Terrifying moment BMW bursts into flames as the motorist driving it into a garage where it had been urgently recalled for a fire hazard has a narrow exhaust
- Kim Sharon, 65, from London, was in “total shock” after her BMW caught fire.
- BMW denied liability and claimed damages too severe to determine cause
A motorist narrowly escaped when his BMW burst into flames, just a mile from the garage he was heading to after being told his car was a fire risk.
Dramatic footage shows the moment Kim Sharon’s car blew up as she took it in for replacement following an urgent safety recall.
Weeks before, the German manufacturer had written to him telling him that the car’s EGR radiator had to be replaced at no cost due to the risk of fire. The recall affects more than 1.6 million BMWs worldwide and 300,000 in the UK.
But after the fire, the company denied liability, saying the damage to its 640d sports coupe was too severe to properly determine the cause of the fire.
Ms Sharon, a 65-year-old grandmother from north-west London, said she was left with thousands of pounds out of pocket and the terrifying incident had left her fearful of ever getting behind the wheel of a car again.
Dramatic footage shows the moment Kim Sharon’s car blew up as she took it in for replacement following an urgent safety recall.
But after the fire, the company denied liability, saying the damage to its 640d sports coupe was too severe to properly determine the cause of the fire.
“I was on my way to the garage and I could smell the smoke, then seconds later there were flames licking at the windshield,” he said. “I stopped and jumped out of the car just as it exploded in a huge fire. I stood there on the side of the road in complete shock watching it burn.
She called BMW’s response “disgusting”, adding: “I had been told to go to the dealer to replace this part because there is a risk of fire, then when it explodes on the road, all of a sudden they say that was not the cause.
Even more disturbing, she says that most days of the week she has her three-year-old grandson with her in a child safety seat. “The way the fire broke out so quickly, there would have been absolutely no chance for me to get it out.”
Her daughter Natalie said: “We could have lost my mother, but BMW has been horrible.” They seem to care more about money than the welfare and safety of their customers.
After the fire, BMW ordered a review of the vehicle, which ruled out EGR failure as the cause. The inspector said the most likely reason was ‘liquid on a hot surface (oil in exhaust)’.
Ms Sharon (pictured), a 65-year-old grandmother from north-west London, said she was left with thousands of pounds out of pocket and the terrifying incident had left her fearful of ever getting behind the wheel of a car again.
Last night, a BMW spokesman said: ‘BMW Group takes any incident involving its vehicles and all product safety issues very seriously.
“As is our usual procedure, at the time of the incident we contacted the customer and the insurance company of the respective vehicle to offer our support so that the root cause of the incident could be established.
‘As a consequence, a full and detailed inspection of the vehicle was carried out, in November 2022, which determined that no product failure or anything related to the safety recall regarding the EGR cooler had caused the incident.
“This finding, along with the full report, was shared with the client, who had been provided with a rental vehicle while our investigation was underway.”
