NHTSA Complaint #10399474 — 2000 BMW 323I

HAVE BEEN INFORMED BY MY MECHANIC THAT MY SUBFRAME IS FAILING ON THE REAR END OF MY BMW. HE PULLED A REPORT SAYING THAT A LAWSUIT HAS BEEN FILED AGAINST BMW BUT NO RECALL HAD BEEN ISSUED (I.E, A 'SILENT' RECALL). HIS WORDS: "MAN YOU'RE TOTALLY SCREWED." MY READING OF THE LAWSUIT IS THAT THERE WAS A LIMITED TIME TO SEEK REDRESS FROM BMW; HAVING JUST FOUND OUT ABOUT THE PROBLEM, I'M HAVING A HARD TIME IMAGINING HOW SOMETHING THAT APPARENTLY IS EPIDEMIC IN 3-SERIES BMWS AND CAN CAUSE CATASTROPHIC FAILURE (IN ONE CASE, APPARENTLY LOCKING UP THE BRAKES AND CAUSING THE CAR TO COME TO A SCREECHING HALT) HAS NOT RESULTED IN A RECALL OF MODEL WITH MANDATORY REPAIRS! AGAIN, I'M NOT A LAWYER BUT MY READING OF THE DOCUMENT MY MECHANIC SHOWED ME SEEMS TO REVEAL AN ENORMOUS DODGE BY BMW IN LIMITING THE TIME FRAME DURING WHICH ONE CAN HAVE THEM REPAIR THE PROBLEM! MY INTERNET SEARCH THIS WEEKEND SHOWS THAT THERE ARE MANY OTHERS WITH THE SAME COMPLAINT, PEOPLE DESCRIBING LOSS OF CONTROL OF THEIR CARS, ETC., AND OF COURSE I'M NOT IN THE DRIVE THIS THING ANYMORE. IT SEEMS THE SERIOUS NATURE OF POTENTIAL PROBLEMS AND OBVIOUS DEFECT IN MANUFACTURING SHOULD WARRANT SOME SORT OF MANDATORY REDRESS BY THE MANUFACTURER. (MY CAR HAS NEVER BEEN USED IN RACING OR EXTREME ACTIVITIES, JUST HIGHWAY DRIVING, MOSTLY FOR COMMUTE.) HAD I NOT ASKED HIM TO CHECK THE CAUSE OF THE SQUEAKING IN THE REAR, MY 1ST NOTICE OF THIS COULD WELL HAVE BEEN A LOSS OF CONTROL OF THE VEHICLE. *TR