2006 BMW 3 Series
Complaints about this year name bmw 325i far more often than the other years of this generation — 21% of them, about 52× the usual rate of 0.4%.
First year of a new generation. The BMW 3 Series was redesigned for 2006. A first year carries problems nobody has found yet, and they are found by the people who buy it — which is worth knowing before you become one of them.
NHTSA opened a defect investigation into this model year.
| Complaints filed | 1,243 |
|---|---|
| Median for this model | 227 |
| Involving a crash | 29 |
| Involving a fire | 40 |
| Recalls | 4 |
| EPA combined | 21 mpg |
What the complaints were about
- 325i — 23.5% of this year's complaints, against 0.1% across the other years of this generation (117.5×). Owners wrote it as: 325i, bmw 325i, 325i contact, 2006 325i.
- bag — 28.6% of this year's complaints, against 7% across the other years of this generation (4.1×). Owners wrote it as: bag, air bag, bag warning, frontal.
- seat — 28.2% of this year's complaints, against 8% across the other years of this generation (3.5×).
Words owners used for the same problem are counted together, so a fault written four different ways is measured once. Grouped by which complaints they appear in, not by a list anyone wrote in advance.
Also unusual this year
- seat — 28% of complaints, 4× usual
- air bag — 27% of complaints, 4× usual
- 325i contact — 11% of complaints, 28× usual
What owners wrote
TL * THE CONTACT OWNS A 2006 BMW 325I. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE AIR BAG INDICATOR ILLUMINATED IN THE VEHICLE. AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC STATED THAT THE FRONT PASSENGER SEAT OCCUPANT DETECTION MAY BE DEFECTIVE. THE VIN WAS EXCLUDED FROM NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER:…
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…
Verbatim from NHTSA complaint filings, with identifying details removed.
Recalls for this year
- 08V384000 AIR BAGS
- 12E029000 ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING Fixed free of charge.
- 06V400000 SUSPENSION
- 22V119000 ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING Fixed free of charge.
How this was worked out
Every year of the BMW 3 Series was compared against its own history rather than against other cars, which removes popularity and age from the answer — a common car draws more complaints at equal reliability, and an older one has had longer to accumulate them. A year is flagged when it drew at least 2.5× this model's median and at least 50 complaints.
This is a fault record, not a review. Nobody files a federal complaint to say the car was fine, so it shows what tends to go wrong — not whether owners liked it, and not whether it is a good car.
Source: NHTSA complaints, recalls and investigations, retrieved . Look this vehicle up directly on NHTSA's site to check anything here.
Own a 2006 BMW 3 Series? What happened to yours?
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