NHTSA Complaint #10052812 — 2002 BMW 325I

MY SERVICE ENGINE SOON LIGHT BEGAN APPEARING IN NOVEMBER 2003. I BROUGHT MY CAR IN THE FIRST TIME AND GLOBAL IMPORTS IN ATLANTA GA INFORMED ME THAT THERE WAS NOTHING WRONG. AGAIN, IN LATE DECEMBER 2003, THE LIGHT CAME ON AGAIN. ON 1/6/2004, I BROUGHT MY VEHICLE INTO GLOBAL IMPORTS. THEY INFORMED ME A VALVE WAS REPLACED AND I WAS ON MY WAY. TWO DAYS LATER ON 1/8/04, WHILE DRIVING DOWN GA 40 AT APPROXIMATELY 70 MPH, MY VEHICLE SHUT DOWN ON ME. LITERALLY, THE WHEELS WOULD NOT TURN AS I STRUGGLED TO MAINTAIN CONTROL OF MY VEHICLE. I SWERVED IN AND OUT OF LANES. IT WAS FORTUNATE MYSELF OR OTHERS ON THE HIGHWAY WERE NOT INJURED. WHEN MY VEHICLE CAME TO A STOP IN THE MIDDLE OF THE HIGHWAY, IT WOULD NOT MOVE. AFTER SEVERAL ATTEMPTS, THE VEHICLE MOVED AT ONLY 2 MPH WITH A LOUD, UNPLEASANT NOISE. THERE WERE NO WARNING SIGNALS AT ALL TO ALERT ME OF AN UPCOMING MALFUNCTION. BMW ROADSIDE ASSISTANCE RESPONDED WITH A TOW TRUCK TO ASSIST ME A LITTLE OVER AN HOUR LATER. I WAS TOWED INTO GLOBAL IMPORTS. THE CAR IS STILL PRESENTLY THERE AS I AWAIT A NEW DIFFERENTIAL. THIS CAR WAS PURCHASED AS A NEW VEHICLE IN FEBRUARY OF 2003 FROM BRIAN HARRIS BMW IN BATON ROUGE, LA. THE CAR PRESENTLY HAS 17,000 MILES. LESS THAN ONE YEAR OLD! *AK