NHTSA complaint: 2012 BMW X6 — STRUCTURE:BODY:DOOR
THIS VEHICLE DOES NOT HAVE ANY AUDIBLE OR VISUAL WARNING THAT ANY OF THE DOORS OR HATCH BACK IS OPEN PRIOR TO DRIVING THE VEHICLE. ACCORDING TO THE DEALERSHIP AT PRINCETON NEW JERSEY BMW, THE VEHICLE HAS TO REACH 5 MPH BEFORE THERE IS A WARNING. THIS IS TOO LATE. I WAS PARKED IN A PARKING GARAGE WHEN MY BMW X6 KEY ACCIDENTALLY OPENED THE HATCHBACK. THE KEY DESIGN IS VERY POOR AS ALL BUTTONS ARE FLUSH WITH THE HAND. IT WILL OPEN DOORS OR WINDOWS UNEXPECTEDLY DEPENDING ON HOW IT GOES IN MY POCKET. AS I DROVE OFF OUT OF MY PARKING SPOT UNAWARE OF THE HATCHBACK OPEN, I DROVE OVER A SPEED BUMP WHICH RAISED THE VEHICLE AND HATCH BACK HIGH ENOUGH TO IMPACT AN OVERHEAD CONCRETE COLUMN CAUSING OVER $1800 IN DAMAGE. THIS LACK OF WARNING SYSTEM IS UNACCEPTABLE AND BMW REFUSES TO ACKNOWLEDGE THE ISSUE AND REPAIR THE DAMAGE TO MY VEHICLE. THIS SAFETY HAZARD ALSO APPLIES TO ANY OF THE DOORS. IF ONE OF THE DOORS SWINGS OPEN WHILE ACCELERATING THE POTENTIAL TO HIT A PEDESTRIAN WOULD BE UNAVOIDABLE. I TRIED TO RETURN THE VEHICLE BACK TO BMW AS I WOULD NOT HAVE ACCEPTED THE VEHICLE WITHOUT SAFETY SYSTEMS HOWEVER THEY STATED THE VEHICLE HAS NOTHING WRONG WITH WHICH ESSENTIALLY THEY SAID IF FAILED TO WARN ME AS IT'S DESIGNED TO. *TR
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration — Office of Defects Investigation