2007 BMW 3 Series

I WAS GOING BETWEEN 30 AND 35 MPH THROUGH CITY STREETS AT ROUGHLY 3AM ON MY WAY BACK FROM MY COMMUTE WHICH IS ROUGHLY 60 MILES. I NOTICED IT STARTED TO SMELL LIKE BURNING PLASTIC AND IMMEDIATELY AFTER SMOKE WAS VISIBLE COMING FROM HOOD VENTS, I PARKED THE CAR AS SOON AS I COULD AND POPPED THE HOOD AND THE HEAT COVER FOR THE HOOD WAS ON FIRE ALONG WITH MOST OTHER COMPONENTS IN THE ENGINE BAY. MY FRIEND IMMEDIATELY CALLED 911 FOR ASSISTANCE AS I RAN AND TRIED TO WARN NEIGHBORS , WITHIN 7 MINUTES THE CAR WAS COMPLETELY CHARD. NO MAITNANCE LIGHTS WERE ON AND NOTHING SEEMED TO BE A PROBLEM. THE TWO RECALLS I NEVER RECEIVED BOTH WOULD EXPLAN THIS INCEDENT NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 17V683000 NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 17V676000

DESPITE REPEATED PHONE CALLS TO BMW CUSTOMER SERVICE, AND STOPPING AT THE LOCAL DEALERSHIP, NO ACTION HAS BEEN TAKEN BY BMW FOR A RECALL REGARDING A SPONTANEOUS FIRE THAT CAN OCCUR WITH MY VEHICLE DUE TO AN ELECTRICAL ISSUE, EVEN WHEN THE CAR IS GARAGED AND NOT IN USE. CUSTOMER SERVICE REPEATEDLY TELLS ME THEY DON'T HAVE THE PARTS TO FIX THE ISSUE. I LEARNED ABOUT THIS PROBLEM A YEAR AND A HALF AGO FROM THE NEWS. I HAVE NEVER RECEIVED A RECALL LETTER FROM BMW, ALTHOUGH I VERIFIED WITH THEM THEY HAVE MY VIN NUMBER AND MY CAR IS PART OF THE RECALL. I HESITATE TO EVEN DRIVE MY CAR AND HAVE SERIOUS CONCERNS ABOUT A SPONTANEOUS FIRE SPARKED BY AN ELECTRICAL ISSUE. IT SEEMS UNACCEPTABLE AS A CONSUMER NO ACTION HAS BEEN TAKEN TO REMEDY WHAT COULD BE A VERY SERIOUS ISSUE (MY HOUSE BURNING DOWN FOR ONE). I AM GETTING NOWHERE WHEN I CONTACT BMW.

PASSENGER AIRBAG RESTRAINT FAILURE - BMW'S, IN PARTICULAR 3 SERIES AND E90 MODELS, HAVE A KNOWN AND COMMON FAILURE WHERE THE SEAT BASED ELECTRICAL MAT FAILS IN THE PASSENGER SEATS. THIS IS NOT RELATED TO WEAR AND TEAR AS THE SEATS OFTEN GO UNUSED BUT SIMPLY FAIL AFTER A CERTAIN PERIOD OF TIME. THE ERROR CAUSES THE PASSENGER SIDE AIRBAG TO DEFAULT TO ALWAYS ON, WHICH CAN CAUSE INJURY OR DEATH TO CHILDREN OR SMALL PASSENGERS IN THAT SEAT. THE COST TO REPAIR THIS IS USUALLY $200 FOR PARTS AND $400 FOR LABOR WHICH MEANS MANY DRIVERS SIMPLY DON'T FIX IT CREATING A VULNERABILITY. THE ISSUE HAS BEEN RECURRING WITH BMWS FOR SEVERAL GENERATIONS AND ACROSS MODEL TYPES AND SHOULD BE ADDRESSED BY THE MANUFACTURER AS ITS A POORLY MADE PART AND SET UP. THERE ARE NUMEROUS DOCUMENTED CASES ON BMW FORUMS AND A PARTIAL RECALL FOR SOME MODELS WAS IMPLEMENTED. A FULL RECALL IS NEEDED ON ALL CARS AFFECTED, INCLUDING 2007 3 SERIES MODELS. THE ISSUE DOES NOT APPEAR FIXED UNTIL THE F MODEL 3 SERIES CAME OUT. HTTPS://WWW.BIMMERFEST.COM/FORUMS/SHOWTHREAD.PHP?P=4746508#POST4746508 HTTPS://WWW.BIMMERFEST.COM/FORUMS/ARCHIVE/INDEX.PHP/T-496444.HTML

