2011 BMW 335I

WHILE IN MOTION ON HIGHWAYS, CITY STREETS, AND TURNING, CERTAIN SYSTEM SOMETIMES LOSE POWER (E.G., RADIO, WINDSHIELD WIPERS WHILE RAINING, STABILITY CONTROL, STABLE BRAKING, CENTER CONSOLE, HEADLIGHTS AT NIGHT). LOSS OF STABILITY CONTROL AND LOSS OF STABLE BRAKING MESSAGES APPEAR QUITE FREQUENTLY THEN GO AWAY SEVERAL MINUTES LATER. OTHER MESSAGES FOR LOSS OF OTHER SYSTEMS ALSO APPEAR SOMETIMES. THIS APPEARS TO BE AN ELECTRICAL ISSUE THAT OCCURS WHEN AT ANY SPEED CONSTANT OR OTHERWISE. THESE INTERMITTENT FAILURES HAVE BEEN HAPPENING SINCE I PURCHASED THE CAR WITH 81K MILES. IT NOW HAS 100K MILES.

I AM PERPLEXED THAT NHSTA ALLOWS TIRE MANUFACTURERS TO SELL TIRES WITHOUT WARRANTY. ANY MERCHANDISE SOLD TO PUBLIC HAS AT LEAST 1 YEAR MANUFACTURER'S WARRANTY AGAINST DEFECTS IN PARTS, MATERIAL AND WORKMANSHIP BUT NOT TIRES. THE ONLY PART THAT CONNECTS A VEHICLE TO A SURFACE IS A TIRE. THEREFORE, TIRES ARE THE MOST IMPORTANT PIECE OF EQUIPMENT ON A CAR BUT YET MANUFACTURERS CAN SELL TIRES WITHOUT WARRANTING THAT THE TIRES WOULD PERFORM AS THEY ARE INTENDED EVEN WHEN THEY ARE DRIVEN A FEW MILES. BRIDGESTONE RE050A RSC RUN-FLAT TIRES DRIVEN LESS THAN 11000 MILES WITHIN LESS THAN 2 YEARS AND ONE OF THE TIRES HAD ALREADY DEVELOPED A BULGE THE SIZE OF A BANANA. PLEASE SEE THE ATTACHED PHOTO OF THE TIRE. THESE TIRES DO NOT HAVE A MANUFACTURER'S WARRANTY. NOT BECAUSE THEY ARE OLD BUT BECAUSE THEY HAVE NEVER HAD ONE. IF I DIED AND CAUSED DEATH ON THE ROAD BECAUSE OF THIS FAULT, THIS COMPANY WOULD NOT BE LIABLE. WHY? BECAUSE THEY ARE NOT HELD RESPONSIBLE BY NHSTA OR ANYBODY. THERE IS NOT EVEN A SECTION TO COMPLAIN ABOUT TIRES. THAT'S WHY I HAVE TO PUT THIS COMPLAINT IN THE VEHICLE SECTION. DOES THIS MEAN NATIONAL HIGHWAY TRAFFIC SAFETY ADMINISTRATION CARES ABOUT OUR SAFETY? LUCKILY, I CAUGHT THIS BEFORE IT CAUSED AN ACCIDENT OR LIVES. ARE YOU WAITING FOR ENOUGH LIVES TO BE CONSUMED BY THIS BEFORE YOU TAKE ACTION?

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

MY VEHICLE HAS BEEN DIAGNOSED WITH A BAD HIGH PRESSURE FUEL PUMP. AFTER DOING RESEARCH ONLINE I FOUND THAT BMW HAD A RECALL FOR ENGINES N54. I'M HAVING THE SAME EXACT ISSUE AS THE N54, MY ENGINE IS THE N55. MY CAR IS NOT USABLE AND BMW DOES NOT WANT TO ACKNOWLEDGE THIS IS ON MY N55 ENGINE. BMW CLEARLY ACKNOWLEDGES THAT THE MANUFACTURING OF THESE HIGH PRESSURE PUMPS WERE BAD THEY SHOULD HAVE A RECALL DONE FOR THE N55. WHAT I AM LOOKING IS FOR BMW TO COVER THIS ISSUE.

