![[V]](/images/smilies/icon_smile_disapprove.gif "Disapprove [V]"){kind=icon}
I have been a very happy owner of a superb 530i for the last 5 years. Absolutely trouble free, no accidents and overall, a joyful experience. This situation changed in seconds last weekend morning as I was backing out of my garage. About half way down the driveway (about 80 feet long in total), the car paused a little and then shockingly revved to an incredible level (with an attendant screech from the engine), bolted down the driveway, cut across the street, jumped curve, and proceeded to land and skid down a heavily wooded garden, with a sideview mirrow and parts of the front bumper flying off as they collided with rocks and trees. This all happened in a couple of seconds and I braked hard as I understood that I was in a serious trouble. The car did come to a stop, jammed between the trees. I couldn't even open the door. I was dazed and stunned, but otherwise unhurt, although I missed a direct collision with the trunk of a monster hemlock by millimeters. As soon as I regained my composure I try to drive the car out of the wood but it was stuck amongst broken and crushed tree branches. I climbed out of the window and saw that my pristine bimmer was dented and scratched extensively on every sides, a rear wheel sadly askew. I was very unnerved by this event, but was grateful that no one was on the street and I walked away unharmed. After getting the car towed out (the drivers of the tow truck and my neighbors were amused and amazed at what had happened), and having my wits back I talked to my friends and we all searched on the web to see if this type of potentially deadly malfunction was ever documented (since it was Saturday afternoon and all BMW contacts were closed). We were surprised to learn that from a court proceeding in 2004 (BMW was not found at fault) a BMW enginner did admit that they do get complaints about sudden unprecedented acceleration, but that most (BUT NOT ALL!) are due to driver errors. Now in my case there was absolutely no way that I could make an error going backward at less than 5mph, a motion that I had performed nearly everyday for last 6 years! On Monday following I called BMW custumer relation. The operator was sympathetic and understanding but no real help. He said a service rep will come out and check out the car but the appt must be made through a dealer. I called the local dealer who responded to my plight with hostility, stating that such thing never happens, clearly implying that it was my faulty driving that caused the accident. After much denial the service guy told me that I have to tow my car in and then they would examine the computer record at my own expense. This seemed like an invitation to an useless exercise in denial. Next day an issurance assessment was made and the car was towed to a bodyshop that works a lot on german luxury cars. The autobody manager proposed that he would contact a BMW service rep and have the inspection done at the shop and he would also get in touch with BMW dealers to see if there was a "silent" recall for similar problems.
I am waiting to see what will happen, but I am not expecting much. Has anyone experienced a similar problem? I noticed that there was a thread with faulty acceleration in 2004 5 series, but no followup. Any advise on how I should proceed with this problem? Although my insurance will cover the repair cost, my insurance will jump significantly, and more importantly I can no longer feel safe and confident driving this once impeccable car.
This is a cautionary tale and although this type of problem may occur only in one in a thousand or hundreds of thousand cars, its a potentially deadly problem that in principle should not occur at all.
Doc K
