BMW Reviews

When my vehicle's factory warranty expired 2 days after my visit, I purchased the extended warranty for $1400 from BMW. A few months later, I brought my car in again with the same complaints and received the same resolution. On May 30, 2012, I took my vehicle to BMW of Morristown and reported these same issues. After diagnosing my vehicle, they determined that the entertainment computer was going bad which cost approximately $1300 to repair. It was also determined that the squeaking noise from the front end was being caused by the bushings on the control arms which cost approximately $800 to repair.

I was advised by the service agent that these issues are not covered by the extended BMW warranty. I explained that I reported the issues prior to the expiration of my factory warranty. I was given a number to BMW North America customer relations department for escalation. I contacted them immediately. I provided a copy of the invoice documentation that shows my complaints were made during the period of the factory warranty.

One week later, I received a follow-up call to notify me that BMW would not honor the repairs because they were not able to duplicate the problem while the warranty was valid (even though I reported it). My request for an additional escalation path was denied by Nick (Customer Service Manager), because according to him, he was the highest level. I requested the physical street address for the corporate office in NJ, in which I was also denied. I am very upset at how BMW decided to conduct business regarding my claim. I would like some direction on what I can do to hold them accountable for these repairs.

After rebutting that ridiculous statement, she proceeded to find another "answer" (other than the airbag sensor is defective, of course). The engineer found there was some kind of impact to the car. I know there was no impact because I was driving my vehicle. I requested documentation for my records and the claim representative told me she cannot give me any documents because the findings are "internal information" and she cannot give that information out. She proceeded to offer that BMW NA will pay for the damaged parts, but I had to pay for the labor, which would cost a minimum of $4,200. The manufacturer should hold full responsibility for the damages.

If BMW NA believed they were not responsible for the incident, why would they offer even one penny toward fixing the damages? I believe that a class-action suit should be pursued. There have been many incidents reported about this same situation. My vehicle was manufactured in December of 1998, one of the first vehicles ever manufactured for the model year 1999. Naturally, there would be some bugs/defects with my vehicle, especially considering that there is a recall for the airbag system on 1999 BMW 323is (but only for the 1999 323is manufactured between April and August of 1999). Please help. I will try to round up as many people with this same issue and have them file complaints as well.

A month later, while I stopped at a stop light, my back hatch opened all on its own. Then within that same week, while driving up my drive way at a speed of 15mph, my back hatch opened all on its own again. So I called the service department again. And again I took my car to the service department. They kept my car for almost a week, only to conclude that they couldn't duplicate the problem. Therefore, they couldn't fix the problem. Another month goes by. While driving on the freeway, this time the dash alerted me: 1) Back hatch open. Then the alert goes away moments later; 2) The hazards start flashing; 3) The windshield wipers start swiping, and the windshield wiper fluid starts spraying; 4) And an alert on my dash states, "Windshield wiper system failure." That alert flashed twice.

I currently have my car in the service department and I’m at my wit’s end. I thought this company built good, dependable cars. All I have experienced is problems. My car isn't even a year old. The company has told me that in order to buy back my car, I have to pay them $3,500. I think that’s totally unacceptable. I never want to do business with BMW again.

Instead of them saying it's a lemon, they want to spend countless hours and weeks trying to fix a car they don't know how to fix for 3 weeks now. I am so angry. I don't know what else to do. They are not helping me to my satisfaction at all. All they keep telling me is they are working on it. It's been almost 3 weeks now. Enough is enough now. They keep taking apart my car and putting it back together to the point that I don't want the car because I don't think I’ll be or feel safe in it. My car is in Union Park BMW in Wilmington, DE 19806. BMW needs to buy this car back so I can move on with my life. It does not take this long to fix any car - not 3 weeks!

On 20/05/2012, the car has been sent to Sharjah service station for further investigations. This car is still with Sharjah, UAE service station and they were unable to figure out the issue! This is a new car and such bad quality product from BMW is not acceptable to me. I need to know how I can get full refund! I do not need a new car as I am not sure about the new 335i. Repeated email and phone calls to BMW have no result. The sales executive who has sold the car to me also made it clear that he is helpless! What is happening with all the quality that is being boosted by BMW? Please, someone help with your suggestion on how to go about this issue. Thanks in advance.

The techs have no idea what they are doing because they rely on diagnostic test that don’t tell you everything. I found out that the issue I’m having now was replaced previously. I contacted corporate and told them that if this vehicle is a lemon, I want a replacement vehicle or reimbursement because this makes no sense. Also, they don’t give loaners unless you purchased a vehicle from that dealership. **. I have a rental for over a week and my vehicle is still not fixed. I get a phone call from the dealership tech saying, oh we found more issues. Just fix my damn car so I can move on. I’m already looking to switch out. Don’t buy BMW products, a waste! I didn’t have this issue with Mercedes or any other company.

In December 2011, I went to get a checkup on my BMW 2008. There was a leakage when the engine light came on & BMW team in Pleasanton said they fixed the car and no issue was raised. The car was fine. Yeah! Just this month, in early May 2012 (5 months after), the engine service light came on briefly. I think it is because of the oil change needed, so I take it to the dealership. I thought the warranty was still valid, as the car has only 46000 miles on it (<50000) but I was wrong. It had expired on Jan 2012 (4 years had already passed).

In any case, BMW informed my husband and I that the following issues have occurred in the past 5 months:

5) Other alignment problems (mount/balance)= 832.00+199.00= $1031

I am very surprised that I have a total bill of $4189 at one time. I expected $200-$400 expenses per visit for some items, but I am disappointed that the car engine seems to be breaking down so fast - with leaks and major replacements at such early stages. I am very disappointed that the car has not even reached 50,000 miles and the components are already failing for some reason. I thought BMW quality would be better.

My husband and I are trying to find another mechanic that can perhaps do the job for lower price. But then afterwards, we will sell the car & buy a Lexus or Toyota. I think my confidence in BMW quality & engineering has significantly dropped.

I went to collect the car and just before I got home the same day, the noise was still there. I called them and told them that what they did didn’t help even one bit. They arranged for me to bring back the car the following day. And mind you, that this is my only car, I just cannot afford to be taking it in where I can’t even get a loan car or any kind of assistance in terms of transport to and from work. My car spends another good 3 days there with them changing some other cables as well and re-gasing the fan or air-con. Then I went to collect my car again and the problem was still there. The noise was so loud that even people at the robot would turn heads. I told the dealer again that the problem was not fixed. This time around the cables inside my car were hanging around on the passenger sit side where I had to tuck them in. This is a new BMW car for God’s sake.

I had to travel to Swaziland, so I was away for a month. When I came back, I had a tire bust and my car was towed to Menlyn Auto. Then, I told them as well about the problem. They looked at it as well and tried to fix it, but no luck. They said there was a new part that was needed and ordered it. And again I had to be car-less for more than a week. They did a test drive and told me that unfortunately the noise is still there and there is something else they have to do. Again, they chopped and changed whatever it was, but still the first day of me collecting the car the noise was there.

I called them and told them as well, but nothing happened. I decided to bring it to the dealer I bought it from, which is Sandton Auto. I came with my problem and explained to the manager the whole story and the fact that if I bring my car in, I will need a loan car (which I was promised to get but didn’t). Then my car was booked in (this is the fourth time now in a dealer with the same problem). It stayed about 3 days because they had to keep the car in for testing in the morning to see exactly what could be wrong. They changed something as well and also when I went to collect the car, the noise was there before I could even get to the robot near them. I called them again and told them that whatever they did, it didn’t work because now the noise is getting worse.

They booked the car again for the following week. I took my car there again to spend 2 days without a car and having to use public transport because no one could help. It stayed there again and they fixed few things, but still no luck. This time they even changed the entire computer system and this car was even giving false alarm warnings. This is what they told me and they didn’t know why because when they check the key, there was nothing. They also picked up that my PDC was loose (this confused me a lot). I went to them and spoke to the manager of the people fixing the cars, let him hear the noise I was talking about and he told me, "Oh, that is a piece of cake. I can fix that easy.” This I couldn’t understand as he was the first person who was called to look at the car the first time it went to them. Now, this is the third time in Sandton Auto. The car was booked in for about 3 days now.

The car went in, the system was changed, cables we replaced (now this feels like a second hand car) and everything else that could lead to this kind of problem was looked at by different BMW specialists. So more problems came out:

5. The noise is worse than ever.

I spoke to one of the employees there. She told me that this is a problem that they are experiencing in all BMWs. And she told me that BMW SA is aware of this problem. Most of the 320 I have this problem and there was a call out by BMW SA to change the fan belt to something else (can’t remember what). And she even told me about her own experience as she was at the robot and she heard this car (BMW) parked next to her with the same loud noise.

So after that time I was told that they have to order a new fan for my car and change the entire fan system. This one was a masterpiece. I was asked where I bought the car by someone who was helping me there. I told them that I bought the car there by them and according to me the car was brand new. The reason why he asked this was because the car didn’t look like it was new and the PDC was not a BMW PDC. Wow - that’s what I said. I just said, “Wow.”

This was a shock and I am asking myself lots of questions: 1. Could this be an old BMW car? 2. Is it possible that someone sold me a car that was a second hand? 3. Is it possible that this BMW car with these kinds of problems could be a demo or something?

Really looking at it: is this possible? So right now I am still waiting for a call (which I don’t think I will get as it’s been 2 weeks already) for the fan and an explanation on the PDC. And right now the PDC is faulty for real. It beeps when you are too close to something. I really don’t know what to do in this situation. I don’t feel like I am driving a new car at all. As I travel a lot, I’m afraid that my car will soon be in 100,000 km where I won’t have the privilege of just taking the car in. I don’t have time to leave my car with the dealer anymore as I have proven that this problem cannot be fixed. I am tired of complaining and being stranded in terms of transport and worrying if this beautiful BMW 320 M Sport car cannot just stop in the middle of the road. Can someone out there help me, please?

I am not asking for a freebie, but I think BMW should give some sort of assistance in these matters and take care of their customers whether they bought their cars new or used. The customer service reps and managers at the so-called "Service Center" are a bunch of arrogant ** that know nothing about taking care of the customer. If anyone has any info on who I can talk to other than the service center, dealership, or paint reps, please let me know. I am totally frustrated that no assistance was offered.

BMW cited external factors for the tire bulge, thus declining my request for a new tire. My claim was that the car is still under warranty; BMW staff even agreed that this is a common problem with this kind of tire. If so, why supply such tires for my car? Even if there was an external factor (as claimed by BMW), it must have been minimal as there is no dent on the rim or the body. If the tire can’t withstand a small impact (if any), it must be a sub standard tire. Thus, I request for a new high quality tire for the car. Please advise, thank you.

About a week later a got a statement from BMW Financial Services showing that my repair cost (5 scratches, from 2.5 to 10 long) is $2,700. I have a strong feeling that BMW running a scam, trying to punish customers who do not want to continue leasing from BMW. I paid my charges already but I want everyone who consider leasing BMW what they will face at the end of the lease termination.

I am very disappointed by the lack of urgency on the part of Coggin BMW to resolve this dangerous situation. Most of all, I am appalled at the fact that BMW North America would produce and sell a vehicle that would have this life threatening issue by 9,000 miles. I find it very disturbing that the issue is brushed aside unless there is a fire or catastrophic explosion due to the negligent manner in which BMW made this vehicle. I believe that I am not the only one who expects a company of BMW's stature to be free from serious problems like this, especially with a fairly new automobile.

