Car just wouldn't start one day. Drivetrain malfunction warning indicating timing chain replacement. Car just sits in my driveway. Will cost 6 grand to fix. Timing Chain failure probably effected my engine.

- Henderson , KY, USA

While driving on the Grand Central Plwy, Queens, NY, a drive train motification came on and stated to drive moderately, right after the oil light came on. We were near a gas station, and added a quart of oil. The oil light went out, the car started without hesitation. We decided to go home, we got off the highway about a mile out, the car just stopped went into park and could not start again. It would crank over, but not connect. We were on a four lane road, luckily there was no one behind us, it could have been a terrible incident. The car was towed to a BMW dealership in Great Neck, NY and we were told it was either the engine or the timing chain and it was not worth fixing. The car was then towed to my mechanic, who stated there was a technical warning #N20 & N26 regarding the timing issue. Hoping something can be done

- Astoria, NY, USA

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.

- Vallejo, CA, USA

Car begin to stall on traffic, drivetrain malfunction light appeared..Took it to BMW DEALER My Fuel Pump replace with new EKP module- Which is the same recall that BMW issued in 2017 which included the Model/year vehicle that i have.

- Oak Park , MI, USA

in 2020 the engine started malfunctioning at 76,000 miles. I took it into the BMW dealership to get it inspected and they stated that it was a valve issue and charged replacement. After replacement, the engine lit would come on and I called the representative. He stated that it would need time to reset so I continued driving it. Eventually the light did not come on for some time. A year later in 2021 after driving to work the engine started to stall on my way to work on the highway. I since taken it back to BMW stating that it was less than 10,000 miles since the repair and I'm having engine troubles again. After talking to the BMW service representative, they stated that I will need a new engine because it is now blown. The engine only has 84,000 miles on it and I requested root cause analysis on the engine. After reviewing online, I discovered that this engine is mounted on multiple platforms BMW sold and is known to have issues since 2017 and a lawsuit in 2020, the same year I took my car to the BMW dealership for repairs. They neglected to inform me of the issue with the engine when I first took the car in and put my car back on the road with a faulty engine. Gross negligence by BMW.

- Mesa, AZ, USA

The contact owns a 2012 BMW 528xi. The contact stated while driving 80 mph, the vehicle shut-off. The contact pulled over to the side of the roadway. The contact stated that message read "do not stop vehicle, maybe unable to restart; charging error" was displayed. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed with needing the serpentine belt to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired however, the failure persisted. The manufacturer was informed of the failure and informed the contact that they were unable to assist. The failure mileage was approximately 127,000.

- Toledo, OH, USA

Driving down the street when all of a sudden car says drive train malfunction I was stopped at the light on a one way street on 11/20/2020 when the car just died no warning just shut off wouldn't start couldn't put it in neutral blocked traffic for about 90 minutes before I could get a tow truck to remove my car. I have a 2012 BMW 528xi with about 90K + miles on it I was so scared because it could have happens to me on the highway or in the middle of the street and I would no have been able to get out of harms way.

- Brooklyn, NY, USA

When turning my car on and while driving on the highway, my car displayed a drivetrain malfunction error. I took the car to my local BMW dealer on August 3, 2020 for service and they diagnosed the car with a computer error. They made a repair to the computer and told me it was fixed. This cost $350. On August 7, I drove from Maryland to South Carolina and received the same drivetrain error message and the oil service light warning came on. We had to add a quart of oil and drive slowly per the drivetrain error message. As soon as I returned to Maryland, I took the car back to BMW of annapolis. They told me that the front end of the engine was gone and that they would need to rebuild the motor including new timing chains, chain tensioner, chain guides, and exhaust vanos unit (a $6000 repair). The car only had 72,000 miles and I had never missed a service appointment. BMW North America offered to pay half of $6000 after being contacted by BMW of annapolis. However, I thought that BMW North America should have paid the entire amount because this is a known problem with the 2012 BMW 528I and I could have had a major accident. In addition, this car has had 2 prior major recalls. I sent BMW North America a formal complaint, but they still only paid $3000.

