NHTSA Complaint #10481220 — 2006 BMW 7 SERIES

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