Which parts fail
Components named in complaints (door latches, locks, hood and tailgate latches).
Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2007 BMW 328xi owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
Tl* the contact owns a 2007 BMW 328xi. The contact stated that the only door that opened was the front driver's door. The other doors failed to open from inside or outside the vehicle. The vehicle was not taken to a dealer for diagnostic testing or repairs. The manufacturer was notified and advised the contact to take the vehicle to the dealer for diagnostic testing. The failure mileage was approximately 48,000.
I own a 07 BMW 328xi, on 10/03/12 I got out of my car and tried locking it and only two doors locked. The doors would not unlock with the fob or the door switch located in the car. In order to get into car I had to climb over the passengers seat and when it was time to get out the same had to happen. I called my local dealer and they told me that it was a actuator problem, so asked if there was anything I could do to get the doors unlocked till my appt. I made. He proceeded to tell me no and upon reading some forums he could have said use the key hidden in the fob to unlock the door or check the #57 fuse which controls the locks. Unfortunately, I pretty disappointed with my dealer because he could have potently put me in a dangerous situation, he could have told me these things but he choice to say nothing to get me in there. …
2007 BMW 328xi. Electronic door locks would not unlock. No door could be unlocked from inside vehicle. No door could be opened from inside vehicle. Pulling the internal door latch repeatedly failed to unlock or open door. Pushing electronic lock/unlock button on dashboard failed to unlock doors. Lowering window and using manual key in exterior lock unlocked door but as soon as key was rotated to remove from lock door immediately electronically relocked. Key had to be held in unlock position while interior door latch was used to open the door in order to open door to exit car. Subsequently except for driver's door all doors remained inoperable locked but drivers door could be opened only manually with manual key from exterior or latch from interior without automatically re-locking. Dealer was notified and repaired. Dealer reported that a "short" had caused failure of ability to unlock. …
The door locking mechanism failed, making all of the passenger doors unusable, even from the inside. If there are people in the vehicle, they cannot get out except through the driver's door, representing a major safety hazard. In the case of fire or other emergency, passengers in my car would have been trapped, unable to escape the vehicle because there is no mechanical lock release on the inside of the car. BMW has released a service bulletin to replace fuse 57 with a 20 amp fuse instead of a 15 amp fuse, but this does not fix the basic problem of having no escape from the inside of the vehicle. Even after replacing the fuse with a 20a, it blew again and would have trapped passengers again. I feel very unsafe transporting my family in this vehicle knowing that this safety hazard has persisted so long without a recall.
2007 BMW 328xi sedan; locked vehicle with key fob. Returned to vehicle and key fob would not open locks. Used key fob to roll down windows. Internal button would not unlock doors. Pulling twice on door handle would not open doors. Actual key would unlock driver's door only. Drove car. Tried internal button again, but it did not work. Pulling twice on driver's door handle would unlock the door. No way to open any of the passenger doors. Only way for passenger to exit is to go out window or through driver's side door. Key fob would lock door but not unlock door. Car is out of warranty by 2,000 miles. I have not had time to take it to dealer/mechanic or attempt to repair myself.
Tl* the contact owns a 2007 BMW 328xi. The contact stated that the vehicle was parked when he noticed that none of the power locks were functioning. In order to enter the vehicle, the contact had to open the front passenger side door manually by using the key. When the contact entered the vehicle he noticed that none of the doors, except the front passenger side door would open from the interior. The front passenger side door was the only door that could be opened from the interior or exterior. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer where the contact was informed that the main fuse box needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure and current mileage was 65,000.
This is a safety issue that NHTSA has learned of through several complaints. Why hasn't anything been done? My 2007 BMW 328xi door lock actuators have failed at 52,660 miles: the key fob will not unlock the doors (the door handles will light up). I have to use the valet key to unlock the door, but only the driver and rear passenger doors will unlock. Each of these doors (driver and rear passenger) can only be unlocked from the inside by pulling on the handle. The other two doors cannot be unlocked at all. This issue is obviously a safety concern: suppose I were in an accident and the only way out of the car was one of the two doors which are not unlockable?
Have you investigated why BMW has not offered a fix for trapping their customers in the car when a door lock actuator fails and blows a fuse? This is a common event on the 2007 328 model. What happens is a power door lock actuator fails during the unlock process and the increase in amperage causes 2 fuses to blow. This prevents any of the car's door locks from opening, thereby trapping occupants in the vehicle. There is no way to unlock the doors from inside the vehicle. Occupants must either climb out of a window or have someone unlock the car using a mechanical key from outside of the car. Please advise.
None of my doors will unlock in my 2007 328xi with only 52,000 miles. I have to roll down the window and use the manual key and then it only unlock my driver door...all other doors and the gas tank will not unlock....not even pulling the handles from the interior. This is a very bad design flaw and a major safety hazard. I have a 5 and a 2 year old. What if I were to have an emergency where my battery were to die and the windows were up. I and my children would perish in the heat of our georgia summer. The engineers need to fix this safety hazard immediately otherwise a life is going to die!
The power locks in my 2007 BMW 328xi suddenly stopped working. The alarm arms/disarms with the usual button presses, but there is otherwise nothing that takes place. Obvious safety issue. While valet key unlocks front, driver-side door -- didn't test passenger's -- the fuel door remains locked. I have a business trip planned early in the morning. The saving grace is that I didn't encounter this fuel door fiasco on I-95 in some backwoods town, but wow... How is this not a recall?!?!?! I see several complaints about this same issue! Does someone need to die first? Wow!
Door Lock & Latch complaints in other 328xi years
Frequently asked questions
How common are door lock & latch problems on the 2007 BMW 328xi?
NHTSA has 26 complaints about the locks & latches of the 2007 BMW 328xi, 13% of the model year's 198 complaints. The component named most often is doors › latch (1 mentions).
Is there a recall for 2007 BMW 328xi door lock & latch problems?
No. NHTSA lists no locks & latches recall for the 2007 BMW 328xi, though it has 4 recalls for other components. If the problem is widespread, a repair may still be covered by an extended warranty or a manufacturer service bulletin — ask a dealer.
At what mileage do 2007 BMW 328xi door lock & latch problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 53,000 miles, and 4% before 25,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 0 crashes, 0 fires and 1 injury to locks & latches problems on this model year. If you notice symptoms, have the car checked before driving further.
Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) — owner complaints through October 20, 2026, recalls and defect investigations; fuel economy from the EPA. Complaints are unverified reports and are not proof of a defect. How we rate model years.