Apr 23, 2025Electrical systemEngineFire
Vehicle was idle in the driveway next to my home and had not been driven since the night before. That morning, I started to smell what I thought was an electronic overheat of some sort in the house. When I inspected outside, the entire front end of the vehicle was on fire and the fire department needed to respond. The fire spread rapidly along the side of my home causing significant damage to my property as well as my neighbor's property. Our safety was put at risk because this fire could have occurred overnight while my wife, children and I were sleeping since the vehicle was not being operated at the time the fire happened. Representatives from my insurance company removed the vehicle and had it inspected at their facility, where they determined the vehicle to be a total loss as the entire front half of the car burned. Further, I did not receive notice of the known recall on my vehicle (with no know remedy as yet) which could be the cause of the fire, until a week after the incident occurred in October.
NHTSA ODI 11656361
Jan 16, 2025Electrical systemEngineFire
The vehicle was driven 30 miles and parked at 9am weather was in the 30s-40s F. There were no check engine light, warning lights or abnormal readings on the gauges during the commute. At approximately noon, the vehicles was started and idled for approximately 20 min, it was not driven or moved from the parking spot, the car did not reach full operating temp. Smoke with a burnt plastic and electrical odor was noted emanating from under the hood while parked idling. The car was immediately shut off and exited. The driver went inside to get help. After returning to the vehicle in approximately 5minutes it was fully engulfed in flames. The fire department came to put out the fire. The vehicle is a total loss. The fire damaged adjoining vehicles and the property where it was parked. The vehicle was towed back to my residence where it remains for evidence. Upon review of BMW recall 24v-608 i performed an inspection of the water pump electrical connection plug and identified there is evidence of an electrical short on the plug which appears to have burnt through the connector prior to the major engine compartment fire. I have contacted BMW to file a complain and have followed up multiple times with the point of contact identified to me by BMW, but have been unsuccessful to date to establish communications with the BMW representative.
NHTSA ODI 11636209
Oct 25, 2018Transmission & drivetrainElectrical systemEngineFire
BMW DIESEL RECALL - WHILE DRIVING ON HIGHWAY MY VEHICLE CAUGHT FIRE AND BURNED. THE CAR IS A TOTAL LOSS. THERE WAS NO WARNING LIGHTS WHEN THE CAR WAS STARTED TO INDICATE ANYTHING WAS WRONG. THE CAR LOST POWER AT 72 MPH AND MY HUSBAND WAS ABLE TO GET THE CAR TO THE SHOULDER OF THE HIGHWAY.
NHTSA ODI 11142552
Mar 5, 2018Electrical systemEngineFuel systemFire
ON MARCH 4, 2018, WHILE AT A RED LIGHT AT AN INTERSECTION IN BOCA RATON, FL, ALL OF SUDDEN, NO WARNING, MY BMW X3 STARTED TO SMELL OF SMOKE, THEN SMOKE STARTED TO COME OUT OF THE HOOD. I HAD TO BARELY MAKE IT TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD, LEAVE IT AT AN ENTRANCE OF A PLAZA, WHICH THEN BEGAN TO SMOKE OVERWHELMINGLY. ONCE I MADE IT OUT OF THE CAR, THE FLAMES CAME OUT OF THE HOOD AND THE CAR BECAME FULLY ENGULFED WITHIN SECONDS.
NHTSA ODI 11076341