2007 BMW 328I — Complaint #1458945
Open-data reference.
NHTSA Complaint about ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:WIRING:INTERIOR/UNDER DASH filed April 3, 2018
NHTSA complaint #1458945 (ODI reference 11083085) concerns a 2007 BMW 328I and was filed on April 3, 2018. The owner reports the failure occurred on April 2, 2018. The vehicle had 115,000 miles on the odometer at the time of the incident. The report was geocoded to California based on the filer's self-reported location. The affected component is categorized as electrical system:wiring:interior/under dash, one of NHTSA's standardized taxonomy codes used to group defect patterns across make, model, and year.
The filer flagged the following severity indicators: crash: no, fire: yes, injuries: 0, fatalities: 0. A complaint that flags a crash, fire, or fatality is escalated on NHTSA's internal review queue and factors more heavily into any Preliminary Evaluation decision on this make and model. Because a VIN was supplied, this complaint is tied to a specific vehicle and not just a model-year cohort.
Individual complaints are consumer-submitted and unverified by NHTSA engineers — the agency's role at this stage is to collect, index, and make them searchable. What matters for federal action is the pattern: when many owners of the same BMW 328I cohort independently describe similar electrical system:wiring:interior/under dash failures, defect investigators have grounds to open a PE and request manufacturer data. Related filings for the same vehicle and component appear below, and the detail page for the full 2007 BMW 328I shows the complete component-level complaint distribution alongside any active investigations or recalls.
Complaint Description
TL* THE CONTACT OWNED A 2007 BMW 328I. WHILE DRIVING WITH THE CRUISE CONTROL SET AT 75 MPH AND THE HEATER AT 70 DEGREES, THERE WAS AN ABNORMAL POPPING NOISE AND A FLASH OF LIGHT UNDERNEATH THE PASSENGER SIDE DASHBOARD. THE PASSENGER AIR BAG WARNING INDICATOR ILLUMINATED. THE CONTACT STOPPED THE VEHICLE AND SHIFTED THE GEAR TO THE PARK POSITION. ADDITIONALLY, THE CONTACT SMELLED SMOKE INSIDE THE VEHICLE. UPON EXITING AND RE-ENTERING THE VEHICLE, THE CABIN FILLED UP WITH SMOKE AND SPONTANEOUSLY CAUGHT FIRE. A POLICE REPORT WAS NOT FILED. THE FIRE DEPARTMENT WAS CONTACTED AND EXTINGUISHED THE FIRE. NO INJURIES WERE SUSTAINED. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO AN INDEPENDENT TOW FACILITY. THE CONTACT CALLED BMW OF CONCORD (1967 MARKET ST, CONCORD, CA 94520), BUT NO FURTHER INSTRUCTIONS WERE PROVIDED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT DIAGNOSED OR REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED AND DID NOT ASSIST. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 115,000.
Complaint Details
| NHTSA Complaint ID | 1458945 |
| ODI Number | 11083085 |
| Date Filed | April 3, 2018 |
| Failure Date | April 2, 2018 |
| VIN | WBAVA37567N |
Source: NHTSA Vehicle Complaints Database. Component taxonomy and severity codes are standardized by NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation.
Read our methodology — how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.