2018 BMW 440I Recalls, Complaints & Safety

- My car started having intermittent electrical issues. The first warning something was wrong was always the cars instrument cluster would start flashing, and the audio system would also drop in and out. Then later other malfunctions would start to show up on the center Nav Screen, some of the warnings are listed here : ○ Audio/speakers would cut out randomly while listening to music ○ Air Conditioning instrument cluster display lights would flash going in and out ○ “Parking assistance malfunction” warnings ○ "Increased Steering effort required" warnings (one time the steering locked while driving ~30mph for half a second) ○ Transmission malfunction warning (I have the transmission ‘jerk’ suddenly 1 time when I was slowly backing up in a 3 point turn), ○ Drivetrain malfunction warning. - My safety was put at risk because the power steering locked once, sometimes the steering would become difficult, and the engine jerked while driving - I brought it into a mechanic: they originally thought it was something wrong with my alternator (Invoice 1), but they couldn't really figure out the problem since it was intermittent. The alternator ended up not fixing the problem. I brought it back to them after the alternator was replaced and the same issues were present. They ended up checking the battery and saw that the positive battery cable had come loose (Invoice 2). Once they replaced the positive battery cable the issues went away. - I did research on the NHTSA Safety database and it looks like this has been a problem for ~400,000 BMW vehicles over the last ~15 years. See references: SIB 61 06 17, SIB 61 09 18, SIB 61 11 19, SIB 61 14 12 - The vehicle has not been inspected by the manufacturer, police, insurance representatives. It was brought into an independent service center - There were warning lamps and other symptoms that showed up after the instrument cluster started flickering while driving (that was always the first sign). I attached screenshots of those warnings.

The contact owned a 2018 BMW 440i. The contact stated that while driving at 65 MPH, the vehicle crashed into a donkey. There were no airbags deployed upon impact. The windshield glass shattered and hit the contact's face. Her boyfriend's knees hit and cracked the passenger's side dashboard, and her daughter sustained bruises on her right side from hitting the passenger's side rear door; however, no medical attention was received. A police report was filed. The vehicle was towed to a tow yard and deemed totaled by the insurance company. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and provided the contact with a credit towards the purchase of another vehicle. The failure mileage was approximately 36,900.

Crash 3 injured

My husband bought a BMW through the military sales program, had it delivered to the United States, and we took it with us to Germany where we currently live. The car is made to U.S. specifications and I had been driving the car weekly in Germany to keep the battery running while he is away on a deployment. On April 11, 2022, as soon as I pressed the ignition button, the dashboard flashed a strange indicator light which I didn't have time to examine because my attention was immediately diverted when a metal bar next to the right rear headrest deployed from inside the seat and punched through the windshield. It sounded like someone threw a brick into the car. The check engine indicator also lit up but deactivated after a few minutes. According to the owner's manual, the metal bar is one of a set of two rollover protection rods which are designed to deploy in the event of a sufficiently serious accident or if the car's longitudinal axis is tilted excessively (i.e. if the car flips over). But there was no accident... All I did was turn the car on. The car remained in park the entire time. We can't find any evidence of this type of misfire occurring with this model car. The car is currently in the shop for repairs after being towed to a local BMW dealership. They investigated the incident, wrote me an email saying they did not notice any technical defects, and refuse to pay for repairs or take responsibility for this incident. Something like this is dangerous and should not happen at all. I think it meets recall criteria, and I definitely think BMW should pay to fix it.

I was rear ended. My airbag did not deploy. I do not think my seatbelt restrained me because I was not sore in that area, but do not remember. My head hit the stearing wheel. I spent 3 months in a neuro-recovery program and still deal with post-concussive syndrome. The car is available for whomever would like to see it. I incurred a closed head injury with significant effects. No one has tried to reproduce the issue, and I'm actually scared that if there is a problem and another accident it's like I don't have airbags. I went to the BMW dealership and they just said that my VIN was not under a recall and I would have to deal with BMW legal for any further information. The car has been repaired from the rear end collision. There were no warning lights or anything. Other than this, I love the car. I want to make sure that if anyone in my family is driving and is hit their head will be protected from the steering wheel. the doctors have told me that if I get another concussion it could be devasting. Please let me know how to proceed. Thank you.

Crash 1 injured

I was rear ended. My airbag did not deploy. I do not think my seatbelt restrained me because I was not sore in that area, but do not remember. My head hit the stearing wheel. I spent 3 months in a neuro-recovery program and still deal with post-concussive syndrome. The car is available for whomever would like to see it. I incurred a closed head injury with significant effects. No one has tried to reproduce the issue, and I'm actually scared that if there is a problem and another accident it's like I don't have airbags. I went to the BMW dealership and they just said that my VIN was not under a recall and I would have to deal with BMW legal for any further information. The car has been repaired from the rear end collision. There were no warning lights or anything. Other than this, I love the car. I want to make sure that if anyone in my family is driving and is hit their head will be protected from the steering wheel. the doctors have told me that if I get another concussion it could be devasting. Please let me know how to proceed. Thank you.

Crash 1 injured

WHILE DRIVING ON A LOCAL PARKWAY, OUR SUNROOF SPONTANEOUSLY EXPLODED. WE WERE NOT PASSING UNDER ANYTHING AND NOTHING OF ANY NOTICEABLE SIZE STRUCK THE CAR OR THE SUNROOF. THERE WAS A VERY LOUD BANG, AND WHEN WE PULLED OVER, WE DISCOVERED A LARGE HOLE IN THE SUNROOF. THERE WERE SHARDS OF GLASS SITTING ATOP THE SUNROOF COVER, WHICH HAD WE NOT HAD CLOSED, SOME OF THE GLASS WOULD HAVE FALLEN INTO THE PASSENGER COMPARTMENT. A SIMPLE GOOGLE SEARCH MAKES CLEAR THAT EXPLODING SUNROOFS ARE A REAL DANGER.

I HAVE DRIVEN THE CAR NOW ABOUT 900 MILES. AT NO TIME HAS THE FRONT END COLLISION/PEDESTRIAN WARNING SYSTEM GIVEN ME ANY WARNING EVEN THOUGH I HAVE NEARLY REAR-ENDED THE CAR AHEAD AND EVEN THOUGH I HAVE IT SET FOR THE EARLIEST WARNING POSSIBLE. BMW N.A. ASSIST CUSTOMER CARE STATES THAT I SHOULD RECEIVE BOTH VISIBLE AND AUDIBLE WARNINGS BUT ALSO STATES I HAVE TO RELY ON WHAT DEALER SAYS. THE DEALER- DREYER & REINBOLD - STATES THE SYSTEM IS WORKING AS IT SHOULD. THIS CANNOT BE TRUE. SINCE MY 2015 BMW 535I HAD A PROPERLY WORKING FRONT END COLLISION WARNING THAT FREQUENTLY APPEARED ON MY INSTRUMENT PANEL AND HEADS-UP DISPLAY, I KNOW HOW THE SYSTEM IS SUPPOSED TO WORK. THE CURRENT CONDITION OF MY VEHICLE CREATES A SERIOUS SAFETY HAZARD AND I DON'T KNOW WHERE ELSE TO TURN. [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).' *PM