NHTSA Complaint #10991176 — 2013 BMW 328I

TIMING CHAIN IS MAKING A WHINE AND A RATTLE SOUND WHEN ENGINE IS RUNNING. THE N20 ENGINE (TWIN TURBO 4 CYLINDER) IN THIS CAR ANY MANY OTHER BMW VEHICLES TIMING CHAINS ARE KNOWN TO STRETCH AND BREAK ALONG WITH THE ORIGINAL BROWN/DARK ORANGE COLOR PLASTIC TIMING CHAIN GUARD RAIL. THE TIMING CHAIN GUARD RAIL WAS MADE OUT OF A DEFECTIVE PLASTIC UNTIL AROUND 1/1/15 WHEN BMW REALIZED THERE WERE OWNERS HAVING CATASTROPHIC ENGINE FAILURE NOT IF THE CHAIN BREAKS, BUT WHEN. THE ONLY REPAIR IF THE ENGINE FAILS IS TO REPLACE THE ENGINE AT A COST OF APPROX. $12K AND $8K IN LABOR TOTALING ABOUT $20K WHICH EXCEEDS THE VALUE OF MY VEHICLE. VEHICLES WITH THIS ENGINE MANUFACTURED AFTER 1/1/15 HAVE THE REDESIGNED MORE DURABLE WHITE PLASTIC TIMING CHAIN GUARD RAIL ALLOWING THE ENGINE TO RUN SMOOTHER AND WITHOUT THE RISK OF ENGINE CATASTROPHIC FAILURE. THERE IS A GRAVE SAFETY RISK FOR OWNERS WITH THIS ENGINE WITH THE ORIGINAL PRE-2015 TIMING CHAIN & GUARD RAIL DESIGN BECAUSE IF YOU ARE TRAVELING IN NORMAL TRAFFIC OR ATTEMPTING TO CROSS A TRAIN TRACK OR OTHER DANGEROUS INTERSECTIONS, OCCUPANTS CAN BE KILLED AS A RESULT OF THE VEHICLE STALLING. CONTACTED BMW NORTH AMERICA ON 5/19/17 REGARDING THE ISSUE AND HAD THE VEHICLE INSPECTED BY MY LOCAL BMW DEALERSHIP WHO INDICATED THERE WAS NOTHING WRONG. THE TOTAL COST TO REPLACE MY ORIGINAL TIMING CHAIN AND TIMING CHAIN GUARD RAIL WITH THE RE-DESIGNED VERSION WOULD COST $4600 WITH PARTS & LABOR. BMW USA AND THE DEALERSHIP REFUSED TO COVER THE COST AND DENIED THIS IMPORTANT SAFETY DEFECT. I ALSO PROVIDED THEM A COPY OF A WEB LINK WITH A YOUTUBE VIDEO OF THE ISSUE NARRATED BY AN INDEPENDENT BMW TECHNICIAN EXPLAINING THE DEFECT. SEE THE LINK BELOW WHICH CONTAINS PHOTOS AND THE YOUTUBE VIDEO RELATED TO THIS ISSUE. HTTPS://BMWTECHNICIAN.COM/2016/08/07/N20-TIMING-CHAIN-ISSUE/