What 37 owners told NHTSA about the 2019 BMW 5 Series Hybrid Sedan Phev

The contact owns a 2019 BMW 540i. The contact stated that while slowly driving into the driveway the vehicle erroneously accelerated forward at a high rate of speed and crashed into the garage door. The contact indicated that during the incident the brake pedal was being pressed but the vehicle did not immediately stop. During the incident the front end of the vehicle was damaged but no air bags deployed. No injuries were reported but the contact experienced emotional stress from the incident. The contact also indicated that the failure had once occurred while the husband was driving the vehicle. The cause of the failure was not yet determined. The local dealer and manufacturer were notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 31,000.

NHTSA ODI 11737812

The contact owned a 2019 BMW 530E. The contact stated that while driving at a moderate rate of speed, a warning message that stated" This car will not start again" appeared on the instrument panel. Upon exiting the vehicle, a grayish-whitish smoke began to emit from the driver's side door. The contact and her granddaughters immediately exited the vehicle, and the authorities were called to the scene. The contact attempted to use her home's water hose as flames began to emit from the undercarriage of the vehicle. Upon the authorities' arrival at the scene, the fire department took almost an hour to an hour and a half to extinguish the fire. No injuries were reported. A fire report was given. Due to the fire, the vehicle was towed to an independent tow yard, where an investigation was being performed to determine the cause of the fire. The contact stated that the capacity of water that was needed to extinguish the fire clogged a drain connected to the contact's home. Upon investigation, the contact discovered NHTSA Campaign Number: 18V652000 (Equipment), which was linked to the failure. The vehicle had yet to be deemed a total loss. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, and a claim was filed. The failure mileage was approximately 63,000.

NHTSA ODI 11699176

Dear NTSB Team, I am writing to formally report a serious safety incident involving my 2019 BMW 530E, which occurred last night on [XXX] in Danville, CA. My vehicle was parked in my friend’s private driveway, with the parking brake engaged and the gear selector set to Park. I was chatting with my friend who was in the passenger seat . My feet were on the floorboard, my seat belt was on and the engine was idling to provide heat as it was a cold night. Suddenly, about 10 minutes into our conversation, my car accelerated forward with speed, hit my friend’s garage door and then reversed with the same speed and stopped in the middle of the street. This happened within the span of a few seconds at most. I think that I applied the brakes while the car was reversing with speed and I remember the car not slowing down but then it coming to an abrupt stop in the middle of the street. There were deep skid marks on the driveway, my friend’s garage door was damaged, my friend’s Tesla X was damaged with impact to the rear bumper, this parked Tesla had moved forward and crashed in the wall of the garage and a garage cabinet door dislodged and fell on the hood of this Tesla. My friends parked Toyota Prius also had bumper damage. The garage drywall sustained cracks as well. The force from these unexpected accelerations and impact has left me and my friend with aches and pains in the back, shoulder, knees, hands, head and neck; thankfully, we did not suffer more severe injuries. I am gravely concerned about the potential for this defect to cause a catastrophic accident. Had there been pedestrians, pets or another vehicle in the path of my rapidly reversing vehicle, it could have led to serious injuries or even fatalities. I called my car insurance company, local police and I will notify the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) and BMW of North America. I am hoping for a comprehensive investigation into what appears to be a dangerous electronic or software malfunction. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ODI 11642943

I purchased a used BMW from Apolo Auto in New Jersey around July 2021 the car was in perfect condition and it did not appear to have any mechanical or electrical defects. However, the prior owner had many aftermarket things done to the car and that was a big selling point as it was upgraded with low miles. After purchasing the vehicle some strange things started happening but I didn't pay close attention, and then my son was kidnapped from my home May 2022. It was at the beginning of June 2022 that I noticed we were being tracked, and private conversations inside the vehicle were publicly being communicated. I found evidence of infrared and bluetooth technology as well as GPS tracking technology and specific infrared technology is in the ceiling of the vehicle. The devices are close together & many. The vehicle was vandalized several times, broken into and the seatbelts in the back were pushed inwards so that I couldn't place my child into a proper seatbelt. I reported this to the insurance company and BMW in PA failed to repair the vandalism and they also failed to remove the tracking devices which I recently found. The highway violence consists of many vehicle swerving into my lane many times one after another, and I've almost crashed my car several times. Many instances have happened where motorcycles have pulled up next to the car at a stop light to rev up their engines to the point where my son beings to cry and it happens often. The consistently and level of aggressive behaviors have put my life in danger as well as my child's since he's special needs and can't be safely secured into his seatbelt due to vandalism, there are strange vehicles attempting to run us off the road on a regular basis, my vehicle has had significant mechanical vandalism which has yet to be repaired and it is known that the car is vulnerable therefore it is exploited. I fear the vandalism, tracking and consistent assaults on the road will cause our car to crash, injuring others.

