ABC News investigation on parked BMWs catching fire. BMW NA responds

[knepsterd]

     Featured on BIMMERPOST.com

ABC investigation:
http://abc7ny.com/automotive/exclusi...lames/1977009/


BMW NA response:

Woodcliff Lake, NJ – May 11, 2017.. We at BMW empathize with anyone who has experienced a vehicle fire. We understand it is a traumatic event and the safety of our customers is of utmost importance to us.

BMW has a long reputation for engineering excellence and is known as a pioneer in safety technology. We have full confidence in our products and strive to always provide the best possible owner’s experience.

With approximately 4.9 million BMW vehicles on U.S. roads, fire incidents involving BMWs are extremely rare. BMW takes every incident very seriously and has a team dedicated to working with BMW owners, insurance companies and authorities to investigate vehicle fire incidents brought to our attention.

We have investigated and in some cases inspected the vehicles identified by ABC News. These vehicles span an age range of 1-15 years, accumulated mileage of up to 232,250 miles and multiple generations and model types. In cases that we have inspected and are able to determine root cause, we have not seen any pattern related to quality or component failure. Vehicle fires can result from a wide variety of external reasons and can range from improper accident damage repair, unauthorized aftermarket modifications (such as remote starters, stereo installations, etc.), previous vehicle flooding, rodent nesting, lack of, or improper preventative maintenance and even arson.

Our Customer Relations team will be happy to assist customers with any additional questions or concerns about their BMW and can be reached at customerrelations@bmwusa.com or at 800-831-1117.

BMW of North America cannot normally comment on incidents outside of the US. However, we can say that as in the US, the incidents in Korea have been investigated and it was determined that the majority were caused by unauthorized aftermarket modifications.

[MightyMouseTech]

BMW is recognized as one of the most reputable car manufactures in the world, with cars known for reliable engineering and safety.

[Wolf 335]

Originally Posted by MightyMouseTech

That statement actually made me laugh a bit.

[rwjr44]

Well Is This A Problem Or Not?

[Jim240]

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

[MalibuBimmer]

Rodents and arson.

[KSERGEI-BY]

The well known problem: oxidation/rust of the +/ground battery wire in the trunk. e60 era cars has this problem due to the bad and cheap design of this wires. There is a recall active.

[3GFX]

Lets just say I new someone who had a BMW Group product that caught fire in their garage and they had a nice replacement product to keep their mouth shut

[jpdchicago]

Sounds like arson to me (random and/or insurance fraud). Now that it has been in the news, we are going to see a lot more of those...
People love their 15 mns of fame.

[F80_M]

Not sure if this has been posted yet but if not here's the link to it.

http://abcnews.go.com/Business/bmw-m...ry?id=47335778

[FirstF80InSpace]

Hmmm. Interesting...

[///Mposter]

On the E90 forum there were fires about at the 4-year mark when people were replacing batteries. Some were blaming not registering the battery or coding the battery with the proper AH.
In this case they just replaced the battery in the vehicle. I wonder if the paperwork shows they followed the proper procedure and part numbers.
There is also a line/vent that has to be connected , otherwise hydrogen will fill the cabin . Four days of compounding hydrogen would probably be large enough to ignite if the comfort access module or any module woke up and created a spark.

[NevadaM4]

[Jason]

Here is BMWNA's official statement regarding this ABC News report.


BMW NA response:

Woodcliff Lake, NJ – May 11, 2017.. We at BMW empathize with anyone who has experienced a vehicle fire. We understand it is a traumatic event and the safety of our customers is of utmost importance to us.

BMW has a long reputation for engineering excellence and is known as a pioneer in safety technology. We have full confidence in our products and strive to always provide the best possible owner’s experience.

With approximately 4.9 million BMW vehicles on U.S. roads, fire incidents involving BMWs are extremely rare. BMW takes every incident very seriously and has a team dedicated to working with BMW owners, insurance companies and authorities to investigate vehicle fire incidents brought to our attention.

We have investigated and in some cases inspected the vehicles identified by ABC News. These vehicles span an age range of 1-15 years, accumulated mileage of up to 232,250 miles and multiple generations and model types. In cases that we have inspected and are able to determine root cause, we have not seen any pattern related to quality or component failure. Vehicle fires can result from a wide variety of external reasons and can range from improper accident damage repair, unauthorized aftermarket modifications (such as remote starters, stereo installations, etc.), previous vehicle flooding, rodent nesting, lack of, or improper preventative maintenance and even arson.

Our Customer Relations team will be happy to assist customers with any additional questions or concerns about their BMW and can be reached at customerrelations@bmwusa.com or at 800-831-1117.

BMW of North America cannot normally comment on incidents outside of the US. However, we can say that as in the US, the incidents in Korea have been investigated and it was determined that the majority were caused by unauthorized aftermarket modifications.

[Ilikemike]

I see this morning on 'Good Morning America' that there have been numerous reports of BMW's spontaneously bursting into flames, and here's the interesting part, the cars/SUV's were not running and, in quite a few cases, had been sitting overnight when the owners discovered the fires. From what I could see on the report there were no new models, E90 E46's and X5's and X3's were picured. Anyone had that experience? Could it be BMW haters?

[Kief]

http://jalopnik.com/abc-news-big-inv...a-b-1795121798

[GrussGott]

Parked BMWs bursting into flames leave owners with questions
By BRIAN ROSS CINDY GALLI STEPHANIE ZIMMERMANN CHO PARK PETE MADDEN May 11, 2017, 7:30 AM ET

I have some questions, like why is Brian Ross a dipshit? Also, when Brian Ross' mom dumped him in the woods as a baby, how'd he find his way back?

[ChrisK]

Considering how involved I am in the BMW brand - I was suprised by this article.

It's news to me.

[InsideMan]

Originally Posted by whats77inaname

"Dozens" of vehicles, parked. All models. Interesting to say the least. I remember reading a story on the forum about a member that had his X5 M catch fire.... "X5M up in flames" -- http://f15.bimmerpost.com/forums/sho....php?t=1325571

ABC News Report: http://abcnews.go.com/Business/bmw-m...ry?id=47335778

Click your X5M link again...zero fault to BMW. Pay attention and stop freaking out. SMH.

[M3 Adjuster]

Originally Posted by ChrisK

Considering how involved I am in the BMW brand - I was surprised by this article.

It's OLD news to me.

Updated with my opinion. The X5 has had a well known recall.. It was pretty well known for awhile not to park an X5 outside your home if you had a recall pending. Unfortunately.. many people have neglected to have the recall work performed and the story of an X5 catching fire " re-ignites " (pun intended) each time one of these poor souls has their vehicle burn.. Aside from that... I don't see this as being a pattern from BMW. It's a shame that the ABC NEWS article seems to really focus on the complaints of one individual repeatedly throughout. Clearly.. one could write such an article about any manufacturer including FORD , FERRARI or PORSCHE by searching for the make and model and fire. Or one could start with a page like this one..


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

there are 326 responses to this blog.. many are older vehicles.. some newer. I can only imagine how many million BMWs have been sold since the turn of the century in 2000.

[Pretender]

Originally Posted by whats77inaname

"Dozens" of vehicles, parked. All models. Interesting to say the least. I remember reading a story on the forum about a member that had his X5 M catch fire.... "X5M up in flames" -- http://f15.bimmerpost.com/forums/sho....php?t=1325571

ABC News Report: http://abcnews.go.com/Business/bmw-m...ry?id=47335778

Don't charge Galaxy phone in the car! Lol

[Eau_Rouge111]

Originally Posted by Pretender

Don't charge Galaxy phone in the car! Lol

Ha!