2009 BMW 535I

WHILE DRIVING FROM WORK ON A BUSY FRIDAY AFTERNOON THE VEHICLE'S CHECK ENGINE LIGHT COMES ON AND THE COMPUTER SCREEN STATES "ENGINE MALFUNCTION! REDUCING POWER" "HIGH PRESSURE FUEL PUMP MALFUNCTION" LESS THAN A MINUTE THE ENGINE STALLED. LEAVING ME STRANDED ON THE BRIDGE FOR HOURS, TRY TO START THE CAR BUT IT WON'T START. THE HIGH PRESSURE FUEL SYSTEM HAS BEEN REPLACED WITH A NEW REVISION BUT STILL DIDN'T SOLVE THE PROBLEM. *TR

TAKATA RECALL, I BOUGHT THE CAR BACK IN LATE AUGUST, AT A DEALERSHIP CALLED DELUXE AUTO LOCATED IN LINDEN, NEW JERSEY. THE DEALERSHIP OFFERED ME A WARRANTY, 30 DAYS FREE AND 90 DAYS TO DECIDE TO GET THE WARRANTY OR NOT. THE INITIAL OFFER WAS ABOUT 60$ MONTHLY, AT 79K MILES. AFTER HAVING THE CAR FOR A MONTH DRIVING ON THE HIGHWAY LATE AT NIGHT THE CAR STARTING SHAKING AND TURNED OFF ON THE HIGHWAY. FUEL PUMP ERRORS. CAR WAS TOWED OFF THE HIGHWAY. AFTER A FEW HRS CAR STARTED AND RAN NORMALLY. WENT TO THE DEALERSHIP, GOT WARRANTY. THE OFFER NOW WAS AT 120$ A MONTH. THEY DID THE JOB, CAR RAN NORMALLY. HAPPENED AGAIN IN BROOKLYN, SENT CAR BACK TO DEALER THEY SAID NOTHING CAME UP ON THE COMPUTER, NOTHING THEY CAN DO. AFTER A FEW MONTHS SAME THING HAPPENED. THIS TIME IN CONNECTICUT, SENT IT TO THE NEAREST MECHANIC SHOP, BILL CAME TO 850, NOT INCLUDING TOWING 138$. NOW BACK TO MY DEALERSHIP, WHEN I WENT TO THEM TO PAY FOR THE WARRANTY, MY FATHER USED HIS CREDIT CARD, SINCE THEN I FIGURED IT WOULD CHARGE IT MONTHLY AUTOMATICALLY. THAT IS NOT THE CASE, AS I FOUND OUT THE DEALERSHIP SAID NOTHING THEY CAN DO. OTHER PROBLEM, CAR STARTED LEAKING OIL, ON OIL HOUSING UNIT, ENGINE OIL VALVE. GOT THEM BOTH FIXED AT ABOUT 500$ AT A LOCAL MECHANIC SHOP. NOW A WEEK LATER, AT 1AM OF MARCH 7TH OF 2016 I'M STARTING THE CAR, IT TURNS ON AND GIVES AN ERROR "ENGINE REDUCED POWER" AND "ENGINE PRESSURE TOO LOW, SHUT OFF ENGINE IMMEDIATELY ". I'M ABOUT TO BE 22, GONNA START COLLEGE SOON, I HAVE BEEN MAKING PAYMENTS TO A 20K CAR, ON TOP OF ALL THE MAINTANCE PROBLEMS THAT THIS DEALERSHIP SOLD ME AND TRICKED ME INTO. I DONT KNOW IF ME WRITING ALL THIS WOULD HELP ME IN ANY WAY BUT THIS SUCKS, ON TOP OF ME BEING TRAPPED ON A HIGHWAY UNTIL A TOW TRUCK COMES, IN NYC, 2 TIMES WHERE CARS FLY BY YOU I WANT THAT WHEN DEALERSHIP SELL CARS TO BE SURE THAT THE CUSTOMERS ARE SAFE DRIVING THEM.I HOPE IT HELPS.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2009 BMW 535I. WHILE DRIVING 50 MPH, THE VEHICLE DECELERATED AND THE REDUCE ENGINE POWER WARNING MESSAGE ILLUMINATED. THE VEHICLE WAS MERGED TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD, WHERE IT WAS TURNED OFF AND RESUMED NORMAL OPERATION AFTER RESTARTING THE ENGINE. THE CONTACT MENTIONED THAT THE VEHICLE WAS PREVIOUSLY REPAIRED UNDER A MANUFACTURER'S CUSTOMER SERVICE RECALL; HOWEVER, THE FAILURE RECURRED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT TAKEN BACK TO THE DEALER NOR REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 70,000.

