NHTSA Complaint #10284931 — 2002 BMW 745I

I TOOK MY CAR TO BMW SERVICE DEPT. IN MARCH AND APRIL TO GET MY CAR SERVICED FOR SCHEDULED SERVICE AND FOR THE "CHECK ENGINE SOON" LIGHT DISPLAYED. IMMEDIATELY FOLLOWING THE SERVICE I EXPERIENCED MY CAR HESITATING TO START AND ALSO SOUNDED ROUGH AND IDLED. I CALLED THE NEXT MORNING AND SPOKE WITH A SERVICE ADVISOR ABOUT MY CAR AND HE SAID TO BRING IT IN. I STOPPED THERE ON MY WAY TO WORK THE NEXT MORNING AND THEY STARTED MY CAR AND ASKED ME WHAT TYPE OF GAS I WAS USING AND I SAID EXXON. I WAS TOLD THAT I PROBABLY GOT A HOLD OF SOME BAD GAS AND WHEN I ASKED WHAT SHOULD I DO, I WAS TOLD THAT I SHOULD WAIT UNTIL ABOUT 7-8 FILL UPS TO ALLOW THE GAS TO BURN OUT AND IF I STILL EXPERIENCED THE PROBLEM TO BRING IT BACK. THE SERVICE ADVISOR INFORMED ME THAT BMW RECOMMENDS USING TEXACO GAS WITH TECHRON. RECENTLY, I WAS TRAVELING OUT OF TOWN WITH MY TWO NEPHEWS IN MY CAR IN THE FAST LANE ON ROUTE 95 SOUTH WHEN I HEARD A SOUND THAT RESEMBLED A CAR BACK FIRING AND THEN FELT MY CAR LOSE POWER WHICH WAS ONE OF THE MOST FRIGHTENING SITUATIONS THAT I'VE EVER EXPERIENCED. I DRIFTED TO THE SIDE AND NOTICED ON MY DISPLAY MY CAR READ "TRANSMISSION FAILSAFE MODE" AND WOULD NOT ENGAGE IN DRIVE EVEN THOUGH IT WAS STILL RUNNING AND THE "CHECK ENGINE SOON" LIGHT WAS DISPLAYED. I HAD MY CAR TOWED HOME BECAUSE THE SERVICE DEPARTMENT WAS NOT OPEN. THE FOLLOWING WEEK I HAD MY CAR TOWED TO THE BMW TO PERFORM A DIAGNOSTIC TEST AND TOLD THEM TO NOTIFY MY HUSBAND OF THE RESULTS. MY HUSBAND WAS TOLD THAT THE DIAGNOSTIC CODES WERE DUE TO A BAD MECHATRONIC UNIT, BUT THERE WERE RECOMMENDING REPLACING THE TRANSMISSION TO THE TUNE OF $12,000 (REMANUFACTURED) DUE TO BEING CHANGED IN 2004. I WAS INFURIATED BY THE FACT THAT THE SERVICE MANUAL SAYS THAT THE TRANSMISSION SHOULD BE SERVICED AT 1000,000 MILES, AND THERE WAS NO INDICATION NOR WAS I NOTIFIED BY BMW THAT NEEDED TO TAKE PLACE. TO BE PLACED IN A DANGEROUS AND POTENTIAL FATAL SITUATION AT MY COST IS UNACCEPTABLE. *TR