2015 BMW 428I Complaints

I AM WRITING TO VOICE A CONCERN ABOUT A SIGNIFICANT SAFETY FLAW WITH NEWER MODEL BMW CARS, INCLUDING MY 2015 428I GRAN COUPE. UPON TURNING ON TO A MAJOR ROAD, THE CAR SUDDENLY FAILED TO ACCELERATE TO A SPEED OF MORE THAN 10-15MPH. WITH TRAFFIC QUICKLY APPROACHING FROM BEHIND AT ~50MPH, THE ONCOMING CAR HAD TO SWERVE TO AVOID HITTING ME DUE TO MY LOSS OF ACCELERATION, AND WE BOTH BARELY AVOIDED A MAJOR ACCIDENT. AFTER HAVING THE CAR TOWED TO THE BMW DEALERSHIP, THE SERVICE DEPARTMENT TOLD ME AFTER A THOROUGH INSPECTION THAT THERE WAS NO MECHANICAL PROBLEM WITH THE CAR, AND A SOFTWARE MALFUNCTION HAD CAUSED A "DRIVETRAIN MALFUNCTION" WHICH RESULTED IN THE LOSS OF POWER. THEY CONSULTED WITH BMW AND WERE TOLD TO UPGRADE THE CAR'S SOFTWARE AND MONITOR TO SEE IF IT HAPPENS AGAIN. AFTER QUESTIONING THE SERVICE DEPARTMENT FURTHER, I WAS TOLD THAT IT IS POSSIBLE FOR THIS PROBLEM TO HAPPEN AGAIN, THAT THEY HAVE SEEN IT HAPPEN IN OTHER BMW MODELS IN ADDITION TO MINE, AND THAT THEY HAVE SEEN CASES WHERE BMW CARS WITH THIS PROBLEM HAD REPEAT EVENTS EVEN AFTER UPGRADING THE SOFTWARE. I ASKED IF THEY HAD HEARD OF THIS OCCURRING WHILE TRAVELING AT HIGH SPEEDS ON A HIGHWAY, WHERE A BMW CAR SUDDENLY HAD A SOFTWARE-DRIVEN "DRIVETRAIN MALFUNCTION" AND LOSS OF POWER, AND THEY SAID YES. I TALKED TO BMW NORTH AMERICA TO VOICE MY CONCERN FOR SAFETY, AND THEY LOOKED INTO MY CASE AND TOLD ME THERE WAS NOTHING ELSE TO DO. MY CASE WAS CLOSED WITHOUT FURTHER INVESTIGATION INTO THIS SIGNIFICANT SAFETY FLAW. I HOPE YOU UNDERSTAND MY CONCERN FOR SAFETY AND I WOULD GREATLY APPRECIATE YOUR HELP IF THERE IS ANYTHING YOU CAN DO TO MAKE BMW TAKE THIS ISSUE SERIOUSLY. I AM HOPING THAT THERE WILL NOT HAVE TO BE MULTIPLE ACCIDENTS, INJURIES, AND FATALITIES (AS IN THE RECENT HIGH PROFILE GENERAL MOTORS CASE) BEFORE BMW WILL ADDRESS THIS PROBLEM SERIOUSLY. THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME AND EFFORT IN READING THIS. *TR

MY 2015 BMW 428I HAS 9000 MILES ON IT AND THE TIRES ARE BALD THESE TIRES ARE VERY EXPENSIVE TO REPLACE

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2015 BMW 428I. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE PULLING INTO THE GARAGE, THE VEHICLE ACCELERATED FORWARD INDEPENDENTLY AND CRASHED INTO A REFRIGERATOR AND COMPUTER DESK. IN ADDITION, THE VEHICLE REVERSED INDEPENDENTLY CRASHING INTO A PARKED VEHICLE. THE AIR BAGS FAILED TO DEPLOY. A POLICE REPORT WAS NOT FILED AND NO INJURIES WERE SUSTAINED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURES AND CONDUCTED AN INVESTIGATION. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT ABLE TO DIAGNOSE THE FAILURE. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 2,000.

I STARTED THE CAR AND GOT IT OUT OF MY GARAGE. STOPPED THE CAR, ENGAGED "PARK" ON THE ELECTRONIC GEAR-SHIFT LEVER, AND ACTIVATED THE PARKING BRAKE BY PULLING ON THE MANUAL LEVER. GOT OUT OF THE CAR WITHOUT TURNING IT OFF AND MANUALLY CLOSED MY GARAGE DOOR. THE CAR, STOOD STILL FOR ABOUT 45 SECONDS ON MY DRIVEWAY (WHICH HAS A 10 INCLINE) WHILE I CLOSED MY GARAGE DOOR. AS SOON AS I TOUCHED THE VEHICLE'S DOOR HANDLE TO GET BACK IN THE CAR, THE CAR STARTED ROLLING FORWARD. THE CAR HIT MY GARAGE DOOR. I WAS STILL OUTSIDE OF THE CAR WHEN THIS HAPPENED. THIS WAS TRIGGERED BY TOUCHING THE CAR'S DOOR HANDLE, LIKELY DUE TO THE SAME MECHANISM THAT UNLOCKS THE CAR DOORS WHEN I TOUCH THE DOOR HANDLE. (THE VEHICLE HAS A KEYLESS ENTRY FEATURE THAT UNLOCKS THE CAR WHEN TOUCHING THE HANDLE AS DESCRIBED ABOVE) WHEN I GOT BACK IN THE CAR I CONFIRMED THAT THE CAR WAS STILL IN THE "PARK" MODE AND THAT THE PARKING BRAKE WAS STILL ENGAGED. THIS INCIDENT APPEARS TO BE SIMILAR TO PREVIOUSLY REPORTED ROLL AWAY BMW'S. AFTER DOING SOME RESEARCH ONLINE, IT APPEARS SIMILAR TO INCIDENTS REPORTED WITH BMW SERIES 7 AND X5 MODELS. MY CAR IS CURRENTLY AT THE BMW DEALERSHIP AND THEY ARE INVESTIGATING THE INCIDENT. *JS

1.TRAVELING ABOUT 20-30MPH ON THE FREEWAY UNDER SLOW TRAFFIC CONDITION 2.THE CAR WAS CRUISING ABUT 20-25MPH AT THE POINT OF ACCIDENT. I NEEDED TO REDUCE SPEED AS TRAFFIC GET SLOWER, BUT BRAKE DID NOT FUNCTION PROPERLY. PRESSED BRAKE HARD BUT THE CAR WAS STILL ROLLING AND REAR ENDED THE CAR FRONT OF ME TWICE, BECAUSE MY CAR COULD NOT STOP UNTIL HIT REAR END TWICE I STRONGLY BELIEVE THIS INCIDENT RELATED TO PREVIOUS NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 13V454000. *TR