Bulletins
| Bulletin | Bulletin date | Replacement Bulletin | Item no. | Summary | Added |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| POWER TRAIN - AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION | |||||
| SIB-24-01-08 | 10/01/2010 | 10035010 | Bmw vehicle: transmission warning light is illuminated and the transmission enters failsafe mode. fault code 4f81 (ratio monitoring, clutch a), in some cases combined with the subsequent faults 507b/507c (parking gear sensor implausible s | 02/07/2011 | |
Investigations
| NHTSA ID | Manufacturer | Date open | Date close | Subject | Recall campaign | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| POWER TRAIN - AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION | ||||||
| EA12002 | BMW of North America, LLC | 04/10/2012 | 01/24/2013 | Vehicle Rollaway | 12V502000 | |
| In a letter dated october 16, 2012, bmw of north america, llc (bmw) submitted a defect information report (dir), nhtsa recall no. 12v-502 to nhtsa identifying a safety defect involving the possibility of unattended vehicle rollaway in my 2005 through 2008 bmw 7-series (approximately 45,000) vehicles equipped with the comfort access option.the comfort access option allows the driver to start and stop the engine (by pressing the engine start / stop button) without inserting the key fob into the vehicles key slot in the instrument panel.subject vehicles not equipped with the comfort access option require the key fob be inserted the key slot to start the engine.upon removal of the key from the key slot the vehicle will automatically shift to park if the driver has not done so using the gearshift lever.sunject vehicles equipped with the comfort access option are designed such that when the vehicle is stopped with the service brakes applied and the transmission in drive or reverse, the driver can push the engine start/stop button one time, stopping the engine and automatically shifting the transmission to park.in its dir, bmw identified a condition such that if the driver depressed the start-stop button multiple times in rapid succession, the transmission could shift to neutral instead of park.with the transmission in neutral, depending on the slope of the road, the vehicle could rollaway if unattended.in review of data submitted to the office of defects investigation (odi) and of reports submitted to bmw, odi identified 20 reports alleging vehicle rollaway involving vehicles equipped with comfort access.the vehicles identified in these reports are all subject to recall 12v-502.ten of these reports were identified as likely related to the defect described in recall 12v-502.two of the reports are likely related to other mechanical failures.the remaining 8 allegations of vehicle rollaway could not be associated with a specific cause.there are 32 reports alleging vehicle rollaway in the subject vehicles not equipped with the comfort access option.a vehicle based safety defect trend was not identified in these reports.subject vehicles not equipped the comfort access option will automatically shift to park once the key fob is removed from the key slot.in this regard these vehicles behave similarly to those with traditional mechanical keys where the key cannot be removed from the ignition unless the vehicle is shifted to park.the difference between these vehicles and the subject vehicles with the comfort access option is that in the comfort access equipped vehicles, the engine can be started and stopped without the key fob in the key slot.odi reports 10429922 and 10419177 noted in the ea opening resume were determined to be vehicles not equipped with the comfort access option and odi did not identify a vehicle based safety defect associated with these incidents.this investigation is closed.the odi report cited above can be reviewed at www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/complaints under the following identification (odi) numbers:10185770 | ||||||
| PE11025 | BMW OF NORTH AMERICA, LLC | 08/05/2011 | 04/23/2012 | Vehicle Rollaway | ||
| In response to the office of defects investigation's (odi) information request (ir) for pe11-025, bmw provided odi with 1 complaint and 46 field reports relating to either incidents of unattended vehicle rollaway or vehicle movement after the driver expected the vehicle gearshift to automatically shift to park. odi's analysis of the data provided by bmw identified 14 crashes and 5 alleged injuries. odi has also identified 3 additional reports in its database alleging vehicle rollaway incidents of which 2 resulted in crashes.the subject vehicles are all equipped with push-buttons (start/stop button) to control starting/stopping the engine and shift-by-wire gearshift systems controlled by a column mounted selector lever behind the steering wheel. the start/stop button also controls switching the ignition and the radio ready state on and off. shift-by-wire systems replace the traditional mechanical connection (e.g., cable or linkage) between the gearshift and automatic transmission with an electronic connection controlled by a computer module. when parking the vehicle, the driver has the capability to manually shift the vehicle to park by pressing the park button on the end of the electronic gearshift lever. however, the instructions for engine shutoff provided in the owner's manual state that pressing the start/stop button serves the dual function of switching off the engine and automatically shifting the transmission to park.in response to odi's information request for pe11-025, bmw described several circumstances where the subject vehicles may shift to neutral when the driver may expect it to automatically shift to park. first, for comfort access system (cas) vehicles, if the transmission is in neutral when the key fob is in the ignition slot and the start/stop button is pressed to shut-off