The dealership 'fixed' the fuel leak and melted electrical wire issue but I am not confident that I am safe in this vehicle. I was not told why this problem happened and not sure if and when I will have another serious malfunction that could result in serious consequences. I do not feel safe in the vehicle and I have no confidence that BMW can provide a reliable, safe product. I also don't have confidence in the dealer network to provide a reliable and safe vehicle for me to drive.

AC repairs cost more than the car, plastic pump parts and a consumer service that gives a ** less? No way! Thanks for this site. Thanks again. You have saved me countless dollars, time, misery and aggravation! Thank you!

This will be my first and last BMW!

Then I had the accident. The car was entered in the maintenance section on January 30, 2012. The first report of the BMW-Kinematics Diagnosis system didn't show the chassis issue. Then suddenly, I received a call last Thursday that the car has issue with the chassis and that it needs to be fixed. Please find below today update:

Today, I went the Katamia 4 Cairo Branch (BMW Bavarian Auto Group after-sales department). The maintenance engineer Mohamed ** responsible of my car highlighted that the car chassis needs to be fixed and that it's not related to the car accident and not related to another accident. And he confirmed my view that it's related to the car manufacturer issue.

I contacted the center head, Mr. Mohamed ***. He was on vacation, and he recommended to contact engineer Mohamed **** to have the feedback and technical opinion of the car status. I requested to have a technical report from the Bavarian Group for the car status. As an overview, the car chassis has issue before I bought the car, as it's not related to the current accident or another previous accident.

I am really in unclear situation, since I bought the car. Actually, it's my first time to bought a BMW car, and I am totally disappointed, as I am working in German Company Siemens Healthcare. I am quite sure that BMW Bavarian group will handle the case in compliance and in a fair way to ensure customer satisfaction.

Eight, I was charged hours of research--shouldn't they already be a BMW expert? Ninth, they lied and said I could be not reached was the cause of the delay(s). Tenth, I asked for the used parts they supposedly changed and they said they were not available. "We didn't think you'd want them." I'm thinking of filing suit, but don't know an attorney or group that would help. Any suggestions would be helpful even if you tell me I'm wasting my time. Please email: **.

I work abroad for long periods at a time and last week, January 3, my wife was on her way back to Secunda, at night, on the N17 when the right rear wheel burst at 120km/hour, with other traffic around them. She managed to avoid a serious accident and bring the vehicle to a stop on the side of the road. This left my family stranded next to a location close to Carnival City. She was assisted by a stranger, who advised her to move the vehicle for safety reasons to the nearest bridge, where he assisted her to change the wheel.

First and foremost, the salesman assured me that the vehicle had gone through the BMW Quality Assurance and that the vehicle had been serviced. I was not given any record of either. After a month, the service light came on, upon which we contacted the salesman. He advised me to bring the vehicle in for a service, which took one whole week. The spare wheel was taken out of the vehicle and not returned until we questioned the salesman. The salesman also promised us lock nuts for the vehicle upon purchase on which he has not delivered.

On January 4, she went to a tire dealership, who on inspection, discovered that the wheels, both rear wheels were running on the wire on the inside and that being the reason for the tire ending up like it did. Upon purchasing this vehicle, the sales consultant informed me that he had placed two new tires on the vehicle and I am failing to understand how these could be worn out like it was over a couple of months. Both my wife and I are conservative drivers. Upon purchase of the vehicle, it had four run flats. However, when receiving the vehicle, he had placed the ordinary tires on the vehicle.

Over and above everything, I purchased a BMW from a BMW dealership because I trust the brand and also associated it with quality. As you can imagine, my wife has lost faith in the brand as well as its representatives. She was shaken up by the incident and the lack of integrity from a sales point of view is very poor. I purchased this vehicle from a BMW dealership to avoid all the complications that I have not avoided. I now want to know, what you are going to do about it.

Now it is February of 2012 and my reverse went out completely and with no warning at all. I have had nothing but problems in the short time I have owned the vehicle so now it is parked in my driveway until I can come up with the $4000 or more for a new transmission. I am not only dissatisfied but also angry and disappointed. I bought BMW because I thought I was buying quality and dependability. I am very let down and can honestly say once I rid myself of this money pit I call my car (which is hopefully very soon). I will never buy another BMW and will share my experience with other perspective BMW buyers.

Talk about nickel and dime stuff, especially when I'm in a newly leased BMW. Next time, I may go to Lexus, Audi or Mercedes. I don't appreciate the nickel and dime attitude going on in this country.

I hope the company gives this complaint notice and strives to improve the quality of the jack that is provided with the car. I can no longer use the jack they have provided me with because I do not want to risk further damage to both myself and my vehicle. I hope you consider sending me a new one. Thank you very much for your time.

Reading online, it seems not only that BMW is aware of the problem but recalled the power brake issue and the restraint system issue, however, when calling BMW of Dallas, I was informed they could not cover the repairs. When I mentioned previous repairs they said these are normal wear items. Since when do all the control arm bushings, vacuum pump and water pump go out at 40k miles. I paid a lot of money for this car and expect BMW to honor their vehicles problems instead of pointing fingers and trying to put blame elsewhere. I am being quoted $2200 for a new seat belt module bringing my grand total repair bill to over $15000.00 for a car that's worth $30k. I understand normal wear and maintenance but the repairs in question should not be considered wear and tear at this stage or mileage in the vehicles run.

Then of course I have had multiple problems with the tires and the computer that registers the pressure in the tires. I brought my car to Vista BMW service several times and they kept resetting the computer system so the tire pressure did not register low pressure, never telling me I had problems with my tires. After the pressure light came on for the 10th time, I brought the car to an independent tire dealership, they put the car on a lift and showed me the tires. The front tire had a nail in it and that was why it was losing tire pressure and both rear tires had the steel belts sticking out of them and that's why the tire pressure indicator kept coming on. Yet I had brought the car to Vista BMW on many different occasions and never once did they inform me of the problems with the tires.

Leaving me in a dangerous situation everyday, driving this vehicle. I ended up replacing the tires with regular tires after having the car for 1 year at my own expense. The other major problem I have had since I purchased the car, is the constant internal squeaking of the car, which sounds like all the doors are loose from the inside. The squeaking is so loud you can hear it over the radio. Again, I have brought my car into Vista BMW service and they claim the seal on the doors needed teflon tape to stop the squeaking. They proceeded with the repair and the noise was gone for a couple of months. The noise returned and I returned to Vista BMW service. I was then told 2 different solutions by 2 different service advisers.

One adviser said the seals of the doors needed to be replaced, the other said no, that they were going to tape it again because that was what the manufacturer suggested, which is what they did, placed tape again. The noise was gone only to return a couple of months later. I believe I went back again another time for the same problem. I have to review my service tickets. I just brought the car in again to Vista BMW service on January 26, 2012 because the doors were squeaking again and I was having other problems which have still not been fixed ; (replaced windshield wipers, which don't clean the windshield and are extremely noisy, asked to have wiper fluid put in at service appointment, they put in plain water, interior vanity light out, still not replaced, and on curves a yellow light on my dash board which is a circle with a triangle in the middle flashes, I have brought the car in for this several times and it still has not been fixed).

I spoke directly to the service manager at Vista BMW, Don ** and he reviewed my complaints, which he assured me would be taken care of. I have not heard from anyone since the car was dropped off on the 26th. Today is January 28, I called Vista BMW service today and asked for the service manager and was told he would call me back. A valet from Vista BMW called me back and started reading off my ticket of what was addressed, yet had no knowledge of me or what has been happening with my car. The service manager assured me on when I dropped the car off that the door seals would be replaced, not taped again. I asked the valet again to please have the service manager call me back about my car.

Mr. Don called me back today and told me they taped up the doors again. I began telling Mr. Don what he had told me, that the door seals would be replaced as well explaining all the unresolved problems I have had with the car. He expressed that he did me a favor by getting involved in this particular situation and that he test drove my car and the squeaking noise was gone. I expressed to him again that he assured me that the seals would be replaced and not taped. His response was, “Fine, we will replace the seals but I can not promise the squeaking noise will not happen again on the interior of the car.”

I expressed to him the car is 1 1/2 years old and still under warranty and this should not be the case. Mr. Don's response was, “Well, that's the way it is and there is nothing you can do about it. We will not replace your car and you are in no position to declare Lemon Law on your car since you have 30,000 miles on the car.” I told him I never mentioned Lemon Law and wanted my car fixed once and for all. When I asked him about the other problems I brought my car in about, his response was, “I did not read your service ticket so I don't know.”

I am beyond frustrated, I have never had a new car in service as much as my BMW, I have also never had such poor service from a car dealership. This is my first BMW and will be my last. I had several Honda cars, new, and never had a problem with these cars or the service and I spent half the price on the car. Is it too much to ask to have your car fixed properly? Or that a new vehicle not have a multitude of problems?

It needed:

3. New engine fan since it was only running on high mode only and sounded like a Boeing 747 at take off., 1200.00!

Like I needed to be insulted, the guy at the dealership suggests that maybe the owner before worked the tranni too hard by pulling things, since it has a towing package. Wow. After many hours of surfing the web, I learned that these are all problematic issues due to lack of quality and very poor design, which BMW will not take any responsibility for.

I finally had the transmission repaired for 3000.00. Have not fixed the tail light issue and have no intentions of changing the fan. I am in the process of selling it or trading it off before the rear air suspension goes bad. Never again, should have bought a Honda.

After all the repairs since August, I ended up at the dealers with transmission malfunction indicator and was told it was due to one of the crankshaft sensors that was faulty. During the check, they also found oil filter housing gasket leaking. Owning this car has been one expensive and frustrating experience. I would not recommend this car. We pay the price for quality and not this torture. I have owned a Mazda 323,Toyota Sienna, Camry, Mercedes and Volkswagen that have lasted for more than 175,000 miles with no major issues. Owning this car has been the worst experience of my life. I contacted the corporate office for BMW and was told that they will take the complaint but no one from their office has to call us back.

I would like my transmission problem fixed at no cost to me. It seems BMW, blew me off to get me through until my warranty was up (extended to 100k that I paid for). Very disappointing and too costly for me. My wife and I both own BMW's and will be going to a different make vehicle because of the deceitful treatment I have received. Something should be done about BMW's lack of responsibility when it comes to taking care of warranty issues.

Now, they have a place called vital recovery that is threatening her if she does not pay and going into our personal accounts. This is extremely poor taste of business from such a large car dealership. They cannot produce any proof of damages but to only say that the damages are there, here is a financial company that took a vehicle that she once leased and took it into another state, and then, they said that they performed another inspection and that is where they are coming up with this extra damage. Now, how much of a trap is that.

My wife told them that I then needed to be at this inspection to witness it but now look what BMW financial is trying to pull, I say they damaged the car transporting it, and are looking for my wife to pay for it, and I won't have that. All they are doing is harassing my wife everyday.

The BMW representative stated that it would have been covered had it been a defective battery, but the computer states that I don't drive it enough. He stated that I will need to keep it on a trickle charger when not in use. I have kept up on all of my maintenances and services, which were completed at BMW and not once did a BMW representative advise me that I could be running into a problem with the battery because of my low mileage. At this point I am just livid that I have babied my vehicle. I purchased an extended warranty and I have to come out of pocket $453. At this point I have no choice but to pay the $453; however, I feel that this should have been covered by the warranty and not been viewed as operator error.

