NHTSA Complaint #11547724 — 2014 BMW 535D

In July 2023, on the interstate in Des Moines during rush hour traffic, the car suddenly lurched once and abruptly stalled. We were in the passing lane with no chance to cross 3 lanes of traffic, so I coasted onto the left shoulder. We were towed to the BMW dealership where we were eventually informed of a “catastrophic” failure of the fuel system requiring complete replacement. This was not an ordinary fuel pump failure. There were no warning messages prior to the stall and when it did stall we were not warned to pull over safely in “limp mode”. Had we been in either of the center two lanes when it happened, we could have created a multi-car accident— which easily could have resulted in injuries or deaths. After several conversations with BMW of North America Customer Relations, I learned that some cars of this year, make and model have been recalled and others were issued an extended warranty (10 years or 120,000 mile— we were at 9 years and 125,000 miles). Despite my complaint and concern for the risks involved, BMW has chosen to do nothing further. By internet review, this fuel pump— the Bosch CP4— is a known problem in the United States.