1999 BMW 323I Latches, locks and linkages Problems

“On may 20, 2004, I went out to my 1999 323I Bmw, parked inside a garage, where it is parked every night and most days, and the driver's side door handle is stuck in such a way that no one is able to open the door from the outside. If I want to get into the car to drive it, I have to get into the back seat or in on the passenger side and open the door from inside the vehicle, making sure that the door does not swing back even a little; otherwise, the door locks. This could be dangerous in an accident. …”

“I notice it more on hot days, my key button does not open the doors, I have to manually open the door. The real problem is when im inside the car the unlock button does not work, even when I manually pull on the door handles from inside the car, the doors continues to be locked. Its embarrassing when you have to have your guest climb out from the window because the doors don't open. Once the car is cooler, they start to work again. Im afraid that if I ever get into a car accident, we wont be able to get out of the car. I do have a family and I would hate for anything tragic to occur. …”

“1999 Bmw 323I doors will not unlock with keyless entry remote or unlock button inside the car. Passengers (90% of the time) and sometimes drivers side door (10%) will not unlock trapping occupants inside. Problem usually occurs when temperatures are above 75 degrees. After researching the problem I will be replacing the general module 5. If problem is not recognized by car owners, occupants of the car may be trapped inside during an accident resulting in possible injury or death.”

“1999 Bmw 3 series and later has a defect that causes the rear and passenger doors to lock and they are unable to be opened either from the outside or inside. Only the driver's door can be opened manually. Remote key will not open doors or the gas tank flap. Doors are locked and can't be opened in any way, either by the inside or outside handles, by the power lock button, or manually with key. Passengers are locked inside can only get out by climbing over the seats and out the driver's door. …”

“Auto accident results in death of a passenger due to the inability to unlock car doors in an attempt to exit auto which caught fire short after an intersection accident, the passengers were unable to open door latch, unable to pull on door lock knobs that are flush to door panels and unable to press on main door lock switch which would otherwise have allowed them to exit vehicle quickly and safely. Three passengers exited through a broken window but unfortunately one was not so lucky. …”