NHTSA Complaint #10556154 — 2004 BMW 545I

MAIN PROBLEM: VEHICLE EXHIBITS HIGHLY UNSAFE TENDENCIES OF TURNING OFF RANDOMLY, LEAVING THE DRIVER WITH NO POWER, NO FUNCTIONING GAUGES, NO FUNCTIONING LIGHTS, AND MORE. CAUSE: FAULTY ALTERNATOR AND VOLTAGE REGULATOR. SCENARIO: ON 12/21/2012, A 2004 BMW 545I VEHICLE WITH APPROXIMATELY 29,000 MILES ON ITS ODOMETER IS TRAVELING ON A HIGHWAY DRIVING 70MPH, HIGHWAY IS FLAT AND SPEED IS CONSTANT WITH VERY LIGHT TRAFFIC. WITHOUT WARNING, CAR COMPLETELY TURNS OFF, ALL GAUGES (SPEED, TACHOMETER, AND FUEL) REVERT TO "0" POSITION, RADIO TURNS OFF, LIGHTS TURN OFF, CAR IMMEDIATELY SLOWS AND HAS NO PROPULSION POWER NOR SPEED CONTROL AT ALL. BRAKE PEDAL WAS NOT DEPRESSED, STEERING REVERTED TO A VERY FIRM FEELING. ABOUT 10 SECONDS OF COASTING LATER, THE VEHICLE'S ELECTRONICS RESUME OPERATION. MULTIPLE INCIDENTS WERE TO OCCUR BETWEEN 12/21/2012 AND 1/29/2013 TO VARYING DEGREES OF SEVERITY. ON 1/29/2013, THE VEHICLE FAILED IN A SIMILAR CAPACITY THREE TIMES ON A 21 MILE JOURNEY. ON 1/30/2013, VEHICLE FAILED TWICE. ON 1/31/2013, THE BMW 545I VEHICLE IS AT AN AUTHORIZED BMW DEALER. IT IS DETERMINED THE ALTERNATOR AND VOLTAGE REGULATOR ARE DEFECTIVE. ELECTRICAL POWER WAS NOT CONSISTENTLY BEING GENERATED NOR ALLOCATED TO VITAL VEHICLE COMPUTERS. THESE INTERRUPTIONS IN POWER SUPPLIES, WHICH LAST APPROXIMATELY 7-10 SECONDS, ARE REFERRED TO AS BROWN-OUTS AND THEY VARY IN DEGREE OF SEVERITY. THE MAJOR CASES INCAPACITATED THE ENTIRE VEHICLE, SHUTTING DOWN ALL GAUGES, LIGHTS, AND CRITICAL SAFETY SYSTEMS. ON 2/1/2013, THE BMW 545I WAS DELIVERED BACK TO THE OWNER WITH THE ALTERNATOR AND VOLTAGE REGULATOR REPLACED. THE MILEAGE OF THE VEHICLE AT THE TIME OF REPAIR WAS ONLY 33,426. NOTE: BMW DEALER NOTED THIS WAS A COMMON PROBLEM ON MANY OF THE 5-SERIES MODELS IN THE 2004 AND UP YEAR RANGE. *TR