Driving a vehicle is hazardous enough, but once you’re parked and out of the car, you think you’re all good, right? Well, as it turns out, you don’t even have to be inside of your car for it to potentially cause damage to others.
BMW AG has announced a recall of certain of its 2012 model 20X5 xDrive 35i sport-utility vehicles. Only six vehicles are affected by the design flaw, but as you’ll see, the safety hazard is a large one. The vehicles were built between December 19 and December 21, 2011.
A production error affected the transmission case, causing the surface not be be properly machined. This means that possible excess friction in the transmission can prevent the vehicle from properly engaging its parking lock. Therefore, if the driver of the vehicle does not set the parking brake, the vehicle could roll away after the operator steps out.
Drivers of the affected automobiles can have their transmissions replaced by the company free of charge.
As a San Diego car accident lawyer, I’m used to dealing with cases involving cars where the driver is actually inside the vehicle, but one can see how this would still be a safety hazard. I hope the problem is fixed before a serious incident occurs, and as a car accident lawyer in San Diego, I can’t emphasize enough how important it is to heed all recall directives.