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U.S. Safety Regulator Steps Up Probe of BMW Gearshift
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The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has upgraded its investigation of the automatic transmission in 122,000 BMW 7 Series sedans to an engineering analysis, which is often the precursor of a recall.
NHTSA has received 46 reports of 7 Series cars rolling away when the drivers believed the gearshift was in Park. The complaints include 14 crashes and five alleged injuries.
The probe involves cars from the 2002-2008 model years that are equipped with a push-button to start and stop the vehicle. In most cases, using the button to switch off the engine also automatically shifts the transmission into Park. But BMW says there are circumstances in which the transmission shifts into Neutral instead.
BMW says some models are equipped with a so-called "car wash mode" that deliberately leaves the transmission in Neutral if it is already there when the engine stop button is pressed. The company acknowledges the transmission also can end up in Neutral if the stop button is pressed rapidly or if the car's normal gearshift lever is toggled when the engine stop button is pushed.
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