2006 BMW 3 Series problems
The 2006 BMW 3 Series has 288 complaints on file with NHTSA. The largest share (38%) concerns air bags. Next are electrical system (11%) and latches & locks (9%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 288 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Air bags 38% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 13 and 1
- Injuries and deaths
- 19 and 0
- Typical mileage
- 67,000 miles 240 complaints with mileage
Source: NHTSA owner complaints
Where the complaints are
Share of this model year's complaints by the part of the car involved. One complaint can name more than one part, so the shares can add up to more than 100%.
When problems show up
View the numbers
| Mileage | Complaints |
|---|---|
| 0k to 20k miles | 28 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 22 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 47 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 52 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 36 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 28 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 13 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 10 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 3 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 0 |
| 200k+ miles | 1 |
What the data shows
Of the 240 complaints that include odometer readings, half describe a problem before roughly 67,000 miles. For air bags specifically, the median reported mileage is about 69,000 miles (87 complaints with mileage).
Safety-related details: 13 complaints mention a crash; 1 complaint mentions a fire; 19 injuries reported.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 2006 ranks 1st most-complained-about out of 12 model years of the BMW 3 Series with enough data (122 complaints in that window). It is also covered by 3 safety recall campaigns.
What owners wrote
A few complaints as filed, shortened and with personal details removed. The first ones are among the most serious reports for this model year; the rest are typical.
2006 BMW 330xi brake failure, acceleration, no steering. Occurred twice; BMW repaired by dealer new brakes, computer; second occurrence car did not stop until hit trees.
The front passenger-seat occupancy detector failed, resulting in the airbag warning light turning on, warning of an airbag malfunction. Initially, the airbag warning light only turned on when a passenger occupied the front passenger seat, but later it remained on regardless, most of the time. Had the passenger-seat occupancy detector replaced, and that fixed the problem. Note that this is exactly the same problem as a BMW recall, except that I was told by BMW that my VIN was not covered.
Tl* the contact owns a 2006 BMW 3 series. While parked, the contact attempted to open the driver?s side door using the electronic key fob but the door would not open. The contact eventually opened the front driver?s side door with the handle and was able to enter the vehicle. The same failure occurred on all other doors. The vehicle was taken to the dealer for a diagnostic test. The technicians stated that the door actuators on all doors needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired.