NHTSA Complaint #10169438 — 1999 BMW 528I

ASC CONTROL UNIT FAILED. THIS RESULTED IN FAILURE OF ANTI-LOCK BRAKES AND TRACTION CONTROL AND SPEEDOMETER ON MY 1999 BMW 528I. BMW HAS A SERVICE BULLETIN OUT ON THIS ISSUE FOR 5 SERIES CARS 9/98 TO 9/00 (MINE WAS BUILT 10/98). BULLETIN INFO: VS-23/WEINTUCH BAUGRUPPE/GROUP:32 32 01 00 (646) . THE REPAIR INSTRUCTIONS CODE IS RA 24 52 515/ 34 52 516. AFTER UNIT FAILED, I WAS INVOLVED IN AN EMERGENCY SITUATION IN WHICH I HAD TO BRAKE HEAVILY AND ALL FOUR WHEELS LOCKED UP. THERE IS A LARGE NUMBER OF VEHICLE OWNERS CURRENTLY REPORTING THIS SAME PROBLEM ON A NUMBER OF BMW BULLETIN BOARDS (WWW.ROADFLY.COM). IT IS A SAFETY ISSUE THAT APPARENTLY BMW IS AWARE OF BUT NOT DOING ANYTHING ABOUT IT. I UNDERSTAND THAT MY CAR IS NOT IN WARRANTY BUT I BELIEVE THIS IS A SAFETY ISSUE THAT SHOULD BE ADDRESSED. EVENTUALLY, THERE WILL BE A SERIOUS ACCIDENT FROM THIS KNOWN PART FAILURE. I HAVE ALSO HEARD THAT A NUMBER OF BMW DEALERS ARE STOCKING UP HIGHER THAN USUAL INVENTORIES OF THIS PART, APPARENTLY IN ANTICIPATION OF LARGE SCALE FAILURES OF THE ASC CONTROL UNIT (PART34-52-6-756-343). MY NEXT CAR WILL NOT BE A BMW, THEY DON'T STAND BEHIND THEIR CARS. THINK & READ BEFORE YOU BUY BMW! IT'S EXPENSIVE TO REPAIR.LC *NM