08 - perfectly good car until the air bag issue
Seems there are not any good options to come of it either

Yikes, glad all is okay in terms of family and domicile.



No real advice other than try to get as much as possible out of the insurance company. Document everything, especially if the dealer takes the vehicle for an inspection. They could be liable if it had something to do with the airbag installation.


Did the fire start inside the cabin or in the engine bay? There have been reported issues of engine bay fires in many different BMW models resulting from overheating components, the exact component escapes my memory though.

The fire started in the passenger side of dash where air bag was replaced .
After numerous phone calls to lawyers & insurance it looks like all they have to pay is the cost of the vehicle, no more
Honest working man screwed over again...................
insurance will pay and go after them, but only what they paid out and its a claim against me that I had nothing to do with.
They did say they would give me 3K if i bought a new BMW ? But only after i purchased it

So from what I can tell there was a recall on '09-'11 X5's with the 3.0 liter six, claiming the heater for the CCV could get too hot, melting the component and starting a fire, supposedly due to corroded wiring connections..

11/3/17 - https://jalopnik.com/bmw-recalls-1-4...isk-1820124021

"BMW of North America, LLC (BMW) is recalling certain 2008-2011 128i and 2007-2011 328i, 328xi, 328i xDrive, 525i, 525xi, 528i, 528xi, 530i, 530xi, X3 3.0si, X3 xDrive30i, X5 xDrive30i, Z4 3.0i, Z4 3.0si and Z4 sDrive30i vehicles. The heater for the positive crankcase ventilation (PCV) valve may short circuit.

The PCV valve is used to vent the crankcase, which houses the crankshaft in an internal combustion engine. The electrical short can cause parts of the PCV valve to melt, which, naturally, could lead to a fire."

And there was also a recall for corroded wiring connectors in the HVAC system controls on cars causing underhood fires..

"BMW of North America, LLC (BMW) is recalling certain 2006-2011 323i, 325i, 325xi, 328i, 328xi, 330i, 330xi, 335i, 335xi and M3, 2007-2011 328i xDrive, 335i xDrive and 335is and 2009-2011 335d vehicles. The wiring and electrical connectors for the system that controls air flow for the heating and air conditioning system may overheat."

Should we assume 2012 and up the issue was addressed, or that they just weren't old enough to see the corrosion issues?

I bet they did. I'm surprised that a lawyer is not willing to take up the case. Maybe they don't want to do it pro-bono? Could you hire one on retainer? I feel your pain as we ran into the same thing here with our house flooding due to new construction above our community. No one would do pro-bono for us and the other 5 affected homes. Wanted $15k minimum retainer. :rolleyes:

Crappy situation. You might try calling BMW NA and getting their take on it. You never know. And if you hint at liability or the like who knows, they may work with the dealer on something. It's a shot in the dark... but as they say, "nothing ventured, nothing gained."

I have spoken with BMW NA & the dealer put me in a rental car while they do their investigation. I am happy with both dealer and BMW NA for their effort to accommodate me so far. Hopefully everything works out and no lawyer will be needed.
Thanks for the replies

Finally got around to repainting the grill black. Previous paint job lasted me 6 years so I can't complain

Replaced fluid in f&r differentials:
- Redline 75W-110

Replaced transfer case fluid:
- Shell S-Tec (TF 0870)

Drained p/s reservoir (1liter) and filled with fresh fluid:
- Pentosin CHF11S

Sold it for a 4.8iS!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

Nice. What kind of paint did you use? Did you scuff the chrome first?