NHTSA Complaint #10470265 — 2007 BMW 328I

ON AUG 10, 2012, I WAS DRIVING MY 2007 BMW 328I ON MONTAGUE EXPY (COUNTY HIGHWAY G4) DURING THE PEAK TRAFFIC HOUR (6:30PM). OBVIOUSLY, AT THAT TIME, THE ROAD WAS PACKED WITH TRAFFIC, AND SUDDENLY MY CAR ENGINE EXTINGUISHED AND DIED RIGHT THERE IN THE MIDDLE OF THE EXPRESSWAY. I HAD TO STAY IN MY CAR FOR MY NEARLY 45 MINUTES, TOO TERRIFIED TO WALK OUT OF MY CAR AND ALSO TERRIFIED TO STAY INSIDE, WHERE I WAS EQUALLY VULNERABLE. THANKFULLY, THE CAR BEHIND ME HAD KEPT A GOOD DISTANCE AWAY AND STOPPED TOO; IF THE DRIVER WASN'T SO CAREFUL, ONE CAN ONLY IMAGINE A FAR WORSE SITUATION OCCURRING, SUCH AS A PILEUP. I HAVE KEPT A VERY GOOD MAINTENANCE RECORD ON THIS BMW 328I AND ALSO PURCHASED THE EXTENSION MAINTENANCE PROGRAM BACK WHEN I BOUGHT IT, AND THEREFORE, THIS MALFUNCTION ISSUE WAS MOST DEFINITELY NOT CAUSED BY OWNER IGNORANCE OR LACK OF CARE. AND YET, DESPITE HAVING TAKEN GOOD CARE OF MY CAR, I ALREADY HAD TO HAVE A MAJOR ENGINE REPAIR ON THE BMW WITHIN ITS FIRST TWO YEARS. AND JUST HALF A YEAR AGO, I HAD TO HAVE ANOTHER MAJOR STARTER REPAIR AS WELL - I COULDN'T EVEN START UP THE CAR ENGINE. AND NOW THERE'S THIS - A CAR STALL FROM A DEFECT WITH THE FUEL PUMP. I FIND THIS RECENT INCIDENT THE MOST AGGRAVATING AND DANGEROUS OF THEM ALL; I HONESTLY COULD HAVE DIED. THUS I AM FILING THIS COMPLAINT TO ALERT THE NATIONAL HIGHWAY TRAFFIC SAFETY ADMINISTRATION THAT THERE IS A PROBLEM IN PARTICULAR WITH THE BMW 328I. HOPEFULLY ONCE THIS PROBLEM IS DOCUMENTED AND BMW IS NOTIFIED, WE CAN SEE IF OTHER BMW 328I OWNERS HAVE BEEN EXPERIENCING SIMILAR PROBLEMS AS WELL, AND ULTIMATELY PREVENT BMW OWNERS FROM EXPERIENCING AN INCIDENT AS DANGEROUS AS MINE IN THE FUTURE. *TR