Ignition: switchRecall 12V-502 · BMW vehicles
BMW of North America, LLC recall 12V-502 covers 45,500 BMW vehicles for a ignition: switch problem, reported to NHTSA on October 17, 2012.
Source: NHTSA recall 12V502000 and manufacturer quarterly reports. Started by an NHTSA defect investigation.
The problem
BMW is recalling certain model year 2005-2008 7-Series vehicles, equipped with the Comfort Access option, and manufactured August 23, 2004, through July 24, 2008. The affected vehicles have an electronic key and an electronic connection between the gear shifter and the transmission (shift-by-wire) that automatically shifts the transmission to Park when the driver presses the Start/Stop button to shutdown the engine. If the driver presses the engine Start/Stop button 2 or 3 times within a short time interval, the system may shift the transmission to Neutral rather than Park. If using the electronic key (Comfort Access mode), there would be no protection from the ignition interlock that prevents key removal if the vehicle is not in Park.
The risk
If the driver exits the vehicle with the transmission in Neutral and the parking brake is not applied, the vehicle may rollaway. Unattended rollaway incidents often result in a crash or cause injury to pedestrians attempting to stop or enter the vehicle or to other bystanders in the path of the vehicle.
The fix
BMW will notify owners beginning in November 2012. The remedy became available in March 2013. Owners may call BMW at 1-800-525-7417 or email BMW at.
Owners may also contact the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's Vehicle Safety Hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (TTY: 1-800-424-9153), or go to www.safercar.gov.
Recall repairs are free. Confirm whether this recall is open on your vehicle by entering its VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls.
The investigation behind this recall
- Vehicle RollawayNHTSA