What 99 owners told NHTSA about the 2012 BMW 528i

ON TWO OCCASIONS VEHICLE SUDDENLY OFFERS AN ALERT AND STOPS ACCELERATING AND STALLS ON THE FREEWAY LEAVING US STRANDED. THE CAR WAS TAKEN TO THE BMW DEALER AND CORPORATE WAS MADE AWARE OF THE SITUATION AFTER THE FIRST INCIDENT AND DIDN'T FIX IT. THEY KEPT IT FOR ABOUT APPROX10 DAYS AND ONLY REPLACED THE BATTERY. THREE WEEKS LATER THE SECOND INCIDENT HAPPENED. THIS TIME WE TOOK A PICTURE OF THE ALERT ON DASH SCREEN WHICH SAID FUEL SUPPLY PROBLEM. THEY REPLACED THE FUEL PUMP BUT OBVIOUSLY THEIR PARTS ARE FAULTY. THEY DIDN'T CONVEY TO ME THAT THEY FIXED THE PROBLEM WITH THE PUMP BUT ONLY THAT THEY PUT IN A NEW ONE. THE CAR PLACED US IN LIFE THREATENING SITUATIONS AND WE ARE NOT SECURE DRIVING IT. I ASKED FOR BMW TO REACQUIRE THE VEHICLE BUT THEY REFUSED. THERE IS NO GUARANTEE THE CAR WILL NOT SO THE SAME THING. I IMAGINE THOUSANDS OF CUSTOMERS HAVE EXPERIENCED THE SAME PROBLEM YET ,BMW DIDN'T CATCH AND DID MY CAR AFTER THE FIRST INCIDENT. THE CAR WAS IN MOTION ON THE FREEWAY WITH FAST MOVING TRAFFIC IN BOTH CASES. WE ARE VERY FEARFUL AND DISGUSTED. DATE BELOW NOT EXACT. *TR

NHTSA ODI 10928816

MY BMW 528I 2012 I BOUGHT USED IN APRIL 2015. IN NOVEMBER 2015 MY CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON. THEN IT WENT AWAY , BUT A WEEK LATER IT CAME ON AND ANOTHER LIGHT SAYING THE COOLANT WAS LOW. I TOOK IT TO BE TOPPED OFF THAT DID NOT WORK. MY CAR WENT FROM YELLOW ZONE TO RED SEVERE WHEN DRIVING HOME WITH MY KIDS ON A BUSY STREET. MY CAR BEGIN TO OVERHEAT . I TOOK IT HOME IMMEDIATELY . THE CAR LOSS ALL POWER IT WOULD NOT DRIVE FASTER THAN 25 MPH . I KNEW WHAT EVER IT WAS GOING TO BE COSTLY. MY CAR SAT FOR A MONTH UNTIL I THOUGHT I HAD ENOUGH MONEY TO FIX. LOW AND BEHOLD I TOOK IT TO A BMW DEALERSHIP THERE HAVE BEEN ONE CAMPAIGN FOR THERMOSTAT AND ONE RECALL ON THE OIL FILTER HOUSING. THERE HAS SEEM TO BE AN ISSUE I WAS UNAWARE ABOUT. THE DEALER IS SAYING BECAUSE OF THE COOLANT MIXING WITH OIL AND THE CAR OVERHEATING THERE IS POSSIBLE ENGINE DAMAGE. 20K WORTH OF DAMAGES . I HOPING BMW HELPS BECAUSE MY CAR IS AT THE DEALER STILL BECAUSE OF THIS HORRIBLE MALFUNCTION. I HAVE ATTACHED A THREAD I FOUND ONLINE THAT BMW SENT OUT TO ALL THE CONSUMERS IN JULY 2015 THAT I WAS NOT MADE AWARE OF.

