NHTSA Complaint #10598930 — 2002 BMW M3

I AM FILING THIS COMPLAINT ON BEHALF OF MYSELF AND THE COUNTLESS OTHERS EXPERIENCING THIS POTENTIALLY FATAL DEFECT IN BMW'S SMG PUMP UNIT. I WAS DRIVING ON THE FREEWAY FOR ABOUT 5 MINUTES WHEN I NOTICED MY CAR IMMEDIATELY SHIFTED INTO NEUTRAL WITHOUT ME MAKING THAT DECISION. I WAS IN THE MIDDLE OF CHANGING LANES WHEN THIS HAPPENED. THE SMG WARNING LIGHT CAME ON. I PUT MY HAZARDS ON. THE CAR ABRUPTLY SLOWED AS IT CHOSE TO SHIFT BACK TO 4TH GEAR AS I WAS GOING 65MPH. I TRIED SHIFTING BACK UP TO GEAR SAFELY GET TO THE SHOULDER BUT WITH NO LUCK AS THE VEHICLE WENT BACK INTO NEUTRAL. THE CARS BEHIND ME CAME VERY RAPIDLY AND TWO ALMOST HIT ME AS A RESULT OF THIS PUMP FAILURE. BY THIS TIME I WAS TRAVELING AROUND 40MPH IN A 65+ TRAFFIC ZONE. I FINALLY ROLLED MY CAR DOWN THE SHOULDER TO SAFETY. I REPLACED THE SMG RELAY WITH A SPARE NEW ONE I ALWAYS CARRIED IN THE CAR. I WAITED 10 MINUTES FOR THE VEHICLE TO COOL OFF AS I KNEW THIS WAS THE INFAMOUS SMG PUMP ISSUE. THE CAR STARTED BACK UP WITH NO LIGHT AND DROVE ME ALMOST THE ENTIRE ROUTE BACK HOME. JUST ABOUT A MILE FROM MY HOME, SAME THING HAPPENED. THIS TIME LEAVING ME COMPLETELY STUCK IN A BUSY INTERSECTION. LUCKILY, THE PEOPLE BEHIND ME WERE KIND ENOUGH TO HELP PUSH MY CAR OUT OF THE WAY. I CALLED A FRIEND AND WE PUSHED THE CAR ALL THE WAY BACK TO MY GARAGE. NOW THIS IS JUST THE FIRST TIME IT HAS HAPPENED. IT HAPPENS IN LESS THAN 3 MINUTES OF DRIVING THE CAR JUST WHEN I TRY TO MOVE IT NEVER BREAKING 15MPH. BMWNA IGNORES OUR COMPLAINTS AS THEIR DEALERSHIPS MAKE MONEY HAND OVER FIST WITH THIS $4000 REPAIR. MY COMPLAINT IS NOT WITH THE REPAIR AMOUNT. US M3 OWNERS ARE AWARE OF THE MAINTENANCE AND REPAIR COSTS FOR OUR HIGHLY SPECIALIZED VEHICLES. HOWEVER, THIS PUMP MALFUNCTION IS A VERY REAL DANGER TO ALL DRIVERS. WE'VE SEEN THIS HAPPEN TO VEHICLES WITH ANYWHERE FROM 15K TO 120K MILES ON THEM. BMW NEEDS TO ISSUE A RECALL. *TR