Shortly after my high pressure fuel pump was replaced, I started noticing some leaking in my driveway, and automatically knew it was due to transmission fluid, and read all the issues this series was experiencing with leaking. I spoke to my service adviser at BMW of San Diego, and he said sometimes with the change of the fuel pump, there can be residual leaking caused from oil, and when I stated I thought it was transmission fluid, he said to keep a lookout and call him with any other severe leaking. A few weeks later, during the Christmas holiday weekend, I didn't drive my car for 4 days, and when I pulled out, it seemed that all my transmission fluid had leaked out. The puddle was huge.

I immediately called my service adviser to schedule an appointment, and when I went in, my questions were very direct as to this model, on experiencing this issue, and he was very vague with his answers, but did recommend I trade this vehicle in, because repair costs are very expensive for this car outside of warranty. I felt like he wanted to tell me more, but wanted to protect himself and the company. So ultimately, I had the transmission oil pan sealed, which all in all was a $600 out of pocket fee. This was last week, on 1/4/2012.

Today, 1/9/2012, 5 days after being serviced, on my way to work, I only drove 4 miles and my car overheated, causing the car to lose power and to be stranded on the side of the road. It started up fine. After waiting a few minutes, I drove about two miles before it happened again, and of course, shut the car off for fear it would blow a gasket, and called a tow truck to tow me back home. I'm mortified of the thought of more expenses due to this car. This Thursday, I'm most likely going to go back to BMW of San Diego, and find out I owe more money for another issue, this car is known for experiencing.

Even though I haven't given BMW of San Diego the chance to remedy this situation, I lost all faith in this car, and even afraid to drive out of town due to the fear that more issues will arise, and they definitely need to address this matter. A little more history is, I initially purchased a 2007 BMW 335i in Sacramento CA,and only had it one month, before the turbo blew out and the issues I've been reading about the fuel pump happened. I turned in the car three times, and BMW took the lemon back, and refinanced me for a newer 2008 model to remedy the situation. Now, I'm potentially dealing with the same problem all over again, and it petrifies me. Please help!

BMW covers none of the expense and my complaints to Mt Kisco BMW and BMW North America have been met with sympathetic acknowledgements but no willingness to help in any way. I've spoken to the service manager at Mt Kisco and he listened politely and said that he would try to help, but then never got back to me. I've been driving the same commute daily for twenty years and never had a blowout or a wheel crack on my two previous Jaguars.

In my opinion, the car isn't fit for the road. The wheel/tire combination is faulty and BMW has left me hanging out to dry. Never again, BMW.

My legal question relates to the product description being completely misleading in their advertising and now they are hiding behind parts performance rather than the operating performance that they sell the car on. I have asked for them to either buy the car back or give me compensation based upon actual performance relative to that which is promised and they have rejected me. I would be most interested to know if others have had similar experience and whether I have legal grounds to pursue them.

Finally this time, I asked about a tail light. The warning was "check brake light", "check rear lights". I was told by the service manager that my $516 diagnostic fee would have picked this up, it must have been because my brand new one week old 7th battery died right before I took the car in. He swore that their diagnostics picked up everything including the auxiliary fan that wouldn't shut off causing my brand new battery to die for the 6th time. The minute I got into the car, I discovered the same "check brake light" warning. It is a tail light out. I called and he said, "we do have intermittent problems with the lights". I said, "I asked you to check it". He blew it off then "oh well ma'am, you can bring it back in and we will fix it". So much for the reliability of their diagnostics! We have owned 4 BMWs in our lifetime. This one has been a joke literally. My car hood is always up outside of our business in town charging the car battery where all can see. The service guy said, "we sell extension cords for that. Do you want to buy one?". I say "we use it all the time!".

BMW has lost their way. I can't say enough about how the dealership will not pay anything that BMW won't pay to them. Therefore, they are experts at making excuses that seem plausible until your warranty is up and you have no recourse. Don't buy a BMW. Also, may I add that the parking lot was full of repair cars that I couldn't find a place to park the loaner when I returned it?

When I got home I received a blocked caller ID call from the rep who asked to come look at the problem but never apologized for his no-show. He showed up at my home with an obvious attitude, looked at the car and said it was not warranted. I was very disappointed. I then took the car to a different dealer, Bert **, to get a repair done unrelated to the paint. When completed I asked for a price to have the paint repaired. I received a call from the service tech who stated they thought I should have the BMW rep look at the paint as they felt there was a defect.

I asked who the rep was and the answer was Bill **, the same rep from the other dealer. I explained his past evaluation and asked for a price anyway. I called the 800 number again and shared my concern and they said there would be no further action in spite of my request for a different set of eyes. I feel BMW has poor representation and does not want to fix their defect. I would not recommend a BMW. I will get the car repainted and submit a claim in court.

If you buy a used car especially over 85k, as I read regarding the X5, expect it to have mechanical failures with some parts that require maintenance, i.e. cooling system parts such as t-stats and water pumps. Modern cars that are built by teams of suppliers are all prone to failures of suspension parts, bushings, window regulators, etc. and is an unfortunate result of the economies of building a car, any car. Buying a car because you thought it was prestigious, well, that's just an expectation residing in stupidity.

BMW have never stated their x products are true off roaders (look at the wheels and tire profiles!). If you want that, buy a jeep or LandRover or LandCruiser. Navigation systems, blame the software guys (probably Navteq). They provide the disks for everyone in the industry. The car you purchased CPO was state of the art at the time and has evolved quite quickly. All of you expecting a car that is bare bones, be aware that most cars today have ecu/telematics units with more computing power than a Saturn V rocket (that took the Apollo astronauts to the moon).

The trans guy? You needed a new clutch probably because you continued to drive the car after the trans light came on in which you probably needed a trans shift solenoid (approx $200). I am on my third car and have been fortunate to own many performance marques, all of which have had their share of issues. For the woman that claimed she was "dismissed" because car was out of warranty, what do you expect? What do you not understand? Out of warranty is out of warranty. You didn't complain if they fixed stuff at their cost within the warranty. Now, it's your turn to incur cost. Cars aren't cost free to maintain. You bought a car. A product. That's it! You didn't do anything to qualify you for winning the Nobel prize so why should your expectation be that they fix your problem? Should they fix everyone else's car on the road that's out of warranty?

For the guy with the motor mount issue, your car was probably in an accident. I have seen "CPO'D" cars sold without disclosure of accidents by a major luxury japanese manufacturer and that's not the fault of the marque but the dealership's shoddy and shady selling practices. Conclusion, educate yourself if you buy anything. And stop with blame or false expectations that you're owed something. Car manufacturers step up to the plate to cover you either warranty or goodwill when analytics show there is a problem.

I will be happy to meet with you to inform you of my experience, but yet again, an appointment was set on December 9, 2011, for this day (December 20, 2011) at 7:30 am. And, despite several email reminders that my appointment was scheduled at 7:30am, and an assurance from Juan L/N/U that I could be taken at 7:30 am, and being the second vehicle waiting at the front doors to open, I had to wait because my advisor had another previously scheduled customer. I decided to leave in complete disgust with the overall operation and process. Whether or not you have a Good Ole Boy system in place, who knows. And of course, a business is welcomed to have a Good Ole Boy system in place; if that is your business model, that's your choice and customers should know.

Nevertheless, when you believe that Silver Spring BMW is able to schedule an appointment at an appropriate time to have my windshield repairs, please advice. Of course, I am left to the mercy of Silver Spring BMW. Thanking you in advance for your time and attention to this matter. Have a Happy Holiday Season.

I'm still searching for how the water is entering the car. I have looked at all drains, window seals and the padding in the door. I spent $350-plus to have my battery replaced and registered to the car.

So far, I have had at least ten such trips. The last two trips are taking much longer. The last trip took 19 days about month and half ago. I went in again on Nov 28th and it is still being looked at. The dealer has provided me a loaner car so I don't have a major hassle as a result. But it is amazing that this supposedly superior engineering company cannot figure out after so many tries why the stupid light comes on. Can any one really trust their advanced systems like iDrive and so on to actually work? Is BMW more of a superior marketing engine as opposed to a superior engineering company? The evidence suggests that they are definitely a superior marketing company.

The warranty company says it does not cover all pre-existing conditions. I talked to the GM at the dealer and they offered to replace the seat motor and repair the paddle shifters for free. While it was there, they call and tell us that all front and rear control arms are bad and needed to be replaced. With an alignment of roughly $2100, I told them I'll take care of the thermostat and suspension. I install lift kits in trucks for a living, and the parts for MOOG are cheaper, but the dealer wants $1800 for parts. MOOG parts at retail are $249.00, I can do the math. We can take it back there for alignment if they don't try to jerk us around for something else. I won't probably buy another one. What a **. We drive off the lot, it depreciates and needs $5000.00 worth of repairs before we get it home.

The car is now undergoing its annual six months downtime between major repairs to the aforementioned parts. Now, add a failed transmission to engine seals, water pumps, radiators, and the random electrical failures.

They could not even find the problem. They kept telling us stories. After probably spending thousands of dollars out of their pockets, since it is under warranty (the car is 1 month old!), they told us that a rat got under the hood, and chewed all the wires. Now, they have blamed us for it, after a month in their body shop. Now we had to make a claim with our insurance, and pay the deductible fees for it.

Meanwhile, they gave us an X5 as a loaner. A couple of days ago, we went to the supermarket, walked out, and found that the rear windshield was broken. Now, the dealership does not want to exchange the loaner, and I have to drive it with the broken window, with a 1 year old child in it, and a stroller full of glass. The insurance company is laming the dealership, and we have to pay another $500 for the window, and I even cannot exchange the cars after I paid. The worst dealership in the world. The salesperson was the best-James **, no hard feelings, you are the best! What cannot say about James ** in service department. The brand new car has been in service for more than 30 days.

There is no way we can or will pay the $9,000 they quoted to put in a rebuilt engine. Needless to say, we are very upset since until recently we had 3 mini's in the family. Why would such a large company choose to not at least to partially assist such a loyal customer. All this after we spent over $2,500 just a few months ago to fix suspension problems. She wanted the BMW Countryman next but we'll see how this plays out and we may never buy any BMW or Mini products ever again as well as telling everyone that will listen.

When I pointed out to him that the battery may be located in the back, he used his equipment which is not fully charged to jumper my car. Of course, it did not work so he insisted that it is my battery problem and even told me to tow the car on the next Monday. And I called BMW again to ask for sending a professional roadside assistance to me, which should not be the previous one. They promised the new guy will come in two hours. It is already 10pm on Sat night. After two hours, it is close to 12am, the old guy called me again and said BMW send him again and he won't come anyway. I am so frustrated. I have to call my friend to pick me up and interestingly, my friend used his jumper and it worked. It should be much easier but BMW assistance just made things more and more complicated.

