Investigations
| NHTSA ID | Manufacturer | Date open | Date close | Subject | Recall campaign | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | ||||||
| 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. | ||||||
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM - IGNITION | ||||||
| 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 | ||||||
| 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 | ||||||
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM - IGNITION - SWITCH | ||||||
| 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 | ||||||
| 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 | ||||||
Consumer Complaints
| Fail date | miles | occurences | Purchase date |
|---|---|---|---|
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | |||
| 01/31/2008 | |||
| I purchased a 2003 745li november 2007 when coming to a stop there is a clunking noise with harsh downshift. took car dealership on several occasions with concern and after several failed attempts to remedy the issue was finally made aware that there was service bulletin concerning transmission issue. dealer stated that it was possibly from transmission and advised me to come back for repairs. in november 2008 was the first time that i had to get the transmission replaced because of the clunking with harsh downshift. this issue returned and progressed and the transmission was replaced for the second time due to same issue 08-2009. after second transmission installed issue still existed and was advised that there was a software issue with transmission and that there was not any other updates at this time and the information would be forwarded for bmw for analysis. the universal /guibo has been replaced 3-4 times since i've had the car because of clunking noise harsh downshifting. as time went on around may 2011 there was an incident where as i was driving, approaching and coming to a stop at a stop sign, in addition to the harsh clunking the car jerked and accelerated forward almost into ongoing traffic. took it back to the dealership, they mentioned the service bulletin again concerning the issue stated that the transmission might need to be replaced. they first replaced the universal/guibo, which i had to pay out of pocket and the issue still exists. the incident that happened in may 2011 happened again for the second time in nov. 2011. i believe that there are some major issues with transmission and electrical system. since then i've been having, brake/drive malfunction among other issues. i consider this to be safety concern. this issue should be thoroughly investigated. | |||
| 05/10/2009 | 80000 | ||
| Tl*the contact owns a 2003 bmw 745li . the contact stated that the alarm would activate on its own. in addition, the air bag and seat belt warning lights would illuminate on the instrument panel for no reason. the navigation system would flash on and off as if there were an electrical short whenever he would stop the vehicle or depress the brake pedal. the dealer would not make any repairs because the warranty was expired. the failure and current mileages were less than 80,000. | |||
| 11/15/2006 | 10000 | 3 | 12/09/2002 |
| Tl*- the contact owns a 2003 bmw 745li. while driving the vehicle at 5 mph she lost control of the vehicle. the vehicle lost power, and she was unable to restart the vehicle. it was towed; the failure mileage was 10,000 miles. in 2006 while attempting to start the vehicle the transmission disengaged, the radio was on, and the vehicle was out of control. the vehicle was at the dealer for 4 to 5 days in order to update the software. on another occasion, the shift control fell off the vehicle. the dealer stated that the vehicle was repaired, and the contact didn't feel safe driving. she was stranded 3 times on the highway, and there were recalls on the vehicle. the failure continued to occur after the software was updated. recall# 03v240000. the current mileage was 38,000.*ak | |||
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM - BATTERY | |||
| 08/09/2007 | 1 | ||
| Family & i had been in vancouver bc for vacation. we began our return trip home, crossed the canadian peace arch border into the us @ approximately 9pm wedsnesday evening. about 1am early thursday morning we heard a loud noise coming from the right rear, followed by our vehicle suddenly loosing control & swerving in all 3 lanes of interstate 5 southbound. we pulled over on the left shoulder as it was the quickest route to safety. we called for help, once a state trooper arrived we inspected the vehicle & learned our right rear tire had blown, we also noticed a leaking fluid from the vehicle. once the tow truck arrived & started to pull the vehicle onto his flatbed, we learned the right rear rim had completely split, & the entire inner lip assembly was missing. we arrived at a portland oregon dealership around 3 am and waited in the parking lot for business to open. once open a tech inspected the vehicle. we learned that the rear rim blew and sent metal shrapnel flying everywhere. 1 piece hit the rear strut and pierced a hole in it, leaking shock fluid everywhere. 1 piece hit the muffler and popped a hole through that. 2 pieces pierced the undercarriage of the vehicle and actually went into the trunk. 1 of the pieces in the trunk hit the battery in the right rear and decommission it. the portland oregon bmw dealer did just emergency repairs enough to get us home. they replaced the battery, the rear strut, & did some programming required for the new battery. once home, we noticed the smell of gas as well as error messages in the instrument cluster regarding the gas cap being open. after doing a few days of research, i learned of 2 other owners who had the exact same brand of wheels (sevas - sevasheels.com) experience the exact same problem where the rim would split in two and come apart during drive. i have also heard from multiple owners that no matter how hard their tire shop tries, they can not properly balance the tires, resulting in heavy vibration when driving. *tr | |||
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM - IGNITION | |||
| 06/03/2004 | 1 | 07/01/2003 | |
| I purchased the car in kansas in july 2003. the first week after i purchased the car i contacted the dealership about a problem with the car stalling out. the dealership told me it was a design feature. i moved out of the state and contacted a dealership in the corpus christi, tx area about the continuing problem. over the past year i have had several occassions when the stalling was such that the car would fail and place me and/or my family in near accidents. i made visits to the texas dealership in november 2003, twice in january 2004 and may 2004 for repairs and complaints about the same problem and potential accidents due to the problem. the problem was dismissed and repair was never made. in the last month the safety feature that was supposedly causing my problem was turned off to cure the problem. i now feel more than ever that the car is unsafe. i have taken this all the way up to the manufacturer and still no repair has been made and no other option has been given. the state of kansas attorney general's office suggested i contact you for help.*ak | |||