There is a clear manufacturer defect concerning the aluminum bolts associated with the valve cover gasket on the BMW 2006 325I's. the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has received several complaints regarding this manufacturer defect. The aluminum bolts have been redesigned since discovering the manufacturer defect. Bmwna have had numerous service issues related to these defective aluminum bolts. They have all openly admitted that the bolts in question were defective in nature and production, and that the bolts have been redesigned to avoid future failures. Some of these complaints included, and resulted in, vehicles leaking oil in the engine area causing fires in the vehicle. The defective bolts pose a serious potential risk to the safety of the owners of these vehicles, as well as to other drivers who share the roadway with them. It is my strong belief that this type of public safety risk cannot go on any further without proper intervention from the governmental agencies we employ as taxpayers. I respectfully request that BMW North America issue a voluntary recall of the BMW 2006 325I's affected by this manufacturer defect. I am not privy to what constitutes a vehicle's defective components to reach a "recall status". I have discovered that BMW of North America is keenly aware of the defective aluminum bolts, and has issued internal memos to their staff called "technical service bulletins" (tsb) to forewarn dealerships of this manufacturer defect, and the steps to remedy the issue. I have requested this information from BMW of North America, as well as several dealerships; and I was refused. I have diligently maintained my vehicle as prescribed by the service manuals, as well as the on board computer in the vehicle. My contention is extremely clear; the aluminum bolts are a manufacturer defect! fix them all at no cost to the consumer.

- Hillsborough, CA, USA

On my particular vehicle, a 2006 BMW 325, E90 chassis, there was an oil leak found due to a faulty bolt in the engine bay whereby my engine had about 52K miles put on it. I spoke to various owners with the same vehicle, and they too had the same issue with their vehicles as well. It's apparent that BMW has a manufacturing defect and neglected to do anything about it.

- Los Angeles, CA, USA

I own a 2006 BMW 325I. I was on the highway and turning a corner and the engine just stopped. It was towed to united BMW in gwinnitt ga where all maintenance has been done on the car. I was told that a valve spring broke and fell into a piston chamber. 96000 miles on the car and insurance will not cover. Also, only 50000 mile warranty on the engine. The car has been there for almost 9 months now. I was told it would cost 16000 to fix and they have then since towed the car somewhere else and declared it abandoned. I tried to call and get some information on the matter but nobody will return my calls or help me in this situation. I still owe 9000+ on the auto.

- Johns Creek, GA, USA

The contact owns a 2006 BMW 330xi. While driving 24 mph there was a clanking noise and the aluminum bolt that was holding the cylinder head in place broke. The failure caused the cylinder head to crack the cylinder head and caused a massive oil leak into the engine. The vehicle was taken to the dealer. They replaced the aluminum bolt. The dealer replaced one defective part with another. The failure mileage 25,774. The consumer stated the repairs were almost $4,000 and it took more than a week to complete the repairs. Updated 03/12/10 updated 03/30/10 updated 07/26/10.

- Salt Lake City, UT, USA

Events leading to failure - none. Failure occurred once, expected to happen again, extremely likely to result in fire. Two aluminum bolts securing the valve cover broke unexpectedly resulting in engine oil dripping onto the catalytic converter filling car with smoke, engine compartment was also filled with smoke. The car is receiving a new valve cover gasket and new aluminum bolts. Had this event happened when the car was running at highway speeds, this would have definitely resulted in a fire.

- College Grove, TN, USA