I called the dealership in the morning as I said, I would and spoke to Rich **. He proceeded to send me pictures of another vehicle with the same situation. He instructed me to take the vehicle to my local BMW dealership and have it inspected. On Monday 10/17/2011, I took the vehicle to Dryer Reinbold BMW in Indianapolis, Indiana for an inspection. After getting the vehicle back and talking with the Service Manager, I was told that I should take the vehicle to BMW Collision Center for further evaluation. I called and made an appointment for Friday10/28/2011. I had taken the vehicle in for an inspection, and was told by the Technician that the vehicle had previously been involved in an accident of some sort,which was causing the misalignment. I immediately contacted the Laurel BMW dealership to speak with the Used Car Service Manager Guy **, but he was not available. I proceeded to leave a message on his voicemail regarding the situation. I continued to try and reach someone, who could help me with this matter. I was instructed to call the General Manager Patrick ** and leave him a message.I proceeded to fax over the estimates that were given to me by the BMW Collision Center.

On Saturday 10/29/2011, I called Guy ** to see what could be done, but was not able to communicate with him because of his attitude so I called Patrick **. I ultimately could not reach him so I left several messages on his voicemail. I finally decided to email Patrick some pictures of the vehicle from 10/14/2011. Patrick responded to my email, and we conversed via email regarding the matter. Patrick finally emailed asking me to give him til Monday because he was too busy to further address this matter regarding the vehicle.

Between my two Z3's, one is the M-series, I now had to replace the ** driver's harness five times! The airbag system design is horrific and I am sick of hassling with this. Terrible. BMW should have recalled all of their affected cars. I will never buy BMW again!

Look up "BMW airbag light" on Google! A lot of people have had this problem. A lot.

The dealer owner tells my wife to trade the car in (If I do that, it won't be for another BMW). I bought the car for my wife's birthday (She hates it).I have brought it into the dealers shop countless times (can't fix the vehicles they sell). The warranty will run out (I'm stuck with an overpriced **). By the way, I just replaced the battery ($200) and the dealer said they want another $200 to program the battery to the car. ** is going on?

"VOLUNTARY RECALL: BMW High-Pressure Fuel Pump Voluntary Emissions Recall--models w/ N54."

The upshot of this is that my car was branded a lemon due to manufacturing failure but none of the cars post "recall" were branded as such. BMW refuses to intervene on my behalf to the California DMV, to reserve the title branding; thus, leaving my car worth 25% less than comparable values for this particular model. While trying to trade it at a BMW dealership, they confirmed that it wasn't worth 60% of comparable values.

Doesn't BMW USA have a responsibility to make this right? None of this would have been known by me had I not seen a Carfax with the updated "lemon" language and had I not tried to sell the car, now with 35K miles on it. Please help me. BMW has flatly said that there is no recourse for me.

I noticed that the rubber strip that meets my windshield and the top of my car was flaking off of the car. I called my dealer, BMW Devon Hill. First, I was insulted on the telephone when the service technician asked me if my car was outdoors. Then, I brought the car in and he looked at the problem and showed it to the manager, and when I returned, I was told that I was out of warranty. He was kind enough to give me an 800 number to call. Why he didn't go any further to help me is the first complaint I have.

I spoke to a very nice girl over a period of 10 days who also told me that I was out of warranty and basically told me to have a nice day. I wrote a letter to BMW. Someone called. That was a miracle. He asked me a few questions, called back, and had the same final decision.

My complaint is the rubber probably cost about $5, if that and the labor might be 10 to 15 minutes. This automobile, ultimate driving machine cost me $42,000, and once I went out of warranty, it was, "Goodbye. You're out of warranty." I couldn't be more disappointed. I would never buy another BMW for something as small as this problem. I was insulted and basically dismissed by everyone. I think this is terrible public relations, customer service, call it whatever you want.

The girl at BMW was rude and said there's nothing she could do. The repo showed up in 30 minutes at BMW repair shop and took my car before I arrived. I never heard from anyone of this. I called on my way to repair shop and they said my car was taken and that was that. No authorization, no police involvement. The car could be stolen, for all I know. Then they billed me $12,000.00. I had 3 months left on lease and a $20,000.00 beautiful car repair they made out and ruined my credit. I have had 4 BMWs and they will never see my business again!

The BMW warranty covered my vehicle to 50,000 miles. I did not purchase the extended warranty (maintenance warranty offered by the dealership) as it covered nothing. I am afraid that the engine will fall out of the vehicle, causing bodily injury or maybe even a fatality. I noticed that you already have one complaint about this same issue. Please help me. I am not asking for you to replace my vehicle, just fix it to where I can drive it again without fear.

The check engine light came on and while I was on the highway, the car made some loud ticking noises and the car seemed to be experiencing some power loss, in the mist of high traffic. I was in the middle lane when it started, and I immediately got over to get off the highway. And as I pulled off the highway, the car suddenly shut off (no power). I barely made it off the road. It just shut off. I had to call for a tow. That weekend, the car cranked up and it seemed to be nothing wrong. I took it around the block to see if it was okay. The ticking returned and the car shut off again and I had to coast it off the road onto church grounds and call a tow truck again. And now it will not crank at all. This is my only car and I have to rent a car. I did some research online and found several recalls, for example: BMW High-Pressure Fuel Pump Voluntary Emissions Recall and Voluntary Emissions and Safety Recalls, and tons of complaints about safety and how BMW terminates a lot of people's warranties prior to their expiration date. BMW seems to be putting all of our lives at risk and terminating warranties at will.

The description of the problem included in the recall letter from BMW specifically indicates that the leak from the vacuum pump into the vacuum hose is the root of the problem. I spoke to Jody ** at BMW and she said that the recall is a federal mandate and this mandate only requires them to replace the line and not the pump.

I have owned BMW cars for more than 12 years, you would think they would stand behind their product and keep a loyal customer happy. They truly do not care about the customer. They will only take care of the problem if the car is leased and/or under warranty, and even then, they'll put off the work until the car is out of warranty.

I have had a new 750Li since 2006. From the beginning, the engine oil light would come on and I would have to take the car in to be topped off. I kept asking why I had to do this so often and they assured me that it was normal for the 750. I had a new 745 before this car and I never had this problem. I didn't worry about it since there was no sign of a leak on my garage floor. Now that the car is out of warranty, they tell me that there is a leak.

So, the salesman took it to service and he told me that they fixed it. Days after, I got the car back and the same thing happened--the navigation system couldn't find the address. I read the work order and the work order said that nothing was done.

I took it to the service department and the service manager advised me that BMW has always had issues with the navigation system and the salesman was supposed to disclose this to me. The service manager said that there is nothing he can do. Oh, he did suggest that I buy a Garmin. If I need to keep the lemon, then I should be entitled to a credit of $10,000 for the extra options I had to buy to get the useless navigation system.

I have a BMW X5(4.4) that windows frequently fail/collapse since its purchase, without warning. Yes, it is out of warranty but, I purchased upscale vehicles for their history and dependability. I have influenced many into purchasing a BMW, even my husband. But, I promise you and vow, that I will convince even more why not to purchase a BMW. I am very disappointed on how BMW treat their customers, especially, Ms. Jodi **. We do own other luxury vehicles, and if we have to turn all our BMWs into their brands, I'm a sure that the other brands won't mind.

I was given an 800 number from the servicemen at BMW, and from there, they told me that my vehicle was out of warranty. I took it to a few other local body shops, and they informed me of the same thing; that it was the clear coat that was poorly applied. The local serviceman asked me if I had the car shipped, and I answered yes. I special ordered this vehicle and had it shipped here to the U.S. He informed me that he had other customers who had the same complaint and that it may have been the salt water that caused the paint fade. He informed me that it was a water-borne clear coat that was initially put on the car, and that it was a poor type of paint that is not designed to last for the amount of money that consumers pay for this type of vehicle. This is my dream car, and it is very disappointing to know that I invested this much money in a vehicle to have to drive around with fading paint. I have a Toyota that I have had and driven for 15 years now, and the paint is still intact, and it puzzles me that and after five years the paint on my BMW is worn.

All in all, my warranty company has paid out over $10,000 in repairs over the past two years, almost half of what I paid for the vehicle. That is just ridiculous. I've read so many people's horror stories about their BMW's transmissions failing and I just wanted to share my story too. I know that BMW is not taking responsibility for any of their vehicles so I felt like I should share. The more people that come forward, the better. Maybe one day BMW will own up to producing some rotten transmissions in their vehicles. All I can say is thank goodness for warranties. But it's not about that. It's about your car, your BMW that you love so much, being in service for a month, and having issue after issue. It's frustrating and BMW needs to to tighten up their products.

I demanded that the radio be replaced and was refused. I called BMW customer relations and talked with Elizabeth ** at length about the issue. They refused to replace the radio because they can't reproduce the problem (which is pretty ridiculous since I reproduce it several times each week). Their logic is completely circular: they can't reproduce the problem it it doesn't exist. Transcript of conversation: So I'm a liar? Oh, no, we believe you. So fix it. We can't fix it because we can't reproduce it and besides your CPO warranty won't cover it. But I reported the problem when the car was still under the original warranty. We couldn't reproduce it so we can't replace it under warranty.

The Sirius radio is practically unusable. I spent a lot of money on this car. It's supposed to be the "ultimate driving machine" which I would think includes having a radio that works. This is just incredibly frustrating. The CPO warranty is completely worthless. The car also has crumbling front and rear window seals (on a 4-year-old car!) which the CPO warranty doesn't cover.

I will never buy another BMW and I highly recommend that you don't either.

I bought a BMW thinking that I would not have such problem. I should have bought a Honda.

These cars are very complicated and do have problems as a result, but they should not be having MAJOR mechanical problems 3/4 of the way through their life. I also realize that if you're going to drop that kind of money on a car you should be able to afford the repairs, and luckily I can, but I shouldn't have to!! I just want a luxury car that isn't in the shop every week, my Mercedes was a COMPLETE piece of junk (and it was new) and my 3 year old Audi's tanny went out at 56,000 miles. So it's sad to say but honestly my BMW has been my most reliable, and that's not saying much.

The dealer indicated that BMW will not cover this service because the car is no longer under warranty or extended warranty. My argument is that if BMW is selling "the ultimate driving machine", it should stand behind its product. My son drives a 10-year-old Honda Accord that has moldings in better condition than my BMW!

The representative then proceeded to tell me about other services that the car needs: wheel alignment, steering wheel service, etc. that are more important than the aesthetics (molding). I told him that if the molding on the front windshield is not repaired, I will get water damage after the next rain.

I will never buy another BMW and I will make sure my friends know how cheaply made the car is, at a very steep price!

This cost a towing fee of $200 also, the vehicle had been in their shop for the six weeks. They have now returned it to local authorized BMW repair center. The strut is deflated, causing all struts to deflate making the car undriveable without destroying all struts. Now after paying them, they tell me to drive the x5 back to them and they will take a look at it.

I had to rent or borrow for seven weeks. I have paid them because they stated the x5 was repaired, but after paying them and going out to pick up my car, drove to city where I live and by the time I arrived, the struts were deflated. Now it sits having to be towed again to Little Rock BMW for $200.

Between this site and the others there are hundreds of these stories. Hundred transportation replacements at $5000 ea. (mine was $6000), adds up to $500,000. Obviously, we have many more than that. Add in those who let BMW rip them off; who are unaware of the flaw in this transportation, or the Internet sites about it.

BMW has a goldmine here, an additional $5000 per vehicle that doesn’t show on the window sticker. Why didn’t Toyota get away with this scam? Contact NHTSA now and share your BMW experience with everyone you meet.

