BMW Fireballs -

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BMW Initial reaction to ABC investigative reporting back in May 2017:
Quote:
BMW says it has nothing to apologize for. In a written statement, BMW said that with almost five million BMW vehicles on U.S. roads, such fire incidents are rare, and based on its investigation, “we have not seen any pattern related to quality or component failure. Vehicle fires can result from a wide variety of external reasons unrelated to product defect.”

A spokesperson suggested several other potential causes of car fires other than a manufacturing defect, including a lack of maintenance, improper maintenance by unauthorized mechanics, aftermarket modifications, rodent nesting and even arson.


Now recalling 1 million vehicles most 2007 - 2011. http://abcnews.go.com/US/bmw-recalls-million-vehicles-fire-risk/story?id=50922136

What of maker poorly constructs a vehicle that poor maintenance turns into a fire and to boot blames owners and non dealer maintenance. BMW
 
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Yep, I forgot to wash the car and my windows cracked.
Just, wow...
 
Looks as though most of it is from the heater control valves cooking and melting down, and corrosion building up at the blower motor causing excessive heat. I have replaced a ton of the blower motors for melting down at the connector, so maybe they can get a refund. Im sure the fact that most people neglect the maintenance and let their valve cover gaskets leak all over the exhaust doesnt help much either though, Ive seen some really really heavy smoking from that, almost on fire.
 
Originally Posted By: Audios
Looks as though most of it is from the heater control valves cooking and melting down, and corrosion building up at the blower motor causing excessive heat. I have replaced a ton of the blower motors for melting down at the connector, so maybe they can get a refund. Im sure the fact that most people neglect the maintenance and let their valve cover gaskets leak all over the exhaust doesnt help much either though, Ive seen some really really heavy smoking from that, almost on fire.


ABC is promoting this story in an attempt to bolster the credibility of their prior breathless reporting on BMW fires, although I'm not sure quoting ambulance-chasing class action attorneys helps all that much. This Jalopnik article accurately points our the problems with ABC's original story.
 
a neighbor nearly lost his bmw a few weeks ago.he got a call that it was smoking while running in the driveway.
it had not been driven in 4 weeks.he remote started it and got ready to leave.
and the cause?
big rat nest on top of the cat!
a garden hose put it out and washed the nest out along with baby rats.
folks underestimate the damage rodents do to cars.
i just repaired a damaged pcm for an acura mdx.
told the customer(local carlot) that it was likely damaged by something external.
after further troubleshooting a rat chewed harness was found.
 
Car fires are becoming more common I think due to all of the complex wiring and systems in modern cars. My grandparents drove back from Florida a few months ago and saw 3 car fires on the side of the highway. All were newer cars, although none of them were BMWs.

I'm curious to see how BMW will handle this, and what happens if they have some cars start on fire after the recall. I mean it's not like the airbag recall, where manufacturers got off the hook by saying not to drive the car until fixed. The cars are now recommended to be parked outside, but until the failed part is replaced a fire is still possible, even if the chance it will happen is small.

Having worked in insurance, I'm wondering if a recalled part that causes a fire that hasn't been replaced because of availability would impact coverage in any way. Would BMW be on the hook for that since the fire was caused by a known issue they weren't able to correct in time?
 
BMW will have you know that is a premium seat warmer that they are providing free of charge. How dare people complain. I'm surprised the flames aren't symmetrical and square.
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So far, mine isn't recalled. But having worked in consumer car repair, I am aware that car fires can happen. With that in mind, I had a fire sprinkler system installed in the garage.
 
Originally Posted By: Audios
Looks as though most of it is from the heater control valves cooking and melting down,


There are two recalls. One for the heater on the PCV valve hose, and a second for the blower motor wiring. Luckily I have an N55 motor so it does not have a PCV valve.
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Originally Posted By: 02SE
I had a fire sprinkler system installed in the garage.


That's a good idea.
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I carry a small fire extinguisher in my Jeep.
 
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