[ez_2get]

I received the infamous recall letter from BMW few days days back: "Recall Campaign No. 2013-048: Power Supply System"

Can someone chime in if this positive battery cable issue can actually cause fire? Any links floating around? I am trying to see if this recall was the cause of the FIRE that engulf my car this January, 2013. That's right. My car is now gone due to fire.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kS_pR...ature=youtu.be

Here's the story: Had my battery replaced by my dealership on Oct, 2012. BMW tech told me (and it was on the printed report as well) that there was an error on the ISTA test (abnormal current draw) when he placed the brand new battery. Tech advised me to observe if the new battery will become weak and if it does, that I have to return the car to them so they can diagnose further.

Suffice to say, no signs of the new battery getting weak. Car is used everyday for mostly short commute (w/ a few trips over to US). Car caught fire on January, 2013, roughly 2.5 mos after new battery was installed. After about 5 minutes since I left my driveway early in that fateful morning, I smelled something burning. Few minutes thereafter, while still driving, I saw fire coming out of the top of the right rear passenger seat, by the pillar. Below that is where the battery is placed. I pulled over, stopped the engine, and tried to put the flame out, but to no avail.

So, firemen came to the rescue. RCMP (local police) investigated. ICBC (insurance) called me after few days saying the investigation showed that the fire started from the battery compartment at the back, caused by battery paraphernalia failure (or something to that effect).

ICBC did their part (paid me as car was a total loss), but due to other losses not paid for by ICBC though purchase receipts were provided by me (dashcam, new tire and geomet slotted/drilled rotors w/ red pads all replaced Dec, 2012, etc.) and the fact it subjected myself to danger (plus anxiety, etc. etc.), I contacted my dealership's service manager to see what they can do re losses not paid for by ICBC.

After a few email exchanges, the expected push-back was exercised by the service manager, and he said:

"I have reviewed your work order when the battery was replaced. The power management fault that was stored is usually caused by a weak battery or a possible problem from the charging system or control unit. There is no possibility of this causing a fire or anything close to this. The worst that would happen is the car wouldn’t start."

Now since I got this recall letter re Power Supply System, would you guys think this will give me leverage to push my cause? What are my chances?

[G_A]

Man that really sucks!!... Are you willing to sell your splitters??

[Wolf 335]

What you need to do is contact a lawyer. Sue the insurance company, then sue BMW.

Insurance will pay you a settlement for anxiety, depression, nightmares and lack of sleep due to the psychological disturbance. You have now also developed an OCD (obsessive compulsive disorder) where you are thinking that things you own will catch on fire. Therefore consistently inspecting and re-inspecting objects in your house such as a stove, heater, hair dryer, fireplace, etc. This OCD is now causing a major problem with how you are with your family and friends. You are isolated and can not continue a normal life.

Insurance will pay you! BMW will pay you!

Get a lawyer. And stop talking about this on the forum until its all settled.

[Zebra99]

Originally Posted by Wolf 335

What you need to do is contact a lawyer. Sue the insurance company, then sue BMW.

Insurance will pay you a settlement for anxiety, depression, nightmares and lack of sleep due to the psychological disturbance. You have now also developed an OCD (obsessive compulsive disorder) where you are thinking that things you own will catch on fire. Therefore consistently inspecting and re-inspecting objects in your house such as a stove, heater, hair dryer, fireplace, etc. This OCD is now causing a major problem with how you are with your family and friends. You are isolated and can not continue a normal life.

Insurance will pay you! BMW will pay you!

Get a lawyer. And stop talking about this on the forum until its all settled.

Lol dude really ^^

[N8N]

That's seriously suckful, but I honestly have a hard time seeing how your issues could have been caused by the issue for which BMW is recalling the cars. If any localized heating were to occur because of the recall, you would have a melted fusebox, the recall is for a bad connection behind the fusebox not back at the battery compartment.

That said, if a BMW tech were the last person in the battery compartment, I would still think that they ought to be more interested in your car because something clearly wasn't right back there. Just out of curiosity, did you have a wet or AGM battery? (shouldn't matter, but still.)

[Kalidian]

Sucks your new toys only lasted a month.. I'd try to get a report in writing as to what exactly caused the fire, then talk to a lawyer about pursuing compensation from BMW. Of course they'll try to push it off so they won't get in trouble, pay up, or have to deal with your problem, but if it was caused by a battery issue at all, I think you'd have a case.