Well, I take it in and turns out the warranty was up two days after I bought it. Then the BMW dealership puts together an estimate of $1,411 to fix all 4 door latches. ARE YOU KIDDING ME? A generic, lower-end car wouldn't have problems with door locks, but this high-end and so called-premium brand "BMW" have electrical problems and it is hardly broke in with 27,800 miles on it.What a joke! If BMW would like to make it right, they can call the dealership here to cover the cost. At this point, I will NEVER buy another BMW. I will NEVER recommend BMW, and I quite frankly, I plan to see what other car review forums and complaints I can place in order to help save others the immediate repair costs associated with BMW's. As a consumer, a business executive and a young guy that was excited to own the great name of BMW, I am completely dissatisfied with this German engineering.

My email was promptly answered, and I was told that I have to shoulder the expenses for the repair because my vehicle is already out of warranty since December 17, 2008. I had a BMW AG warranty policy, which was two years unlimited mileage. Mr. Hassan ** apologized for the inconvenience caused, and the time I spent dealing with my car problem. However, he said that the vehicle and their parts, regardless of how well made or maintained, do not have an infinite life span, and eventually replacement costs must be borne by the customer. He added that based on the vehicle age and mileage, they cannot consider the fault as a manufacturing defect.

I relied that I will repair the car; I will sell it, and buy a Mercedes or Japanese car. I told them that BMW will lose its customer because it's an expensive car, but not a durable car. Finally, I said that I will not recommend BMW to anyone I know.

Copies of the emails are available for inspection.

I informed them that it is OK with me to take my car back but as an assurance, they have to extend my warranty period. This was refused and confirmed verbally that all my problems should be recovered and will not be repeated again. I asked them if they have a used car in good condition with the same model as mine and I will accept it.

Please check the history of my problem during the last two years, also below are the repeated problems with my car. Problem with the steering wheel box, a lot of uncomfortable sounds inside the car, problem in the frontal right door window switch, problem with the car stability and angels adjustment while driving, problem with the frontal brakes, unsymmetrical spaces between the car doors and the body itself, problem with the windshield wiper, strange sound during the opening and closing of the outside mirrors, the car cassette does not read any CD's, problem with the car frontal suspension, the car back light sometimes does not work, the computer display and the car telephone just stopped working suddenly while driving and the ashtray is not fixed properly

Last time the car's electricity had a total black out while traveling on a highway which put my life and my family’s in danger and this is not acceptable for me as it should be for you too, so I left my car at BMW Egypt garage as I am refusing to drive this car again.

After this service, I have to be abroad for 10 days and when I returned while driving the car, it stopped completely after midnight. I was in a mess to park it on the side of the road after my son tugged me with his car. Next day, I called the service next day in the morning. I am in a city about 220 km far from the nearest BMW service as I am in Damietta and the two main services are in Cairo and Alexandria. They asked my driver to raise it on the car lift and drop it roughly twice. He did that and it wants for a while and then stopped again. They promised to send the winch to take it and sent it the following day. After that we kept contacting them to give us a written report about the car, but until today they did not give anything and informed us that they are waiting for a reply from Germany.

For all the above mentioned facts and due to the case that your car seems to have manufacturing faults, I ask you politely to return to me my money with all the expenses I paid as I do not feel safe to drive this car anymore. I was driving Mercedes Benz for twenty years now with no such troubles. I am waiting in Cairo today and I need you to give instructions to the service tomorrow to take a procedure to give me my money back. Thank you in advance.

I've just driven out on the freeway and immediately, I noticed the engine light was on. So I called the sales person and informed him that I was to return to find out what was the problem. He informed me it was late in the day,the service department was already closed and I could not do anything but to go home and to come back the next business day. So i went home and did not drive the car again until I took it back to the dealer. They took it in the service department.

At that time, I did not feel good about taking a brand new car with a problem so I asked to change to a different car of the same kind. At that time, they came back and told me that the battery was bad and they will replace it. I asked to speak to the general manager as I wanted a different car. The manager came and talked to me and my husband. He stated he cannot change the car, as that is the way, and we have to take it. My husband is a sick man - he got very upset and threatened to leave without any car. Some people came behind us and started to say the car is fine, and if the light comes on again, we could bring it back and they will change the car. After several hours of very bad arguing, we took the car and went home.

I could not believe a very high level dealer like BMW would treat us very badly like that. And we bought a very expensive $90,000 car, and still, this happened to us. Anyway, I took the car. It was the holidays and vacation time, so i did not drive it very much. But after 2 months, I was coming back from work and the engine light came on again so suddenly. I called Ben and told him about it. He said to bring the car next day to have it checked.

I got off early from work and went to the dealer which is far from my workplace. When I arrived, we talked to Ben, who took me to the service department, where we were informed that they can not do any thing that time as I have to leave the car. They promised to let me know next day what the problem was. I waited next day, but nobody called me, so I really got worried and upset. I called a couple of times, but later, on the service man called me and informed they could not find out what the problem was. They said they had to call North America center, and that they needed to keep the car for some time. I left a message to the general manager from the day before, but he never called me. So I called North America center customer's relation, and put in a complaint stating thatI needed a different car, like they said they would. But for a few days, nobody called me, or told me what was wrong with the car.

So I went to the dealer and I asked to speak to the general manager. I was told there was a defective part from the manufacture - the fuel bump, and they had to replace it. That is even worse. The car only has 2,000 miles on it and it has a defective part. So I asked to get a different car because I did not want the old one. Still they refused to do this, so I am writing to you to look into this problem. Please help in this matter.

I have to leave work and take a brand new car to the dealer several times and I do not feel good about it. A very expensive car and I have to deal with these problems.

I also had a 2001 X5. Right about 65k miles, it needed a new transmission. And the brake pads lasted maybe 15k to 20k, and the onboard system kept crashing. In the winter, the doors wouldn't close, because it was too cold outside and the sensors wouldn't sense the door closing? Multiple occasional checks on the engine lights always revealed problems with the gear box.

All in all, the cars handled great, and I loved them to death; but they're not worth it with all the trouble I've had. I now drive a WRX and a RAV4--best decision of my life.

BMW miss leads consumer on lifetime and maintenance free transmissions which was the root cause of my failure and all the other that I've read about. I wrote the company and receive a blanket letter of apology and denial of any mass issue on transmissions with lifetime oil.

I would of serviced the transmission regularly if advised, and was not miss lead like thousands of others of this scheme to keep comparative with rivals car manufacturers at the owner's expense. I had to pay over 3000 to repair the issues in the transmission without any ownership and accountability for what's happening across the nation with these cars. I would like to start a class action law suit or have this escalated to the national defect and recall of transportation.Please advise

I am an automotive enthusiast and have had four different BMWs, which have all been fantastic cars. My current car, a 2002 M3 coupe 6-speed manual, with 115,000 miles, has repeatedly broken the "good luck streak" I'd been having with my BMWs and has soured me on future BMW vehicles for life. My BMW has cost me thus far, over $12,388.00 in maintenance and repairs, over and above my car payments, which are all gone now--but were $690.00 per month at the time. This cost includes normal wear items like brakes ($600.00 per set), BMW synthetic oil changes ($220.00 each time) and tires ($1400.00 set). Lots of reviews online say that the M3 is a reliable car. Well sure it is, when it's got low miles, a factory warranty and running correctly. The real problem is all the components that fail, surrounding a basically good sports car underneath.

My M3 has only left me stranded on the highway once in its entire life and that was for an original fuel pump that failed at 89,000 miles. The BMW "Limp Home Mode" engine feature that enables the car to run just enough to get you to safety or the nearest dealership, has saved me many times and is a plus on this car. My most recent component failure has been multiple sensors on the engine and inside the vehicle (Throttle Position Switch, Dynamic Stability Control Yaw-rate sensor, and Throttle Position Control unit) at a Dealership Service costing $2435.00 quote for repair. I saved over $745.00 by going online and ordering the parts myself from independent distributors. BMW Enthusiast website surfing can help you do some of the repairs yourself as the cars have been around for many years now and have a history built up.

I do not want fresh car payments all over again, so I will continue to repeatedly fix the M3 as it breaks. My advice mirrors Consumer Affairs'. If you love the car and are willing to put up with the increased maintenance frequency as the car ages, then a BMW can be a very rewarding and enjoyable driver's car. It is not bulletproof, it's a high-strung German sports car that must be religiously maintained.

Step four: I did research and built up a list of contact emails, address, and fax numbers for BMW executives. The email was tough to get because BMW is not a publicly traded company. I got a few of the emails from Hoovers for about $10. Once I had the basic format of the emails it pretty easy to guess others for which I had names. Step five: I went to the clerk of my local courthouse and got a small claims complaint form. I filled out the form and scanned it into an Adobe PDF document. I wrote up a 30 day demand letter stating that I intended to sue in small claims court for triple damages unless they pay for the repair within 30 days. I sent the demand letter, the small claims complaint (which I hadn't filed) and the estimate from the dealership to the 82 BMW email addresses, 2 fax numbers, and 8 postal addresses, 2 of those were certified. Of the two certified letters, one went to my state's registered agent for BMW and the other went to BMW headquarters. You can find the registered agent in your state by contacting your state's secretary of state.

Step six: Sophy ** of MINI USA contacted me and told me that they would be covering the repair costs at my local dealership, Herb Chambers MINI. If BMW hadn't paid for the repair cost I would have filed the small claims form and sued for triple damages of $3,199.80, as allowed by Massachusetts and some other states consumer protection laws. There is a list of research below to help you formulate a small claims court argument

I am writing to you under the provisions of Massachusetts General Laws, Chapter 93A, 9, the Consumer Protection Act. I am writing to request relief as outlined in that statute. On or about December 20, 2010, the following unfair practice occurred: The hydraulic power assist steering pump on my 2002 Mini Cooper S (VIN **) failed due to a known and well-documented manufacturer's design defect. To date, BMW North America has refused to issue a recall or pay for the repairs of my vehicle.

This is an unfair practice because it involved faulty design of the hydraulic power assist steering pump by BMW of North America in its 2002 Mini Cooper S vehicles. This practice is unlawful under Massachusetts General Law Chapter 93A, 2, which outlaw unfair methods of competition and unfair or deceptive acts or practices in the conduct of any trade or commerce. I called the BMW North America, LLC on several occasions in December 2010 and January 2011 (I spoke primarily with NAMEOFREP in Customer Relations at x8807), to inquire if there had been a recall for my vehicle that addressed this problem. I further asked if there was any other avenue of recourse available to me through BMW North America, LLC. On both occasion I was told that there BMW North America, LLC would not do anything regarding the faulty manufactured power steering pump.

This letter serves as my request for the following relief: payment of $1066.60 to cover the cost of the replacement power steering pump, fluid and installation cost. This repair cost is documented in the attached work order and invoice from the XYZ Mini dealership. Under the provisions of Section 9 Chapter 93A, I am providing you with the opportunity to make a written offer of settlement of this claim within 30 days. (02/19/2011) If you fail to make a good faith offer of settlement in response to this request, and I institute legal action, a court may award me double or triple damages, attorney's fees and costs if the court finds in my favor. I may be reached at the address or phone number below. I look forward to hearing from you. The power steering system on Plaintiff's 2002 MINI Cooper S (VIN**) failed due to a known manufacturing and/or design defect.

