Vehicle threw code 21A50A (Starter Pinion Timeout) and a Drivetrain Malfunction warning. Car still starts and drives. This is the exact mechanical failure described in Starter Recall 26V-438 / 26V-441, but my 2022 330e VIN is currently excluded.
2022 BMW 330e
Owners filed 2 complaints about this vehicle with federal regulators, most often about the unknown or other. No safety recall has been issued.
| Component | Reports | Crashes | Fires | Injuries | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unknown or Other | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | |
| Electrical System | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
What owners reported
Newest filingsHours after a software update to the vehicle, a sudden unintended acceleration event occurred as I pulled into the alley of my office's driveway/garage. The brakes failed to work, and the vehicle rapidly accelerated in less than 2 seconds. In order to avoid endangering anyone, I steered the vehicle into City trash cans that were in front of a telephone pole. The vehicle was completely damaged, and both my passenger and I sustained severe injuries, including a vertebral compression fracture and torn neck ligaments. The vehicle is currently undergoing inspection by my insurance company. My safety was jeopardized entirely. If the vehicle had not collided with the telephone pole, it would have entered a street full of cars, thereby endangering pedestrians and other drivers. As of now, the issue has not been reproduced or confirmed by the dealer, and no attorney is willing to pursue the case due to the exorbitant costs associated with litigating against a major auto manufacturer. The police were present at the crash site, and the insurance company is currently examining the vehicle. There were no warnings displayed on the dashboard, nor was there any unusual behavior exhibited by the vehicle prior to the incident.
2 of 2 complaints, reproduced as filed.
Reading this record
No unusual pattern of severe incidents in the complaint record.
Complaint counts track how many cars were sold and how long they have been on the road as much as they track quality. A common model from 2013 has had a decade to accumulate reports; a rare one from last year has not. The signal worth weighing is in the severity columns, in whether the same component keeps appearing, and in whether the manufacturer eventually opened a recall for it.
Most recent recall on file: none. Source: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation.