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 | ||||||
| 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| POWER TRAIN | |||
| 06/01/2012 | 79550 | 1 | |
| I was driving on the expressway and everything went haywire and all the lights came on and the engine felt like it shut off. after i pulled over i shut it off and tried turning it back on but it wouldn't start. i sat on the side of the road for 25 min and tried it again and it finally turned back on. *tr | |||
| 06/01/2012 | 79550 | ||
| I was driving on the expressway and everything went haywire and all the lights came on and the engine felt like it shut off. after i pulled over i shut it off and tried turning it back on but it wouldnt start. i sat sat on the side of the road for 25 min and tried it again and it finally turned back on. | |||
| 04/11/2012 | 129000 | ||
| Tl* the contact owns a 2004 bmw 745i. the contact stated that she was driving when the dynamic drive inactive symbol illuminated on the instrument panel. the contact stated that when this light illuminated, the steering wheel seized and the instrument panel failed. the contact maneuvered to the shoulder and tried to restart the vehicle, but the gear would not shift into park. the vehicle was taken to the dealer for a diagnosis, but the failure could not be duplicated. the manufacturer was notified and stated that there was nothing that could be done to assist. the failure mileage was 129,000. | |||
| 05/01/2012 | |||
| Tl- the contact owns a 2004 bmw 745i. the contact stated that the vehicle failed to start. the park sensor and transmission warning lights illuminated intermittently as the failure occurred. the vehicle was not taken to the dealer. the manufacturer was contacted and the vehicle was not repaired. the failure and the current mileages were unknown. kmj | |||
| 05/01/2012 | |||
| Tl- the contact owns a 2004 bmw 745i. the contact confirmed the vehicle failed to startup. the park sensor and transmission warning lights illuminated intermittently with the failure. the vehicle was not taken to the dealer. the manufacturer was contacted. the vehicle was not repaired. the failure and current mileages were unknown. rds | |||
| 12/28/2011 | 94000 | ||
| Tl-the contact owns a 2004 bmw 745i. the contact stated that while driving approximately 50 mph, the transmission warning light illuminated and decreased his drivability. in some cases, the vehicle would shift into different gears unexpectedly. the vehicle had not been inspected by a dealer, nor had it been repaired. the manufacturer was contacted and they offered no assistance. the failure mileage was approximately 94,000. sm. | |||
| 12/28/2011 | 94000 | ||
| Tl-the contact owns a 2004 bmw 745i. the contact stated that while driving approximately 50 mph the transmission warning light had illuminated and decreased his drivability. in some cases the vehicle would shift into different gears unexpectedly. the vehicle had not been inspected by a dealer nor had it been repaired. the manufacturer was contacted and they offered no assistance. the failure mileage was approximately 94,000. tb | |||
| POWER TRAIN - AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION | |||
| 01/29/2012 | 1 | 07/01/2008 | |
| 2004 bmw 745i. consumer states vehicle ran through the garage door *tgw the consumer stated the vehicle was sitting in the driveway running for about 10 minutes, when all of a sudden she heard a loud noise. the consumer discovered the vehicle went into reverse on its own and crashed into the garage. the vehicle was inspected, and no problems were found. the consumer referenced investigation number pe11025. *jb | |||