2006 BMW M5

The contact owns a 2006 BMW M5. The contact stated that while opening the trunk of the vehicle, the positive terminal on the battery was fully melted and was very hot. The contact believed that the issue was a fire hazard and was lucky to have found the issue before any other damage could occur. The contact referenced NHTSA Campaign Number: 12V126000 (Electrical System) as a possible cause for the failure. The dealer was notified of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and stated that the vehicle was inspected in 2012 under the recall but had passed the inspection, and the vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 97,000.

ENROUTE FROM PALO ALTO TO MOUNTAIN VIEW AND WAS AT A COMPLETE STOP WAITING AT A STOP LIGHT ON A MAJOR THOROUGHFARE (CENTRAL EXPRESSWAY) WHEN THE CAR STOPPED RUNNING. CARS BEHIND ME PROCEEDED TO PASS ME TO MAKE THE LEFT TURN WHILE MY CAR WAS SHUT DOWN. I WAS ABLE TO RE-START THE CAR AFTER ~5 - 10 MINUTES AND DRIVE ANOTHER 1000 FEET WHEN THE CAR STOPPED RUNNING AGAIN. PRIOR TO BOTH INCIDENTS THE PANEL INDICATED AN ALERT "TRANSMISSION FAIL" AND A "CHECK ENGINE" ALERT. THE CAR WOULD NOT START BACK UP AND HAD TO BE PUSHED THROUGH THE INTERSECTION TO A STREET WHERE IT COULD BE PARKED SAFELY. INITIAL AUTOBODY ELECTRONIC DIAGNOSIS AND REPAIRS RELATED TO BATTERY REPLACEMENT, HOWEVER, TRANSMISSION RELATED FAULT CODES STILL SHOWED UP. FORTES BROTHERS AUTOBODY DISCOVERED "SAFETY" RELATED NOTIFICATIONS ISSUED BY BMW AND THEREFORE RECOMMENDED TAKING CAR TO BMW. CAR WAS THEN TOWED TO BMW MOUNTAIN VIEW DEALERSHIP WHERE SERVICE DEPARTMENT DIAGNOSED AND THEN REPLACED BOTH HYDRAULIC PUMP AND CLUTCH. BASED ON SUBSEQUENT RESEARCH ON THE INTERNET, THERE ARE REFERENCES TO HYDRAULIC PUMP RECALLS BY BMW FOR BMW M5 2005 MODEL. ALTHOUGH MY CAR IS A BMW M5 2006 I AM REQUESTING FOLLOW UP TO CONFIRM THAT THE HYDRAULIC PUMP IS MANUFACTURED TO ALL REQUIRED SPECIFICATIONS AND DOES NOT POSE A SAFETY RISK. *TR

THE PASSENGER RESTRAINT SYSTEM, AIRBAG, SEAT BELT, BELT TENSIONER WARNING SHOWED UP IN THE CAR COMPUTER. WENT TO THE DEALER AND DEALER SAID THAT THEY WILL NEED TO REPLACE THE PASSENGER SEAT MAT SENSOR AND BATTERY SAFETY TERMINAL. THE COST IS AROUND $3500. WHEN I SEARCHED ONLINE I FOUND THAT THE BMW 5 SERIES 2004 - 2006 HAS A RECALL ON THIS ITEM ALREADY - PLEASE LINK. (HTTP://WWW-ODI.NHTSA.DOT.GOV/CARS/PROBLEMS/RECALLS/RECALLSUMMARY.CFM?RCL_CAMPAIGN_ID=08V384000&PROD_ID=113225&MODULETYPE=VEHICLE&MAKE=BMW&MODEL=5%20SERIES&VEH_MODEL_YEAR=2004&SEARCHTYPE=DRILLDOWN). HOWEVER, MY 2006 M5 EVEN THOUGH IS AN E60 AND THE SAME CHASIS AND MODEL AS THE 2004-2006 BMW 5 SERIES IS NOT INCLUDED IN THE RECALL. THAT'S THE REASON THAT THE DEALER IS ASKING ME FOR THE FULL PRICE. THIS FAULT WHICH IS ALREADY A RECALL FOR THE 5 SERIES CAR SHOULD BE ADDED FOR THE BMW M5 MODEL AS WELL. THIS IS A HUGE SAFETY ISSUE AS THE PASSENGER SIDE AIR BAG WON'T DEPLOY UNLESS THIS IS FIXED. ON TOP OF THIS, BMW HAS THIS PART IN BACK ORDER AND THE PART WON'T BE AVAILABLE UNTIL 11/5/2012. I FIND THIS RIDICULOUS AS I AM SUPPOSED TO BE DRIVING AROUND A CAR WITH A FAULTY PASSENGER AIR BAG FOR OVER 8 MONTHS!! *TR