NHTSA Complaint #11324466 — 2019 BMW 540I

MY CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON FOR CHASSIS STABILIZATION AND DRIVETRAIN MALFUNCTION. I TOOK IT TO THE DEALERSHIP AND THEY TOLD ME THEY REPAIR WOULD NOT BE COVERED UNDER WARRANTY. DEALERSHIP ALLEGES A RODENT GNAWED ON A ENGINE WIRING HARNESS. FROM WHAT I GATHER FROM THE DEALERSHIP THIS OCCURS FREQUENTLY. THE MANUFACTURER IS AWARE OF THIS PROBLEM BUT HAS FAILED TO MAKE NECESSARY DESIGN CHANGES TO MAKE THESE WIRING HARNESSES INACCESSIBLE TO RODENTS. MY CASE IS NOT THE WORSE CASE SCENARIO BUT A FIRE COULD HAVE STARTED, MY VEHICLE COULD HAVE BECOME INOPERABLE AND CAUSE AN ACCIDENT WHILE OPERATING THE VEHICLE. I WOULD LIKE TO REQUEST FMVSS BE UPDATED TO ADDRESS THESE PRODUCT DESIGN DEFECTS. A WIRING HARNESS THAT CAN POTENTIAL DISABLE REGULAR FUNCTIONS OF THE VEHICLE COULD RESULT IN DEATH SHOULD NOT BE EASILY DISABLED BY A RODENT. *TR