NHTSA Complaint #10694999 — 2005 BMW 530I

THE MICRO POWER MODULE IN THE TRUNK WAS BURNT ON MY 2005 530I, NOW MY IDRIVE / AUDIO / NAV AND PDC HAS SHUT DOWN. CAR STARTS AND DRIVES NORMAL, EXCEPT THE PREVIOUSLY MENTIONED ACCESSORIES THAT NO LONGER WORK, WHO KNOW WHAT OTHER DAMAGES (IF ANY) RESULTED FROM A MPM MELTDOWN. I'VE READ SOME HORROR POSTS OF SIMILIAR EVENTS THAT CAUSED EVERYTHING ON THE VEHICLE TO SHORT OUT, WHICH MEANT THAT BASICALLY EVERYTHING CCC / M-ASK / TV MODULE / CD ETC. WHEN THIS HAPPENED ON MY VEHICLE, THE CAR WAS ACTUALLY SWITCHED OFF. IT WAS ONLY WHEN I GOT BACK TO THE CAR THE NEXT MORNING WHEN I GOT THIS STRONG ELECTRICAL BURN SMELL FROM THE TRUNK AREA. THE MPM PROBABLY SHORTED OUT DURING THE COURSE OF THE NIGHT. LUCKILY THE CAR DID NOT CAUGHT ON FIRE, CAUSE IT COULD HAVE THEN BURNED DOWN MY APARTMENTS AS WELL, AS THE CAR WAS PARKED NEXT TO MY APARTMENT. FROM WHAT I COULD VISUALLY ACCESS, ONLY THE MPM UNIT BURNED OUT COMPLETELY AND MELTED. I JUST HOPE THAT I KNOCKED THE MPM OUT BEFORE IT COULD CAUSE ANY MORE DAMAGE TO THE CAR'S OTHER ELECTRONICS. MY CAR IS UNFORTUNATELY NO LONGER UNDER WARRANTY. THE CAR HAS ALREADY BEEN TAKEN INTO MY LOCAL DEALERSHIP TO ACCESS THE DAMAGE AND TO GIVE ME A QUOTE TO REPAIR, BUT THEY DID INFORM ME THAT IT IS GOING TO BE A COSTLY AFFAIR. I FIND IT VERY INTERESTING THAT BMW DECIDED TO MOVE THESE MODULES NEWER MODELS FROM THE TRUNK AREA TO THE BODY GATEWAY MODULE WHICH IS A MUCH SAFER ENVIRONMENT. MAKES YOU THINK THAT THEY REALIZED THAT THERE WAS A DEFECT WITH THE VEHICLE IN PLACING THEM THERE IN THE FIRST PLACE. DON'T KNOW IF IT'S SAFE TO DRIVE ON THE ROAD DO TO THE DANGER OF ELECTRICAL FIRE. I ALSO HAVE PICTURES AVAILABLE. *TR