2008 BMW 3 SERIES Complaints

A LITTLE WHILE BACK AN ERROR MESSAGE CAME UP ON THE DASHBOARD OF MY CAR SAYING THERE WAS A MALFUNCTION WITH THE TIRE PRESSURE MONITOR. NOT LONG AFTER, I LEFT MY OFFICE ONE NIGHT; I GET IN MY CAR WITH MY COWORKER AND BEGIN DRIVING. AS I DROVE WE BOTH HEARD A SCREECHING NOISE FROM MY CAR AND THE CAR WAS STRUGGLING TO ACCELERATE, CARS BEHIND ME BEGIN TO HONK AND DRIVE AROUND ME LEAVING ME IN A VERY DANGEROUS SITUATION WHERE A CAR MAY HIT ME OR MY CAR. I WAS STUCK IN THE MIDDLE OF TRAFFIC WITH MY CAR ALMOST COMPLETELY DISABLED. THE NEXT DAY I HAD THE CAR PICKED UP FROM MY HOME AND DROPPED OFF BY A SERVICE CENTER. THEY CALL ME A COUPLE OF DAYS LATER SAYING THERE WAS DAMAGE DONE TO ALL THE TIRES OF THE CAR AND THE PRESSURE MONITOR FOR THE TIRES. THE TIRES FOR THIS CAR ARE SPECIAL TIRES WITH PRESSURE MONITORS TO INDICATE WHEN THEY ARE LOW ON PRESSURE OR FLAT. I'VE ONLY PUT 6500 MILES ON THE CAR AND DRIVEN IT WITH A LOT OF CARE UNDER NORMAL CONDITIONS. THE SERVICE CENTER IS SAYING I INFLICTED THE DAMAGE AND THEY WANT ME TO PAY FOR IT. I HAD BEGUN SPEAKING WITH FRIENDS WHO HAVE THE SAME CAR AND THEY ALL SAID THEY ARE EXPERIENCING THE SAME PROBLEM. PLEASE LOOK INTO THE SITUATION AND RESPOND AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. THIS CAN BE VERY DANGEROUS. *TR

GO HERE FOR THE ENTIRE STORY: WWW.BMWFIRE.COM I PURCHASED A BRAND NEW 2008 BMW 328I FOR $38,000 FROM SONNEN BMW IN SAN RAFAEL, CALIFORNIA. THE CAR HAD A SERIOUS MANUFACTURERS DEFECT THAT CAUSED AN ELECTRICAL FIRE AND RESULTED IN MY CAR BEING TOTALED. I HAD MULTIPLE ISSUES WITH THE FRONT PASSENGERS SIDE FOG LIGHT FALLING OUT OF ITS CASING INTO THE LOWER CORNER OF THE BUMPER WHICH CAUSED THREE SEPARATE FIRES. BMW HAS REFUSED TO REPLACE MY VEHICLE THAT HAD 11,500 MILES AND IS COVERED UNDER WARRANTY. AT THE END OF JUNE 2008 I FIRST REALIZED THIS PROBLEM HAPPENED UPON A CLOSER INSPECTION OF THE EXTERIOR OF THE CAR. I BROUGHT THE CAR RIGHT AWAY TO SONNEN BMW'S SERVICE DEPARTMENT, AS I WAS WORRIED ABOUT THE SAFETY OF THE VEHICLE. I SHOWED THEM WHAT HAPPENED, BUT THEY TOLD ME THAT THEY HAD NO AVAILABLE APPOINTMENTS UNTIL TWO WEEKS OUT AND THAT MY CAR WAS SAFE TO DRIVE. TWO WEEKS LATER I BROUGHT MY VEHICLE TO SONNEN'S SERVICE DEPARTMENT, THEY "VERIFIED THE DEFECT" AS STATED IN THEIR SERVICE RECORDS. THEY REPLACED THE COMPLETE FRONT BUMPER AND SUPPOSEDLY RE SECURED THE FOGLIGHT. ALL OF THIS WAS COVERED UNDER BMW'S WARRANTY AS IT WAS A MANUFACTURES DEFECT. I ASKED TOM MURTHA (MY SERVICE ADVISOR) WHY THIS HAD HAPPENED, HE TOLD THAT BECAUSE THERE WAS ABSOLUTELY NO IMPACT DAMAGE, THE ONLY WAY THIS COULD HAVE OCCURRED WAS A MISTAKE WHEN BUILDING THE VEHICLE AT THE FACTORY. I THOUGHT ALL OF MY PROBLEMS WERE SOLVED UNTIL A FOGGY DAY IN SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA. ON OCTOBER 25TH, 2008 AT APPROXIMATELY 4:00 PM. WHILE WAITING AT A STOPLIGHT I TURNED ON MY FOG LIGHTS AT THE INTERSECTION OF FRONT & BROADWAY (ASSUMING THAT THE FOGLIGHT HAD BEEN SECURED). IT WAS FOGGY OUT AND MY PASSENGER AND I COULD NOT SEE THE SMOKE THAT WAS COMING FROM THE PASSENGER SIDE FOG LIGHT BECAUSE OF A SMALL FIRE IT CAUSED. I WAS MADE AWARE OF THIS WHEN A PEDESTRIAN WALKED UP TO MY CAR AND ALERTED ME THAT THERE WAS A FIRE. I PULLED OVER RIGHT AWAY AND I DUMPED THE CONTENTS OF A LARGE WATER BOTTLE ON THE FLAME. *TR

I TOOK THE VEHICLE FOR THE FOLLOWING SYMPTOMS: 1.) LONG(ER) CRANK 2.) ENGINE MALFUNCTION, REDUCED POWER 3.) SERVICE ENGINE SOON 4.) HEAVY, ERRATIC SHAKING AND SHUDDERING 5.) ENGINE SOUNDED LIKE A UNION PACIFIC TRAIN WITH LOUD PUMPING SOUND 6.) BECAUSE OF 4 + 5, DECIDE TO TURN-OFF THE ENGINE OR SOMETIMES IT JUST STALLS BEFORE 7.) AFTER RESET, THE CAR BECOMES DRIVABLE BUT SYMPTOMS WILL REOCCUR. 8.) ABLE TO RECREATE PROBLEM WHEN I MASH THE GAS AFTER DOING SOME RESEARCH ON AN AUTO FORUM, I SUSPECTED THAT THE CAUSED OF THE PROBLEM WAS A FAILING HIGH PRESSURE FUEL PUMP. THE DEALERSHIP KEPT THE CAR FOR 3 DAYS TO RUN SOME TESTS AND CONCLUDED THAT THE FUEL PUMP WAS THE PROBLEM. SINCE THEY REPLACE THE PART, THE CAR HAS NOT BROKEN DOWN AGAIN. HOWEVER, THEY INTRODUCE ANOTHER PROBLEMS. 1) THE CAR'S EXHAUST NOISE IS MUCH LOUDER NOW 2) THE CAR IS LESS FUEL EFFICIENT, LOWER MILES PER GALLON 3) THE CAR NOW HAS A TURBO LAG WHICH WAS PREVIOUSLY NON-EXISTENT. THIS MEANS BMW IS FALSELY ADVERTISING THE 335I TWIN-TURBO HAS ZERO LAG. THIS WAS TRUE BEFORE THEY UPDATED THE CAR'S SOFTWARE BUT IS NOT LONGER TRUE AT THIS MOMENT IN TIME. *TR