This failure caused steering on the vehicle to become erratic and difficult to control. At the suggestion of the Defendant, Plaintiff had the problem evaluated by the XYZ MINI dealership. XYZ Dealership provided Plaintiff with an invoice and work order stating the repair will cost $1066.60. This cost consists of $806.60 for a new power steering pump and $206.00 for installation. Plaintiff seeks treble damages of $3,199.80 from the Defendant, BMW North America, LLC.

In addition to this disaster that made me totally feel unsafe driving my x5, the car is continuously coming and going to the agency for a brake light left failure, I think 6 times till now. And every time they fix it, I will drive it for 2 weeks, then I will have the same problem again, even though they changed the brake pads. After the 18000 km, I feel that the brakes are taking longer time to stop. And the noise won't go even when I took it to the agency endless times for that. Also, there is always a jump when I hit the petrol or the brakes. Seriously, I don’t feel any luxury or safety in this car. I don’t know what to do. Can somebody advise?

Fast forward four months, the transmission doesn't do anything now. I was traveling on I-75 when the engine started to rev without going forward (I was traveling at 80 mph when it went out). It seems to me this car is not that old per se, to have a transmission problem like this. I've read many BMW owners are or have had this same problem with their "ultimate driving machine". I hope that something is done to fix this problem like BMW paying to fix their defective cars that we all paid way too much for!

It's costing me $5900 to get a new engine which I do not have. I am $14k in debt to the loan I owe for this car. When buying this car, I got a horrible deal from what I found out after buying it. I paid way too much for this car.

I have to take it back to the mount laurel dealership tomorrow for: Truck door doesn't unlatch properly, heated seats and wheel don't heat properly, Tire pressure lights goes on and off constantly (even after BMW people reset it), and the ash tray doesn't close! I am going to Burns Honda this weekend to try to trade this piece of crap in!

This is my first luxury vehicle and I am heartbroken and disappointed, I will never recommend BMW or BMW of Freehold again. Honda is reliable and dependable. I don't know how this ever got a CPO sticker! I will be writing corporate about this and how they have lost a customer and to think in 5 months or 1k miles I'm expected to pay for an extended warranty! Are you kidding me, another $2000.00 for what more problems?! I could absolutely just cry right now, this is my dream car and now I have to give it up, thanks for nothing.

On 11-5-10, the service light was on (was at 50,180 mile), I brought my car back to the dealer for the state inspection. When I was ready to drive out, I saw the service light was on again and I have one of the service advisors came to check.

On 11-22-10, my car's service light was on again. This time was for the change engine oil and air filter and I have to pay for the service since the manufacturer warranty is expired at 50,000-mile.

Below is my last communication with customer service representative of BMW North America:

"Susan:

Following our conversation this morning, I am sending you the list of window regulator repairs you requested. I appreciated the help I received so far from BMW North America and from you personally. But I also would like to remind that the replacement parts of window regulators continue to fail, suggesting that no action by BMW was taken to resolve this issue by redesigning this clearly substandard component. My car is nearly 10 years old and, frankly, I intend to use it for another 10 years since it has only 44,000 miles and is good in other respects. This is not a new car, but the problem with window regulators started nearly immediately after I purchased this vehicle so this problem is clearly not age-related.

I would like to know why BMW never addressed this issue in a proper technical way by redesigning this substandard part. A failed window on a rainy day is not only a matter of inconvenience, but can be a safety issue as well. Granted, the showrooms are impressive and the service is good, but the failure to admit this problem by BMW seriously undermine the trust of its loyal customers.

As a customer relations representative, I expect you to forward this message to a higher authority within the BMW organization. Based on the California lemon law, this car is a "lemon". This attitude of BMW is simply unfair!"

Susan's reply:

"I just wanted to advise you that I forwarded the invoice and the check request for your refund has been submitted. As soon as I hear anything, I will contact you. I hope you have a lovely weekend."

I am convinced, the BMW window regulators are substandard. Unfortunately, BMW never admitted the problem nor corrected it. Multiple BMW blogs discuss this outrages situation. There was never a recall for this problem inspite the frequency of regulator failures.

According to GEICO, my car insurance, the BMW FS or repossession agent returned or surrendered the license plates on September 15, 2010. BMW FS or the repossession agent violation of vehicle and traffic law section 425 and failure, following the repossession to the police locality where the repossession occurred.

The repossession agent searched inside my car, removing my personal property and taking business keys that were inside my vehicle and then he opened the business locks and rolled up the gates attempting to open the commercial establishment where I work. For what I saw, the repossession agent pretended to be a law enforcement officer during the repossession of my vehicle. I called 911 on September 9, 2010 and the police officers from precinct 102th filed a complaint report #** as to what happened during my car repossession.

On September 27, 2010, I sent a letter and copy of the video cameras to BMW FS about what happened during my car repossession. The BMW FS sent me a letter on October 7, 2010 that the recent letter regarding the repossession of the above referenced vehicle and conducted an investigation with the repossession agent. Part of the repossession process requires the agent to inventory the contents of the vehicle and if possible, obtain keys. My concern is that the two dated do not coincide and opened the business lock and rolled up the gates. Kindly inform me what I must do.

If I decide to replace transmission, the cost will be $3,800.00 without any guarantee that the problem won't occur again or that it's just the beginning of throwing good money after bad. It is dangerous to drive with no reverse gear; however, I can neither afford to purchase a new and/or used car or have the transmission replaced. I am a 68-year old single woman with limited income at this time. Please help me and others like me to resolve this deplorable issue.

I did have 166K miles, but based on my research and all the other complaints online, this could of easily occurred much sooner. BMW has to recognize this as a flawed design, resulting in countless, unhappy and very frustrated customers. There is an entire website (www.noreverse.org) dedicated to this common issue. I am interested in knowing if there is an active class action lawsuit. Approximately $3500 in repair costs.

Results: The aluminum bolts break and oil leaks onto the engine block causing the engine to smoke and lose pressure. BMW is aware of the defect. BMW fixed it less than a year later by going back to the steel bolts in the 2007 models and greater. Certified BMW mechanics are aware of the problem because it is a common factory defect. Unfortunately, this problem commonly occurs just out of warranty. It's not a cheap fix and BMW wont acknowledge the problem.

Personal experience: This is my third and final BMW. BMW does not care about customer loyalty. This is clearly a factory engineering defect.

The economic damage exceeds 200,000 euros. The driver had severe physical injuries. The passenger died due to unopened airbags. Photos of the accident as well as of the unopened airbags are available.

BMW computer diagnostic result cannot find anything wrong why the transmission failed as they say the car is "clean", the term they use when all the parts are original and no accidents. BMW won't take any responsibility to cough up for a replacement or the $6300 cost. For now I'm renting a car. Family members, friends, friends' friends, co-workers and BMW employees and employees of my rental car cannot believe this problem happened to a BMW. Their motto is "It's the ultimate driving machine" (check their website). The company can price tag their cars heavily because they brag about vehicle performance, reliability and safety.

BMW, take responsibility or else shame on you! This calls for a class action lawsuit.

This reoccurred intermittently over the next two years, but turning the car off and back on, eliminated the message and shifting problem went away until this week. I was told the transmission needs to be replaced at $4800. No previous car I have owned had a transmission fail, let alone at only 93,000 miles. For a car maker that advertises quality engineering and performance, it's a shame they don't back their expensive cars better.

All these problems and a payment of $1,375 per month! Ridiculous! I wonder if it had had this problem prior to my buying it and the dealership did not disclose to me. I will never set foot in that cat again as I don't feel safe and was deeply traumatized by the incident. I could have been injured in an accident, or worse, killed.

Instead, he put on a show, trying to convince me that selling used cars with cracked windshields is a common practice, and that he sees no problem in selling me a damaged vehicle. To support this amazing argument, he was desperately looking for another example of a car with similarly damaged windshield on the parking lot and of course he didn't find any. During our conversation, he desperately tried to change the topic from the damaged windshield to whether the tires were new or used, or tried similar pathetic attempts to divert the conversation. As he rapidly exhausted his supply of tricks and dodges, he reserved to direct insults, “Are you calling the salesperson a cheater and a liar?”

As far as I could tell, the idea that I was going to check the certification details for that vehicle outside of the dealership produced a certain effect, because I was offered to speak with the general manager, Mr. Monty **. However, Mr. ** made it very clear from the very beginning that he has no intention of dealing with this problem. He also announced immediately that he is not going to replace the windshield, but rather than suggesting, like Mr. **, that selling cars with cracked windshields is a common practice, he astounded me with another remarkable question: “Did anyone promise you a new windshield?” Apparently Mr. ** supposes that I naturally expect a $23,000 vehicle to have a crack in the windshield, right in front of the driver's view.

Speaking of the certification, I wonder whether a windshield crack in front of the driver's view would pass a simple DMV certification, not to mention the BMW vehicle certification. In any case, with Mr. **’s question, it became obvious that he has no intention of dealing with this problem. It was abundantly clear that he worries only about the cost of the repair and he couldn't care less about the incident itself and about the customer satisfaction. After my fresh experience with Mr. **, I had no desire to attend another thimble rigging performance, so the conversation was over.

I must say that I am most deeply, most profoundly impressed with a level of trickstery that is used in this dealership. I would certainly expect that a BMW dealership would reserve to more respectable sales practices. I wonder if the sales strategies that have been demonstrated by Don ** and Monty ** represent the official sales policies of the BMW corporation.

The bottom line is following: (1) I was clearly cheated at the Momentum BMW dealership in Houston, TX. The personnel of this dealership knowingly sold me a defected car with a cracked windshield. The management of this dealership reserved to trickstery and to wiggling in order to avoid the responsibility for selling me a defected car. (2) I am in the process of contacting other agencies, including my insurance agents, the Texas DMV officials, and seeking an alternative way of verifying the BMW certification process in this case. (3) As I research the possibilities of taking legal actions against the BMW corporation, I believe it is my responsibility to make this incident as widely known as possible both inside and outside of the Houston area, in order to help possible future victims of the Momentum BMW dealership's sales practices. I hope that Consumer Complaint Agency will use all means possible in order to protect consumer's interests.

In 32 years of driving, I have driven scads of manual transmission vehicles, and even in the days of my youth never managed to break one. So after receiving this news (and authorizing the $5,000+ repair job) I did some Web surfing and found that my case is not at all isolated or unique (many clutch problems also reported). Now I understand that occasional manufacturing defects may lead to a case such as this, but to have multiple occurrences in my opinion points to (a) design flaw, (b) significant manufacturing quality problem, or (c) combination of the two.

Note that I did request that the dealership give me the root cause of the failure, but they declined saying that they do not disassemble/analyze the transmissions, but do know for certain that it was broken (but wouldn't share exactly how they figured that out). I further requested that the "failed" unit be replaced with one manufactured by Getrag (versus original equipment by Midland, I believe), and was told that was standard policy. Perhaps an indication that BMW/Mini was aware of the problems with the OE. So in a nutshell, my manual transmission broke, a number of others have as well, and I believe this was a known factory defect.

In both cases it was explained to me that the engine had to be disassembled in order to make the repair. My question, then and now was if I had complained of a problem and the engine had to be taken apart, why wasn't everything done at once, as the majority of each repair was labor related and it would seem to be a good deal more cost effective to allow the customer to decide what should be done? Subsequent to the latter repair I noticed that my windshield washer fluid was leaking. I initially thought that this was a result of the repair and the mechanic possibly losing the fluid during his working on the car. I subsequently placed more fluid in the tank and once again it leaked out.

