NHTSA Complaint #11194541 — 2012 BMW X5

ON 2017 OCT 8TH, IN THE MIDDLE OF THE HIGHWAY, MY CAR HAD A RED MESSAGE SAYING THE ENGINE WAS OVERHEATED AND I NEED TO TURN OFF THE CAR IMMEDIATELY. I PULLED OVER TO THE SIDE AND TURNED OFF THE ENGINE TO COOL DOWN FOR AROUND 30 MIN. THERE WERE CARS PASSING BY IN 80 MILES RIGHT BY US. IT WAS TERRIFYING. FELT LIKE A CAR COULD CRASH INTO US ANY MOMENT. I HAD TO GET OFF THE HIGHWAY AND STOP AND TURN OFF THE ENGINE EVERY 5 MIN TO COME BACK HOME. 20 MIN DRIVE ALMOST TOOK ME 2 HOURS. I HAD MY KIDS IN THE CAR WITH NO AC. IT WAS ONLY A MONTH AFTER I PUT THE CAR IN SERVICE AND PAID $3086 FOR MAINTENANCE. I TOOK IT INTO BMW SERVICE AND PAID $2041 TO GET THE WATER PUMP FIXED. BMW SERVICE SAID THAT THEY CANNOT DO ANYTHING UNTIL THE CAR BREAKES DOWN AND HAVE THE MESSAGE ON. WHICH MEANS ALL POTENTIAL BMW COULD HAVE A POSSIBILITY OF BREAKING DOWN IN THE MIDDLE OF THE HIGHWAY. THE REASON I'M FILING THIS IS THAT JUST LAST WEEK I PUT THE CAR INTO SERVICE AND IN THE COURSE OF REASEARCHING I CAME ACROSS THE FACT THAT BMW X5 WATER PUMP WAS RECALLED IN 2018. I CONTACTED BMW AND THEY SAY MY SPECIFIC VIN WAS NOT AFFECTED. BUT IT LOOKS LIKE AS MAJORITY OF THE BMW AND MINI WATER PUMPS WERE RECALLED, THEY HAVE A FUNDAMENTAL ISSUE WITH THE WATER PUMPS. IT IS HARD TO BELIEVE WHEN MY WATER PUMP ACTUALLY BROKE AT 37000 MILEAGE IT'S NOT RELATED A DEFECT AT ALL. ALSO AS ESPECIALLY THEY CANNOT PREVENT THIS ISSUE MY CASE CLEARLY SHOWS HOW DANGEROUS IT IS TO HAVE A WATER PUMP FAILURE IN THE MIDDLE OF THE HIGHWAY. PLS REVIEW MY CASE AND ISSUE A RECALL.