2014 BMW M5

My car (a 2014 BMW M5 with only approx. 39K miles) has a known issue with defective fuel injectors (manufactured by Bosch, subsequently replaced by an upgraded part). In fact, in 2018 BMW issued me and other owners with an extended warranty for the fuel injectors for 10 years/120,000 miles (see attached copy). However, in my opinion and based on a 9/7/2022 failure incident I experienced the defective fuel injectors should have resulted in a safety recall. Previously, my car experienced a check engine light in August 2022. The dealership suspected one or more leaking fuel injectors and noted as such on my repair invoice, but I was told due to the testing protocol which BMW requires they could not replace any of the fuel injectors. BMW's testing protocol also resulted in me incurring a large bill of almost $1,100 due to the diagnosis labor involved. On 9/7/2022 while I was driving on the highway at approximately 70 miles an hour, 2 fuel injectors failed (out of 8 injectors, confirmed by subsequent repair) which resulted in a sudden and complete loss of engine power while maneuvering in traffic. I am extremely lucky the sudden loss of engine power did not result in an accident, and I was able to take a highway exit using the vehicle's momentum. Upon exiting the highway, my car's engine completely died and would not re-start. This resulted in my car obstructing the road where it almost caused several accidents and necessitated a 911 call by me to obtain police assistance to get my vehicle out of the way. After this frightening experience and due to the high failure rate I already experienced with 2 out of 8 injectors, I contacted BMW customer service and attempted to get the remaining 6 injectors replaced. BMW refuses to replace the remaining injectors and stated they would only replace a specific injector after failure. I urge the NHTSA to require BMW to perform a safety related recall for this known fuel injector issue.

NHTSA ID

11487810

Incident

Sep 7, 2022

BEHAVIOR OF MY CAR'S DCT TRANSMISSION HAS CREATED A DANGEROUS SITUATION WHICH ALMOST RESULTED IN AN ACCIDENT FOR ME. I BELIEVE THIS IS DUE TO A SOFTWARE CHANGE BMW MADE TO THE DCT TRANSMISSION. THE ISSUE IS AS FOLLOWS: -WHEN DRIVING AT HIGHWAY SPEED, WHEN YOU RELEASE THE THROTTLE AND LET THE VEHICLE COAST (AS WHEN YOU WANT THE VEHICLE TO NATURALLY DECELERATE WITHOUT BRAKING) THE TRANSMISSION WILL DISENGAGE THE DCT CLUTCHES. THE CAR WILL THEN MAINTAIN SPEED (AS IF CRUISE CONTROL WERE ENGAGED) INSTEAD OF NATURALLY DECELERATING. IN AND OF ITSELF, THIS BEHAVIOR IS DANGEROUS DUE TO THE FACT THE VEHICLE WILL MAINTAIN UNWANTED SPEED. -WHEN THEN TRYING TO RE-ACCELERATE QUICKLY FROM COASTING WHERE A DOWNSHIFT IS NEEDED (AS IN WHEN NEEDING TO PASS LEGALLY ON A 2 LANE HIGHWAY), THE CAR WILL NOT RE-ENGAGE THE CLUTCHES FOR A COUPLE OF SECONDS OR SO. THIS CAUSES TOTAL LOSS OF POWER OR ACCELERATION FOR 2 OR SO SECONDS. WHILE THIS MAY SEEM LIKE A RELATIVELY MINOR SITUATION, THE ABOVE SITUATION ALMOST CAUSED A SERIOUS ACCIDENT AT HIGHWAY SPEED. ALSO, MY CAR DID NOT PREVIOUSLY DISPLAY THIS BEHAVIOR UNTIL AFTER A SERVICE VISIT (I BELIEVE LAST YEAR). I SUSPECT THE DCT TRANSMISSION SOFTWARE WAS UPDATED BY BMW WITHOUT MY KNOWLEDGE AND IS THE SOURCE OF THIS CHANGE IN VEHICLE BEHAVIOR.

NHTSA ID

11373629

Incident

Jun 21, 2020

Mileage

30,000 mi

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