2000 BMW 323I

TAKATA RECALL. THERE HAS BEEN NUMEROUS ISSUES WITH THE INTEGRITY OF THE SUBFRAME OF THIS PARTICULAR MODEL AND YEAR OF BMW. IT EXPERIENCES RUST ISSUES FREQUENTLY. I NEED TO REPLACE SUBFRAME DO TO THIS AND WILL NOT PASS INSPECTION BECAUSE OF THIS ISSUE. THIS HAS HAPPENED OVER THE YEARS, IT HAS NOT BEEN STATIONARY OR ANYTHING OF THAT MATTER. IT HAS BEEN USED AS A DAILY DRIVER, AS THAT SHOULD NOT HAPPEN TO A DAILY DRIVER SUBFRAME, SPECIALLY FROM A BMW.

I WAS UNAWARE OF THE PREVIOUS DEFECT NOTICES ABOUT THE FRAME / BODY HAVING A WEAK SPOT AND WAS DRIVING AT 40 MPH WHEN MY REAR SHOCK AND THE PART THAT HOLDS THE SHOCK IN PLACE WENT THROUGH THE METAL FRAME RIPPING THE METAL AWAY AND ALLOWING THE SHOCK TO PUNCTURE THROUGH THE FRAME JUST BELOW THE TRUNK AREA AND THE CAR WAS THEN INOPERABLE. I WAS QUOTED A PRICE FOR REPAIR OF 6500 AND WAS INFORMED OF THE 2005/2006 LAWSUIT WHERE BMW WAS SUED FOR THIS DEFECT AND REPAIRED SOME CARS FOR A YEAR AFTER THE LAWSUIT ENDED BUT THIS WAS PRIOR TO MY PURCHASE OF THE VEHICLE AND WHEN I CONTACTED BMW OF NO AMERICA HEADQUARTERS, THEY ASKED ME TO TAKE THE CAR TO THE NEAREST BMW DEALER AND HAVE THEM DO A DIAGNOSIS WHICH I IMMEDIATELY DID AND THAT COST WAS OVER $10K OF WHICH BMW OFFERED TO PAY ONLY 20%. I THEN TOOK IT TO ANOTHER BMW MECHANIC WHO REPAIRED IT FOR $3000 AND BMW WILL NOT PAY ANY PART OF THE BILL BECAUSE IT WAS NOT DONE AT A DEALERSHIP, I DO NOT UNDERSTAND HOW BMW CAN GET AWAY WITH A DEFECT LIKE THIS AND SO MANY CARS AFFECTED BY IT AND NOT HAVE TO REPAIR IT AT THEIR COST? IT IS THEIR DEFECT. *TR

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2000 BMW 323I. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE ACCELERATING, AN ABNORMAL SOUND CAME FROM THE REAR OF THE VEHICLE. THE CONTACT TOOK THE VEHICLE TO A LOCAL MECHANIC, WHO ADVISED THE CONTACT THAT THE SUB FRAME WAS DAMAGED. THE CONTACT DID NOT CALL THE MANUFACTURER OR TAKE THE VEHICLE TO THE DEALER FOR REPAIRS. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 200,000.

HEARD LOUD NOISES COMING FROM REAR END OF VEHICLE. UPON INSPECTION BY REPAIR FACILITY IT WAS DETERMINED THAT THE REAR DRIVERS SIDE SUBFRAME MOUNT HAD PULLED AWAY FROM THE BODY, A LARGE TEAR IS PRESENT IN THE BODY PANEL ON EITHER SIDE OF THE SUBFRAME MOUNT. REPAIR FACILITY INDICATED THE RISK IS THAT THE CAR MAY NOT RESPOND AS EXPECTED IN AN EMERGENCY OR EVASIVE ACTION. FORM WOULD NOT ALLOW ME TO COMPLETE VIN, LAST CHARACTER IS A 2.

HAVE BEEN INFORMED BY MY MECHANIC THAT MY SUBFRAME IS FAILING ON THE REAR END OF MY BMW. HE PULLED A REPORT SAYING THAT A LAWSUIT HAS BEEN FILED AGAINST BMW BUT NO RECALL HAD BEEN ISSUED (I.E, A 'SILENT' RECALL). HIS WORDS: "MAN YOU'RE TOTALLY SCREWED." MY READING OF THE LAWSUIT IS THAT THERE WAS A LIMITED TIME TO SEEK REDRESS FROM BMW; HAVING JUST FOUND OUT ABOUT THE PROBLEM, I'M HAVING A HARD TIME IMAGINING HOW SOMETHING THAT APPARENTLY IS EPIDEMIC IN 3-SERIES BMWS AND CAN CAUSE CATASTROPHIC FAILURE (IN ONE CASE, APPARENTLY LOCKING UP THE BRAKES AND CAUSING THE CAR TO COME TO A SCREECHING HALT) HAS NOT RESULTED IN A RECALL OF MODEL WITH MANDATORY REPAIRS! AGAIN, I'M NOT A LAWYER BUT MY READING OF THE DOCUMENT MY MECHANIC SHOWED ME SEEMS TO REVEAL AN ENORMOUS DODGE BY BMW IN LIMITING THE TIME FRAME DURING WHICH ONE CAN HAVE THEM REPAIR THE PROBLEM! MY INTERNET SEARCH THIS WEEKEND SHOWS THAT THERE ARE MANY OTHERS WITH THE SAME COMPLAINT, PEOPLE DESCRIBING LOSS OF CONTROL OF THEIR CARS, ETC., AND OF COURSE I'M NOT IN THE DRIVE THIS THING ANYMORE. IT SEEMS THE SERIOUS NATURE OF POTENTIAL PROBLEMS AND OBVIOUS DEFECT IN MANUFACTURING SHOULD WARRANT SOME SORT OF MANDATORY REDRESS BY THE MANUFACTURER. (MY CAR HAS NEVER BEEN USED IN RACING OR EXTREME ACTIVITIES, JUST HIGHWAY DRIVING, MOSTLY FOR COMMUTE.) HAD I NOT ASKED HIM TO CHECK THE CAUSE OF THE SQUEAKING IN THE REAR, MY 1ST NOTICE OF THIS COULD WELL HAVE BEEN A LOSS OF CONTROL OF THE VEHICLE. *TR