Consumer Complaint Detail

BMW / 320 / 1999

Recalls
0 Injured
Investigations
0 Death
Complaints
No Fire
Components - Details
NHTSA Complaint Number: 999096501 Incident Date: Nov, 27 1999
Consumer's City: LOS ANGELES Consumer's State: CA
Vehicle Transmission Type: Manufacturers Name: BMW of North America, LLC
Model Name: 320 Model Year: 1999
Vehicle Involved in a Crash: No Component's Description: Structure
Vehicle Involved in a Fire: No Persons Injured: 0
Vehicle's VIN#: WBSBG9330XE Date added to File: May, 23 2021
Date Complaint Received: Dec, 17 1999 Complaint Type: IVOQ
Incident Reported To Police: No Purchase Date: Apr, 30 1999
Was Original Owner: Yes Anti-lock Brakes: Yes
Number of Cylinders: 0 Date of Manufacturer: -
Was Vehicle Towed: - Description of the Complaints: My son and i were traveling south on the 405 freeway in the carpool lane in moderate/heavy traffic when without warning the right front plastic grill flew up over the hood and struck the windshield. i thought the vehicle in front of me had run over something. it wasn't until i returned home that i discovered the grill piece missing and realized what had actually hit the windshield. i returned the car to the dealer to have them replace both the grill and the windshield(the impact had scratched the windshield). when i detailed the incident i was informed that bmw would not replace the windshield. i expressed my opinion about how dangerous this could be and was still met with resistance. the service manager demonstrated to me that with a small bump of the palm that the grill would pop out very easily. it was at this point i lost confidence in the safety of the vehicle and decided to contact nhtsa. i contacted bmw customer service as well. they have not responded as of this time. my greatest concern is that the grill could impact the windshield, crack or shatter the windshield and cause a major distraction to the driver(that being me) and potentially cause the driver to lose control and cause a traffic accident. i am also suprised that bmw would be unaware of the problem and be reluctant to fix it and any related damage at their expense. i would be very interested to know if this is an isolated incident or a more common problem that bmw is unwilling to address. thank you.