- Bowie, MD, USA

Warning for chassis stabilization is on, I encountered not being able to accelerate and had the car towed. I was on a main road and I got rear ended immediately after I was not able to accelerate and I had my hazard lights flashing

- Baltimore, MD, USA

I was driving on the road and I accelerated a lil bit faster to beat the traffic light and then my car loss power and stalled out and I got stuck in the middle of the bridge and I was causing traffic the power train malfunction and the fuel supply light cam on and the charge battery light came on I try starting it but it wouldn't start and the fuel supply light kept coming on and some wiring problem was going on when trying to start it my tv screen would turn orange and the speedometer where the mph/gas/temperature/and RPM would twitch like some electrical problem

- San Bernardino, CA, USA

My 2012 528xi has 117K miles on it. While I was on a long road trip, driving on I-95 at 1am on a Friday night, without any weird engine noises or anything out of the norm, the car displayed a warning message that said "drivetrain malfunction" immediately followed by warning "engine oil pressure low" warning. Within a few seconds, the engine shut off and the car told me to pull over safely. Luckily, there was a nice big shoulder and there was no traffic around, so I was able to safely coast to a stop. Had the car towed 100 miles to an independent mechanic, and he said there was no oil pressure, so there was too much friction due to lack of lubrication, which seized the camshaft and caused jumped timing. I've had a lot of "very unusual" (mechanic's words) issues with this car, of course all out of warranty. And now the engine is completely fried. I can spend another $11K to put a brand new engine in there, but the car itself isn't worth $11K anymore. Lots of other people have the same issue. Hasn't been reported to NHTSA but can find it on BMW enthusiast forums (like bimmerfest dot com).

- Washington, DC, USA

Vehicle messaged me while driving that oil pressure was low. Stopped, and restarted with no issues. Investigated online and discovered that the engine had a well known problem with the timing guides becoming brittle and disintegrating sending parts into the sprockets and the oil sensors. Also chain makes a whining noise if affected. Had the vehicle towed to dealership where the timing chain guides were diagnosed as being the problem. Out of extended warranty (7yr/70K) by one year and 5K miles. BMW knows of the problem and refuses to voluntarily recall affected vehicles. Could result in catastrophic engine failure at highway speeds and result in a serious accident.

- Farmville, VA, USA

I bought a certified BMW and had continuous issues with my engine, constantly refilling the oil, even after service. After taking this to the dealer, I was told that everything was fine and there weren't any issues. All of this finally came to a head-on Sunday, 6/21/2020 when my car finally came to an abrupt stop. After towing, I was told that this is a timing chain issue and would cost me $7,400 which wouldn't necessarily remedy the issue, I heard this could reach towards 15-20K. I find this hard to believe after having only driven this car on avg 8K/year and having roughly 84K miles in total. My experience with BMW has since been painful to say the least since. I've had this towed twice in 2 days, been given an ultimatum on either fixing the vehicle or buying a new one - when asking for a loaner, I was told that I needed contact enterprise and reserve one on my own. I've owned multiple german cars and never had to deal with this level of unprofessionalism.

- Chicago, IL, USA

I had issues with my car while driving and when taken to the dealer for check, they mentioned my timing chain and engine has some issues and needs to be replaced with an estimate of $14000 while the car loan I had on it was $12000. This is ridiculous as we already know BMW 2012 models have engine issues.

- Boxborough, MA, USA

My car was having a whining noise and during the diagnosis it was found that the plastic guides within the engine block that keep the timing chain intact is bad. The technician also found that the guibo (aka universal joint) was cracked. From my research on the matter, I read that NHTSA had issued a letter pertaining to other make and model on faulty or poorly designed guibo. I presume that the affected models be investigated and coverage be extended to other lines of BMW. This is the directive from NHTSA I am referring to: Rcak-17V067-6564.pdf rcrit-17V067-9870.pdf my current mileage is only about 55,000 miles and maybe there were other owners who developed this fault within the standard or extended warranty for the product line that was outside this recall. Please investigate and take corrective action.

