BMW X5 breaks down, locks itself up! Owner files PIL

NPV · 25th November 2013, 08:59

A Public Interest Litigation has been filed in the Karnataka High Court after an imported luxury SUV locked itself up and caused a 4 hour traffic jam on MG Road, Bangalore.

Quote:

The realty company has spent Rs.71.25 lakh in 2010 and imported a BMW X5 Sports Utility Vehicle
...
On April 19, the SUV reportedly jerked to a halt and locked itself.
...

Source:Indian Express, Link

motomaverick · 25th November 2013, 09:20

Quote:

Originally Posted by NPV

A Public Interest Litigation has been filed in the Karnataka High Court after an imported luxury SUV locked itself up and caused a 4 hour traffic jam on MG Road, Bangalore.

Source:Indian Express, Link

The news report dates to an April incident, why so long for a PIL? I guess the company Embassy got tired of waiting for a reply from BMW. It would interesting to see if any outcomes come out of this. Also, we should question the company on why they imported the X5 when I am guessing it was very much available for sale in India in 2010.

diffsoft · 25th November 2013, 17:35

I would rather a PIL that would ban roads that are not car worthy (or motor worthy). I know of at least 3 deaths in Bangalore this monsoon because of roads becoming death traps.

Cheers,

GTO · 25th November 2013, 17:39

BMWs love their owners so much, they lock them up inside

T-Series bossman, Bhushan Kumar, was locked inside his (BMW-built) Rolls Royce earlier this year:

Quote:

Yesterday, we had reported about Bhushan Kumar's angry letter to Rolls Royce manufacturer after his Rs 5-crore Ghost caused him some serious humiliation and inconvenience, including being locked up in the car in a busy street and pleading with passersby to extricate him.

Source & Full Article: Mumbai Mirror

Mpower · 25th November 2013, 19:34

This is the umpteenth time I am hearing about BMW locks freezing shut! Shame on them !

Joke: what is the similarity between BMW and NASCAR----> Driver seen climbing out of the window

ACM · 25th November 2013, 19:40

This is quite sad, hope one of these cases go on to set the record straight that Indian Customers can no longer be taken for a ride.

We had VW delay the DSG recall issue (which they now seem to be correcting). We have all the three Lux brands offering a much lower level of customer support (interms of warranty and (especially honouring warranties) and roadside support). The documented stories for both BMW and Merc issues in India are quite horrific and yet of course Audi's are reputed to be heavier on the pocket to maintain so one can just imagine. I have notoriously always had issues with my vehicles so I dread going in for something where there are possibilities of such major issues with absence of support from the vendor.

PPS · 25th November 2013, 20:35

Ideally the Company officials should have approached Consumer Court! Some cars may be road-worthy to some but for some others it may not be road-worthy.
Do not know what relief they have sought in the PIL so can't comment.

A PIL should be filed against the VAG cars as DSG/Mechatronic failure is far more serious & its present in cars all over the world.

wilful · 25th November 2013, 20:36

Oh God! Not another Teutonic disaster! One can only imagine the panic and empathise with the unfortunate occupants of that vehicle!
Well, at least the BMW is in good company going by that Mumbai Mirror report.

CrAzY dRiVeR · 26th November 2013, 07:21

Quote:

Originally Posted by GTO

BMWs love their owners so much, they lock them up inside

Quote:

Originally Posted by wilful

One can only imagine the panic and empathise with the unfortunate occupants of that vehicle!

The owner of the vehicle - Jitu Virwani is the 70th richest man in India on the Forbes list with net worth close to a billion. The group has big influence in bangalore - and I'm sure BMW has got a game on their hands.

karan561 · 26th November 2013, 09:08

Owning a BMW thats a scary feeling !

That way the Chevy Cruze has a neat safety feature that if the doors & windows get jammed you can drop the rear seat down & crawl into the boot & open the boot from inside with the help of a lever & come out safe.

IMO all cars should incorporate sucha safety exit mechanism (with no electronics involved)

thesilentone · 26th November 2013, 09:38

A friend of mine had a similar experience a few years ago. All the doors just locked and he could not open any of the doors from inside. To his luck he at least had his mobile with him and called his son to bring the duplicate key to open the door from outside. Really scary incident

diffsoft · 26th November 2013, 09:56

Quote:

Originally Posted by GTO

BMWs love their owners so much, they lock them up inside

T-Series bossman, Bhushan Kumar, was locked inside his Rolls Royce earlier this year:

These incidents give a whole new perspective to "build quality" or as we like to say, "tijori".

RSR · 26th November 2013, 09:56

It is truly a scary situation

for the occupants when they are unable to unlock the car from inside or get out by any means, other than breaking the glass. This is not easy either, as automotive glass is quite tough.

I hope the court sets a precedent in this case by taking the manufacturer to task!

Quote:

Originally Posted by wilful

Well, at least the BMW is in good company going by that Mumbai Mirror report.

As Rolls-Royce is owned by BMW now, I guess it's all in the family.

vb-saan · 26th November 2013, 11:54

The article says they’re suing the government for allowing import of vehicles not suited for Indian roads. I hope a law is not passed to ban all luxury vehicles

Interested to see how the roadworthiness can be measured, especially since we don’t have any set standards for our roads.

