NHTSA Complaint #10422252 — 2009 BMW 3 SERIES

ON THURSDAY, AUGUST 18, 2011, MY 2009 328I SHUT DOWN WITHOUT NOTICE IN THE MIDDLE LANE OF I-90 AT MILE MARKER 80.002 ABOUT A MILE FROM OHARE AIRPORT IN CHICAGO. IT WAS UNABLE TO RESTART AND I WAS LEFT TO CALL 911 AND SPEND 10 MINUTES WAITING FOR DOT TO TOW ME OFF THE MIDDLE OF THE HIGHWAY AND TO A RESIDENTIAL NEIGHBORHOOD TO WAIT ANOTHER HOUR FOR AAA TO TOW MY CAR TO PERILLO BMW IN CHICAGO TO ASSESS THE ISSUE. JUNE 15TH 2011: ABOUT 3 HOURS AFTER BRINGING MY CAR INTO THE ZIMBRICK BMW SERVICE FACILITY TO HAVE A SET OF AFTER-MARKET LED LIGHTS INSTALLED AT COST, THE SERVICE ENGINE SOON LIGHT APPEARED ILLUMINATED ON MY DASHBOARD. AS I HAD NEVER SEEN THIS LIGHT APPEAR ON MY LESS THAN 2 YEAR OLD CAR BEFORE, I IMMEDIATELY CALLED THE PERSON WHO WAS HEAD OF YOUR SERVICE DEPARTMENT TO DISCUSS HOW THIS LIGHT COULD APPEAR FOR THE FIRST TIME AFTER HAVING MY CAR IN HOURS EARLIER ON A SERVICE APPOINTMENT THAT SHOULD NOT HAVE TOUCHED THE ENGINE. A LOANER CAR WAS PROMPTLY DRIVEN TO MY OFFICE, TO CHECK INTO THE ISSUE AND TAKE MY CAR BACK TO THE DEALERSHIP FOR FURTHER INSPECTION, IF NECESSARY. THE FOLLOWING IS THE CONVERSATION THAT TRANSPIRED BETWEEN THE SERVICE REP AND I, UPON HIS REVIEW OF MY VEHICLE, USING A COMPUTER CONNECTION TO PULL DATA FROM MY CARS ONBOARD COMPUTER SYSTEM: SA: WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU FILLED THE CAR WITH GAS? ME: (CHECKING THE ODOMETER, AS I RESET IT WITH EACH FULL TANK OF GAS) ABOUT 97 MILES AGO. SA: WELL, THE COMPUTER IS REPORTING THE ISSUE HAS SOMETHING TO DO WITH YOUR FUEL PUMP, HOWEVER, I THINK IT MIGHT JUST BE THAT YOUR GAS CAP MAY HAVE BEEN UNSCREWED. ME: I CAN'T SAY THAT MAKES MUCH SENSE, AS I FILLED IT UP 97 MILES AGO AND HAVEN'T SEEN AN ISSUE UNTIL NOW. SA; WELL, LET ME JUST TURN THE INDICATOR LIGHT OFF AND LET ME KNOW IF YOU RUN INTO THIS ISSUE AGAIN.