NHTSA Complaint #10644161 — 2011 BMW 328

WHILE DRIVING ALONG AT APPROXIMATELY 35MPH, MY 2011 328I SHUT OFF. DUE TO MY GIVEN RELATIVELY LOW SPEED AND LOCATION (BACK ROAD) I WAS ABLE TO PULL THE CAR SAFELY TO THE SHOULDER. ONCE STOPPED, I ATTEMPTED TO START THE ENGINE. THE CAR WOULD START. SUBSEQUENTLY, THE CAR WAS TOWED TO THE NEAREST BMW SERVICE FACILITY. THE BMW REPAIR TECHNICIAN ADVISED AN INTERNAL FUEL LINK CRACKED, THUS THE CAR HAD EFFECTIVELY RUN OUT OF GAS. THE ENTIRE FUEL TANK AND PUMP HAD TO BE REPLACED. A SIMPLE GOOGLE SEARCH FOR "2011 BMW 328I SWOLLEN FUEL PUMP" REVEALS OTHERS HAVE HAD THIS ISSUE AS WELL. THIS IS A SERIOUS SAFETY CONCERN AS THE CAR COULD HAVE SHUT OFF AND FAILED AT ANY TIME. I COULD HAVE BEEN TRAVELLING AT 65MPH ON THE INTERSTATE, WHICH MAY HAVE CAUSED AN ACCIDENT. I WANT TO KNOW IF THE REPLACEMENT FUEL TANK AND PUMP THAT BMW INSTALLED IN MY CAR ADDRESS WHAT IS CLEARLY AN ENGINEERING AND DESIGN FAULT, OR AM I AT RISK OF THIS HAPPENING IN THE FUTURE AS WELL? I'VE CONTACTED BMW USA BUT HAVE NOT RECEIVED A RESPONSE AS OF THIS SUBMISSION. *TR