[drevil2k2]

Glad no one got hurt.

Yes, get everything in writing, especially the suspected cause of the fire.

http://metro.co.uk/2012/03/27/bmw-re...e-risk-365802/

http://wheels.blogs.nytimes.com/2012...ry-cable-flaw/

http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=469853

Good luck

[Spensaur]

Wow, speechless.

[Wolf 335]

Zebra, sad to say but that's the reality of the legal system and the way insurance compensation claims work. I know it sounds crazy but the lawyer will tell you the same story.

[ez_2get]

Originally Posted by Wolf 335

What you need to do is contact a lawyer. Sue the insurance company, then sue BMW.

Insurance will pay you a settlement for anxiety, depression, nightmares and lack of sleep due to the psychological disturbance. You have now also developed an OCD (obsessive compulsive disorder) where you are thinking that things you own will catch on fire. Therefore consistently inspecting and re-inspecting objects in your house such as a stove, heater, hair dryer, fireplace, etc. This OCD is now causing a major problem with how you are with your family and friends. You are isolated and can not continue a normal life.

Insurance will pay you! BMW will pay you!

Get a lawyer. And stop talking about this on the forum until its all settled.

Tnx for the advise. I opted to go via this forum just to get some input from members who may have had the same experience. Some members here are also BMW techs who can chime in based on their expertise and experience.

Originally Posted by N8N

That's seriously suckful, but I honestly have a hard time seeing how your issues could have been caused by the issue for which BMW is recalling the cars. If any localized heating were to occur because of the recall, you would have a melted fusebox, the recall is for a bad connection behind the fusebox not back at the battery compartment.

That said, if a BMW tech were the last person in the battery compartment, I would still think that they ought to be more interested in your car because something clearly wasn't right back there. Just out of curiosity, did you have a wet or AGM battery? (shouldn't matter, but still.)

I'm not too sure too if this recall caused the fire. This link however, indicates that in extreme situations, "smoldering trunk mat" can result ((http://wheels.blogs.nytimes.com/2012...ry-cable-flaw/).. The fusebox in front would've remained unaffected.
Anyway, my thought was BMW tech would've asked me to leave the car after they replaced the battery so they can check further and resolve the ISTA error, since car is under extended warranty. The new battery btw was Exide Battery manufactured for BMW, part # 61-21-7-586-962. Tnx for your input.

Originally Posted by Kalidian

Sucks your new toys only lasted a month.. I'd try to get a report in writing as to what exactly caused the fire, then talk to a lawyer about pursuing compensation from BMW. Of course they'll try to push it off so they won't get in trouble, pay up, or have to deal with your problem, but if it was caused by a battery issue at all, I think you'd have a case.

I am getting the police report from RCMP as they were the first to physically investigate the burned car, just minutes after the firemen put the fire out. Need to get facts from reliable source. As I've mentioned, ICBC called me days after, saying investigators found that the cause of fire was something to do w/ the new battery or paraphernalia connected to it. I wanted to get as much info as possible before talking to a lawyer. My thought is some lawyers would just take whatever case brought to them even if the case is weak, coz at the end of the day, lawyering is a business whose priority is to earn and not to win cases on behalf of their clients.

Originally Posted by drevil2k2

Glad no one got hurt.

Yes, get everything in writing, especially the suspected cause of the fire.

http://metro.co.uk/2012/03/27/bmw-re...e-risk-365802/

http://wheels.blogs.nytimes.com/2012...ry-cable-flaw/

http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=469853

Good luck

Thanks for the links man. I'm kinda bent on researching more re these statements:

"‘In extremely rare cases the electrical system could malfunction, leading to a scorching of the boot floor and a fire may result." (http://metro.co.uk/2012/03/27/bmw-re...e-risk-365802/)....

"BMW said that a bolt connection securing the battery cables could come loose, causing increased electric resistance and an overheated cable connection. Possible results are a malfunctioning electrical system and failure to start. In extreme situations, this could lead to melted insulation and a smoldering trunk mat. "The worst-case scenario is a fire,” Mr. Plucinsky said. “We are aware of one fire in the United States.” No injuries or accidents have been reported as a result of the problem, BMW said." (http://wheels.blogs.nytimes.com/2012...ry-cable-flaw/)

The report from BMW tech after putting in the new battery in my car says "Replace w/ SMAE capacity Battery (90 Ah). ISTA test to register new battery replacement in DME. During ISTA test found DME stored fault 2DED: Power Management, Closed Circuit Current Violation. If new battery goes low again, need further diag to trace abnormal current draw." Need to find out if this error could be related to the recall.