WHILE DRIVING "ENGINE FAILURE, REDUCE POWER" LIGHT CAME ON, POWER ON ENGINE REDUCED BUT DRIVABLE. WHEN CAR SHUT DOWN AND RESTARTED LIGHT GOES OFF BUT IF STEPPING ON THE GAS HARD THE LIGHT COMES BACK WITH ENGINE HAVING REDUCED POWER. THIS WAS REPAIRED TWICE, LAST BY BMW ON 7/29/13, THEY REPLACED VANS SOLENOIDS (INTAKE AND EXHAUST) AND REPROGRAMED THE TRANSMISSION. AT THAT TIME THEY TOLD ME IF THE PROBLEM RETURNS THE TRANSMISSION MAY NEED TO BE REPLACED. READING THROUGH FORUMS AND THE WEB I CAME UPON MANY COMPLAINTS FOR THE SAME PROBLEM IN WHICH DEALERS STATED DIFFERENT ROOT CAUSES, MANY SOLUTIONS PROPOSED BUT OFTEN PROBLEM RETURNS. I BELIEVE THIS IS DESIGN FLAW WITH THIS CAR AND SHOULD BE INVESTIGATED.

I WAS DRIVING MY VEHICLE NORTHBOUND ON THE KENNEDY EXPRESSWAY (I-90) BETWEEN MONTROSE AND LAWRENCE EXIT HERE IN CHICAGO WHEN MY CAR STALLED THE MIDDLE OF A VERY BUSY HIGHWAY. I ATTEMPTED TO RESTART IT WITH REDUCED POWER THAT ALLOWED ME TO DRIVE MY VEHICLE TO THE SHOULDERS BUT IT WAS A SCARY EXPERIENCE NONETHELESS WITH HIGH SPEED CARS AND TRUCKS PASSING BY YOU. IT WAS DETERMINED THAT IT WAS A FUEL PUMP ISSUE RELATING TO AN EXISTING RECALL/CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT. ANYWAY, THE CAR WAS NEVER FULLY FIXED; I MEAN I HAD AT SEVERAL INSTANCES OF CAR STALLING AGAIN AND AGAIN. I REPEATEDLY COMPLAINT TO THE MANUFACTURER AND THE CAR DEALER LETTING THEM KNOW THAT I FEEL THERES A SYSTEMIC ISSUE WITH THE VEHICLE. EVERY TIME I BROUGHT IT FOR REPAIRS IT WAS A DIFFERENT REASON WHY THE ENGINE FAILURE KEEPS LIGHTING UP AND THE CAR STALLING. IN THE BEGINNING THEY WERE COVERING THE REPAIRS UNDER WARRANTY BUT AS SOON AS THE ORIGINAL WARRANTY EXPIRED I WAS ON THE HOOK FOR HUNDREDS SOMETIMES THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS IN REPAIRS. I COMPLAINED THAT THERE WAS A CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT ON THIS VEHICLE AND PART OF THE SETTLEMENT WAS TO EXTEND THE ENGINE WARRANTY TO 10 YEARS BUT THEY NEVER COVERED IT UNDER THIS EXTENDED WARRANTY SIMPLY BY STATING THAT THE ISSUE WAS NOT RELATED TO WHATS COVERED BY THE WARRANTY. IVE FINALLY GIVEN UP DISPUTING WITH THEM AND SOLD THE CAR THIS MONTH AND IVE DISPUTED WITH MY CREDIT CARD THE REPAIR COSTS SINCE THE ISSUE WAS NEVER FIXED. BMW IS COVERING UP THAT THERES AN ISSUE WITH THIS MODEL OF THEIR CAR AND HAVE BEEN DODGING WARRANTY CLAIMS.

