NHTSA Complaint #11686791 — 2024 BMW I5

While driving in heavy highway traffic at approximately 5–10 mph, the vehicle suddenly displayed a red warning message and symbol in the driver’s gauge cluster indicating the car was shutting down. About 15–20 seconds later, propulsion was completely lost, although power steering and braking remained available. I attempted to change gears and restart the car by turning it on and off, but nothing worked. I activated the hazard lights since the car was stopped in traffic and posed a danger to surrounding vehicles. Because the vehicle would not respond, I opened and closed the driver’s door and then attempted to restart. At that point, the vehicle restarted, and I was able to continue driving. Out of caution, I remained in the slow lane for the rest of the trip home in case the problem occurred again. The incident created a serious safety risk in the middle of highway traffic. The failure matches the description in BMW’s recent recall (25V395) involving electric drive motor software that can erroneously shut down the high-voltage system after displaying a red warning. However, the manufacturer’s recall lookup currently does not show my vehicle as included. This issue has not yet been reproduced or confirmed by a dealer or service center. I will be contacting them this morning and reporting the issue to them and probably taking it in for inspection.