# Electrical Fire-totaled car



## tzita1911 (Apr 26, 2017)

I writing to you in hopes of a response to my situation as an owner of a 2006 BMW 330i. On Tuesday, April 12, 2017, I went to work just as any other work day. The weather was fine, the drive to work was fine and everything seemed like a normal day. I arrived home around 7 PM, parked my car in the driveway and went inside my house. I was taking care of matters inside my home when at approximately at 8:15 PM my son came in running into the house to inform me that my car was engulfed in flames. I had my son call the Fire Department as I went outside to attempt to extinguish the fire that was coming from under the hood. The fire was out of control and I was not able to contain it. The Fire Department came and they eventually contained it. I was informed by them, the Fire Department that most likely it was an electrical problem that cause the fire. Needless to say, my car was totaled. The entire situation has been devastating as well as overwhelming. There are so many things that could have happened where life and personal property could have been lost and completely destroyed.

I did some research to try and understand if this was an isolated incident or if this has happened to other people. In my research, I came across a number of individuals who have had spontaneous fires on their BMW vehicles. They all seem to point out to some type of electrical malfunction. Now as a consumer and owner of a BMW, I am interested in finding out what has the company done to address this major issue which compromises the life, and safety of human beings? Will the company compensate me for the loss of my vehicle? Does this reflect the motto of the company? “The ultimate driving machine” or perhaps the ultimate lethal driving machine? As a consumer/buyer of a BMW I am disappointed, and quite disturbed that this has not come to light and addressed by the company. Had I known of such issues with BMW vehicles, I would have taken immediate action to address the issue(s) with the vehicle in order to avoid an unfortunate situations such as the loss of my vehicle.


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## Folgen Sie Mir (Jan 5, 2014)

"A new car built by my company leaves somewhere traveling at 60 mph. The rear differential locks up. The car crashes and burns with everyone trapped inside. Now, should we initiate a recall? Take the number of vehicles in the field, A, multiply by the probable rate of failure, B, multiply by the average out-of-court settlement, C. A times B times C equals X. If X is less than the cost of a recall, we don't do one." FC 1999

Probably more or less their thought process, or any car manufacturers for that matter.

Sent from my SM-G920P using Bimmerfest mobile app


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## oldgeezer (Apr 1, 2017)

I don't think BMW's are any more prone to catching fire than any other make.


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## southcoastguy (Jan 3, 2017)

The first logical step would be to get a diagnosis as to the cause of the fire (beyond "it was electrical"). Sounds just as logical that it was a fuel leak that eventually burst into flame. In my experience, electrical fires tend to be smoky, smouldering events.


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## Dave 20T (Apr 7, 2013)

Pictures?

Fuel leak?
Oil cap on tight or not on so oil spilled over the engine?


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## luigi524td (Apr 4, 2005)

Hmmmm the OP's first post to the forum is a whopper ... Can someone have Harald Krüger contact him/her ASAP to arrange a complete investigation?


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## Doug Huffman (Apr 25, 2015)

tzita1911 said:


> I did some research to try and understand if this was an isolated incident


It was an isolated incident.

BMW has recently become the highest volume auto builder in the world and has been a large one for many years. There are many reports of fires here on Bimmerfest, but not out of proportion. There are many reports here of unintended acceleration here, but not out of proportion.

Be sure to document your difficulties at SaferCar.gov
https://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/VehicleComplaint/


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## marcozandrini (Feb 13, 2014)

Doug Huffman said:


> It was an isolated incident.
> 
> BMW has recently become the highest volume auto builder in the world and has been a large one for many years. There are many reports of fires here on Bimmerfest, but not out of proportion. There are many reports here of unintended acceleration here, but not out of proportion.
> 
> ...


BMW isn't the largest volume car producer in the world. That title belongs to Toyota or GM.


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## imtjm (Oct 5, 2004)

tzita1911 said:


> I writing to you in hopes of a response to my situation as an owner of a 2006 BMW 330i. On Tuesday, April 12, 2017, I went to work just as any other work day. The weather was fine, the drive to work was fine and everything seemed like a normal day. I arrived home around 7 PM, parked my car in the driveway and went inside my house. I was taking care of matters inside my home when at approximately at 8:15 PM my son came in running into the house to inform me that my car was engulfed in flames. I had my son call the Fire Department as I went outside to attempt to extinguish the fire that was coming from under the hood. The fire was out of control and I was not able to contain it. The Fire Department came and they eventually contained it. I was informed by them, the Fire Department that most likely it was an electrical problem that cause the fire. Needless to say, my car was totaled. The entire situation has been devastating as well as overwhelming. There are so many things that could have happened where life and personal property could have been lost and completely destroyed.