I WAS DRIVING IN A PARKING LOT AT ABOUT 5MPH, AND THE VEHICLE SUDDENLY STOPPED ON ITS OWN WHILE I WAS STILL PRESSING THE ACCELERATOR. I CONTINUED TO PRESS THE ACCELERATOR, BUT THE VEHICLE WOULD NOT MOVE. AFTER 3 OR 4 MINUTES OF TRYING TO DETERMINE WHAT THE ISSUE WAS, I PUT THE CAR IN PARK AND RESTARTED THE ENGINE. THE CAR WAS ABLE TO ACCELERATE ONCE I TURNED THE CAR OFF AND RESTARTED. IF THIS WOULD HAVE HAPPENED WHILE IN TRAFFIC, IT WOULD HAVE PUT MANY PEOPLE AT RISK. NO ONE WAS HARMED BECAUSE I WAS IN A WALMART PARKING LOT TRAVELING AT 5MPH WHEN THE CAR STALLED, BUT I AM UNSURE WHAT CAUSED THIS TO OCCUR. THIS SITUATION SEEMS TO BE RELATED TO THE NATIONAL HIGHWAY TRAFFIC ADMINISTRATION'S RECALL NUMBER 14V176000, AS IT DESCRIBES WHAT I EXPERIENCED WHILE DRIVING THE VEHICLE.

ENGINE SEIZED 10 MILES AFTER OIL FILTER HOUSING GASKET WAS REPLACED. CAR HAS 107K MILES AND HAS BEEN METICULOUSLY MAINTAINED. NOW I'M GOING TO HAVE TO SPEND FROM $8K-$10K FOR A NEW ENGINE. NEVER RECEIVED A WARNING LIGHT. FROM WHAT I'VE BEEN READING, THIS IS NOT UNCOMMON AFTER THAT SPECIFIC JOB IS DONE AND THE GASKET STARTS LEAKING AROUND 100K SO IT IS NECESSARY TO ADDRESS.

TENSION STRUT FAILURE (DRIVER SIDE, FRONT); THIS COMPONENT CONTROLS FORE AND AFT MOTION OF THE WHEEL & TIRE. WHEN IT FAILS THE REMAINING FRONT SUSPENSION ASSEMBLY INCLUDING THE WHEEL AND TIRE IMPACT THE WHEEL WELL CAUSING VIOLENT BUCKING AND SHAKING WHICH IS WORSENED WHEN THE BRAKES ARE APPLIED. MY FAILURE OCCURRED WHEN I APPLIED THE BRAKES ON A SMOOTH, PAVED ROAD AT LESS THAN 55 MPH. THE CAR WAS DISABLED AND HAD TO BE TOWED. I BELIEVE THAT HAD I BEEN TRAVELING AT INTERSTATE HIGHWAY SPEEDS I WOULD HAVE LOST CONTROL OF THE VEHICLE AND POSSIBLY OVERTURNED. THIS SHOULD BE A 'NEVER EVENT' IN MY OPINION.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2011 BMW 335I. THE CONTACT RECEIVED NOTIFICATION OF NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 17V676000 (ELECTRICAL SYSTEM); HOWEVER, THE PART TO DO THE RECALL REPAIR WAS NOT AVAILABLE. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE MANUFACTURER EXCEEDED A REASONABLE AMOUNT OF TIME FOR THE RECALL REPAIR. BMW OF FREEHOLD (4225 U.S. 9, FREEHOLD TOWNSHIP, NJ 07728, (732) 751-4335) WAS CONTACTED AND CONFIRMED THAT THE PART WAS NOT AVAILABLE. THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE ISSUE. THE CONTACT HAD NOT EXPERIENCED A FAILURE. VIN TOOL CONFIRMS PARTS NOT AVAILABLE.