2011 BMW 550I

I BOUGHT THE CAR ON MAY 6, 2015 WITH ABOUT 53K MILES ON IT. DROVE IT FOR ONLY ABOUT 45 DAYS AND WHILE DRIVING THE CAR THE DRIVETRAIN MALFUNCTION AND OTHER LIGHTS CAME ON AND THE CAR LOST POWER AND STOPPED IMMEDIATELY. AT FIRST, I THOUGHT IT WAS THE BATTERY AND HAD THE CAR JUMPED BUT THAT DIDN'T WORK. THE CARE ENGINE WAS TOTALLY DEAD, NO SOUND NO ANYTHING OTHER THAN THE ENGINE LIGHT THAT POPPED ON BEFORE IT STOPPED. I HAD PURCHASED AN EXTENDED WARRANTY FROM GWC AT THE PURCHASE OF THE CAR SO INFORMED THEM. I HAD THE CAR TOWED TO A PLACE (LMC AUTO IN NORCROSS GEORGIA) THAT GWC WAS WILLING TO PAY FOR REPAIRS. LMC SAID THE ENGINE WAS LOCKED AND NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. GWC REFUSED TO REPLACE THE ENGINE BECAUSE OF THE EXPENSE AND INSTEAD HAD LMC AUTO REPAIR THE ENGINE. NEEDLESS TO SAY, LMC IS STILL REPAIRING THE ENGINE ALMOST 5MONTHS LATER. I HAD CALLED GOVERNOR'S OFFICE OF CONSUMER PROTECTION, [XXX], ETC.. TRYING TO GET HELP WITH GETTING THE CAR FIXED. WHEN I TALKED TO BMW OF NORTH AMERICA THEY SAID THEY WARRANTY IS UP AT 50K MILES SO THEY CANNOT COMMIT TO DO ANYTHING. I AM AT MY WITS END AND THE CAR STILL DOES NOT SEEM TO BE ANY CLOSER TO GETTING FIXED. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6). *TR

I WAS DRIVING MY CAR AND ALL OF A SUDDEN THE ENTIRE CAR STARTED SHAKING. I GET MULTIPLE ENGINE MALFUNCTION LIGHTS AND THEN GET A "REDUCED POWER" ALERT ON MY DASHBOARD. THE CAR GOES INTO "LIMP-MODE", WHICH MEANS IT'S INCAPABLE OF GOING PAST 40-45 MPH AND GOING ANYTHING ABOVE 25 RESULTS IN VIOLENT SHAKING OF THE CAR. ALSO AT RED LIGHTS, THE ENTIRE CAR VIBRATES. THE FAULT WAS DETERMINED TO BE THE FUEL INJECTORS IN THE ENGINE, HOWEVER I ALREADY KNEW THAT BY SIMPLY LOOKING UP THE SYMPTOMS. THOUSANDS OF BMW 5-SERIES MADE BETWEEN 2011-2012 HAVE THIS ISSUE, YET BMW IS NOT RECALLING THEM, BUT RATHER FIXING THEM ON A ONE-BY-ONE BASIS. IF SOMEONE IS OUT OF WARRANTY, LIKE ME, THEY ARE THEN CHARGING NEARLY $6,000 FOR A FAULT THAT AFFECTS OVER 50% OF 2011 BMW 550I'S MADE! BMW FORUMS EVERYWHERE TALK ABOUT THIS PROBLEM AND AS CARS MADE IN 2011 START RUNNING OUT OF THEIR WARRANTY IN LATE 2014, EARLY 2015, MORE AND MORE OF THEM WILL START SHOWING SYMPTOMS AND CONSUMERS WILL BE FORCED TO SHELL OUT THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS FOR A FIX BMW SHOULD HAVE ADDRESSED IN A MANDATORY RECALL. *TR

I WAS DRIVING MY 2011 BMW 550X M SPORT ON THE OHIO TURNPIKE IN JULY 2014 WHEN TWO BUBBLES STARTED TO FORM ON THE GOODYEAR LS-2 245/40R19 FRONT LEFT TIRE. GIVEN I ONLY HAD 70 MILES TO MY DESTINATION I CONTINUED AT THE 65 MPH. WELL, NEEDLESS TO SAY, AS I EXITED THE TURNPIKE THE FRONT LEFT TIRE FAILED. LOST ALL PRESSURE. THIS WASN'T EVEN THE TIRE I THOUGHT MIGHT FAIL. I WAS FORCED TO DRIVE 30 MILES ON THE HIGHWAY ON TWO DANGEROUS TIRES SO I COULD GET TO A SAFE PLACE TO CALL FOR A TOW. THE CAR WAS TOWED TO THE BMW DEALERSHIP 70 MILES AWAY. THESE WERE NEWLY REPLACED TIRES WITH ABOUT 5K MILES ON THEM. I'M ATTEMPTING TO GET THE TIRES REPLACED AT NO COST EVEN GIVEN THE UNSAFE TIRE RESULTS BUT IT'S MY ONLY OPTION AT THIS POINT GIVEN MY LOCATION. THE DEALER IS TRYING TO CHARGE FULL PRICE FOR THE REPLACEMENT TIRES. I FIND THIS UNACCEPTABLE. *TR

