2018 BMW 540I — Problems, Recalls & Safety Data

For this item - Please refer to NTHSA RECALL 18V-465 : BMW Crank Sensor Recall 9/12/2018. In particular - this refers to a 2018 BMW 540ix. Specifically, "VEHICLES MAY HAVE BEEN MANUFACTUTRED WITH A CRANKSHAFT SENSOR, THAT DUE TO SENSOR FIRMWARE, CANNOT ACCURATELY PROCESS THE INPUT FROM THE CRANKSHAFT RELUCTOR RING. BASIS FOR RECALL POPULATION DETERMINATION: SUPPLIER PRODUCTION INFORMATION WAS USED TO IDENTIFY THE START AND END DATE OF THE AFFECTED CRANKSHAFT SENSORS WHICH THEN CORRELATED WITH ENGINE PRODUCTION AND VEHICLE ASSEMBLY INFORMATION TO DETERMINE THE START DATE (5/18/2018) AND THE END DATE (06/08/2018) OF THE AFFECTED VEHCILES." This vehicle was towed to a factory authorized dealership - all aspects of the malfunction mimicked the description in the recall. the Authorized dealer confirmed the sensor failure and proceeded to replace the defective crank sensor as per recall protocol. Authorized BMW Dealer and BMW Customer Service have refused 18V-465 Recall participation per, "After reviewing your request, the recall you referenced does not apply to your vehicle. Recalls are VIN-specific, and I can confirm there are no active recalls associated with your VIN at this time" Repair invoice was paid in full by vehicle owner for the crank Sensor Replacement. Considering that the issue at hand is a manufacturing failure depicted by a faulty firmware product (sounds like an intermittent or bad production circuit within the Crank Sensor computer chip), and with this vehicles in question produced just prior to the Factory implied recall production date -- might it be possible that the professed faulty firmware (ship) within the Crank sensor regulated in 18V-465 may have encountered some early production failures even previous the factory stipulated VIN date of 5/15/2028? Would it be advisable at this juncture for NHSTA to revisit 18V-465 to include and an all-defective Crank Sensors encountered that may be a causation for this safety recall? Thank you.

Recurring System Failures: My vehicle has exhibited intermittent and unpredictable system malfunctions, including engine stalling, braking issues, and electronic system failures. These pose serious safety risks and have made driving increasingly hazardous.continual tire pressure monitor reset light warning after reset 100 % measurement successful. rebalance all tires light reappear distant same spots

Recurring System Failures: My vehicle has exhibited intermittent and unpredictable system malfunctions, including engine stalling, braking issues, and electronic system failures. These pose serious safety risks and have made driving increasingly hazardous.continual tire pressure monitor reset light warning after reset 100 % measurement successful. rebalance all tires light reappear distant same spots

Recurring System Failures: My vehicle has exhibited intermittent and unpredictable system malfunctions, including engine stalling, braking issues, and electronic system failures. These pose serious safety risks and have made driving increasingly hazardous.continual tire pressure monitor reset light warning after reset 100 % measurement successful. rebalance all tires light reappear distant same spots

"Passenger Restraint System (Malfunction)" warning appears on the main screen and instrument panel blocking other information and cannot be removed from instrument panel WHILE THE SEATBELT HAS WORKED NORMAL. I researched the problem and found several threads about this problem on the BMW owners forums and found several discussions by numerous owners that said it is FAULTY SENSOR problem which is WIDESPREAD and deserves a recall. The odometer reading of this car, which was purchased in 2017, is about 28,000 miles now; the problem started when the odo was about 18,000. As a faulty sensor problem, or a real malfunction problem, a widespread problem started on a lightly used car at low odometer reading is a serious problem that the manufacturer should take care of. In the forum discussions, it was said that the problem might be triggered by putting a cold drink of a bag on the passenger seat. I never put a cold drink on it but did backpacks. Putting a backpack on a car seat should be a normal thing. In the forum some reported dealers fixed the problem free of charge and some refused and would charge thousands of dollars. My dealer refused to fix it for free. Machines, and humans, make mistakes and should be allowed to be reset/corrected. That the manufacturer designed and installed a known widespread fault sensor, does not allow the fault to reset or correct, and force owners to pay thousands of dollars to have dealers fix the faulty sensor warnings, created at least the appearance of impropriety of undue profiteering. Please help us consumers to have BMW take responsibility to fix its problems. Thank you.