German automaker BMW is recalling some of its 7-Series luxury cars due to reports of transmission control problems that can cause parked vehicles to roll away.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said on Saturday that the problem has caused at least 14 crashes and possibly 5 injuries. The recall involves cars with model years from 2005 to 2008 that have push-button start and electronic transmission controls.
The system automatically shifts the car's transmission to park when the driver presses the start/stop button, but it may leave the transmission in neutral if the driver presses the button two or three times in a short span, the NHTSA said Saturday. The cars can then roll away unexpectedly and crash.
The recall involves 45,500 vehicles. Safety regulators first started looking into reports of the problem more than a year ago, and the NHTSA said last spring that BMW and investigators had received 50 complaints.
BMW will start notifying vehicle owners next month, but it won't have software available to fix the cars until next March, according to federal officials.
