BMW downplayed electrical fault in 300k cars after ex-Gurkha killed in crash
The German car giant said the fault was not 'critical' but Narauan Gurung was killed when he had to swerve to avoid a BMW that had lost power on a dual carriageway in 2016
BMW tried to play down a potentially fatal fault in tens of thousands of cars before a driver died, an inquest heard.
The German car giant insisted that an electrical glitch was not “critical”.
Months later retired Gurkha Narayan Gurung, 66, was killed when he swerved to avoid a BMW which had cut out on a dual carriageway. The fault had left the car without any power or lights, the inquest heard.
Mr Gurung, a dad of two, ploughed his Ford Fiesta into a tree near Guildford, Surrey, on Christmas Day 2016. His wife Ella survived.
The Woking coroner was told that in 2011 BMW had identified a fault leading to complete electrical power loss in 370,000 of its 1 and 3 Series cars and Z4 models.
In 2014 the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency wanted all the cars recalled, telling BMW: “We do not want a fatality.”
But BMW fixed just 36,000 of the affected cars and in 2016 convinced the DVSA to drop its probe.
Ed Ramsay, on behalf of Mr Gurung’s family, told BMW engineer Mark Hill: “The risk that had been identified was a risk of death.”
Mr Hill said of the fault: “This is deemed not critical because the driver is still able to steer the car and brake.”