Consumer Complaint Detail

BMW / 540I / 1994

Recalls
0 Injured
Investigations
0 Death
Complaints
No Fire
Components - Details
NHTSA Complaint Number: 002194035 Incident Date: Dec, 29 2002
Consumer's City: SAN DIEGO Consumer's State: CA
Vehicle Transmission Type: AUTO Manufacturers Name: BMW of North America, LLC
Model Name: 540I Model Year: 1994
Vehicle Involved in a Crash: No Component's Description: Engine and engine cooling:engine
Vehicle Involved in a Fire: No Persons Injured: 0
Vehicle's VIN#: WBAHE632XRG Date added to File: May, 16 2021
Date Complaint Received: Jan, 04 2003 Complaint Type: IVOQ
Incident Reported To Police: No Purchase Date: Sep, 30 2001
Was Original Owner: No Anti-lock Brakes: Yes
Number of Cylinders: 8 Date of Manufacturer: -
Was Vehicle Towed: - Description of the Complaints: To whom it might concern. my bmw 540i was diagnosed for compression loss by the local bmw authorized dealer. according to the dealer, the cause is extended sulfur content used in the us gasoline. the sulfur causes a chemical reaction with the used engine block alloy (nikasil) and erodes prematurely. current mileage is 99'000 miles. this is far below any service life expectancy standard for a quality make/brand car (engine). bmw wants to hold their customers responsible for damage caused by a design flaw. bmw missed to properly test and evaluate this car prior to exporting it into the us market. bmw confesses to the problem by extending the original warranty from 4 to 6 years. i feel that bmw should have done a total recall on this issue and not just a warranty extension since the defect it is entirely caused by bmw's faulty design. do you have any information available on this issue? has there been legal action against bmw in the past? are there similar issues with other car brands/makes? any advice in dealing with this? sincerely,