the engine, the transmission will remain in neutral. this is referred to as the carwash mode and is a normal operating feature of the vehicles that is described in the owner's manual. bmw also described two circumstances that are not normal operating features and are not described in the owners' manual: (1) with the transmission in drive or reverse and the engine running, if the start/stop button is pushed 2 or 3 times within a 0.3 second to 0.5 second interval, the engine will stop and the transmission will shift to neutral; and 2) if the park button on the gearshift lever is pressed at the same time that the gearshift lever is actuated (i.e., toggled up or down) to select drive, reverse or neutral; the transmission will shift to neutral or remain in neutral.beginning in model year (my) 2005, bmw introduced cas as an optional feature package for the subject vehicles.the key for cas equipped vehicles is an electronic code that is sent to the engine control module by a remote transmitter (key fob). an optional docking port (key slot) is provided for driver convenience or to put the vehicle into car wash mode, which allows for engine shutoff in neutral. bmw sold approximately 45,000 subject vehicles with cas and approximately 94 percent of the cas equipped vehicles were produced from my 2006 through 2008. non-cas subject vehicles were produced from my 2002 through 2008 and require the remote control to be in the ignition slot located next to the start/stop button to start the engine.the 50 incidents identified by odi's analysis of complaints and field reports include 18 involving cas vehicles (39.6 incidents per 100,000 vehicles) and 32 involving non-cas vehicles (42.0 incidents per 100,000 vehicles). because the incidents are considered random events, the failure rates were also adjusted for vehicle exposure, resulting in rates of 7.9 and 5.5 incidents per 100,000 vehicle-years for the cas and non-cas vehicles, respectively.this investigation is being upgraded to an engineering analysis (ea12-002) to further assess the potential safety consequences of the alleged defect in the subject vehicles. | ||||||
| EA12002 | BMW OF NORTH AMERICA, LLC | 04/10/2012 | Vehicle Rollaway | |||
| In response to the office of defects investigation's (odi) information request (ir) for pe11-025, bmw provided odi with 1 complaint and 46 field reports relating to either incidents of unattended vehicle rollaway or vehicle movement after the driver expected the vehicle gearshift to automatically shift to park.odi's analysis of the data provided by bmw identified 14 crashes and 5 alleged injuries.odi has also identified 3 additional reports in its database alleging vehicle rollaway incidents of which 2 resulted in crashes. the subject vehicles are all equipped with push-buttons (start/stop button) to control starting/stopping the engine and shift-by-wire gearshift systems controlled by a column mounted selector lever behind the steering wheel.the start/stop button also controls switching the ignition and the radio ready state on and off.shift-by-wire systems replace the traditional mechanical connection(e.g., cable or linkage) between the gearshift and automatic transmission with an electronic connection controlled by a computer module.when parking the vehicle, the driver has the capability to manually shift the vehicle to park by pressing the park button on the end of the electronic gearshift lever.however, the instructions for engine shutoff provided in the owner's manual state that pressing the start/stop button serves the dual function of switching off the engine and automatically shifting the transmission to park.in response to odi's information request for pe11-025, bmw described several circumstances where the subject vehicles may shift to neutral when the driver may expect it to automatically shift to park.first, for comfort access system (cas) vehicles, if the transmission is in neutral when the key fob is in the ignition slot and the start/stop button is pressed to shut-off the engine, the transmission will remain in neutral.this is referred to as the carwash mode and is a normal operating feature of the vehicles that is described in the owner | ||||||
| PE11025 | BMW OF NORTH AMERICA, LLC | 08/05/2011 | Vehicle Rollaway Allegations | |||
| The office of defects investigation has received a complaint from a consumer alleging a rollaway incident with a model year (my) 2006 bmw 7-series vehicle after parking and exiting the vehicle.the complaint vehicle was equipped with bmw's comfort access electronic access and ignition system and an electronic transmission shifter with the gear selector mounted on the steering column.the shifter is designed to automatically shift the vehicle to park under a variety of conditions, including after the driver has pressed the ignition button to turn the engine off. early warning reporting data submitted to odi by bmw include field reports describing additional rollaway incidents in similarly equipped my 2002 through 2008 bmw 7-series vehicles.thus far, no cause has been identified for any of the rollaway incidents. a preliminary evaluation has been opened to assess the scope, frequency and causes of rollaway incidents in the subject vehicles. | ||||||
Consumer Complaints
| Fail date | miles | occurences | Purchase date |
|---|---|---|---|
| POWER TRAIN | |||
| 01/09/2013 | 124000 | ||
| Tl- the contact owns a 2006 bmw 7 series. the contact stated that after shifting into park, the vehicle independently shifted into neutral. immediately after, the transmission failed safe mode light illuminated. the vehicle was taken to a dealer where the contact was informed that the vehicle needed a software update. the vehicle was not included. the manufacturer was contacted and informed the contact that the vehicle was not included in nhtsa campaign id number 12v502000 (electrical system , power train). the failure and current mileages were approximately 124,000. mah | |||
