2006 BMW 3 Series problems
Owners have filed 288 complaints about the 2006 BMW 3 Series with NHTSA. Air bags account for 37.8% of them — far more than any other system, ahead of electrical system at 11.5%.
Complaints288
Crashes13
Fires1
Injuries19
Deaths0
What owners report breaking
Air bags 37.8% · 109
Electrical system 11.5% · 33
Latches/locks/linkages 9.0% · 26
Steering 8.3% · 24
Tires 4.9% · 14
Seats 4.2% · 12
Seat belts 4.2% · 12
Engine 3.8% · 11
Severity
Of those complaints, 13 describe a crash, 1 describe a fire and 19 report an injury.
Reading the numbers
Across the 3 model years of the BMW 3 Series in this data, 2006 draws the most complaints of any of them.
Filings have fallen off, 33 in the last three years against 73 in the three before. That is normal as a generation leaves the road.
The median odometer reading at the time of complaint was 67,280 miles.
In owners' own words
Passenger air bags and seat belt wont work and BMW wont fix. Electrical:radio,climate control,headlights and windshield washer pump. Window regulators. And the worst:learning from x_employees of BMW say that BMW purposefully miss-torques oil pan,valve cover and oil filter housing so the fail right after 50,000 mile warranty. Every e90 has these problems. And window regulators all except driver side. In motion. Air bags · reported at 51,000 miles
Passenger seat mat is experiencing multiple failures which disables air bag deployment in the event of an accident. The exact issue for my year, model, and options automobile has been recalled, yet my 2006 BMW 325i with sport seats vin was not included in the recal listed below. Nhtsa campaign number: 08v384000 I believe that my vin should be included in the above nhtsa campaign recall number. Air bags
The air bag light came on and I called BMW customer relations. They told me to take it to a BMW dealer to have the front seat occupant protection mat replaced under an extended warranty (nhtsa campaign number 13v564000). The BMW dealer in long beach said it isn't listed as a recall item and they want $180 just to perform a check to see if there is a problem, which is ridiculous. Air bags · reported at 75,550 miles
Verbatim from NHTSA filings. Complaints are unverified owner reports.
Safety recalls
Checking NHTSA for open recalls…