NHTSA Complaint #10606240 — 2013 BMW X5

I WAS COMING DOWN LAKEMONT BLVD (SLOPING DOWNWARDS) AT ABOUT 5 PM AND WHEN I WAS NEARING THE TRAFFIC LIGHT AT THE INTERSECTION WITH SE NEWPORT WAY, I STARTED SLOWING DOWN AS I COULD SEE THE LIGHT WAS RED. I PUSHED DOWN ON THE PEDAL BUT THE BRAKE WAS NOT FULLY RESPONSIVE. IT WOULD SLOW DOWN AND SEEM TO BE STOPPING, BUT KEEP GOING. I WAS FEELING A BIT OUT OF CONTROL AND TRIED TO STEER AWAY FROM THE CAR THAT WAS STOPPED AT THE TRAFFIC LIGHT AND JUST FOR A MOMENT IT SEEMED LIKE THE BRAKE HAD APPLIED AND THE CAR ALMOST STOPPED BUT IT KEPT GOING UNTIL IT CRASHED THE BACK LEFT BUMPER OF THE CAR IN FRONT OF US. MY DAUGHTER WAS SITTING NEXT TO ME AND SHE KEPT SAYING 'O MY GOD, O MY GOD' AND I KEPT SAYING TO HER THAT ' THE BRAKE JUST ISN'T TAKING'. I WAS FULLY ALERT BECAUSE I HAD SLOWED THE CAR DOWN ALL THE WAY DOWN THE HILL AND WAS ABLE TO STEER IT JUST BEFORE A FULL-ON IMPACT, BUT COULDN'T PULL AWAY COMPLETELY. THIS HAS HAPPENED A COUPLE OF TIMES IN THE PAST WITH ONE INCIDENT COMING CLEARLY TO MIND. WE WERE IN OUR NEIGHBORHOOD AND COMING DOWN PARK DR, WHICH IS A SIMILAR INCLINED DOWNHILL ROAD AND WHEN I WAS ABOUT TO REACH THE INTERSECTION WITH 15TH AVE NE, I STARTED TO BRAKE BUT THE BRAKES RESPONDED VERY SLUGGISHLY - WHERE IT SEEMED TO STOP, BUT THEN KEEP GOING AT LEAST A COUPLE OF TIMES, WITH THE CAR EVENTUALLY STOPPING ALMOST IN THE MIDDLE OF THE INTERSECTION. IT WAS THE MIDDLE OF THE DAY AND BEING A SUBURBAN NEIGHBORHOOD, THERE WAS NO TRAFFIC AND WE WERE SAFE. I DISMISSED IT AS A ONE OFF INCIDENT, BUT IT HINDSIGHT IT CAME CLEARLY TO MIND AFTER THE INCIDENT YESTERDAY. *TR