- Culver City, CA, USA

When driving the car on the highway, a drive train malfunction warning would appear frequently on the display panel. I took the car to valley BMW in modesto, ca, on November 2018. After on extensive diagnostic evaluation, they found nothing wrong with the vehicle. The only suggestion was to replace the car's battery. I took the car to batteries plus bulbs for a second opinion. They determined that the battery was still in good condition and did not need to be replaced. The drive train malfunction continued to appear when driving on highway. In a subsequent visit to the dealer, I again mentioned the issue with the drivetrain malfunction warning still apearing on the display panel. Our customer service agents, said they couldnt find anything wrong with the car, therefor, there was nothing they could do. On a trip to san francisco, we experienced a major engine break down. The car had completely shut down. Fortunatly, we had just exited the highway. We then had the car towed to petter pan BMW dealership and they concluded that indeed the engine had experienced a major breakdown, in their evaluation, they also noted the battery was in good condition. This completely contradicts the claim by valley BMW that the battery was the issue. Since then, I have found out that there is a class action lawsuit against BMW for a defective N20 engine which is the engine in my car. I also went as far as contacting the CEO of BMW northamerica reganding this deffective motor. As expect BMW refused to accept any responsability for the deffective engine. Once I brought up the class action lawsuit, BMW cut off all communications with me. My family and I are asking for your support in investigating BMW on this deffective motor and holding then accountable for such poor and negligent behavior, please help all affected customers with this terrible and devestating situation.

- Modesto, CA, USA

My 2012 BMW 528I stalled twice 2 wks ago when I was slowing down at a traffic signal. The display showed either "drivetrain malfunction" or "transmission malfunction". immediately I turned on the hazard lights, slowly changed lanes slowly and come to a halt, by which the warning was gone and I drove home at less than 15 mph. The next morning the car seemed fine and I was able to drive it to a local mechanic, who advised a BMW service. I took the car to an authorized service center (asc) for verification and was directed to come back in few days; within that week it happened again. I went to another asc to have it fully diagnosed. It was determined that faulty guides in the timing-chain caused it. I had no idea it was design flaw until I read about it in online. The service manager also said they have seen it happen in many cars and sometimes under 30K miles and in few instances needing entire engine replacement for $15000. I see several customers with N20 and N26 engines having this issue same as with N63 engines. I contacted bmwusa and lodged a complaint about this for reimbursement referring to NHTSA tsb 110614, but was denied. I was told BMW knew of this issue and extended the warranty to 7Y/70K. I was not aware of this and mygarage on bmwusa is not showing it. I have received several marketing info on new BMW and leases instead. Class action lawsuits have been lodged in North America and deaths in ireland requiring a court order for mandatory recall. 1) williams, et al. V. BMW of North America llc, et al., case no. 2:17-cv-1156. 2) gelis, et al. V. bayerische motoren werke aktiengesellschaft, et al., case no. 2:17-cv-07386 3) www.strosbergco.com/class-actions/BMW reference: Invoice, BMW mygarage page, blog, NJ lawsuit etc. www.bmwblog.com/2013/09/29/BMW-recall-2012-14-models-N20-N26-engine www.thejournal.ie/cars-sold-ireland-BMW-recall-4002999-may2018

- Culver City, CA, USA

The contact owns a 2012 BMW 528I. While driving at a low rate of speed, the drive train malfunction warning indicator illuminated. The contact pulled over to the side of the highway and shut off the vehicle. The vehicle would not restart. The contact had the vehicle towed to an unknown BMW dealer where it was diagnosed that the engine failed. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was unknown.

- Cedar Hill, TX, USA

My 2012 BMW 528 xdrive suddenly got a warning low oil pressure follows by drive train malfunction, and slows down-went on neutral and stop in the middle of the road. All that happened within less than a minute. I got it towed to the BMW dealership for a diagnostic and they told me that the timing chain guide has broken apart, timing chain came off, jumped time, starved engine for oil & contaminated engine and will require a whole new engine replace which will cost around $13756.56 +labor+tax my total was $ 16456. I found out I am not alone and this is a known problem with BMW of this make and model. I also called the BMW North America they told me that the extended warranty was only up to 70,000 miles and they can not do anything about it, my car fails at 105K miles. I think BMW must stand behind there product. We can not buy an expensive car like BMW with an engine life is less than 8yrs.

- Spencer, NC, USA

Defective drive train - on March 11, 2019 my drive train malfunction and which damage my engine. This is an safety concern because my car stop on the freeway while I was driving. BMW mfg knew about the defective drive train prior to me purchasing car from fields BMW on July 2013. BMW North America offer to pay 21,000 for the engine replacement and they want me to pay $6,000 and I feel BMW know about the faulty design in 2012 and did not inform the consumer. When I purchase the car, it had 18,000 miles on it and I put 62,000.00

- Wimauma, FL, USA