1996 BMW 840Ci

Defect. THE CRUISE CONTROL AND THROTTLE CABLES ARE ATTACHED TO THE SAME THROTTLE VALVE ACTUATING LEVER AT THE THROTTLE HOUSING. IT IS POSSIBLE THAT THE PLASTIC BUSHING ON EITHER CABLE COULD BREAK DUE TO ENVIRONMENTAL INFLUENCES COUPLED WITH VIBRATION. IF THE BUSHING BREAKS, THE OUTER CABLE HOUSING CAN SEPARATE FROM THE BUSHING. IN THIS CASE, DURING APPLICATION OF THE THROTTLE PEDAL WITHOUT CRUISE CONTROL BEING ENGAGED, THE OUTER TUBE COULD CATCH ON THE EDGE OF THE BROKEN BUSHING.

Risk. THIS COULD CAUSE THE THROTTLE VALVE TO REMAIN PARTIALLY OPEN. IT HIS WERE TO OCCUR, THE CAR MIGHT NOT DECELERATE AS EXPECTED INCREASING THE RISK OF A VEHICLE CRASH.

Remedy. DEALERS WILL INSTALL A SPRING STEEL CLIP ON THE OUTER TUBE OF EACH CABLE IN THE AREA OF THE ADJUSTING SCREW AND PLASTIC BUSHING. THE CLIP IS DESIGNED TO PREVENT THE OUTER TUBE FROM DISLODGING FROM THE BUSHING.

The Lighting Control Board Module (LKM) of the 1996 BMW 840Ci failed in a manner that caused it to catch fire even though the vehicle was not running at the time, and in fact had not been driven in several days. The fire damaged surrounding modules and wiring inside the passenger compartment of the car, and filled the garage with smoke, necessitating dispatch of the local fire department. The failure happened in the early morning hours and was only discovered by chance that allowed the fire to be put out before the car became fully involved, which could have burned the house down and killed the sleeping occupants. The failure appears to involve the electromechanical relay for the Fog Lights that actuates the lights and powers the board uncommanded - requiring fully disconnecting both batteries in the trunk to remove power from the board, and has been reported on user forums multiple times, including at least one other fire with similar burn patterns reported. No spare parts for this board are available from the manufacturer, so all existing vehicles may eventually see this failure The vehicle has not been inspected by the manufacturer or insurance (no policy covers this failure, and the vehicle is out of warranty), and there were NO warning lights or behavior given by the vehicle in the time before the failure.