[bsdbsd]

Originally Posted by karan561

No problem, any way that wasn't a joke it seriously is a feature in the Cruze & it is called " Emergency Interior Trunk release "

Thanks! I have a lot to learn

Why not equip all these cars with mandatory Sunroof? It would be a graceful exit for people stuck inside, though they will have nothing in common with NASCAR drivers..

[nitinbose]

German cars are definitely good because of the drivability, safety, comforts etc.

However, I feel its the Indian counterparts who sometimes do stale deals. I'm developing a feeling that if such a brand new car is offered at a substantial discount, that would be a faulty car! The dealer probably is aware of this but wants to get rid of it so pushes to some buyer who bargains hard.

If the owner is lucky or ignorant enough, there many not be any noticeable problem.

Else, a breakdown of some element is very likely.

[NPV]

Originally Posted by srishiva

Not sure what the aggrieved owner wants. Glitches will be common even after homologation. Although this type of locking you in is really absurd. Cant expect anything to come out of the PIL.

Originally Posted by Octane_Power

Since the owner himself is a big-shot I hope he rather drags BMW to the court and makes them pay heftily for it, giving out a strong message to other European companies as well.

Yes, I think the case should really have been filed against the manufacturer (BMW) for providing faulty product rather than the trying to fault the government for not imposing road-worthiness (how this will be measured is again open for debate!)

Originally Posted by Octane_Power

As it was being discussed in the Volvo Bus Accident thread, even they seem to have not researched well before launching a "India friendly" vehicle. In their case they imported buses which were good enough for foreign countries but not for India.
This can be seen in bikes as well, companies know that bikes in India will be used to the limit, they need to be very rugged, the metal and other material should withstand the test but Honda and several other companies use such sub-standard parts in their bikes (just for an example, Unicorn's flimsy front suspension forks).

It is a general trend and we can't help it, companies launch products without any research about the use and the beating their vehicle will take here and hence we have so many cases of disgruntled customers and I think this will go on like this, things won't change soon.

These kind of things call for Standards/Regulations - we need our own stringent and extensive Automobile Safety Regulations that manufacturers will need to comply with to sell their products in our country. The lack of such is the reason why manufacturers go scot free despite providing faulty products.
Plus we need better consumer awareness & protection (laws to support it)!

[k_ajay]

Originally Posted by Octane_Power

Since the owner himself is a big-shot I hope he rather drags BMW to the court and makes them pay heftily for it, giving out a strong message to other European companies as well.

-Bhargav

Embassy group is pretty powerful and obviously their chairman too. They've already sent legal notices to BMW (Germany, Asia and India), asking monetary compensation for their CMD's life being put in threat and also the entire vehicle cost + interest. Whether this will result in a court battle, we should wait and watch.

I'm guessing BMW will definitely be harrased. Imagine the chairman's embarrassing situation and plight being stuck inside a premium vehicle for 4 hours, with on-lookers either expressing sympathy or hurling abuses, on a busy road in Bangalore. Surely not something he'll take lightly.

Originally Posted by NPV

These kind of things call for Standards/Regulations - we need our own stringent and extensive Automobile Safety Regulations that manufacturers will need to comply with to sell their products in our country. The lack of such is the reason why manufacturers go scot free despite providing faulty products.
Plus we need better consumer awareness & protection (laws to support it)!

True, it calls for regulations and a stronger ARAI type body or whatever. The lack of any industry body to go to and escalate complaints is why manufacturers here go scott free inspite of having a history of troublesome parts and/or products (DSG gearbox, for ex). Toyota was taken to task by the govt in full public view, in the US.

Such a thing I guess will be hard to come by here, and it all goes back to our political system, its aspirations and the babus running the show. I have heard directly from an exec of a top importer of a particular product that their product prices are high because in India, they have to give 'cutting' at so many levels, that prices can never be cheap here.. Something similar, everywhere.

[diffsoft]

Originally Posted by k_ajay

Embassy group is pretty powerful and obviously their chairman too. They've already sent legal notices to BMW (Germany, Asia and India), asking monetary compensation for their CMD's life being put in threat and also the entire vehicle cost + interest. Whether this will result in a court battle, we should wait and watch.

I'm guessing BMW will definitely be harrased.

@k_ajay: I think it is well nigh impossible to do much harm to BMW legally. And for what will they be held culpable? "For threat to life" seems to be very remote to establish in court. Certainly he was under no threat to life because he was locked up.

The vehicle was sold and accepted by the buyer, and no product can be defect free which is why the manufacturer will claim they have warranty, under which they will see why this car got locked up. Unless we have specific laws that cover defective cars there is really no legal cover for trusting buyers.

Cheers,

[djpeesh]

Going by what eventually happened in the GM case where GM itself reported wrongdoing to the government and said it fudged data for 9 years, and after a lot of big talk by the various ministries received not even a rap on the knuckles is proof that consumer protection and a statutory organization to check automakers isn't happening anytime soon. So the courts must as well step in and do some rule making.

[vasoo]

Wow, another German candidate for a "flat bed journey" with the owner inside! Well done BMW. May be they should consider giving a hammer (similar to umbrella in Superb) free with their luxury cars and few discount coupons for flat bed truck rentals.

Not sure if filing a PIL has any legal admissibility in this case. It should be under Consumer Protection Act.

[honeybee]

If I understand correctly the PIL has been filed against the government to ensure roadworthiness of imported vehicles is strictly checked - wouldn't be a bad idea to insist all vehicles have manual unlocking options from inside which overrule any electronic circuitry.

The PIL has not been filed against BMW.

[manishk123]

On the bmw key fob there is a little switch which releases a manual old school metal key which can be used for locking the glovebox etc when giving the car for valet parking. This key also works on the doors. I wonder if the owner knew about this or tried it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JarvxKxVBF0

[honeybee]

Originally Posted by manishk123

On the bmw key fob there is a little switch which releases a manual old school metal key which can be used for locking the glovebox etc when giving the car for valet parking. This key also works on the doors. I wonder if the owner knew about this or tried it.

From the inside? That would be innovation.

[manishk123]

Originally Posted by honeybee

From the inside? That would be innovation.

They can always crack a window or even break the rear quarter glass and pass the key out if its an emergency. I thought it was quite obvious. Didn't realise I have to spell it out for few people.

[Chetan_Rao]

Road-worthiness? In India? What road-worthiness? Wait! What is this 'road' you speak about? Is it some sort of motoring heaven unknown to us lesser mortals trekking on moonscapes, forever out of reach?

[honeybee]

Originally Posted by manishk123

They can always crack a window or even break the rear quarter glass and pass the key out if its an emergency. I thought it was quite obvious. Didn't realise I have to spell it out for few people.

Oh sorry, I missed the obvious!

By the way, shouldn't these cars have sunroof as a mandatory feature? If it's retractable it would avoid breaking glass. Who knows: one might even be able to get out from it.

And in case it's not retractable then there's one more glass to break so gives one some choice.

[sandeep108]

AFAIK, all BMWs have a manual failsafe for opening doors which is a double pull on the door release handle. The first pull deactivates the door lock mechanically and the second then opens the door.

If from outside, every BMW fob has a metal key hidden inside the fob which can be used to lock the trunk/glove box for securing your stuff if you give the car to a valet. So this can be used to open the door from outside.

Maybe somebody can correct me on this.

[riteshritesh]

Originally Posted by manishk123

They can always crack a window or even break the rear quarter glass and pass the key out if its an emergency.

And how exactly does one break open a glass from inside? I doubt a hard kick or multiples of them or multiple punches would even scratch the window, leave aside break it.

I remember a lot of people died in the 26/7 deluge in Mumbai after getting locked up in their cars since they couldn't break their windows.

Someone mentioned having a sun-roof would make it easy. The sun-roof is also made of the same toughened glass, breaking which would be as difficult as cracking the window.

2013 A4's too have the internal manual boot release. I made the Audi sales person lock himself inside the car and demo in reality whether the function really works.