You may remember a peculiar recall action by BMW last year that involved only six X5 SUVs that posed the risk of rolling while being locked in “Park.” Well, one of these cars confirmed the manufacturer’s worst fears and rolled out twice while being parked with the automatic gearbox locked in the “P” position.

Both of the car’s “adventures” were caught on tape by a surveillance camera installed at the vehicle owner’s home. According to a report from CBC Canada, one of the events resulted in the car being damaged from hitting a tree.

The owner, a Canadian named Adriano Persi, said the 2012 X5‘s transmission came unlocked from the park position twice, causing the vehicle to roll away with no one in it. “I have a rolling machine that goes whenever it wants to go,” Persi complained. “The vehicle wasn’t slipping … it was actually rolling on all four tires,” he added.

He said that on both occasions he had left the car in park, locked and with the ignition off. As he thinks the vehicle is unsafe, he has asked Budd’s BMW dealership in Oakville to replace his damaged car. Their answer was surprising: there was nothing wrong with the transmission parking lock mechanism. However, an independent appraiser working for Persi’s insurance company concluded the parking lock system had failed.

BMW-X5-RollAccording to the report, BMW Canada said it believed the vehicle was safe and suggested Persi should have used the parking brake, especially while the car was parked on his inclined driveway. 

“We are satisfied that all components were found to be functioning perfectly, and the vehicle to be performing safely,” said BMW Canada spokesman Robert Dexter, in an email.

Although the insurance company has determined Persi was not at fault for the vehicle damage and will cover the repair costs, the owner refuses to authorize the repairs.

“I don’t want money. I don’t want anything else. The vehicle is not safe for me — and it’s not safe to be on the road,” said Persi. The moral of this story? Use the parking brake to ensure that your vehicle doesn’t decide to take a ride like the one captured in the video below.

By Dan Mihalascu

Photo Credits: Adriano Persi

VIDEO