It really sucks when you accidentally lock yourself out of your car, especially if you’re stuck somewhere you’d rather not be. Apparently, BMW X5 owners who underwent this ordeal may be able to place the blame on the design of their key fobs, as BMW is currently facing down a class action lawsuit for poor design of the locking function.

Careful Which Button You Press

Models that fall in this range that are equipped with the Optional Comfort Access System can experience “Spontaneous or Unintended Locking” according to the lawsuit. Any owners who may have experienced such an event and/or incurred costs because of it could be due some restitution.

The class-action lawsuit comes to our attention from the case Myers v. BMW of North America, currently pending in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California.

BMW denies any wrongdoing.

This can happen if you press the lock button on the fob, then accidentally place inside the car and close the door, or if you lock the door using the door handle controls with the fob inside the cabin. To make matters worse, once the key fob is locked inside the car, comfort access is disabled, thus making it impossible to unlock the vehicle.

As more and more electronic features are added to cars with every production cycle, screw-ups like this are sure to become more and more commonplace. As for who’s at fault, well… that’s up to the lawyers to decide.

Further Reading

Read our full review on the 2019 BMW X5.