BMW cars use a distinctive electronic gong and chime to warn drivers about faults, low fuel, open doors and other dashboard alerts, and recordings of that tone later circulated online separate from the car itself. As short-form car memes grew, editors began dropping the sound over unrelated failures because viewers instantly recognised it as a warning. It remains popular because the association is clear in under a second, works without dialogue, and turns ordinary mistakes, glitches and breakdowns into a joke about an expensive system failing.