1. Most likely does not mean that it was, without an actual inspection/investigation into the cause of the fire.
2. Your car is 11 years old. How many owners? What was the maintenance history and status?
3. You attempted to extinguish, but did you exacerbate it? What was the extinguisher rating and status, if you used an extinguisher. We already know you improperly attempted to extinguish, since you would not open up the hood for an engine fire. You would keep the hood closed and point the appropriately rated fire extinguisher nozzle through the grill or slightly ajar hood, not a wide open hood.
4. When you drive any car, there are so many things that could have happened where life and personal property could have been lost and completely destroyed.
5. I'm not a total scab: we are glad you and your son were not injured.



tzita1911 said:


> I did some research to try and understand if this was an isolated incident or if this has happened to other people. In my research, I came across a number of individuals who have had spontaneous fires on their BMW vehicles. They all seem to point out to some type of electrical malfunction. Now as a consumer and owner of a BMW, I am interested in finding out what has the company done to address this major issue which compromises the life, and safety of human beings? Will the company compensate me for the loss of my vehicle? Does this reflect the motto of the company? "The ultimate driving machine" or perhaps the ultimate lethal driving machine? As a consumer/buyer of a BMW I am disappointed, and quite disturbed that this has not come to light and addressed by the company. Had I known of such issues with BMW vehicles, I would have taken immediate action to address the issue(s) with the vehicle in order to avoid an unfortunate situations such as the loss of my vehicle.


1. You came across a number of individuals, which is meaningless, since there is no actual fact or evidence base for any of their claims for cause of fire, electrical or otherwise, let alone yours. You make a generic comment, but in your research, did you find a common source of the spontaneous fire (e.g. specific electrical device, wiring, etc)? Otherwise, you are making broad assumptions of your incident with others which may or may not have been related.
2. Is it a major issue? You don't even know what caused the fire. Ok, so let's assume it was an electrical fire. So, what electrical component was the source of the fire? Was it a function of the electrical component failure, improper maintenance, what?
3. I presume you are not the original owner of the 11 year old car, so was it a function of previous owner(s) improper maintenance or yours?
4. Why would the company compensate you for the loss of a vehicle when it is no longer under warranty or without knowing the cause of the fire and the cause being isolated? Conversely, should you be required to compensate BMW if hit to its brand and reputation if it was found that you were actually the cause of fire through improper maintenance of your vehicle? If you drive your car outside the speed limit, which compromises life and safety of human beings, should you compensate BMW? 
5. It hasn't come to light, because it isn't common or there hasn't been situation where there would be sufficient number of cases to bring a class action.
6. I'm going to make a second presumption that you probably only carried liability insurance, and now are out a car so you are looking for someone to compensate you for something you failed to insure to cover.
7. You need a lot more research and investigation into the cause of the fire than what you have provided and have done thus far. To blame BMW is rather absurd at this point.


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## crabu2 (Mar 14, 2017)

Doug Huffman said:


> It was an isolated incident.
> 
> BMW has recently become the highest volume auto builder in the world and has been a large one for many years.


Lies I tell you, lies!! :rofl:

Here's 2015's rankings and BMW was 12... With just over 2 mil.. At the top was Toyota with just over 10 Million sold.

http://www.oica.net/wp-content/uploads/ranking2015.pdf

I think in 2016 I heard #1 was VW then Toyota.


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## southcoastguy (Jan 3, 2017)

marcozandrini said:


> BMW isn't the largest volume car producer in the world. That title belongs to Toyota or GM.


I think it is VW.


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## marcozandrini (Feb 13, 2014)

southcoastguy said:


> I think it is VW.


I believe you're correct.


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## PlatinumV8 (Apr 11, 2017)

I know the auxiliary fan is know to catch on fire in the early 2000s 7s and 5s with the new design they introduced in late 1999. I've got one in my newest project car and installed a switch to kill power to it when it's parked. The fan that came with it was draining the battery in 36 hours. It had failed with a short but not bad enough to start on fire. After reading about them burning up cars I felt that having a fan that has full battery power even when parked and asleep, connected to 50 amp fuse (Yikes), that likes to fail randomly is a bad idea for my peace of mind. If anyone asks what I'm doing under the hood after waking up the fan for a drive, I'll just say, had to turn off the spoiled sport switch... (See Road Warrior or recently, The Mechanic.)


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## golferken55 (Nov 19, 2011)

How can you say Bmw is largest auto builder in the world? Not even true. I don think Bmw even ranks in top 5

1. Toyota
2. Gm
3. Ford 
4. Honda 
5. Dodge Chrysler


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## golferken55 (Nov 19, 2011)

golferken55 said:


> How can you say Bmw is largest auto builder in the world? Not even true. I don think Bmw even ranks in top 5
> 
> 1. Toyota
> 2. Gm
> ...


The above list is from 2012 I believe. Wow VW has really shot up in sales. I would never have believed...


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## tim330i (Dec 18, 2001)

Post stripped. Back on topic.


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## hornhospital (Jan 7, 2008)

Interesting that the OP signed up, posted that bombshell, then went away. No other activity in two weeks. :dunno:

He should be grateful for one thing: he didn't park the car in an attached garage.


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## oldgeezer (Apr 1, 2017)

tim330i said:


> Post stripped. Back on topic.


Thank you.


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## gnatnoop (May 24, 2016)

Saw story this morning on ABC about bmw's catching on fire after parked and turned off. One instance stated car was parked for 5 hours before it burned. Sounds like electrical issues to me.

No stats in the story, either model or years of manufacture, typical journalism just fanning the flames. ;-) But probably be more news in next few days.

Here's the link

http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/video/bmw-mystery-fires-abc-news-investigation-47342251


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## Cinon (Mar 9, 2013)

The solution: drive a diesel


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