Plan B Forum

https://bmwproblems.wordpress.com/bmwownersbeware/

BMW Owners Beware!


I am a BMW owner who loved her car. So much in fact that I was devastated the Saturday it spontaneously caught fire.

The fire department’s conclusion on the scene was that my car, sitting in my parking lot with the engine off, had an electrical fire.

Since then, I have been researching BMW’s electrical problems. A quick search on Google demonstrates that there have been several people with a similar situation. This leaves me intrigued . . . and slightly worried.

I am worried about what my insurance is going to say. I am worried that BMW is not going to handle my situation with care and consideration. I am worried that driving a BMW puts me and my family at risk. I have a 5 month old baby; a darling, precious little soul. The thought of what might have happened if we were in the car when it caught fire is overwhelming.

This blog is a record of my worries, my research and my looming anticipation of disappointment in BMW’s customer service. Please read and draw your own conclusions

Really? Most of these posts are from 2010. Many are about individual cars more than 10 years old. I drive a car built in 2000, so I am aware of what can happen with old cars. But just when is the car maker responsible for 'manufacturing defects' that show up 10 or more years later? Plastic and rubber parts go bad just from age.

snailgate.

I believe this account is the more accurate of the two:

ABC News—helmed by Brian Ross, who has an incredibly weak track record when it comes to covering cars—has a big new investigation out about how a few dozen BMW vehicles have randomly burst into flames while parked and turned off. Strange? Sure. Too bad it’s more of a non-story than anything.

http://jalopnik.com/abc-news-big-invest ... 1795121798

I saw that piece (of feces) when it aired on ABC News. I thought the same thing the Jalopnik writer (and apparently dales and BMW) did. There's not a large enough sample size to make any definite conclusion. As a long time BMW owner and lover of both their two and four wheeled varieties, I'm not at all worried about mine.

I have had one vehicle catch fire. It was about 30 years ago when my 18 month old Chrysler Turbo burst into flames under the hood. Since the car was nearly new, Chryco had not admitted that there was a problem with high pressure fuel injection hoses that got pin hole leaks and sprayed atomized gasoline onto red hot turbo chargers. I saw three other very similar turbo Chrysler products in the insurance pool's yard when I went there to pick up my personal effects from its slightly crispy interior. Two years later they did issue a recall, and replaced the hoses with stainless steel over-braided ones.

Another thing I learned from that experience was that if your car is on fire, and you are certain that it is, tell the dispatcher "CODE 3-FLAMES ARE VISIBLE". In many cases, burst radiator hoses are called in as fires. In my case, the fire chief came out to the edge of town where my car had burst into flames. He got on his red suburban's radio and said, "Yeah it's on fire. Better roll a truck". Duh... Small town living at its best.

-"BB"-