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NHTSA safety recall

Recall 12V502000: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:IGNITION:SWITCH; POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION; POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION:CONTROL MODULE (TCM/PCM/TECM)

BMW of North America, LLC · Reported to NHTSA Oct 17, 2012

Recalls apply to specific vehicles, not to every vehicle of a model year. Check your VIN with NHTSA or your manufacturer's dealer to confirm whether a recall affects your vehicle.

Check a VIN on NHTSA.gov
Units potentially affectedThe manufacturer's own estimate of how many vehicles or items of equipment may contain the defect. It is not a count of failures, and not every unit in the range is necessarily affected.
45,500
Model years coveredModel years in our database that NHTSA matched to this campaign. Whether an individual vehicle is covered still depends on its VIN.
14
Models covered
6
Grouped from the model years above
Reported to NHTSA
Oct 17, 2012
Production Aug 23, 2004 – Jul 24, 2008

What this recall covers

NHTSA's campaign record, quoted as published

The defect

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 remedy

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 [email protected].

Notes

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.

A safety recall is issued when a manufacturer or NHTSA determines that a vehicle has a safety-related defect or does not comply with a federal motor vehicle safety standard. Recall repairs are free. Whether a specific vehicle is covered depends on its VIN — a recall listed for a model year does not necessarily apply to every vehicle of that year.

Campaign details

Identifiers and dates as filed with NHTSA

Manufacturer
BMW of North America, LLC
Manufacturer's campaign number
Not recorded
NHTSA campaign number
12V502000
Units potentially affected
45,500
Report received
Oct 17, 2012
Production range
Aug 23, 2004 – Jul 24, 2008
Campaign type
Vehicle
Federal safety standard (FMVSS)
Not recorded

Vehicles covered

14 model years across 6 models

Recalls apply to specific vehicles, not to every vehicle of a model year. Check your VIN with NHTSA or your manufacturer's dealer to confirm whether a recall affects your vehicle.