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2001 BMW 330CI — ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING

fire · 773433 · 2010-03-12

Vehicle

Make
BMW
Model
330CI
Year
2001
Manufacturer
BMW of North America, LLC
Component
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Miles at failure
65,000
Speed
55 mph

Severity

Deaths
0
Injured
0
Fire
Yes
Crash
No
Police report
Yes
Medical attention
No
Vehicle towed
No

Narrative

2:00 PM I LEFT GREENWOOD VILLAGE, CO TO GO TO A MEETING AT 49TH AND NOME STREET. I ARRIVED AT MY MEETING IN MY BMW AT APPROXIMATELY AT 2:30 WITH NO PROBLEMS OR INDICATIONS OF PROBLEMS. 4:00 PM I LEFT THE MEETING. THEN I SMELLED SOMETHING WITH A DISTINCT ODOR 4:08 PM I DROVE ONTO EAST BOUND I-70 AND CONTINUED ON I-70 UNTIL THE RAMP TO SOUTHBOUND I-225, APPROXIMATELY ONE MILE OR SO. I WAS GOING ABOUT 55 MPH AND THERE WAS NOT MUCH TRAFFIC AT THIS TIME. MY WINDOWS WERE ROLLED UP AND I HAD THE RADIO ON. I DID NOT HAVE ANY OTHER ELECTRONIC EQUIPMENT ON INSIDE THE CAR. THE ODOR GOT A LOT WORSE AS I ENTERED ONTO THE RAMP. SMOKE STARTED TO COME OUT OF THE BMW FRONT VENTS AND THEN A FLAME CAME FROM UNDER THE STEERING WHEEL. I WAS NOW ON I-225 HEADING SOUTHBOUND AT ABOUT 55 MILES PER HOUR IN THE LEFT HAND LANE. AS I WAS MOVING OVER TO THE RIGHT HAND LANE THE INSTRUMENT PANEL LIT UP. A LOT OF SMOKE CAME OUT FROM ALL OF THE FRONT VENTS, AND ESPECIALLY THE FRONT DEFROSTER. I LOOKED AT THE ENGINE TEMPERATURE LIGHT AND IT WAS NORMAL. THE AUTOMOBILE WAS RUNNING FINE. I TURNED THE CAR OFF. THEN MORE SMOKE STARTED COMING OUT OF THE VENTS. THEN, FLAMES STARTED COMING OUT OF THE VENTS AND FRONT DEFROSTER. 4:10 PM THE ENGINE WAS STILL TURNED OFF. I GOT OUT OF THE CAR. FLAMES AND BLACK SMOKE WENT THROUGH THE CONVERTIBLE ROOF STRAIGHT UP. 4:20 PM THE AURORA FIRE DEPARTMENT AND MORE AURORA POLICE CAME.. THEY TOWED THE CAR AWAY TO THE IMPOUND LOT. THE INVESTIGATOR SAID MAYBE

Source

Authoritative
NHTSA ODI Flat-File Downloads
ODI Number
10319267
Machine
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