IN THE 4 1/2 YEARS THAT MY 535XI HAS BEEN IN SERVICE, THE FUEL INJECTORS HAVE NEEDED TO BE REPLACED 3 TIMES (SEPT 2011, JAN 2013, AND SEPT 2014). THE PROBLEMS HAVE MANIFESTED THEMSELVES WHEN DRIVING ON HIGHWAYS AND THE VEHICLE LOSES MOST POWER AND BEGINS SHAKING AND THE CHECK ENGINE GASES LIGHT COMES ON. THE MOST RECENT TIME OCCURRED WHILE ON AN INTERSTATE TOLLWAY BETWEEN EXITS 15 MILES APART MAKING FOR A DANGEROUS SITUATION AS I LOST SPEED AND ANY ABILITY TO ACCELERATE. EFFORTS TO HAVE BMW COVER THE REPAIRS (ESTIMATED AT $2,200 INCLUDING NEW PLUGS), WERE BOTH UNSUCCESSFUL AND FRUSTRATING. THE DEALER PROVIDED ZERO ASSISTANCE. I CONTACTED BMW NA AND STATED THAT HAVING TO REPLACE THE FUEL INJECTORS 3 TIMES IN 4 1/2 YEARS INDICATES A DEFECTIVE DESIGN AND RESULTS IN DANGEROUS SITUATIONS. I WAS TOLD THAT THEY WOULD INVESTIGATE AND INFORM ME WHETHER THE REPAIRS WOULD BE COVERED. THEY SAID THEY WOULD NOTIFY ME WITHIN 3-5 BUSINESS DAYS ALTHOUGH THEY WOULD TRY TO EXPEDITE THE PROCESS SINCE I WAS WITHOUT A CAR. AT THE END OF THE 5TH BUSINESS DAY, THERE WAS NO RESPONSE SO I CALLED AND THE PERSON I NEEDED TO SPEAK WITH WAS IN A MEETING AND WAS SUPPOSED TO CALL ME BACK. AFTER ANOTHER FULL BUSINESS DAY AND NO CALL, I CALLED A AGAIN AND WAS TOLD THAT THERE WAS NO COVERAGE BUT THEY DID NOT PROVIDE ANY RATIONALE. THIS HAS BEEN A REPETITIVE AND DANGEROUS PROBLEM. *TR

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2009 BMW 535I. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE TRAVELING 25 MPH, THE VEHICLE STALLED. THE CONTACT MENTIONED THAT THE STEERING WHEEL BECAME DIFFICULT TO MANEUVER. ALSO, THE CONTACT ADDED THAT THE BATTERY AND ENGINE LIGHT ILLUMINATED ON THE INSTRUMENT PANEL. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER. THE TECHNCIAN DIAGNOSED THAT THE TENSION AND ISLE PULLEY NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE VEHICLE WAS REPAIRED BUT THE FAILURE RECURRED. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN BACK TO THE DEALER WHO STATED THAT THE CRANK SHAFT BELT AND SEAL NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE VEHICLE WAS REPAIRED. THE FAILURE AND CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 80,325.

CAR STARTS NORMALLY. UPON REACHING CRUISING SPEED CAR ENGINE WARNING LIGHT COMES ON AND CAR IMMEDIATELY REDUCES ENGINE POWER. THIS HAPPENS RANDOMLY, AND HAS HAPPENED ON SIDE ROADS AND FREEWAYS. I HAVE TO PULL OVER IMMEDIATELY AND SHUT OFF CAR, WAIT, AND RE-START CAR. LATER, AND RANDOMLY SAME THING HAPPENS AGAIN. SCARY. *JS