| 01/09/2013 | 124000 | ||
| Tl-the contact owns a 2006 bmw 7 series. the contact stated that after shifting her gear shifter into park it would shift into neutral. immediately after the transmission failed safe mode light illuminated. the vehicle was taken to a dealer. after diagnosis they advised her that the vehicle needed a software update. the vehicle was not repaired. the manufacturer was contacted and they advised her that she was not included in nhtsa campaign id number 12v502000 (electrical system , power train). the failure and current mileages were approximately 124,000. tb | |||
| 10/20/2012 | 46500 | 1 | |
| Oct 19th 2012, 2006 bmw 750li. (automatic park feature causes vehicle to almost run over my daughter on its own) i stopped the car on my driveway and opened the driver door while at the same time pushed the p park button on the shifter (opening door while car is stopped causes this model to automatically shift to p park) i proceeded to exit car to key in my garage code on the keypad mounted by the door about 8 feet away. this is my first car with automatic park feature so just in case i always manually push the p park button as a redundant habit. i think it's important to note that i physically saw the transmission shift from d drive to p park and light up before exiting the vehicle. the car was still running and in park!, when out of the corner of my eye, before the garage door could open i noticed the car following me. it moved about 8 feet and barely missed my 4 year old that was on her bicycle about 5 feet away. it slammed into my garage door at around 2-5mph before coming to a stop on its own before i could do anything about it. when i got back in the car, there was little gear light on the dash and a transmission failure code appeared and it had shifted to n neutral on its own. now when i attempt to put in d drive it automatically goes into neutral after a few seconds. apparently, it went into neutral all by itself and inertial plowed into the door. it didn't make sense to me how it went from park to neutral until i read your article regarding an ongoing investigation. i further found through the bmw forums that this is an issue affecting many cars in this year and model range. i even noticed that your administration has investigated this issue in the past. *tr | |||
| 10/20/2012 | 46500 | ||
| Oct 19th 2012, 2006 bmw 750li. (automatic park feature causes vehicle to almost run over my daughter on its own) i stopped the car on my driveway and opened the driver door while at the same time pushed the p park button on the shifter (opening door while car is stopped causes this model to automatically shift to p park) i proceeded to exit car to key in my garage code on the keypad mounted by the door about 8 feet away. this is my first car with automatic park feature so just in case i always manually push the p park button as a redundant habit. i think it's important to note that i physically saw the transmission shift from d drive to p park and light up before exiting the vehicle. the car was still running and in park!, when out of the corner of my eye, before the garage door could open i noticed the car following me. it moved about 8 feet and barely missed my 4 year old that was on her bicycle about 5 feet away. it slammed into my garage door at around 2-5mph before coming to a stop on its own before i could do anything about it. when i got back in the car, there was little gear light on the dash and a transmission failure code appeared and it had shifted to n neutral on its own. now when i attempt to put in d drive it automatically goes into neutral after a few seconds. apparently, it went into neutral all by itself and inertially plowed into the door. it didn't make sense to me how it went from park to neutral until i read your article regarding an ongoing investigation. i further found through the bmw forums that this is an issue affecting many cars in this year and model range.i even noticed that your administration has investigated this issue in the past. | |||
| 10/30/2011 | 87052 | ||
| Transmission failed and would not engage d1, d2, d3. unable to move car forward. | |||
| POWER TRAIN - AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION | |||
| 11/10/2010 | 53000 | ||
| Vehicle slams into first gear upon deceleration and slips if you take your foot off the gas pedal and then accelerate immediatley, as in traffic conditions. when transmission gets in stop and go traffic it will slamm into gear before acceleration occurs. car was at bmw dealer for seven days with all software upgrades that dealer suggested were performed and still same problem. no call backs to date. spoke with bmw of north america and they referred me back to dealer. unwilling to admit there is a problem with the transmission even though they have issued intercompany tech. bulletins regarding the exact problem. | |||
| 02/21/2007 | 7000 | 2 | 08/26/2006 |
| Tl*- the contact owns a 2006 bmw 750. the vehicle has a transmission that should automatically shift the vehicle to the park position when the start/stop button is depressed. the contact depressed the start/stop button and noticed that the vehicle started to roll forward approximately 2 seconds after the engine lost power. he was able to depress the brake and stop the vehicle. the contact stated this also occurred approximately 2 weeks later. the contact parked and exited his vehicle, upon his return the vehicle rolled backwards approximately a hundred feet and crashed into a lamppost. the road conditions were clear on both occurrences and the vehicle was parked on a flat surface. the parking brake was not engaged. the dealer stated they are unable to diagnose the failure. the current mileage was 7,000 miles. | |||