NHTSA Complaint #11351363 — 2004 BMW 325I

I WAS DRIVING BY MYSELF ON THE FREEWAY AND A RUBBLE THE SIZE OF A BASKETBALL WAS ROLLING TOWARDS MY PATH. I DO NOT KNOW IF IT FELL FROM A CONSTRUCTION VEHICLE OR IT ALREADY HIT ANOTHER CAR AND THAT THE RUBBLE JUST RICOCHET TOWARDS ME. ANYWAY I WAS GOING 65 MILES PER HOUR AND WAS IN THE MIDDLE LANE AND THERE WERE CARS ON BOTH SIDES AND A CAR NOT TOO FAR OFF BEHIND. I NEVER HAD THE CHANCE TO AVOID THE RUBBLE SO I JUST BRACED MYSELF AND HOPE THAT THE RUBBLE WOULD GET PAST ME. UNFORTUNATELY, IT HIT MY LEFT SIDE AND ELEVATED MY CAR AROUND 2 TO 3 FEET FROM THE GROUND AND FLATTENED MY TWO LEFT TIRES. THE AIRBAG ON THE FRONT PASSENGER SIDE DEPLOYED, THE ONE ON THE DOOR AND THE ONE ON THE UPPER ROOF PANEL. NONE OF THE DRIVER SIDE AIRBAGS DEPLOYED. I JUST HAD A LITTLE WHIPLASH FROM THE IMPACT BUT I WAS FINE. I CONTACTED MY INSURANCE AND UPON INSPECTION THEY CONSIDERED MY VEHICLE A TOTAL LOSS DUE TO THE DAMAGES. I ALSO CONTACTED BMW AND HAVE YET TO NOTIFY ME OF WHY THE DRIVER SIDE AIRBAG DID NOT DEPLOY ON WHERE THE IMPACT OCCURRED. THEY DID A RECALL SERVICE ON MY VEHICLE AROUND MARCH 2020 FOR THE AIRBAG. AFTER THE SERVICE THERE WERE NO AIRBAG LIGHTS OR ANY WARNINGS ON THE DASHBOARD. IN THE EVENT OF THE ACCIDENT, MY VEHICLE WENT TO AN SOS MODE WHICH SLOWED DOWN THE VEHICLE AND AUTOMATICALLY TURNED ON THE HAZARD LIGHTS. I WAS ABLE TO PULL TO THE RIGHT SHOULDER OF THE FREEWAY AND HAD IT TOWED. HOPEFULLY THE CAR MANUFACTURER COULD SEND NOTICE TO OWNERS OF THIS CAR MODEL THAT COULD HAVE THE SAME ISSUE WITH AIRBAGS ON THE SIDE OF IMPACT NOT DEPLOYING.