NHTSA Complaint #10409716 — 2003 BMW M3

RE: SMG PUMP FAILURE I HAVE CONTACTED BMWNA IN THE PAST IN REGARDS TO THE SMG (SEQUENTIAL MANUAL GEARSHIFT) PUMP FAILURE IN SOME BMW E46 M3'S 2002-2006. BMWNA APPEARS TO BRUSH THIS PROBLEM ASIDE. THE SMG IS AN ELECTRO HYDRAULICALLY ACTUATED CLUTCH. IT CHANGES THE GEARS (UTILIZING HYDRAULIC PUMP) WITHOUT AN ACTUAL CLUTCH PEDAL BY UTILIZING THE SHIFTER LEVER LOCATED ON THE CENTER CONSOLE OR THE SHIFTER PADDLE LEVERS ON THE STEERING WHEEL. WHEN THE SMG FAILS YOUR VEHICLE LOSES ENGINE POWER AND YOU ARE UNABLE TO PROCEED. THIS COMMON PROBLEM APPEARS TO OCCUR IN THESE MODEL YEARS WITH AS LOW AS 40,000 MILES OR AS IN MY CASE 75,000 MILES. ON JULY 6, 2010 I TOOK MY M3 TO WEBER BMW IN FRESNO, CA. DUE TO THE "CHECK ENGINE LIGHT". I WAS TOLD I WOULD BE NEEDING A NEW SMG PUMP, WHICH I HAD NO CHOICE, BUT TO PAY THE COST OF $3,823.12 FOR THE REPLACEMENT PART. I AM A MEMBER OF A BMW TALK FORUM CALLED E46FANATICS.COM (HTTP://FORUM.E46FANATICS.COM/SEARCH.PHP?SEARCHID=19190542) AND M3FORUM.COM (HTTP://WWW.M3FORUM.NET/M3FORUM/SEARCH.PHP?SEARCHID=9157882) THESE TWO WEB SITES PROVIDE LOTS OF VALUABLE INFO IN REGARDS TO BMW OWNERS WHO HAVE HAD PROBLEMS WITH THE SMG PUMP. I UNDERSTAND CARS BREAK DOWN, BUT WHEN IT'S A COMMON PROBLEM SUCH AS THIS PROBLEM AND BMWNA IGNORES IT, THEN IN MY OPINION IT SHOULD BE A LEGAL PROBLEM. MY M3 IS AND HAS ALWAYS BEEN PROPERLY SERVICED AS BMW REQUIRES. I FEEL THIS IS A DEFECTIVE PART IN THESE M3'S BUILT BETWEEN 2002 AND 2006. I AM STILL ANGRY THAT I HAD TO PAY THIS AMOUNT WHEN I STRONGLY BELIEVE BMW IS AWARE OF THIS PROBLEM, BUT REFUSES TO ACKNOWLEDGE IT'S THEIR FAULT. THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME, DANIEL HERNANDEZ