— A BMW oil consumption lawsuit is over after the plaintiff argued his 2012 BMW 550i always required extra oil to prevent the engine from burning up.
California plaintiff Robert Smothers says he purchased a new 2012 BMW 550i in December 2011 that came with a 4-year/50,000 mile new vehicle warranty.
Smothers says he suspected a problem with oil consumption in May 2012, so he took the 550i to a BMW dealer.
The plaintiff says he told technicians he had topped off the oil when he saw a low oil warning light. However, he was concerned that maybe he didn't use the recommended oil and agreed to replace all the oil in the 550i.
Smothers claims the vehicle continued to have problems with oil consumption between 2012 and 2014. The plaintiff provided repair orders dated January 24, 2013, December 6, 2013, and July 2, 2014, all in an effort to fix the oil consumption problems.
On the repair order for July 2, 2014, Smothers wrote “low on oil,” because “BMW said that the car was low on oil and needed a quart."
Mr. Smothers says he had to add oil himself or ask a repair shop to do it, then he brought the vehicle to a shop in May 2017 after the warranty expired. He requested that technicians check for oil leaks, and allegedly the plaintiff paid about $9,000 in repair work over the next year.
Plaintiff Smothers says he contacted BMW in March 2018 and requested the automaker buy back the vehicle, a request BMW denied. The plaintiff then filed the lawsuit arguing his vehicle was defective from the beginning because of oil consumption problems.
BMW filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit by arguing the judge should grant summary judgment, a legal term that means the judge should immediately rule in favor of BMW without a full trial.
Smothers alleges BMW is liable for breach of warranty and fraud because the automaker concealed and didn't repair the oil consumption problems, but the judge pointed out Smothers first discovered abnormal oil consumption in 2012.
This was followed by multiple dealership visits in 2012 and 2013, but the plaintiff didn't file the lawsuit until 2018.
"Accordingly, for the reasons discussed above, his claims are all barred by the applicable statutes of limitations. BMW’s motion for summary judgment is therefore GRANTED, and Smothers’ motion for sanctions is DENIED." - Judge Cathy Ann Bencivengo
The BMW oil consumption lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California - Smothers v. BMW of North America, LLC.
BMW oil consumption problems have caused other lawsuit, with a few of those involving class actions that included several models.
CarComplaints.com has owner-reported complaints about numerous BMW vehicles.