOING RESEARCH ABOUT THIS ISSUE, I FOUND THIS IS A VERY WELL DOCUMENTED AND KNOWN ISSUE. THIS SEEMS TO BE DUE TO POOR DESIGN BY THE AUTO MANUFACTURER, SO MUCH SO THAT THE "FEATURE" ISN'T EVEN INCLUDED ON NEWER MODELS OF THE VEHICLE AT ALL. *TR

STEERING WHEEL LOCK ENGINE IS LOCK CAR CAN NOT START WOW.. *TR