NHTSA Complaint #10563583 — 2010 BMW 535I

I PURCHASED A PRE-OWNED 2010 BMW 535I ON 12/31/2013. THE NEXT DAY (NEW YEAR'S DAY), AND WITHOUT ANY WARNING OR INDICATION, THE VEHICLE SPONTANEOUSLY SHUT DOWN, COMING TO A ROLLING STOP. AS SOON AS THE ENGINE SHUT DOWN, THE DASHBOARD SHOWED A "FUEL PUMP" WARNING, WHICH ALSO NOTED THAT "CONTINUED DRIVING IS POSSIBLE." HOWEVER, SEVERAL ATTEMPTS TO RE-START WERE NOT SUCCESSFUL, AND THE VEHICLE HAD TO BE PUSHED TO A SAFE LOCATION. PRIOR TO THE ENGINE FAILURE, I WAS DRIVING AT ABOUT 35 MPH ON A 2-LANE DIVIDE ROADWAY, WHERE CONSTRUCTION BARRICADES REPLACED THE SHOULDER. THE INCIDENT OCCURRED JUST AROUND MIDNIGHT, AND THERE WAS VERY LITTLE TRAFFIC, SO WE WERE SPARED CERTAIN CATASTROPHE. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO MY HOME, AND ALTHOUGH THE ENGINE LIGHT STAYED ON, WE WERE ABLE TO DRIVE IT BACK TO THE DEALERSHIP FROM THERE. FOR THE NEXT 30+ DAYS, VARIOUS FUEL INJECTION SYSTEM COMPONENTS WERE SERVICED AND/OR REPLACED INCLUDING THE FOLLOWING: HIGH-PRESSURE FUEL PUMP REPLACED; LOW-PRESSURE FUEL PUMP REPLACED; FUEL INJECTORS FLUSHED, IGNITION COILS AND SPARK PLUGS REPLACED. AFTER EACH OF THOSE "FIXES", THE VEHICLE WAS RETURNED TO US, AND SHUT DOWN AGAIN ON THE ROAD AND IN TRAFFIC WITHIN 2 DAYS. FINALLY, THE INJECTION PUMP CONTROL MODULE WAS REPLACED, AND THE VEHICLE UNDERWENT A COMPLETE SOFTWARE SYSTEM UPDATE. WE PICKED UP THE VEHICLE FOR THE 4TH TIME ON 2/3/2014, AND IT APPEARS THAT THE PROBLEM HAS BEEN CORRECTED AND OUR SAFETY RESTORED.... *TR