2012 BMW 528I Complaints

Headlights fill with condensation and cause short circuit and headlight and turn signal malfunction. Headlights fill with condensation and moisture even on sunny summer days. No warnings prior to headlights and turn signals malfunctioning. BMW says to drive with headlights on to dispel condensation but the headlights produce no heat to do so and do not illuminate because circuits are damp and not working.

The contact owns a 2012 BMW 528I. The contact stated while driving 40 MPH, the transmission warning light illuminated on the instrument panel. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer or an independent mechanic. The vehicle was not repaired. After investigating the failure, the contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 17V138000 (Power Train) but the VIN was not included. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 87,000.

Picked up from a stop light no aggressive but normally and a few seconds after going around 20-30ish mph the car stalls and goes into neutral. I was really confused and panicking of what happened, the cars behind me almost crashed into me and I was trying to manage to pull the car over to the side of road and thankfully I did. This could have caused a serious injury to me and others. As I was able to pull off to the side of the road I try to start my car back up and it cranks and cranks for a few seconds which it normally never does and finally when it starts back up the car just starts miss firing like crazy and the check engine light comes on and the car is throwing codes all over the place like drive train malfunction, engine malfunction, low oil pressure, check engine oil, auto stop start malfunction. I was super confused so I shut it off and tried to start it again but it didn’t help at all. I drove slowly into a parking lot and got it towed to a independent repair shop to which they diagnosed the timing chain guides breaking and falling into the oil pump, clogging the oil pump then causing further damage due to no oil going to the top of the motor. I was very confused how all of this could have happened since I took care of my car . If the car had given me a service warning light I would have went and got my engine serviced for this job. Now The thing is these timing chain jobs aren’t cheap and replacing the oil pump chain is even more expensive since it requires lowering the sub frame. Now In my case the timing was so bad to where the engine did something to the cylinders as of what my mechanic said. So my engine is toast and I need a new engine. Car has a hunk of metal parked in my driveway now that I’m still paying off. Good job BMW. I really want to sue bmw for this bs. The car is poorly designed and I’m super thankful this issue did not occur on the freeway because I could have died. I looked into the bmw warranty and it’s only covering up to 100K.

Car engine caught on fire while driving today and stopped. No smoke or other issues prior. Worried this is related to the recall issued by BMW recently, however my car is not covered under the recall yet. The car is currently located in Vancouver Canada. It was purchased in Tulsa, OK

The contact owns a 2012 BMW 528i. The contact stated while driving approximately 35 MPH, there was an abnormal sound coming from the vehicle. The drivetrain malfunction warning light illuminated. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic and diagnosed with a defective oil pump. The vehicle was repaired. The contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number 14V176000 (Engine and Engine Cooling). The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 109,000.

Casually picking up from a stop light when my car just randomly decided to turn off on the middle of the road and go into neutral. I lost power steering and brakes. I was able to manage to pull over and restart the car and I was welcomed with a bunch of check engine lights and many other malfunctions. Got the car towed and comes out that the timing chain has failed as well as the oil pump and resulted in damage to the camshaft and cylinder head of the motor. This is just insane how all of this happened in just a few seconds. I took care of my car did oil changes on time, coolant, brakes, transmission fluid. I took care of my car. Bmw put me in a very unsafe condition that day and I’m very upset because that could have ended very bad for me. The n20 motor has been very well known to fail at any time without any warning and bmw has yet to recall this motor. It became very bad to the point to where they even got sued but only limited the warranty up to 100K miles. Many people experienced this problem before 100K and some experienced it earlier. Their is no given time when this timing chain can fail on you. In my case so many things were damaged in the engine and I even contacted bmw NA and they didn’t even care to help. Bmw put me in a very bad spot and they want me to replace the engine and pay labor and pay more than what the cars worth! Bmw is crazy for this and I hope all of these engines get recalled and get replaced free of charge without worrying about how many miles you got on the car.