ADD OIL LIGHT CAME ON APPROXIMATELY EVERY 4000-5000 MILES STARTING AT 5000 MILES. OIL LEAKED ONTO GARAGE FLOOR. BMW DEALERSHIP REPEATEDLY CLAIMED THERE WAS NOTHING WRONG. AROUND 25,000 THEY TOLD ME THAT THE MANUFACTURER HAD ISSUED A DATA SHEET SAYING THEY WERE CHANGING THE MAXIMUM OIL FILL CAPACITY. THE DEALER RESET THE OIL SENSOR AND ADDED MORE OIL. AT APPROXIMATELY 30,000 MILES THE TURBOS FAILED AND WERE REPLACED BY THE DEALERSHIP UNDER WARRANTY. AT 32,000 MILES THE VACUUM PUMP FAILED AND WAS REPLACED BY THE DEALERSHIP UNDER WARRANTY. WHEN THE VACUUM PUMP FAILED, THE CAR HAD A HORRENDOUS BURNING OIL SMELL AND THE BRAKES WERE VERY SPONGY. THE DEALERSHIP ADVISED NOT TO DRIVE THE CAR AND IT HAD TO BE TOWED. THESE FAILURES AND REPAIRS COULD HAVE BEEN AVOIDED IF BMW HAD TAKEN MY COMPLAINTS SERIOUSLY ABOUT THE OIL PROBLEM AND, IN MY OPINION, ENGINE DEFECTS AT 5,000 MILES WHEN I FIRST COMPLAINED. BMW REFUSES TO ISSUE AN EXTENDED WARRANTY ON THE ENGINE DESPITE THE FACT THAT IT HAS HAD TWO SERIOUS PROBLEMS THAT STARTED AT 5000 MILES. *TR

I WAS DRIVING ON A RESIDENTIAL STREET AND SHIFTED INTO 3RD GEAR. THE CAR BEGAN TO BUCK VIOLENTLY. I PUSHED IN THE CLUTCH TO STOP THE BUCKING. I WAS APPROACHING AN INTERSECTION. I ATTEMPTED TO ACCELERATE AND THE GAS PEDAL WAS NON-RESPONSIVE. THE VEHICLE THEN INDICATED THAT IT HAD A DRIVETRAIN MALFUNCTION. I WAS ABLE TO PULL OVER, TURN THE CAR OFF AND BACK ON AND DRIVE 0.5 MILES TO MY DESTINATION. WHILE PARKED, THE PARKING BRAKE ALSO MALFUNCTIONED AND I WAS UNABLE TO TURN IT OFF. THE CAR WAS TOWED TO THE DEALERSHIP. THERE IS A SIGNIFICANT DESIGN DEFICIENCY WITH THIS VEHICLE. THE PROBLEM WITH MY CAR HAD TO DO WITH A BROKEN PLASTIC PART ON THE WATER CHANNEL THAT LEADS AROUND THE TRUNK. THE PLASTIC COVER IS SUPPOSED TO SNAP INTO A GROMMET THAT IS IN A HOLE, THUS SEALING THE HOLE FROM WATER. IN MY SITUATION, THE GROMMET WAS MISSING. GIVEN THE DESIGN OF THE PLASTIC PART, THERE IS NO WAY TO KNOW THAT THERE IS AN ISSUE WITHOUT REMOVING THE PLASTIC PART. THE HOLE THAT THE PLASTIC PIECE SNAPS INTO LEADS DIRECTLY INTO THE TRUNK. IN THE BOTTOM OF THE TRUNK ARE SENSITIVE ELECTRONIC MODULES THAT CONTROL THE FUEL MANAGEMENT SYSTEM AND THE PARKING BRAKE. THERE IS NO DRAIN IN THE TRUNK THAT WOULD ALLOW WATER TO LEAVE THE VEHICLE. MY VEHICLE WAS PARKED IN A PARKING LOT DURING A RAIN STORM. AS A RESULT OF THE DESIGN, I GOT WATER IN THE TRUNK, WHICH RUINED THESE TWO MODULES, RESULTING IN THE VEHICLE BECOMING DISABLED WHILE DRIVING. I BELIEVE THAT THIS IS A SIGNIFICANT SAFETY ISSUE FOR THE FOLLOWING REASONS: I) AS A CONSUMER, I HAD NO IDEA THAT THE ELECTRONICS THAT ENABLE THE VEHICLE TO MANAGE FUEL WERE LOCATED IN THE TRUNK; II) THE DESIGN OF THE WATER CHANNEL AROUND THE TRUNK SEEMS INADEQUATE GIVEN THAT ANY FAILURE OF THE PLASTIC SHIELD / GROMMET COMBINATION WOULD LEAD TO WATER IN THE TRUNK AND EXPOSE THESE CRITICAL COMPONENTS. *TR

I WAS REAR ENDED ON THE LEFT SIDE EXITING THE FREEWAY WHEN MY CAR SPUN TO THE RIGHT INTO A GUARDRAIL HEAD ON AND CONTINUED INTO A 360 DEGREE MOTION. THE ROADS WERE CLEAR AND NORMAL WEATHER CONDITIONS. AFTER MY VEHICLE STOPPED SPINNING MY VEHICLE HAD A MESSAGE STATING RESTRAINT SYSTEM FAILURE AND THE AIRBAGS NEVER DEPLOYED. THE IMPACT OF HITTING THE GUARD RAIL WITH TREMENDOUS FORCE SHOULD'VE DEPLOYED MY AIRBAGS. MY BUMPER, WHOLE FRONT GRILL, AND HEADLIGHTS WERE SHATTERED ALL OVER THE HIGHWAY. MY WHOLE BACK LEFT SIDE IS DENTED IN AND MY WHEEL IS TILTED. I WOULD LOVE TO POST PICTURES IF POSSIBLE AND YOU WILL WONDER HOW COULD THE AIRBAGS NOT DEPLOY. I WOULD LIKE TO HEAR FROM BMW. *TR