NHTSA ODI 10810194

DRIVING IN THE HOV AT APPROXIMATELY 9PM WHEN AN ALERT MESSAGE "DRIVETRAIN MALFUNCTION, DRIVE MODERATELY" DISPLAYS. CAR ENGINE IMMEDIATELY CUTS OUT AND WE HAVE NO PROPULSION. WE ARE UNABLE TO MOVE TO A SAFE LOCATION AND WIND UP ON A NARROW SHOULDER OF THE LIE IN NY. POLICE COME AND CLOSE DOWN 2 LANES TO PREVENT COLLISION (EXTREMELY DANGEROUS ROAD CONDITIONS). WE WERE UNABLE TO START THE CAR OR SHIFT IT INTO NEUTRAL. CAR WAS TOWED. BMW NOTIFIES US THAT FUEL SENSORS MALFUNCTIONED RESULTING IN US RUNNING OUT OF GAS EVEN THOUGHT THE INDICATOR SHOWED WE HAD 1/2 TANK. HOWEVER BECAUSE WE WERE OVER THE 50,000 MILE WARRANTY WE WOULD BE RESPONSIBLE FOR REPLACING. . BMW IS LOOKING FOR US TO PAY $3,100 TO HAVE THE FUEL SENSORS REPLACED. I RESEARCHED THIS AND FOUND THAT BMW HAD ISSUED A RECALL ON ITS 2011 5 SERIES SEDANS AND 2012 5 SERIES GT FOR A FUEL SENSOR MALFUNCTION THAT MIRRORS EXACTLY WHAT HAPPENED TO US. WE PURCHASED OUR BMW NOV 2011. WE STRONGLY BELIEVE THIS FUEL SENSOR DEFECT BOTH IN DESIGN AND FUNCTIONALITY IS THE REASON BEHIND WHAT HAPPENED TO US. PUT MY FAMILY AND 6 POLICE PATROL MEN IN HARMS WAY. NOTIFIED BMW THAT THEY NEED TO EXTEND THEIR RECALL TO OTHER 2012 5 SERIES SEDANS GIVEN OUR EXPERIENCE. FELT COMPELLED TO NOTIFY YOU AS THERE MAY BE OTHER DRIVERS WHO WILL BE PUT IN HARMS WAY IF THIS PROBLEM IS NOT RECONCILED ON ALL 2012 5 SERIES SEDANS. WE WERE LUCKY WE WERE NOT INJURED. SOMEONE ELSE MIGHT NOT BE. *TR

NHTSA ODI 10627123

WHILE DRIVING IN METRO DETROIT LAST NIGHT MY 2012 BMW 528I XDRIVE SUDDENLY FLASHED A "FUEL SYSTEM MALFUNCTION" MESSAGE, LURCHED AND CAME TO A DEAD STOP JUST PAST THE INTERSECTION OF NOVI ROAD AND 10 MILE. I WAS TWO MILES FROM THE EXPRESSWAY AND MY WIFE AND CHILDREN WERE WITH ME IN THE CAR. HAD I MADE IT TO I-96 - JUST TWO MILES UP THE ROAD - AND THIS HAPPENED, WE VERY LIKELY WOULD HAVE BEEN INVOLVED IN A MAJOR ACCIDENT. POLICE WERE CALLED BECAUSE I WAS IN THE MIDDLE OF THE STREET. THE CAR WAS ELECTRONICALLY LOCKED. I COULD NOT PUT THE CAR IN NEUTRAL TO MOVE IT OUT OF THE ROADWAY. BMW SERVICE FINALLY MANAGED TO GET THE CAR TOWED 8 HOURS LATER BECAUSE FEW TOW TRUCKS LACKED THE EQUIPMENT NEEDED TO MOVE THE CAR WITHOUT DAMAGE. THERE IS NO MANUAL OVERRIDE TO ALLOW YOU TO PUT THE CAR IN NEUTRAL, IT CAN ONLY BE ACCESSED BY A SERVICE TECH UNDERNEATH THE CAR. MY SERVICE ADVISOR WAS WELL AWARE OF THE PROBLEM. THIS IS A MAJOR HAZARD AND HUGE DESIGN FLAW. THERE IS NO MECHANICAL LINKAGE TO EITHER THE START/STOP BUTTON OR THE SHIFTER. IT'S ALL ELECTRONICALLY CONTROLLED. I SHUDDER TO THINK WHAT WOULD HAVE HAPPENED HAD THE CAR STALLED ON THE INTERSTATE. NOW I'M STUCK WITH A CAR I DON'T FEEL SAFE DRIVING. *TR

NHTSA ODI 10559563