I own bmw 528i 2012. These engines are straight up bad. Timing chain failed at 149K miles with no signs of failure. Just driving down the road when suddenly the car just turns off and goes into neutral on its own. I simply pulled over restarted the car to cylinder misfires, car struggling to accelerate, smoke out the exhaust, and a loud rattling sound. I pulled over had the car towed. I had my car taken to a independent shop for repairs and diagnostics and what I got told was absolutley crazy. The timing chain guides broke off the timing chain, went down into the oil pump and those pieces settled into the pump restricting oil from going to the top of the motor causing the timing chain to start slacking and breaking from the top. He also said one of the Camshaft caps also has a crack in it.The car has been parked in my driveway for 6 months because repairing the motor would cost a ton, and putting in a remanafactured motor with labor cost would cost just as much as buying the same car again. BMW had a lawsuit about the N20/N26 but thats only covered upto 100K miles. Considering my car was running good I had no reason too change anything on this car. Oil changes were done almost every 3-5K miles and the car had no sounds no lights on the dash. I tried to claim the SULEV/PZEV Warranty which is covered upto 150K miles and the dealerships either never contacted me back or they just said no. I even contacted the HQ of BMW and they also refused any repair even with SULEV Warranty. BMW knows 100% these motors have a bad timing chain issue and that these timing chains can fail at any moment. What type of motor fails at 150K miles. Im a college student, my dad gave me this car for graduating high school. I maintained my car so much just for it to fail out of no where and the way it failed could have caused someone to crash into me. Im really upset that BMW isnt taking responsibility for whats wrong and wont recall these timing chains or motor no matter the mileage on the car.

I had been having problems with my seatbelt alarm coming on for a while with nothing in the seat of the passenger and then as I was trying to turn in to park I heard a click from my steering wheel as if it didn’t want to turn and the driver seat restraint malfunction error popped up . Now my horn will not work as well . I’m told that the dealership is the only place it can be repaired. I’m worried that it will deploy on me while driving . I’m sure this is an issue others have experienced as well .

The contact owns a 2012 BMW 528i. The contact stated while at a standstill the vehicle stalled randomly. The contact stated that drive train failure warning message was displayed. The vehicle was taken to a dealer and was awaiting diagnostic testing. Upon investigation, the contact associated the failure with NHTSA Campaign Number: 14V627000 (Service Brakes, Hydraulic) however, the VIN was not included. The manufacturer was informed of the failure and informed the contact that they were unable to assist. The failure mileage was approximately 90,000. The VIN was not available.

EARLY 528I, F10 MODELS HAVE FACTORY SOFTWARE GLITCH THAT IMPROPERLY SET FRONT BRAKE MILEAGE TO AN ERRONEOUS 3100 MILES WHEN RESET AFTER FRONT BRAKE REPLACEMENT. BMW DOES NOT TAKE OWNERSHIP OF SOFTWARE ISSUE AND PLACES SOFTWARE UPGRADE COST ON CUSTOMER THROUGH DEALERSHIP. ISSUE DOES NOT ARISE UNTIL AFTER WARRANTY HAS EXPIRED. CUSTOMERS THAT REFUSE TO PAY FOR COST OF BMW SOFTWARE MALFUNCTION CONTINUOUSLY HIT THE RESET OPTION FOR FRONT BRAKES WHICH CONSISTENTLY RESET TO AN ERRONEOUS MILEAGE OF 3100 MILES. THIS CONTINUOUS ERRONEOUS RESET APPROACH DOES NOT ALLOW FOR PROPER BRAKE WEAR ASSESSMENT BASED ON MILEAGE AND LEADS TO LOSS OF AWARENESS ON FRONT BRAKE PADS REPLACEMENT WHICH CAN CAUSE ACCIDENTS DUE TO LOSS OF FRONT BRAKES. MY WIFE KEPT HITTING THE RESET OPTION TO REMOVE THE ERRONEOUS ALARM SO OFTEN THAT SHE ACTUALLY WAS DRIVING WITH EXTREMELY LOW PADS AND ALMOST GOT INTO AN ACCIDENT ON THE HIGHWAY. THIS IS NOT SAFE AND BMW SHOULD COVER FACTORY SOFTWARE UPGRADE SINCE CUSTOMERS DO NOT HAVE THE CAPABILITY TO ALTER OR UPGRADE SOFTWARE ON THE VEHICLES.