An ABC investigative report into a number of unsolved cases of parked BMWs bursting into flames was aired Thursday night, claiming that dozens of cases of the high-end vehicles catching on fire spontaneously have been reported without an apparent cause.
According to BMW representatives who say they have investigated the apparent incidents, there has not yet been a product defect identified as the cause of the fires. The cars vary in model and year, and have no apparent consistent features that could lead to spontaneous combustion. The ABC report stated that multiple car owners have claimed to receive no support from the car company after filing a claim for their burnt cars.
More than 40 incidents have been unearthed by ABC, which identified BMWs luxury cars from New York to Los Angeles that have gone up in flames, many which caught on fire after days of remaining parked and unused.
In March 2016 in New York City, ABC7 New York reported, a fire ignited the car of a parked BMW that had been sitting unused for several hours, leaving officials confused and unable to determine the cause.
In May 2016, another BMW fire was reported again in the city of New York, this time with a car that had not been driven for days, burning so intensely that officials were unable to pull clues as to what ignited the engine.
In Raleigh, North Carolina, BMW owner Danielle Emerson said her vehicle caught fire in the garage as she was sleeping, forcing her to spring to action and attempt to put out the flames as she waited for firefighters.
“That could have killed us,” she said to ABC reporters. “I need to know what happened.”
BMW says there are 4.9 million of their vehicles on the road in the United States, and they have not taken responsibility for the fires, claiming that they have identified no reason to believe the company is at fault. No injuries associated with the fires have been reported.
An investigation has been launched in South Korea into the trend of exploding BMWs, although they have still not identified any common cause.