NHTSA ODI 11590050

The contact owned a 2019 BMW 530E. The contact stated that while stopped due to traffic, the vehicle was rear-ended causing the contact to crash into the vehicle in front. During the impacts, the contact hit his head, and was unconscious. The contact does not remember if it was the steering wheel or the windshield where he hit his head. The only air bags deployed were the side air bags but no frontal. The rear-end damage to the vehicle was severe as the entire trunk was destroyed. No warning lights were illuminated. A police report was filed. The vehicle was towed to an impound lot. The contact was transferred to the hospital via ambulance. The daughter who was seated in the front passenger side sustained back and leg injuries that required pain medicine and an x-ray for medical attention. The contact sustained a bruise on his nose, ribs, neck, and lower back, and had a headache. The vehicle had not been diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and advised that a callback was scheduled. The failure mileage was approximately 15,000.

NHTSA ODI 11556498

Date of accident: 8/10/2022 Location of accident: 2436 Krueger Dr, Concord, CA 94520 Accident Summary: My wife own’s the above mentioned home and was in the process of getting a new tenant. She reached the Krueger home at around 12:15 pm. She drove onto the driveway as she normally does, put the car in park and turned on the hand/parking brake. It is to be noted that driveway is on an upgrade. The prospective tenant did not show up. There was another potential tenant that was going to come around 2 pm. She decided to wait in the car and made herself comfortable by turning her body towards right, feet tucked closer to the seat, back was facing towards the driver side door, and rested her head against the back of the seat and made several phone calls. Around 12:40 pm, our daughter called my wife. She was talking to her for about 40-45 mins. While she was still on the phone talking, she heard a tripped kind of sound and the car experienced sudden acceleration and lurched forward with high speed. It felt like a bullet came out of a pistol. While she was in complete shock of what happened, she turned herself immediately in reaction to brake but before she could react to stop the car, she found her car hitting the closed garage door, and went inside and hit the front wall. All the air bags deployed and windshield was completely shattered. She felt a sharp pain on her right foot near her ankle and felt tightness due to swelling. Our daughter called 911 and she was taken to the ER. She was in a complete state of shock and tried to reason. The only possibility that comes to mind is that the car experienced a malfunction that cause sudden unintended acceleration.

NHTSA ODI 11489755

Serious crash from sudden unintended acceleration occurred yesterday where throttle seemed to be stuck in all gears and brakes didn’t work

NHTSA ODI 11430762

The contact owns a 2019 BMW 540i. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, the vehicle stalled without warning while depressing the accelerator pedal. The contact stated that while attempting to park the vehicle, the failure recurred. The contact continuously depressed the accelerator pedal and the vehicle lunged forward and collided with a barrier and crashed into his neighbor's vehicle. The air bags failed to deploy upon impact. The contact was not treated for any injuries. A police report was not filed. The contact had taken the vehicle to an independent mechanic who discovered that the lower section of the accelerator pedal was fractured. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and agreed to pay for a portion of the repair. The contact received a letter that stated that the manufacturer agreed to pay for the accelerator pedal replacement however, by accepting the payment, the manufacturer would absolve themselves of any responsibility for any damages caused by the defective accelerator pedal. The contact had not agreed to the terms of the agreement of the letter. The vehicle was repaired out of pocket. The failure mileage was 18,000.

NHTSA ODI 11421080

I WAS AT A RED LIGHT. WHEN IT TURNED GREEN THE CARS BEGAN TO MOVE BUT THE CAR IN FRONT OF ME STOPPED AGAIN. I APPLIED THE BREAK IMMEDIATELY BUT HE CAR DID NOT STOP SO I HIT THE CAR IN FRONT OF ME.

NHTSA ODI 11301505