I contacted your dealership and made my last appointment. During the first 2 repairs my service advisor was Mike **. I left a number of messages on his voice mail, that were not returned. Eventually I made contact with Mr. Ho, who informed me that Mr. ** left the dealership. I explained my concern to him with regard to the windshield washer problem and made an appointment to bring the car in for a check of the issue. I brought the car in on Oct. 6 at 6:30 am. My service advisor was Ms. Lopes. At 2 pm, I still had not heard from her with regard to the status of my car and had to contact her. She informed me that the car was just being looked at and that she would get back to me. Once again I had to contact her later in the day and she informed me that the car would not be ready until the next day.

The following day after 12 pm, I once again had to contact Ms Lopes and she still had no information on my car. Later in the afternoon, I was informed my car was still not ready, and that upon further diagnosis of the vehicle it was determined that I needed a new windshield washing fluid pump and that a tensioner and idler pulley. I was quite upset at this news as I had brought the car in 2 previous times and this was not mentioned. I was then put through to Mr. Ho who informed me that my car was 7 years old and in spite of its low mileage, I should lease a new car. I found this latter statement to be rather offensive, as I always thought that a BMW well cared for should last over 100, 000 miles.

I opted to not have the latter repair done and to simply replace the windshield washer pump and replace a bulb took 2 days. Needless to say I am quite dissatisfied with my treatment at your dealership and will seriously consider not only where I will have my vehicle serviced but if I should purchase a new BMW.Sincerely, David

What is going on with this car? Now I get warning lights saying "check oil engine level". But the oil is full. I am getting notification that the "timing is **" and I don't have a clue of this issue. I just spent $1370.00 because oil is leaking into my coolant reservoir, and it happened the next day, so now it is back in the shop. This is the worse car I have ever had and I will never buy from them again.

I am going to have my attorney write them. Here is a link showing another burn from a 530i BMW 2007 on another girl’s leg that I got off the internet **. This exhaust system is flawed. A child, animal, anyone could be critically burned by the exhaust placement. BMW should be held accountable and I am requesting acknowledgement of my demand letter. I felt my demand was more than fair - I have horrible black scar that I will now have for life.

There is the problem, my car is a 2004 and it is barely used. I have about 65,000 miles on the car and I am at the shop once again having the air suspension fixed again. This is the 4th time in less than 4 years. I also have the service person calling me once again telling me that I need to have the axel replaced because it will eventually break soon. BMW and quality is not a match.

The guys at Ridgefield BMW deliver outstanding service. I only wish the BMW manufacture did. We also had a 2003 330I, which also was a complete dog. I laugh every time their commercial is played on TV about maintenance free for 3 years. For what you pay for these cars, the only benefit is that you have a BMW sitting in your driveway. It’s not moving, but it’s your driveway. I can't justify ever purchasing another BMW.

Six months after purchase, my car experienced intermittent but significant drops in engine power, accompanied by a check engine light. The car stalled frequently when starting from a stop. After delivering the vehicle to the local BMW dealership, it was found to have a faulty turbo. The faulty turbo was replaced without future incident specific to that component.

Three weeks later, again while conducting an out-of-town business trip, the check engine light kept appearing intermittently, with accompanying losses in engine power, albeit less significant decreases than with the turbo failure. I called my service advisor at my home dealership and he advised to swiftly get the car to the nearest dealership, as the problem was likely to be a failing high pressure fuel pump. This was indeed the case. Due to return home on my trip the following day, I had to plead with the out-of-town dealer to complete the requisite service immediately due to my travel conundrum. The service was completed in time, and with no future complications.

My 2009 335i has been plagued by a series of significant engine-related problems from the day of its delivery. There have been several circumstances where loss in deliverable engine power has put me in precarious safety situations or caused me hours of severe inconvenience. My view on the car is now so morbid that I dread having to take it out of my city for fear of another failure while traveling. I have extreme concern that future failures are looming and that my car will experience atypical depreciation values due to its failures, through no fault of my own. I have researched into the Florida Lemon Law and found it is not applicable in these three circumstances because three separate and non-interrelated components were involved.

I am told by Sales and Service personnel that the car will need to be serviced for the first time at about 15,000 miles. I bring the car in at 15,000 miles and service department says it doesn't need servicing. I question, but 15,000 miles is 5 times longer than any recommended service period I have ever heard for an oil change and I have not had an oil change. They insist the car and oil is fine. They will not service the car unless I want to pay for the service.

I am not happy but assume they know what is best. It is now 1,200 miles later and I have a question and concern about a new low profile tire I had to have replaced (at $500+/tire another story) but thought while I was at the service station, I would get it serviced this time. Again, I am told by the service personnel the car does not need servicing. They check the computer for status of next recommend service and it indicates not until almost 18,000 miles is the service due. Again, no service will be performed by this dealership unless I wish to pay for it. I complain that a service interval of 18,000 miles means my brand new car will be serviced only twice in 40,000 miles of use.

This makes me fear the engine will be damaged with such low service intervals for oil changes, etc. and I purchased the car, not leased, and intended to keep it not trade it in. So the maintenance period would be up when possible serious problems caused by infrequent service intervals for oil changes etc. would occur. I am assured after talking to my sales person who sold me the car that there is a 'special oil' BMW uses in their cars and it will be fine.

I am not persuaded but again no service unless I wish to pay for it. Now my wife has to use the car on a trip of about 5 hr duration. On this trip at the half way mark, she calls and says, "the car status lights are indicating that the car oil is at minimum what should I do!" As the computer status indicator had given faulty information before (on low tires) and BMW said it did not need service, I said pull over, turn the engine off an then on to see if the light goes away. I suggested this because happened to me once and that is what happened.

This time the indicator did not go away. I called BMW service and they said I need oil! I said, "why didn't you service it when I brought it in if it now needs oil?!" Arguments to no avail. I asked how long can it be driven when this indicator shows like this. Service manager says 500 miles. I ask what type of oil does it need he says synthetic 5w30. I tell my wife to stop and get the oil ASAP.

She stops without going further puts in one quart and starts the car. The status indicator says it needs another quart! Wife puts another quart in and the light goes out! My brand new car was down 2 quarts of oil (and may even have needed more I don't know) and the ** BMW service center says it doesn't need to be serviced even now!

I noticed dark black muck on the exhaust pipes. I hadn't noticed before and am hoping those are not signs of metal engine tailing on my new less than 1 year old $70,000 BMW 535XI I planned to keep. My conclusion on all this is that BMW '(Corporate as in Germany)' has created and set into their cars computer a service interval that is unrealistically long, in order to minimize the expense to it under warranty period and maximize its sales profit. A damaged engine then, however, once outside of warranty period increases dealership and other third party maintenance shops revenues and thus is a win win for BMW and affiliates and a loss for the consumer. Misrepresentations on warranty protections and outright lies ('special oil') keep this system going. I believe there is cause for a class action suit against such practices and I would be willing to add my voice to any such action.

So, I went back to Encinita dealership and after the diagnostic check, they said the engine needed to be replaced. They think the engine got too hot, so the engine became damaged. The initial oil service included radiator check and I believe they never filled the radiator fluid which caused the engine to overheat. Therefore, I had to buy a new engine for $13,500 even though my original engine had only 55K miles due to their mechanics error. New engine purchased for $13,500.

Every expert I have spoken with has stated that if the steering rack goes out, it should typically be around 8 years of age of the vehicle. Under no circumstance should it break twice within 26 months. Don, the head of service at Jake Sweeney BMW, agreed with me and requested BMW to pay for the part. They declined. I tried to contact BMW numerous times and they told me after 2 years that they don't back their parts. In my opinion, this is an outrage. No one wants to take responsibility for their actions.

However, after two weeks of not riding the bike I came back from vacation. I was coming to work and had to hit the throttle hard to avoid a swerving driver. I noticed thick smoke once again coming out of the exhaust. I brought it back to the same dealer/service center and the service manager (Rodney) stated that, "It is a totally new problem and you were told about it before and you did not want to have that work done.” Also, he said that it would cost another $3500. I told him that that was a lie and why would I want to drive the vehicle that was 1/2 fixed down a highway.

Also, the price is outrageous. A brand new engine would probably cost me $5000 at the most. So, why would I pay $6000 to repair a 12 year old engine? The answer is I wouldn't. I would have just sold it for parts or kept it in my shed for parts for a new bike. The motorcycle is in their shop at the moment and I have already paid $2500 to have it repaired. I want to take it to another more reliable shop closer to me but it is in pieces. So what do I do now?

After phone call and several letters to try to refinance the vehicle, BMW will not refinance because our credit is not up to their standards. We have finally found an engine for $5,800.00 to be installed in the car then the car would be ready to be turned back into BMW. All we are asking for is a 4 week extension, which BMW will not give us. We have to turn the car in as is and then they will send us a bill for the $14,000.00 repair bill. I don't feel this is fair. We have paid the bill on time for years. So our credit is not perfect at this time, but we need a little help, because no one at BMW will give us the address or the telephone number to contact BMW corporate headquarters. Also BMW in Southampton said they have no record of this car being in there for any repairs.

To fix this problem it will cost me another $4000-$6000. That's a total of $12000-$14000 in repair costs in less than 3 years of owning this car.

To note, the service center stated they do not have all the necessary test equipment to do the repair at this time and no idea when the equipment would be in. Wow, talk about a company really standing behind their product. There is no recommendation as to what service center has the equipment that can do the repair or maybe even volunteer to have the vehicle taken to that service center. I have worked in maintenance all my life, working for or with most major consumer electronic companies and what a difference in how truly customer oriented companies handle things and how BMW has handled the numerous and still counting faults on this 335i.

Honestly at this point, it really feels like BMW just got done telling me too bad, so sad, have a nice day, **. So, lesson learned I guess and hopefully for those considering a BMW you can take something from this. Do some research on this website and others, it's quite clear what kind of product and company this really is. My situation isn't unique. So if you're considering a BMW, do your research as you don't always get what you pay for. For me, I guess it's time to seek a legal alternative.

2)According to the warranty policy of the car, any services or maintenance during the first 2 years or until 100k KM should be included in the warranty and I shouldn't pay extra fees. This was not the case I paid various items that I shouldn't have paid. e.g. (Break maintenance and AC filter, etc...)

Based on my work nature (Construction Engineer). I constantly need my car to be able rotate between my different working places(rural areas with no means of transportation available). And due to the above mentioned case, I wasn't able to best utilize my time which had a great impact on the quality and quantity of my work leading to great financial loses to the extent that I thought of selling my car to be able to cover the loses caused by simple carelessness of the agents of BMW in Egypt putting in mind the obligation I consider on the regional BMW for giving the agency to such low quality performers and leaving the brand name of BMW to loose its unique identity as a car for a first class customer

In mid April 2008, I was notified that they needed an additional $200 to cover the active cruise control which was $2400, not $2200 as invoiced. I finally took delivery date April 2008. After driving the car for about a week I noticed it pulled to the left. I was directed to take to Karl & Son BMW in Mainz Kastel (Germany). They checked and said there was nothing wrong and charged me 150 euro (approximately $200), because there was no fault found.

