Consumer Complaint Detail

BMW / 528I / 1999

Recalls
2 Injured
Investigations
0 Death
Complaints
No Fire
Components - Details
NHTSA Complaint Number: 000045085 Incident Date: Jun, 21 2000
Consumer's City: LITTLE ROCK Consumer's State: AR
Vehicle Transmission Type: Manufacturers Name: BMW of North America, LLC
Model Name: 528I Model Year: 1999
Vehicle Involved in a Crash: Yes Component's Description: Steering
Vehicle Involved in a Fire: No Persons Injured: 2
Vehicle's VIN#: WBADM634XXG Date added to File: May, 25 2021
Date Complaint Received: Aug, 13 2000 Complaint Type: IVOQ
Incident Reported To Police: Yes Purchase Date: May, 31 1999
Was Original Owner: Yes Anti-lock Brakes: Yes
Number of Cylinders: 0 Date of Manufacturer: -
Was Vehicle Towed: - Description of the Complaints: My car was hit (broad-sided at a perpendicular angle) by a 16 yo in an 1989 camaro. my bmw vehicle sustained major structural damage, including bending of the car-frame, blow-out of the driver's window (that landed on the passenger, lacerating his leg), and separation and rupture of the body side door panel assembly and door shell. i sustained blunt left shoulder injuries and bruising from impacting the pillar, and also back/leg injuries. despite the severity of the impact (that made both left-side doors inoperable), neither the side nor the head restraint airbag systems deployed, and the emergency central unlocking system did not activate. i have contacted bmw america, who after weeks of unhelpful suggestions, had the car inspected. the engineers' report (which to date, has not been shared with me despite my repeated requests), states that the impact "was not severe enough to activate the deployment" of the airbags. have there been any other such instances of failure reported to nhtsa? in the bmw advertisement of the passive reastraint system, the side (and head) airbags are clearly claimed to be deployed during side impacts of lesser severity than the one i experienced. all bmw and mercedes sales people and mechanics who have seen the damage to the car were of the opinion that the bags should have deployed. i have documented the damage with photos. can you please advise? thank you very much.