NHTSA Complaint #11302614 — 2012 BMW 528I

SIX MONTHS I STARTED HEARING A HIGH PITCH NOISE AND IT ONLY GOT WORSE OVER THE FEW MONTHS. TWO WEEKS AGO (01/10/2020 AND 01/17/2020), IN THE NIGHT AROUND 8PM, MY BMW 528I CAR STALLED AT A TRAFFIC LIGHT IN CULVER CITY, CALIFIRNIA. IT FLASHED AN ERROR MESSAGE ON THE DISPLAY VERY BRIEFLY AND IT APPEARED TO BE "DRIVE TRAIN MALFUNCTION". STALLED IN THE MIDDLE OF THE STREET, MY FIRST REACTION WAS TO TURN ON THE HAZARD LIGHTS AND HOPE NOBODY HITS ME FROM THE BACK, AS I WAS NOT ABLE TO DRIVE FORWARD. BEFORE I COULD TAKE MY PHONE OUT AND TAKE A PICTURE OF THE SCREEN, THE ERROR SCREEN VANISHED. I PRESUMED THE "ERROR" WOULD BE SAVED IN THE SYSTEM AND SHUT THE ENGINE OFF, RESTARTED AND STARTED TO DRIVE AND PROCEED. AT BOTH THESE TIMES THERE WERE CARS BEHIND ME AND I TURNED ON THE HAZARD LIGHT TO WARN THE OTHER DRIVERS OF MY INABILITY TO DRIVE. I TOOK THE CAR TO TWO BMW SERVICE CENTERS. ONE OF THE SERVICE MANAGERS SAID HE CANNOT SAY WHAT THE ISSUE IS WITHOUT DOING A DIAGNOSIS, BUT THE PROBABLE CAUSE IS SOMETHING TO DO WITH THA OIL-PUMP OR THE CAM-SHAFTS AND RELATED TO TIMING. I TOOK THE CAR TO ANOTHER SERVICE CENTER AND HERE I LEFT THE CAR BEHIND FOR A SPECIFIC DIAGNOSIS. I WAS TOLD THE ISSUE IS RELATED TO TIMING CHAIN AND PLASTIC PARTS THAT HOLD THE CHAIN IN PLACE, DETERIORATE OVER TIME. I WAS TOLD THAT IT IS A COMMON ISSUE AND IT IS MY LUCK THAT THE TIMING CHAIN DID NOT RIP APART AND CAUSE AN ENGINE SEIZURE, WHICH WOULD HAVE COST ME $15000 IN REPAIRS THAN WHAT I WAS BILLED AROUND $6000. INCIDENTALLY, FEW MONTHS AGO THERE WERE OTHER PLASTIC PARTS THAT HOLD THE ENGINE IN PLACE ALSO DETERIORATE AND IT WAS SHAKING THE CAR. I HAD REPLACED THEM AT A CERTIFIED MECHANIC. THIS HAD COSTED ME ANOTHER $2000 PLUS IN REPAIRS. I HAVE MAINTAINED THE CAR IN GOOD CONDITION AND NEVER MISSED ANY SERVICE APPOINTMENTS. I HAVE BILLS OF ALL THE SERVICES PERFORMED ON THE CAR.