NHTSA Complaint #10501293 — 2007 BMW 328XI

ON FEBRUARY 6, 2013, AT AROUND 7AM, I WAS DRIVING SOUTH ON THE TACONIC STATE PARKWAY NEAR PLEASANTVILLE, NY ON MY WAY TO WORK . MY ELECTRICAL SYSTEMS SUDDENLY STARTED TO FAIL, AND I HEARD A CRACKLING NOISE FROM THE BACKSEAT. I LOOKED IN MY REAR-VIEW MIRROR AND I SAW FLAMES IN THE BACKSEAT. I PULLED OVER ON THE RIGHT SHOULDER RIGHT BEFORE THE PLEASANTVILLE EXIT. I STRUGGLED TO EXIT MY CAR BECAUSE THE SEATBELT WAS STUCK AS THE ENTIRE BACKSEAT OF MY CAR WAS ENGULFED WITH ME INSIDE. AFTER IT FINALLY RELEASED , I EXITED THE BURNING CAR IN A DAZE. A GOOD SAMARITAN STOPPED TO HELP ME, WHOSE NAME AND CONTACT INFORMATION CAN BE PROVIDED. SHE PUT ME IN HER CAR AND WE EACH CALLED 911. A NYS TROOPER CREATED A POLICE REPORT, WHICH CAN BE PROVIDED. AS WE WAITED FOR FIREMEN, THE CAR WAS ENGULFED IN FLAMES AND BLEW UP TWICE. ONE OF MY CO-WORKERS STOPPED TO HELP ME AND WITNESSED THE CAR BLOW UP. I HAVE PICTURES SHOWING THE CAR COMPLETELY ENGULFED AND THE ENTIRE CAR CHARRED AND UNRECOGNIZABLE AFTER THE FIRE WAS EXTINGUISHED. I AM NOW AWARE THAT, AFTER THE INCIDENT TOOK PLACE, BMW ISSUED ITS LARGEST RECALL EVER IN THE U.S. OF APPROXIMATELY 504K VEHICLES, INCLUDING THE SAME YEAR, MAKE AND MODEL AS MY CAR. THE RECALL STEMS FROM A FAULTY BATTERY CONNECTION. IMPORTANTLY, THE BATTERY AND THE BATTERY CONNECTION FOR BMWS ARE IN THE TRUNK, WHICH IS WHERE I BELIEVE THE FIRE STARTED IN MY CAR. AS A RESULT OF NUMEROUS COMPLAINTS AND CASE STUDIES, BMW HAD BEEN AWARE OF THIS BATTERY-RELATED DEFECT ON MY CAR SINCE 2010. I'M ALSO AWARE THAT BMW HAS RECALLED OTHER BMW MODELS FOR A VERY SIMILAR BATTERY ISSUE THAT RESULTED IN CHARRING OR FIRES IN THE BMWS. THE CAR IS CURRENTLY BEING HELD BY TRAVELER'S INSURANCE COMPANY AND IS AVAILABLE FOR YOUR IMMEDIATE INSPECTION.