My 2015 BMW Z4 vehicle has a coolant pump safety recall. It reportedly could cause a short circuit and thermal event or fire. I bought the vehicle while living elsewhere and am now in a small community with 4 major automobile dealers but not BMW. The nearest BMW dealer is about 220 miles away. I contacted that dealer. The service rep said it is 1.5-2 day repair and a loaner vehicle may be available. The repair time sounds wrong but is what she said. She said the dealership would not work with any facility close to me to make the repair so I must drive the 440 plus round trip miles for BMW dealer repair. Repair of 1.5 to 2 days means I would either need lodging and waste least 2-3 days of my time or drive back home with a 2nd trip to the dealer to return a loaner and get my car, 880 miles and many hours driving. Even a 1 day repair means 440 miles and many hours. Called BMW Recall Hotline at [XXX] & explained my situation. They declined help saying the dealer decides how the repair is handled. I called BMW Customer Service [XXX] . They declined help & said a BMW dealer must repair unless it wants to work with another repair facility. I submitted a web-form message on BMW's corporate website online message portal outlining the problem and requesting help to get the safety recall fix completed in a convenient manner; asked to escalate if possible. They replied 3 days later declining to help saying: "The recall would have to be performed at a BMW dealership. Unfortunately, towing assistance is not available for this recall. If you would like to have the repair performed at another mechanic, It would be a non-reimbursable out of pocket expense. I would not be able to submit an escalation in this matter because it does not meet the criteria to be escalated. I apologize about an inconvenience this may cause." This seems unreasonable for a safety recall that could cause a car fire. Can NHTSA please help me obtain a reasonably convenient repair from BMW? INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
NHTSA ODI 11691012