CAUTION: BMW Model 528i 2008 OWNERS

On March 15, 2009 I purchased a Certified Pre Owned BMW 528i, 2008 model year from Weber BMW in Fresno, CA.

On August 1, 2009 I shopped for groceries, driving the BMW about 2-3 hours during midday. I live in Central California and summer temperatures are high, I believe it was over 100F that day.

I was wearing cargo shorts.

When I arrived home, I began to unload the trunk. At one point, I had to walk back to the cabin and swiped the rear bumper with my right calf. I was walking at a brisk pace with no hesitation. Therefore the injuries happened in less than a second.

Suddenly, I felt this stinging pain on my right leg. The pain began to get worse. I looked down and saw about a 5" red line on the outside of my right calf. I had no idea what had happened and overlooked it for the first few minutes. Then the pain began to throb, to the point where I had to stop unloading the vehicle.

I wondered what had caused this injury, thinking it was a burn due to the intense sensation. I began to look around the car and sighted the tailpipes. I held my hand near the tailpipes and could feel intense heat emanating from them. I then held my injured leg close to the tailpipe to determine if the location of the burn was at the same height of the tailpipe, it was exactly the same height.

As the day wore into night the pain intensified, sometimes coming as throbbing pain. On the pain schedule of 1-10, 10 being the highest, I would rate the pain as an 8 at the worst. Also, the burn began to turn a bright red. I took some sleeping pills to help me get to sleep.

The next day, I saw the wound you see below. It had began to blister.

















The following is a re-enactment of how your calf can come into contact with the tailpipe:

First, notice how the bumper is cut away to expose the tailpipe:



Second, the injury occurs as you walk by the tailpipe, as your calf extends to come into contact with the tailpipe:








Children are especially vulnerable, as they are shorter and if their skin is exposed, or god forbid, they take hold of the tailpipe, an extremely serious injury could occur, perhaps life altering.