2006 BMW 325I problems
The 2006 BMW 325I has 709 complaints on file with NHTSA. The largest share (36%) concerns air bags. Next are electrical system (12%) and engine (11%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 709 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Air bags 36% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 15 and 36
- Injuries and deaths
- 13 and 0
- Typical mileage
- 80,000 miles 557 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 | 47 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 41 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 76 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 104 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 112 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 47 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 56 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 32 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 23 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 9 |
| 200k+ miles | 10 |
What the data shows
Of the 557 complaints that include odometer readings, half describe a problem before roughly 80,000 miles. For air bags specifically, the median reported mileage is about 81,000 miles (208 complaints with mileage).
Safety-related details: 15 complaints mention a crash; 36 complaints mention a fire; 13 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 9 model years of the BMW 325I with enough data (236 complaints in that window). It is also covered by 7 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.
My car was parked for a brief time and then, just before I was about to start my car, I noticed smoke coming from the glove box and when I blew on it, a fireball came out and the whole car went up in flames. Just a few days before, I had problems with my air-conditioning and had prior electrical issues that I had checked out at a BMW repair shop.
Tl* the contact owns a 2006 BMW 325I. The contact received a recall notice for NHTSA campaign number: 17v676000 (electrical system). After driving the vehicle for two miles to run an errand, the contact returned to the vehicle and smelled burning plastic. The contact opened the hood and saw flames on the left side of the engine block by the firewall. The fire department extinguished the fire. The fire department recorded the event and took pictures of the damage. A police report was not filed.
Continuous unreliability in the bridgestone potenza re050a run flat tires. I've had both rear tires fail early and now my front ones are also expiring long before they should. I have cupping issues as well and the BMW dealership is unwilling to assist with the known problem. On top of that the tires have been on emergency back order and are impossible to get in the event of a problem like I've suffered twice.
When trying to unlock the vehicle using the remote, the doors would not unlock. The vehicle has only one manual unlock latch for key insert into the door on the drivers door. Was able to unlock only the drivers door. The remaining three doors cannot be unlocked at all, not even when opening from the inside. Also the gas tank door will not open either. This is not an isolated problem numerous vehicles of this make, model, and year are having the same issue.