[6] 2008 Bmw 7 Series At Monthly Headline

Just a week after the recall of its 7-Series due to a software problem that could cause a door to open unexpectedly, BMW has issued a second recall on its flagship sedan, this time because of another software problem that could cause the car to roll away after the driver has exited it.

There are roughly 45,500 vehicles affected by this recall, all of them from the 2005 to 2008 model years.

The recall is for all 7-Series models equipped with the Comfort Access option and built from August 23, 2004, through to July 24, 2008.

According to BMW, they have an electronic key and an electronic connection between the gear shifter and the transmission (shift-by-wire) that automatically shifts the transmission to park mode when the driver presses the “Start/Stop” button to turn off the engine. However, the software is setup that should the driver press the button two or three times within a short time interval, the transmission will go into neutral rather than park.

If the car is left on a hill and neutral is triggered, it could unintentionally roll away. This could lead to a crash or injury should the vehicle come into contact with another vehicle or pedestrian. There’s also the chance that the driver could be injured attempting to stop the vehicle once they’ve exited it.

BMW will start contacting owners of the affected vehicles next month. These owners will be asked to visit their nearest BMW dealership, which will update the software on their cars free of charge. For further information you can contact the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration at 1-888-327-4236 (reference recall campaign number 12V502000) or BMW at 1-800-525-7417.