— BMW is recalling more than 45,400 vehicles because the doors may look to be closed and latched when they aren't, meaning the doors can open while driving.
All the vehicles are equipped with "comfort access" and "soft close automatic" doors that can experience two problems. Owners complain about doors that cannot be closed, and doors that unexpectedly open when driving.
Recalled are 2005-2008 BMW 745i, 745Li, 750i, 750Li, 760i, 760Li and B7 Alpina vehicles, many of the same vehicles BMW recalled in 2012 for the exact same problems.
Nearly five years after the previous recall, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration contacted BMW about vehicle owners complaining about the doors. Safety regulators wanted to discuss with BMW how the vehicles were allegedly fixed during the 2012 recall, so the automaker reviewed all the customer complaints sent in since the recall.
Engineers concluded the doors could open while driving upon a failure of sensors used in the latches and door handles. The evidence was enough to cause BMW to order a new recall for the soft close doors.
Right now BMW isn't sure how to fix the problem, so there is no idea when the recall will begin. If you own one of the vehicles and have concerns about your doors opening when they shouldn't, call BMW at 800-525-7417.
Problems with BMW's soft close doors caused a lawsuit in 2016, but not for doors that opened while driving. In the lawsuit, the plaintiff described doors that smashed body parts due to a lack of sensors to detect when hands, fingers or other objects were still in the doors.
The lawsuit didn't last long as the judge granted BMW's motion to dismiss the suit and said that humans have been slamming their fingers in car doors since doors were invented, and the doors on BMW's vehicles are no exception.