WHEN DRIVING, THE SMELL OF BURNING OR MELTING PLASTIC IS SO STRONG, I HAVE TO ROLL DOWN THE WINDOWS. THE SMELL OCCURS ABOUT 5 TIMES A WEEK AND CAN BE SMELLED BOTH INSIDE AND OUTSIDE THE CAR. IT OCCURS AT VARIOUS TIMES...ON THE FREEWAY, ON SURFACE STREETS, STOPPED AT A RED LIGHT ETC. THERE IS A SAFETY RECALL, FOR POSITIVE CRANKCASE VENTILATION(PCV) VALVE HEATER, BUT THEY DON'T HAVE A PLAN OR METHOD OF FIXING THIS. SINCE IT CAN LEAD TO A FIRE, IT NEEDS TO BE FIXED, BUT THE DEALERSHIP HAS NO INFORMATION ABOUT EVEN HOW TO FIX THE PROBLEM. THE WEBSITE AND LETTER TELLS YOU TO CALL THE LOCAL DEALERSHIP BUT THEY TELL YOU TO CONTACT BMW NORTH AMERICA, HOWEVER THEY DON'T ANSWER THE PHONE. THE SERVICE SUPERVISOR AT THE LOCAL BMW DEALER SHIP IN GLENDALE CA HAS NOT RETURNED MY MESSAGES AND THE NUMBER THEY REFER ME TO, BMW NORTH AMERICA AT 800.831.1117 JUST KEEPS RINGING...NO ANSWER. I DON'T FEEL SAFE INHALING THE PLASTIC FUMES AND IT COULD LEAD TO MY CAR CATCHING ON FIRE. BMW NEEDS TOANSWER QUESTIONS AND PROVIDE CUSTOMER SERVICE RATHER THAN REFERRING ME TO ADVERTISEMENTS TO PURCHASE A NEW BMW. (THAT IS WHAT HAPPENS ON THEIR "RECALL" WEBSITE). I WOULD LIKE THEM TO PROVIDE A CAR AND KEEP MY CAR AT THE DEALERSHIP UNTIL THEY FIGURE THIS OUT. I THINK THEY WOULD FIND A SOLUTION VERY QUICKLY IF THEY HAD TO PROVIDE ALTERNATOR TRANSPORTATION. THANK YOU FOR YOUR HELP!

TAKATA RECALL THE FIRST COMPLAINT IS THAT I AM AFRAID TO DRIVE OR ALLOW ANYONE TO DRIVE A CAR WITH THIS AIRBAG RECALL WHICH HAS IN SOME CASES RESULTED IN SERIOUS INJURIES OR DEATH. THE CAR IS THUS PARKED IN THE GARAGE WHILE THE DEALER TELLS ME THEY CAN'T GET THE CAR IN FOR REPAIRS FOR 6 WEEKS AT LEAST WHICH IS UNACCEPTABLE. SECONDLY, THERE ARE TWO ADDITIONA RECALLS THAT HAVE NO "FIX" AT THIS POINT WHICH COULD ALSO RESULT IN SERIOUS INJURY OR DEATH. I AM AT A LOSS FOR WHAT TO DO WITH THIS VEHICLE. IT IS A HAZARD AND COMPLETELY USELESS FOR THE PURPOSE FOR WHICH IT WAS INTENDED. THE TWO ADDITIONAL RECALLS ARE BOTH FIRE HAZARDS AND ARE NOT CORRECTABLE AT THIS JUNCTURE. THIS IS UNACCEPTABLE.

BOTH PUGET SOUND AREA DEALERS WERE TOTALLY INDIFFERENT ABOUT LIFE TREATING RECALL NOTICES, UPON CALLING IN IN MID 2017' I WAS ASKED WHAT RECALLS ARE YOU CALLING ABOUT AND BOTH DID NOT GIVE ANY IN FORMATION WHEN I SAID I HEARD THERE WAS A RECALL. NOTHING WE CAN DO TO HELP YOU NOW CHECK BACK LATER I WAS TOLD. IN NOVEMBER WHEN I CALLED BACK I WAS AGAIN GREETED WITH SURPRISE THAT THAT THERE WAS A RECALL AT SEATTLE DEALERSHIP AND ASKED ME TO BE SPECIFIC ON A EXACT RECALL THAT MAYBE IN EFFECT. AFTER GIVING EXACTE REQUIRED DETAILED RECALL INFO ON THIS LIFE TREATING DEFECTIVE RECALLI WAS TOLD THEY DON'T HAVE ANY PARTS AND TO CHECK BACK NEXT YEAR! WHERE THE HELL IS THE WASHINGTON STATE ATTORNEY GENERAL? THIS IS A DISGRACE AND BMW IN MY VIEW SHOULD BE SPENDER FROM SELLING CARS IN WASHINGTON STATE UNTIL THEY MAKE THIS RIGHT. ONE DEATH WOULD COST FAR MORE THAN ALL THE JERKING AROUND AND BAD WILL THEY ARE CAUSING TODAY! I'M WRITING THIS BECAUSE I'M CONCERNED ABOUT LIVING ,AND HAVE NO PICTURES TO POST. CAN NOT ALLOW HOW THE GOVERNMENT ALLOWS A MAJOR CAR COMPANY TO GET AWAY WITH THIS, TOTAL DISGRACE!

2 COMPLAINTS: 1ST COMPLAINT ADDRESSES "TAKATA RECALL" DATED FEB. 5, 2016 RECALL CAMPAIGN NO.16V-071 DRIVER'S FRONT AIR BAG. *BMW SERVICE CENTER "OTTO'S" IN WEST CHESTER, PA STILL HAS NOT RECEIVED THE PARTS GOING ON 2YRS. * 2ND COMPLAINT ENGINE SHUT OFF WHILE DRIVING (55MPH) ON A BUSY INTERSTATE HIGHWAY DURING HEAVY TRAFFIC WITH NO WARNING THE ENGINE JUST SHUT OFF- NO POWER! . IT WAS A HUMID SUMMER (JULY) MORNING BMW FAULT COULD HAVE KILLED MANY, A VERY DANGEROUS PUBLIC SAFETY HAZARD. I WAS STRANDED FOR HOURS UNABLE TO DRIVE BMW. *ADDING INSULT TO INJURY THE HIGH HUMIDITY COULD HAVE SET-OFF THE AIRBAG FAULT UNRESOLVED BY BMW 18 MONTHS & COUNTING. OTTO'S SERVICE CENTER WANTED ALMOST $4K TO REPAIR PLUS AN ADDITIONAL HEFTY SUM UNDER ADVISEMENT FOR REPAIRS TO REPAIR THE WORK THEY COMPLETED LESS THAN A YEAR AGO (>$3K) FOR ENGINE LEAKING OIL - CAR OVER-HEATING