An unfortunate incident can happen to anyone, but when it comes to road traffic, people are usually to blame. Worse still, when a car «attacks» its owner. Recently, one of the X5 buyers sued the Bavarian manufacturer because his brand-new BMW cut off his finger!
No, we are not joking. Godwin Boateng, a resident of Long Island, New York, showed up at the emergency room with his severed thumb. Unfortunately, the doctors couldn't reattach the finger severed by the BMW.
How the unfortunate incident occurred
It turned out that the soft-close automatic door sensor system was not working correctly and closed the door on the driver's finger. Mr. Boateng was angry and sued the manufacturers of his BMW X5. In the end, he spent over $70,000 on them!
— With the driver's door open, the SCAD sensor activated an electric motor that tightly pressed the driver's door, injuring the skin, nerves, blood vessels, tendons, disrupting muscles, and bone structure, — the lawsuit states.
Boateng's lawyer also claims that BMW was aware of the faulty sensors in the SCAD system, but the Bavarian manufacturer did nothing to warn its customers of the malfunction.
Soft Close not so «soft» after all
The Soft Close door closing system is equipped with drives that close the door when they do not latch with the appropriate force. Everything works quite fast and with great force. If you don't have time to move your finger, you too can experience an unfortunate incident.
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Two surgeries didn't help
Godwin Boateng says that despite two surgeries, his hand keeps swelling. Additionally, he sometimes has to use an artificial thumb.
— Sometimes it feels like someone is stabbing a knife into my finger. It's very painful, — he comments.
He also adds that he is right-handed, and because he lost his thumb on his right hand, he finds it difficult to carry out everyday tasks. Buttoning shirts, tying shoelaces, and typing text are now a challenge for him. He probably kicks himself for equipping his BMW X5 with the Soft Close system...
BMW has not commented on this issue yet.
Not the first time
A similar unfortunate incident occurred back in 2016 in Germany. Cordula Schweinberg from Arnsberg placed her thumb too close to the gap between the door and the support of her BMW 520d. The Soft Close system was working, and... well, they couldn't reattach the thumb either.
Therefore, before you decide to pay extra for this system in your BMW, think, perhaps it's better to close the door in the traditional, proven way by slamming it shut.
