This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.
So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.
My vehicle has an electronic door lock/unlock mechanism that due to a malfunction will not allow the car to be unlocked from inside the vehicle. It locks automatically when driving and is supposed to unlock when the inside handle is used to open the door; however, it will not unlock and though BMW is aware of this malfunction (it is a commonly known defect), they will not authorize the dealer to repair. I feel this is a significant safety issue in that in the event of an emergency the driver will not be able to exit the vehicle. The door locks when the car is moving but will not unlock after the vehicle is placed in park.
The contact owns a 2012 BMW X5. While driving at approximately 55 mph, the engine malfunction light illuminated and the warning message engine malfunction reduced engine power displayed on the instrument panel and the engine powered down. The vehicle was merged off the freeway and driven to the contact's residence. The failure recurred multiple times. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic who was unable to duplicate or diagnose the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 900.
The contact owns a 2012 BMW X5. While driving at 15 mph, the instrument panel lights illuminated and the vehicle stalled. The vehicle was towed to the contact's residence. The contact also mentioned that the power steering belt failed. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 61,000.
Car was parked in driveway, not running or turned on. Horn and wipers started going off. Went outside to vehicle, tried to disable. Smoke started coming out from behind the dashboard (passenger side). Could smell electrical short. Smoke followed by flames, entire dash area caught on fire, by the time fire department arrived and put it out.
I am a certified fire investigator with Virginia farm bureau, I received this loss 08/14/14. Insured stated that on 08/13/14 he was in his house and heard the car alarm to this BMW (diesel) sav X5 going off. He looked outside and saw the lights flashing and the windshield wipers going. No one was in the vehicle. He went outside and saw smoke and fire in the dash area, passenger side. He called 911 and the fire was quickly extinguished, but caused major fire damage to the dash area. BMW representative and an engineer hired by our company (forcon international) conducted a joint inspection. The fire damage was again localized to the passenger side dash area. It was determined the fire was the cause of some type of electrical issue. BMW denied it was their fault stating there was too much damage for them to accept liability. The vehicle has been shrink wrapped for future inspection and is currently being stored in a locked facility in richmond, va. The vehicle is still under warranty, there was nothing added on to the vehicle by the owner, it was all factory installed. Pictures are available and the owner would be more than willing to speak to someone with NHTSA if necessary.
- Lynchburg, VA, USA
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- Cypress, TX, USA