2018 BMW 5 Series UNKNOWN OR OTHER

Sunroof exploded, glass shards everywhere. This has to be a manufacturer defect

1. Telematics Control Unit (TCU) Internal Emergency (Backup) Battery malfunction. It is available for inspection. It puts passengers at risk because passenger are not able to make emergency calls. Its warning message on dashboard blocks display of car mileage. BMW issued letter in December 2024 admitting to the defect. Our car 2018 BMW has been experiencing the malfunction since 2023.7 or earlier as evidenced by dealer service record. But BMW only in Dec 2024 started offering 6 year extended warranty from car delivery. BMW NA and dealership denied servicing the defect in our car when we requested in Jan 2025. We demand BMW to recall all cars having the defects or cover all extended warranty for 15 years. 2. GPS malfunction. GPS registers the wrong position of the car. It puts passengers at risk by directing them to wrong destinations such as open waters. Issue occurred since Dec. 2024. No warning sign.

MY CAR HAD UNDER 17,000 MILES AND HAD BEEN SERVICED ON SCHEDULE BY AN AUTHORIZED DEALER. I HAD BMW ANCHORED DRIVER'S FLOOR MAT IN PLACE. MY MOTHER-IN-LAW AND I WERE WEARING OUR SAFETY BELTS. WE WERE APPROACHING A FOUR-WAY INTERSECTION WITH A TRAFFIC LIGHT. THE SPEED LIMIT ON THE ROAD IS 35 MILES AN HOUR. I WAS DRIVING SLOWER THAN THAT SPEED. AS I WAS APPROACHING THE INTERSECTION WITH A RED LIGHT , I HAD TAKEN MY FOOT OFF THE ACCELERATOR. ALTHOUGH MY FOOT WAS NOT ON ANY PEDAL, THE CAR SUDDENLY ACCELERATED. I HIT THE BRAKES BUT I COULD NOT SLOW THE CAR. I WAS RAPIDLY APPROACHING THE INTERSECTION AND OTHER VEHICLES. TO THE RIGHT OF THE ROAD WAS A HOUSE. I STEERED THE CAR OFF THE ROAD AND INTO THE FIELD ON THE LEFT. I AM CERTAIN THAT MY FOOT WAS ON THE BRAKE PEDAL BECAUSE OF ITS POSITION AND RESISTANCE. THE CAR HAD ACCELERATED WITHOUT MY FOOT ON ANY PEDAL. DUE THE CAR'S SPEED AND AN INCLINE AT THE ENTRANCE TO THE FIELD, THE CAR BECAME AIRBORNE FOR A SHORT DISTANCE BEFORE LANDING HARD AND CONTINUING TOWARD A DUMPSTER. ALTHOUGH I WAS UNABLE TO SLOW THE CAR, I WAS ABLE TO STEER THE CAR AWAY FROM THE DUMPSTER AND TOWARD A STEEP HILL AT THE END OF THE FIELD. THE CAR WAS SLOWED BY THE INCLINE AND CONTACT WITH THE GROUND. MY FOOT WAS STILL ON THE BRAKE PEDAL. I WAS ABLE TO PLACE THE CAR IN NEUTRAL. I PLACED THE CAR IN PARK AND TURNED OFF THE IGNITION. I CALLED 911. THE AIRBAGS DID NOT DEPLOY. MY HUSBAND AND THE POLICE OFFICER BOTH CONFIRMED THAT THERE WAS NOTHING IMPINGING UPON THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL. MY MOTHER-IN-LAW WAS TRANSPORTED BY AMBULANCE TO THE HOSPITAL WHERE SHE WAS ADMITTED FOR ACUTE LUMBAR SPINAL COMPRESSION FRACTURE. I WAS EVALUATED IN THE ED AND RELEASED. BMW IS TO SEND AN ENGINEER FROM BMW TO EVALUATE MY CAR. THE BODY SHOP TOLD MY HUSBAND THAT AN EMPLOYEE STARTED MY CAR WHICH INITIALLY REVVED AT A HIGH RATE. UNINTENTIONAL ACCELERATION

WHILE DRIVING AT 40MPH ON A NORMAL PAVED CITY STREET STRAIGHTLY, DRIVER SIDE DOOR SUDDENLY EJECTED AND OPENED TO THE "HALF-LOCK HALF-OPEN" STATE (DOOR WAS FULLY LOCKED WHEN BEGINNING TO DRIVE, AND NO WARMING WAS DISPLAYED). AT THE INCIDENT, DOOR DID NOT "FLY OPEN" BUT THE LOCK WAS SUDDENLY DISABLED, AND DOOR OPENED ITSELF. AUDIO WARMING AND VISUAL WARMING ON DISPLAY WERE BOTH ACTIVATED AT THE TIME OF THE DOOR OPENING. I IMMEDIATELY PROCEEDED TO A STOP AT THE NEAREST POSSIBLE AREA, AND MANUALLY CLOSED THE DRIVER SIDE DOOR.

THE REAR CROSS-TRAFFIC/PEDESTRIAN ALERT SYSTEM IS DYSFUNCTIONAL. I HAVE HAD TWO OTHER VEHICLES WITH THIS FEATURE AND AM QUITE FAMILIAR WITH IT. THIS VEHICLE IS INCAPABLE OF EFFECTIVELY DETECTING AND WARNING OF APPROACHING REAR TRAFFIC AND/OR (AND WORSE) PEDESTRIANS. REPEATED EFFORTS TO HAVE MY BMW DEALER ADDRESS IT HAVE BEEN FRUITLESS. BMW USA SIMPLY CIRCLES ME BACK TO THE SAME DEALER WHO IS UNABLE OR UNWILLING TO ADDRESS THE PROBLEM. THE NET RESULT IS "SAFELY TECHNOLOGY" THAT, IF RELIED UPON, HAS THE POTENTIAL TO DO MORE HARM THAN GOOD.

ACCORDING TO BMW LITERATURE, UNDER APPROPRIATE CONDITIONS, THE DRIVER IS TO BE ALERTED BY MEANS OF VIBRATIONS IN THE STEERING WHEEL OF EITHER UNINTENTIONAL LANE CHANGES OR VEHICLES IN THE DRIVER'S BLIND SPOT WHILE SIGNALING A TURN. IN MY 540I, I CAN DETECT NO STEERING WHEEL VIBRATIONS AT ALL WITH THE 'LIGHT' AND 'MEDIUM' VIBRATION SETTINGS. WITH THE 'STRONG' SETTING, I CAN SOMETIMES DETECT A VERY SLIGHT VIBRATION ' IF I PAY CLOSE ATTENTION ' BUT IT IS VERY HARD TO DISTINGUISH FROM ROAD SURFACE FEEDBACK. IN ANY EVENT, THE "INTELLIGENT SAFETY SYSTEM" IS NOT ALERTING THE DRIVER OF POTENTIALLY HAZARDOUS CONDITIONS AS IT IS SUPPOSED TO DO. THIS RESULTS IN UNSAFE DRIVING CONDITIONS. MY DEALER AND BMW HAVE BEEN UNABLE TO RESOLVE THIS ISSUE.