NHTSA Complaint #11449408 — 2011 BMW Z4

In Sept. 2018, the car was serviced but died after leaving the BMW service center. BMW paid for towing after discovering a frayed ribbed v-belt, which they replaced at no cost. In Nov. 2021, the oil gauge was indicating a problem and the car was then serviced at the same BMW service center. The technician was shocked to find broken pieces of an old drive belt stuck in suction tube. They took a video and then replaced the leaking oil pan gasket and gasket rings. Despite the risk of serious bodily harm or death if the engine had suddenly failed on the highway, BMW service center could not explain how pieces of the old drive belt got into the suction tube. They could not tell us that this problem would not happen again. This problem is not limited to BMW; however, at least one other car manufacturer has taken steps to prevent this problem.