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Mum’s horror as BMW erupts into flames with 3 kids inside seconds after hearing ‘clunking’ noise following recall fault
A MUM-of-three told of her terror when her BMW burst into flames just a day after it had been to a garage to be fixed for a recall problem.
Sherelle Stanley, 32, was driving home from the beach with her three children when the 1 series “clunked” and fire started spewing out of the bonnet.
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She quickly ditched it in a bus stop and jumped out with her kids, 11, nine and seven, as the motor was engulfed in a fireball and “burned to death” in front of their eyes.
She said: “It was absolutely terrifying.
“Me and my children could have been killed.
“We got out of the car and just watched it disintegrate and burn to death in front of us.
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“Luckily we all got out in time but my daughter was traumatised and wouldn’t get in a car afterwards in case it set on fire.”
To make matters worse, the burned out wreckage was then stolen from the side of the road and BMW is now refusing to replace it.
Mental health manager Sherelle told how she had been sent a recall letter for a problem with the motor’s Exhaust Gas Recirculation module at the beginning of February.
The issue has affected more than 1.6million BMWs worldwide - with , leaving drivers often waiting weeks for them to be fixed.
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Sherelle’s local BMW dealer Dick Lovett in Bristol said it could not fit her in for almost two months at the end of March.
She claims she was told the six-year old car, which she brought second hand for £13,000 in 2019, was fine to drive as long as a red warning light did not come up on the dash.
t was absolutely terrifying. Me and my children could have been killed.
Sherelle Stanley
A few weeks later she was driving along the motorway when the car suddenly lost power and went from 60mph to 20mph.
Sherelle, from Whitchurch, Bristol, demanded the car be taken in by the dealer which claimed to fix the problem that afternoon.
But a day later it suddenly exploded.
Fire engines were seen rushing to the scene to put it out while she watched on in horror.
Single Sherelle said she contacted the BMW dealer which said it would collect the car two days later before ringing her back and saying it could not recover it because of the fire damage.
But when Sherelle went to retrieve the car, she found it had been stolen from the side of the road.
She said: “The police told me whoever took it was professional because they removed every piece and even gritted the ground around it to soak up the leaked oil and fluids.
“I contacted BMW and they said they could not do anything because they need the car to be able to replace mine.
“They gave me a Enterprise hire car which I’ve been driving around in for a month and they haven’t been in touch at all to get it back.”
Sherelle now has to go through her insurance and claim for a stolen car.
She said: “It’s outrageous, BMW should replace the car. I was told it was safe to drive even with the recall notice. They took it into their garage and then it burst into flames the next day.
“It was lucky it was not more serious, they could have had a dead family on their hands.”
A BMW spokesman said: "Although vehicle fires are rare, they can stem from a multitude of causes, including external factors.
"It is crucial to thoroughly investigate individual cases to determine the root cause accurately.
"Whenever BMW UK becomes aware of such incidents involving our vehicles, our technical inspectors are made available to support vehicle insurers in establishing the root cause.
"In this case, the vehicle’s service records confirm that the recall-related components were replaced on February 16th 2023, ensuring compliance with our quality standards.
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"Until such a time that the vehicle can be inspected, it will not be possible to confirm the cause of the fire."
Dick Lovett were approached for comment.
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