Mr.Beat · 26th November 2013, 12:01

This is getting a daily routine now. Almost every other day there is a incident about a VAG group car/ luxury car breaking down. Most of the complaints are not catered to and customers being ill-treated. I really wonder if i would anytime ever buy any of these even though they hold aspiration value for me ( As a common Middle class person).

There really should be strict rules/code of conduct/ legal routes to curb the rising amount of these incidents.

Even though our roads and infrastructure is not as suited to these cars, IMHO it is the manufacturer's responsibility to sell vehicles in India which are suited to Indian conditions.

25th November 2013, 17:35	#3
diffsoft BHPian Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Bangalore Posts: 773 Thanked: 404 Times	re: BMW X5 breaks down, locks itself up! Owner files PIL I would rather a PIL that would ban roads that are not car worthy (or motor worthy). I know of at least 3 deaths in Bangalore this monsoon because of roads becoming death traps. Cheers,
	(7) Thanks

25th November 2013, 19:34	#5
Mpower Senior - BHPian Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Bangalore Posts: 10,409 Thanked: 1,730 Times View My Garage	Re: BMW X5 breaks down, locks itself up! Owner files PIL This is the umpteenth time I am hearing about BMW locks freezing shut! Shame on them ! Joke: what is the similarity between BMW and NASCAR----> Driver seen climbing out of the window Last edited by Mpower : 28th November 2013 at 21:02.
	(29) Thanks

25th November 2013, 19:40	#6
ACM Distinguished - BHPian Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Mumbai Posts: 4,745 Thanked: 4,361 Times View My Garage	Re: BMW X5 breaks down, locks itself up! Owner files PIL This is quite sad, hope one of these cases go on to set the record straight that Indian Customers can no longer be taken for a ride. We had VW delay the DSG recall issue (which they now seem to be correcting). We have all the three Lux brands offering a much lower level of customer support (interms of warranty and (especially honouring warranties) and roadside support). The documented stories for both BMW and Merc issues in India are quite horrific and yet of course Audi's are reputed to be heavier on the pocket to maintain so one can just imagine. I have notoriously always had issues with my vehicles so I dread going in for something where there are possibilities of such major issues with absence of support from the vendor.
	(2) Thanks

25th November 2013, 20:35	#7
PPS Senior - BHPian Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: mumbai Posts: 2,468 Thanked: 3,719 Times	Re: BMW X5 breaks down, locks itself up! Owner files PIL Ideally the Company officials should have approached Consumer Court! Some cars may be road-worthy to some but for some others it may not be road-worthy. Do not know what relief they have sought in the PIL so can't comment. A PIL should be filed against the VAG cars as DSG/Mechatronic failure is far more serious & its present in cars all over the world. Last edited by PPS : 25th November 2013 at 20:37.
	(2) Thanks

25th November 2013, 20:36	#8
wilful Senior - BHPian Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: cochin Posts: 1,277 Thanked: 1,227 Times	Re: BMW X5 breaks down, locks itself up! Owner files PIL Oh God! Not another Teutonic disaster! One can only imagine the panic and empathise with the unfortunate occupants of that vehicle! Well, at least the BMW is in good company going by that Mumbai Mirror report.
	(2) Thanks

26th November 2013, 09:08	#10
karan561 Distinguished - BHPian Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Mumbai Posts: 5,068 Thanked: 22,246 Times View My Garage	Owning a BMW thats a scary feeling ! That way the Chevy Cruze has a neat safety feature that if the doors & windows get jammed you can drop the rear seat down & crawl into the boot & open the boot from inside with the help of a lever & come out safe. IMO all cars should incorporate sucha safety exit mechanism (with no electronics involved) Last edited by n_aditya : 27th November 2013 at 12:19. Reason: formatting corrected
	(7) Thanks

26th November 2013, 09:38	#11
thesilentone BHPian Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: Chennai Posts: 267 Thanked: 329 Times	Re: BMW X5 breaks down, locks itself up! Owner files PIL A friend of mine had a similar experience a few years ago. All the doors just locked and he could not open any of the doors from inside. To his luck he at least had his mobile with him and called his son to bring the duplicate key to open the door from outside. Really scary incident
	(2) Thanks

26th November 2013, 11:54	#14
vb-saan Team-BHP Support Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: S'pore/Thrissur Posts: 7,271 Thanked: 12,399 Times	Re: BMW X5 breaks down, locks itself up! Owner files PIL The article says they’re suing the government for allowing import of vehicles not suited for Indian roads. I hope a law is not passed to ban all luxury vehicles Interested to see how the roadworthiness can be measured, especially since we don’t have any set standards for our roads.
	(1) Thanks

26th November 2013, 12:01	#15
Mr.Beat BHPian Join Date: Feb 2011 Location: Navi Mumbai Posts: 380 Thanked: 232 Times	Re: BMW X5 breaks down, locks itself up! Owner files PIL This is getting a daily routine now. Almost every other day there is a incident about a VAG group car/ luxury car breaking down. Most of the complaints are not catered to and customers being ill-treated. I really wonder if i would anytime ever buy any of these even though they hold aspiration value for me ( As a common Middle class person). There really should be strict rules/code of conduct/ legal routes to curb the rising amount of these incidents. Even though our roads and infrastructure is not as suited to these cars, IMHO it is the manufacturer's responsibility to sell vehicles in India which are suited to Indian conditions.
	(1) Thanks