I then PCSd (permanent change of station) to Fort Gordon, GA in late May 2008. My vehicle was shipped and received mid July 2008. Again, I noticed it still pulled to the left. I took the vehicle to the local BMW Dealer (Taylor BMW, Augusta, GA). They checked the alignment, wheels and tires, found that the alignment was off and that the left front tire was also defective. They performed an alignment, but would not warranty the tire because it had more then 1500 miles on it. So, I had to buy a new tire for my new car, that wasn't right from the get go.

A couple of months later, I noticed my floorboard was wet. There had been no rain, it was summer here. Once again, I took to Taylor BMW, they said the drain was clogged and that they had cleared it out. Now, were into the fall and winter season, no issue, no ac running. Come spring/summer 2009, I noticed the floorboard is still soaking wet. Again, I take the vehicle to the dealer; they have it for almost a week. Finally, I get a call, your car is ready. When I arrive and began discussing what the cause was, I am told they couldn't find anything wrong. At this point I had pretty much had it. I told the service representative that the car is not fixed, just because they can't find the problem, so they keep a little longer. During this time, I did a little research myself online, found that BMW has a service bulletin for this issue, replace the air conditioning drain. About the same time, I get a call that the dealer also found this bulletin. Eventually they get the part and apply the fix, I hope, well see this summer.

A month or so later, the car begins jerking while at a stop. Feels like it is out of gear and then drops in, its an automatic. Again to the dealer, again they can't duplicate it. Again, I say that doesn't mean it is fixed. Eventually they assign another technician, within 30 minutes he comes back and says that the software/firmware is out dated on my car and will need to be updated. I ask how far outdated, he said it is about 6 revisions out. I asked, well isn't that something that should be checked when I bring the car for services and these issues, yes he says and apologizes that it wasn't noticed sooner.

In the past couple of months the car has been having a rough idle, when first started in the morning, up to this point it was not an issue, purred like a kitten, hot/cold weather didn't matter. I am rather reluctant to request any further service, just to be told again, we can't duplicate the fault and oh by the way that's another couple hundred dollars for diagnostics.

In the interim between these more significant issues, there have been numerous lesser, brake and fog light failures. Which in itself isnt a major issue but the car was only about 14-16 months, lights last longer then that.

They finish on the steering wheel, began to peel off in chunks, then the on both the driver and passenger doors. Even the BMW roundel or logo on the center of the airbag was bubbling on the inside under the clear covering. Again, several more trips to the dealer, order parts, etc. After several weeks of back forth, all parts were replaced, but to my dismay, the color tone doesn't match. I asked the dealer and the response was these are the parts BMW sent and we can't replace the others to match, because they aren't defective. I asked well if all these peeled, wont the rest, what a surprise when the service rep, said yes. And reiterated but they cant replace them until they do.

So, now were into early 2010, the car is still less the 2 years old and I get a engine malfunction warning (engine malfunction - reduced power). I take it to Taylor BMW again, after a couple of days they call and say its ready. I go to pick it up and the service rep states that it was a cracked vacuum line, its pretty common and BMW has a service bulletin for it. As I am backing out of the parking lot at the dealer the fault flashes on the display. I go back inside and by the time the rep comes out to check the fault is gone. He tells me it may have been a residual fault, drive it for the weekend and see. So I do, and about a mile down the road there it is again. So after the weekend its back at the dealer, weeks go by, no fix.

I contact BMW North America Customer support, the rep assigned promises to find whats going on and get back to me in a couple days. Several days go by, no phone call, message, nothing. I call him, he is very indignant, almost as if I was bothering him. Once again promises to call and once again does not. I call him again, this time he says its between me and the dealer and that he is going on vacation. Wow, what a kick in the teeth. Finally, the dealer gets the issue fixed, I hope. When I go to pick it up the dealer states that BMW is willing to offer an extended warranty for reduced price. Instead of the $3000 it would be about $2000. I buy it, hoping for a little piece f mind and that the major faults are over.

A couple of weeks later, I notice water is coming both windows as I went through a car wash. Back to the dealer, and again after several days they say they can't duplicate the fault, but they adjusted the windows. Drive it for week or so and again it still leaks, this goes on for several more weeks (a total of 5 times in the shop) with the dealer replacing all the seals, well to date the windows still leak, actually worse than when I first took it in.

Then I noticed the paint is peeling off the roof, along the trim piece where the roof rack if I had one would be mounted. The dealer orders a new one, says it will be about a week, because they will have send it to be painted. Two weeks go by no phone call, so I call them. The service rep states he is sorry they forgot. So, I schedule an appointment, supposed to be a same day install. So after the duty day, I go to the dealer, the part hasn't been installed, but well get it down now. They pull my car around and as I walk up to it, it was clear the part wasn't installed correctly. The piece had inch gap from the front and the seals around it were pushed down into the roof and the windows seal was curled back. I also saw little plastic clips lodged in the wiper blades. I call the rep out to look at it, he apologizes as always. Sates we don't have spare clips but well get them ordered and call you when they are in. A little over a week later its finally fixed, again I hope.

Bottom line, this car which is barely over 2 years old, actually less if you count the time on the boat, has been in the shop going on 100 days, for a multitude of different faults, some of which are still not fixed. I have had to pay for parts that should have been covered from the get go. I have had to cancel several vacation/travel plans due to the vehicle being in the shop.

Any legal assistance in resolving this would be greatly appreciated, its clear I wont get any help from BMW or anyone associated with them.

I asked if this is in writing - they said no and that they know this policy is deceptive trade practices but their hands are tied by corporate. Wow! They cannot get away with deceiving customers like this, but they are and all across the country (read the internet) this happens everyday!

The car has been at Santa Monica BMW since August 11. I was just told today that the transmission was broken. There were other electrical problems and they were putting in a new transmission! I called BMW North America-, spoke to a woman, Lainie, on August 13th who assured me that she would call back in two days and get me out of this unsafe car and into a new lease with them for a new car. And? Nothing! She never called. My car is still in the Santa Monica BMW service place. I have been with BMW North America for 23 years! They would rather I drive a dangerous car so they don't have to take the correct, legal and ethical position of taking back my car that has two months left on the lease, and giving me a new safe one. At this point, I am seriously considering legal action and going to the newspapers about BMW North America's seriously dangerous attitude. I called them again today, August 24, 2010 and left a message for Lainie. I have received no calls back.

As of this moment, I have no car and am driving a loaner from Santa Monica BMW who also never told us anything about the condition of my car until my husband went to see them today! Update: Just spoke to Lainie at North America BMW who said that the service station is waiting on a part to be delivered to fix my car and that she could do nothing until the car was fixed and then they would look into dropping the last two lease payments and that would probably be in early September! I want a lawyer! My car has had nothing but problems. It has 8,000 miles on it and has been in the shop three times in the last three months. The transmission slipped so many times, did not go into gears at all and the car keeps accelerating forward by itself so I can get killed if I hit another car!

BMW North America wants me to get back into a dangerous, unsafe car, pay for two more months on my lease instead of taking the car back and giving me a safe one to drive. I will sue BMW North America if they do not replace my car with a new one. I will not drive that car and I will not pay lease payments for a car I cannot drive and has been proven to be unsafe!

8) Engine light came on.

Now, the steering wheel is peeling and BMW won't cover it. Really? I have had a history of various parts peeling and this car has very low mileage.

The damages speak for themselves. They are still in-tact and neither organizations volunteered to step forward to resolve this issue. I got an estimate for replacing the weather strip and molding around the windshield and for an amount of $1000.00 from another BMW dealership closer to where I currently reside.

I am a mechanic and there are serious safety issues with these cars. We have been robbed. There has to be legal recourse. There are thousands of people on the web that have had all these same problems. It seems a massive recall is in order. I want serious individuals that can bring something to the table. Let’s do it. There has got to be something we can do. We can do it. I can't take being taken advantage of like this, and neither can you. Don't wait. Let’s get justice. I will be notifying other forums as well. Thank you and let’s come together.

After speaking with Emily the service representative, she told us that it was the cluster causing the problem and yes we did need a new batter because the faulty cluster was causing the entire dashboard to light up when the car was off which was draining the battery. Taking her advice, we asked them to fix it. When we received a phone call back three days later, Emily said that the problem with the dash was still occurring and they would need $750 more to diagnose it further. At that point, I was very upset because I believe it was diagnosed wrongly to begin with. Please advise because at this point, BMW is not working with me and my car is still not fixed and still at the BMW of Fairfax.

At first, Santa Monica BMW told me that they could not initially duplicate the clutch issue. But then a few hours later, they called back informing me that they were in fact able to replicate the problem and that they went ahead, ordered and "overnighted" a new clutch which would be installed the following day. I thought great, I was glad to have the clutch replaced while it was still under warranty. Upon pulling apart the transmission, Santa Monica BMW reported that the clutch was found to be "completely worn out" with heat marks that signaled that the clutch was "abused". As a result they said, the new car warranty would not cover the cost of the repair. The repair cost for a new clutch to be installed was estimated at $2,935. Completely ridiculous!

I purchased a Certified Pre-Owned BMW because I wanted the assurance that BMW North America puts on their "CPO" designated vehicles. As BMW North America states on their CPO website: "CPOs must pass an extensive examination - a thorough and rigorous inspection by BMW factory-trained technicians". They inspect the vehicle for safety, performance and wear. If something is not right, it is fixed. If it cannot be fixed, the car cannot become a Certified Pre-Owned BMW, which are then covered by their "New Car Warranty" up to 4 years or 50,000 miles.

Basically, the BMW dealership which I purchased the vehicle claims that when the vehicle was sold to me, the clutch was in good condition and that my driving was the cause of the burned out clutch. It is important to note, however, that Steve Thomas BMW admitted that the transmission or clutch was not inspected by a mechanic in order to certify the vehicle CPO! Which leads me to (2) two conclusions:

1) Since it would be nearly impossible for me to completely burn out a clutch in 1,500 miles and in less than 3-4 weeks (there is no evidence of any other abuse on my vehicle which would suggest that I was "abusing" the vehicle. No excessive wear on the tires or any other aspect of the car), how can a consumer ever be protected from a dealership claiming that the clutch was "okay" at sale without ever inspecting the clutch and thus, being charged for it as "abused" after the fact?

2) The suspicion that the clutch was in fact not truly "abused". It seems strange that the clutch was suddenly found to be "completely worn out" despite the fact that the Santa Monica BMW service department was not able to duplicate the clutch slippage problem initially. How does a clutch slippage problem go from no issues to "completely worn out" upon pulling the transmission? How do I know that the Santa Monica BMW service department did not cause the clutch burnout when they were trying to duplicate the issue?

What mechanisms are in place in the CPO program or within California laws which protect consumers from these kind of false accusations that could so easily "void" vehicle warranties? The dealership is clearly incentivized to classify all repairs as "abused" since they are able to charge retail prices for repairs and BMW North America is not on the hook for paying for any repairs and as an added bonus, are able to sell additional parts to dealerships to sell.

How is the consumer protected in this situation from "abused" Certified Pre-Owned BMWs? I imagine the same issue could occur from new vehicles as well, right? Thanks for any advice that you can provide. I am without my vehicle and must carpool to work. I must pay $3,000 to get my clutch fixed at the dealership, since getting the clutch fixed anywhere else will void the rest of my warranty.