[ez_2get]

If at the end of the day, no concrete relevance/relation can be concluded between the ISTA error and the Power Supply System recall, then i guess I just have to rest my issue, and move on. As drevil2k2 had mentioned, I still feel lucky that no one got hurt. My 2 kids sits at the back all the time. It could've been worst...

[BRAISKI]

Glad no one got hurt!
If you don't get the results you want, go to the media! Contact CBC! BMW will try to deny everything like any company, its just normal until they can't cover it up anymore.

Have you posted this in the FB from BMW?

[TOPEC]

wow did this happen at the church on 4 road?

[ez_2get]

Originally Posted by BRAISKI

Glad no one got hurt!
If you don't get the results you want, go to the media! Contact CBC! BMW will try to deny everything like any company, its just normal until they can't cover it up anymore.

Have you posted this in the FB from BMW?

I haven't done any significant moves as of yet. I wanted to gather all significant info first, e.g. police report from RCMP, plus any info online that would link my burned car issue to the Power supply recall, and the ISTA test error BMW tech found. I wanted to ensure as much as I can that i am not pursuing something that is baseless.

Originally Posted by TOPEC

wow did this happen at the church on 4 road?

Lol. You're absolutely correct. Have you seen it?

[JohnnyCanuck]

Originally Posted by Wolf 335

What you need to do is contact a lawyer. Sue the insurance company, then sue BMW.

Insurance will pay you a settlement for anxiety, depression, nightmares and lack of sleep due to the psychological disturbance. You have now also developed an OCD (obsessive compulsive disorder) where you are thinking that things you own will catch on fire. Therefore consistently inspecting and re-inspecting objects in your house such as a stove, heater, hair dryer, fireplace, etc. This OCD is now causing a major problem with how you are with your family and friends. You are isolated and can not continue a normal life.

Insurance will pay you! BMW will pay you!

Get a lawyer. And stop talking about this on the forum until its all settled.

Seriously bad advice. As a former insurance adjuster and claims manager, I can tell you categorically that ICBC's only obligation is to pay you the fair market value of the car at the moment before the loss happened. Sounds like you're satisfied that they did that.

As far as hiring a lawyer to go after BMW. If you can show that the proximate cause of your loss was a flaw that BMW knew (or ought to have known) about, you may recover your actual hard losses, but it's slim to no chance that you could recover anything more than a nominal amount for the emotional distress. BMW would only be legally liable for what is a reasonable person would see as foreseeable. If a fire was a reasonably foreseeable consequence of a manufacturing or design issue, then some degree of general damages may be called for. But, it wouldn't be much because the most reasonable expectation is that the anxiety and emotional distress would pass after a while. As the BC Court of Appeal said in Maslen, there is no basis for damages where a person should be expected to overcome a trauma through a normal amount of inherent resources (eg. will power).

Wolf 335 is dead wrong. All that advice will do is cost you more money than you could ever actually hope to recover.

Better advice would be to escalate your concern first to the dealership, then to BMW Canada, and ultimately ... CBC Marketplace or BC CTV's Steele on Your Side.

[2kaccordocoupe]

My car is going in on Fri for the recall.
Glad no one was injured in the fire.

[BRAISKI]

I just got this the letter today...

[GreekboyD]

A few guys were thinking that 335d owners would be exempt from this recall. That's not the case! I expect my letter this week too.

[TOPEC]

Originally Posted by ez_2get

Lol. You're absolutely correct. Have you seen it?

nope, i live right by that area, n as i mostly work nights n sleep during the day i prob missed it

[///M3NACE]

how much for the black grilled shipped to 60561? GLWS

[GreekboyD]

Check that. Diesels are exempt from this.

[Wolf 335]

JohnnyCanuck thank you for correcting me.

An expert opinion was needed in this matter. I am not an expert, however i was merely speaking out of knowledge from a few situations that i seen in the past. As an insurance adjuster you are trained to dismiss any claims like this, however you do know the limitations and outcomes that can come out of it.

To the OP, just talk to a lawyer and they will guide you, if in fact you want to recover money.