NHTSA Complaint #10153093 — 2001 BMW 325IT

AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS I COULD FEEL THE FRONT END BECOME UNSTABLE AND VIBRATE ESPECIALLY AFTER HITTING A BUMP OR CHANGING FROM ASPHALT TO CONCRETE.MY LOCAL MECHANIC SAID THE LOWER LEFT CONTROL ARM NEEDED TO BE REPLACED AND HE CALLED BMW FOR INFORMATION AND THEY IMMEDIATELY KNEW OF THE PROBLEM. HE RECOMMENDED I TAKE THE CAR TO THE LOCAL DEALER AS THE CAR HAS ONLY 33,000 MILES ON IT AND WE PUT LESS THAN 8,000 MILES/YEAR ON IT. HE SAID THIS FAILURE SHOULD NEVER HAVE HAPPENED THIS EARLY. BEFORE GOING TO THE DEALER, I CHECKED THE INTERNET (YAHOO USING THE SEARCH TERMS: BMW "CONTROL ARM" REPAIR). I FOUND HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF RESULTS, MANY OF THEM FORUM POSTINGS FROM OTHER 3 SERIES OWNERS WHO EXPERIENCED THIS FAILURE AT 15,000 TO 20,000 MILES. MOST OF THE POSTS ARE ON SITES LIKE BIMMERFORUM, BIMMERFEST, E46FANATICS, ETC. MY LOCAL BMW SERVICE CENTER AGREES THIS IS A MAJOR SAFETY ISSUE BUT THINKS I SHOULD PAY THE $1350 TO REPLACE BOTH FRONT CONTROL ARMS (THEY TELL ME THE OTHER IS CLOSE TO FAILURE). SINCE THIS IS A SERIOUS SAFETY ISSUE AND SO MANY OTHER OWNERS HAVE HAD THE PROBLEM AT 35,000 MILES OR LESS I AM COMPLETING THIS COMPLAINT FORM. I FEEL BMW SHOULD RECALL THESE AUTOS AND REPAIR THE CONTROL ARMS. *JB