What 14 owners told NHTSA about the 2015 BMW 328xi

ON FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 27TH, 2015, MY WIFE AND MY TWO DAUGHTERS, AGES 19 AND 21 WERE TRAVELING BACK UP THE GARDEN STATE PARKWAY. THEY WERE DRIVING IN MY WIFES NEW 2015 BMW 328XI AND THE CAR WAS IN "SPORTS MODE." MY WIFE WHO IS A VERY EXPERIENCED DRIVER, AND NEVER HAD ANY PROBLEMS, WAS DRIVING. AT ABOUT 4:30 PM, AFTER EXITING THE PARKWAY THEY GOT TO A NEARBY INTERSECTION AND PLANNED ON TURNING LEFT TO GO TO THE LOCAL MARKET. HOWEVER, WHEN THEY APPROACHED THE INTERSECTION, MY WIFE WAS NOT ABLE TO STOP HER CAR. SHE PRESSED ON THE BREAKS BUT THEY WERE NOT RESPONDING PROPERLY AND THE CAR STARTED JERKING BACK AND FORTH AND SKIDDING TOWARDS THE CENTER OF THE INTERSECTION, WHERE OTHER CARS WERE DRIVING BY AT HIGH SPEEDS. MY WIFE CONTINUED TO PRESS AS HARD AS SHE CAN ON THE BREAK BUT THE CAR DID NOT COME TO A FULL STOP UNTIL IT WAS IN THE CENTER OF THE INTERSECTION. LUCKILY, NO CAR WAS COMING BY AT THE EXACT MOMENT OF THE INCIDENT, BUT IF THERE HAD BEEN ANOTHER CAR, THE BREAK FAILURE, IN THE CONTEXT OF THE DEFECTIVE SPORT MODE, PROBABLY WOULD HAVE CAUSED AN ACCIDENT. THEY ALSO PULLED ON THE PARKING BRAKE, ATTEMPTED TO SWITCH TO PARK AND TO TURN THE ENGINE OFF IN ORDER TO STOP. FINALLY, TOTALLY TRAUMATIZED AND STILL HAVING POST TRAUMATIC STRESS AND FEAR TO GET BACK BEHIND THE WHEEL, INSTEAD OF TURNING LEFT, MY WIFE AND DAUGHTERS DECIDED TO TURN RIGHT AND VERY VERY SLOWLY DRIVE HOME 2 BLOCKS AWAY, TOTALLY TRAUMATIZED BY WHAT HAD JUST HAPPENED.

NHTSA ODI 10722105

THIS IS A LOANER DEALER CAR WITH AN AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION. I WAS EXITING A STATE HIGHWAY, TURNING RIGHT ONTO THE EXIT RAMP TO SLOW AT A TRAFFIC SIGNAL, AND APPLIED THE BRAKE PEDAL WITH MY RIGHT FOOT. I SLOWED FROM 45 MPH TO ABOUT 10 MPH, WITH MY RIGHT FOOT ON THE BRAKE PEDAL. THE ENGINE REVVED AND RACED UP TO ABOUT 6500 RPM AS I HELD MY RIGHT FOOT ON THE BRAKE PEDAL. WITH MUCH BRAKING FORCE, I DID GET THE CAR TO SLOW AND STOP. I THEN PRESSED THE PARK BUTTON AND HIT THE STOP BUTTON TO KILL THE ENGINE. AFTER A FEW MOMENTS, I THEN RE-STARTED THE CAR AND PULLED OVER TO THE CURB. I DID RETURN THE LOANER CAR TO THE DEALERSHIP. TO BE ABSOLUTELY CLEAR, I HAVE BEEN DRIVING FOR 30+ YRS, AND I WAS NOT RACING, SPEEDING, DRUNK, NOR DRIVING WITH BOTH FEET. SOMETHING MADE THE ENGINE RACE VERY HIGH, AND I WAS LUCKY NOT TO PLOW INTO THE CARS IN FRONT OF ME. I HOPE THIS CAN BE INVESTIGATED AND RESOLVED SO NO ONE GETS HURT. THANK YOU *TR

NHTSA ODI 10705648