2014 BMW X1

Driving down I-89 in Vermont, just South of Montpelier, we were driving at highway speeds toward a construction zone, suddenly, all of the power to the car cut out. There was no warning, no lights, no “bing bong” of the car to let us know there was an issue, it just stopped. We had less than 10 seconds to make a decision. When the car lost power, We had no power brakes or steering. We were in the section with concrete barriers on both sides and no shoulder. This is the most dangerous situation I can think of. We noticed an on ramp merge lane just ahead and managed to coast into it just in time to loose all momentum before the steep hill. The car had been in for service less than a month prior. When I had it towed to the Automaster, they told me that it could be the timing chain. We found out later that the timing chain is known to be faulty in these engines (though we were not informed of this earlier). We learned (by searching on line) there was a class action law suit and that these engines are known to have this problem around 100K miles. I was told that I have to spend $1500 to determine if it is the timing chain and if so, It will only be covered "maybe up to 50%" by the warranty. The cost of a new engine is $15,000 and I just paid off my loan on the car the day before we left for vacation. If this problem is known to BMW Of North America, why is this not a recall item? We were put in a very dangerous situation and if our kids or my clients were in the car at the time, it could have turned out very differently. We were very lucky, but this is a really dangerous situation to be in, for a car that is less than 7 years old and under 100K miles that has been maintained diligently. We feel this should be a safety recall item that BMW should be responsible for. Timing chains should not brake like that. I have never been so terrified and felt so out of control in a vehicle before. No one should have to go through that.

2014 X1 X28I W/ N20 ENGINE, 3/2013 PRODUCTION DATE, 6/2013 IN-SERVICE DATE, 86K MILES, BOUGHT AS CPO. HAVE MAINTAINED PER CBM, ALMOST EXCLUSIVELY AT DEALER. AS A "CLASS VEHICLE" OWNER, I HAVE RECEIVED NOTIFICATION OF THE CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT SETTLEMENT REGARDING THE TIMING & OIL PUMP CHAIN SYSTEMS ON THE N20/N26 MOTORS. STARTING TO HEAR THE TIMING/OIL CHAIN WHINE, BUT THIS IS A DIFFICULT THING TO QUANTIFY. HAVE NOTICED TIMING CHAIN CAN BE QUITE SLACK AS OBSERVED THROUGH THE OIL FILL CAP. TOOK TO DEALER, THEY LISTENED BUT SAID "NOTHING HEARD AT THIS TIME." REFUSED MY REQUEST TO ENDOSCOPE FOR DEBRIS THROUGH OIL DRAIN PAN OR FILL CAP, WANTED SEVERAL HUNDRED $$ TO CHECK VIA OIL LEVEL SENSOR PORT INSTEAD. ALSO WANTED ANOTHER SEVERAL HUNDRED $$ TO CHECK TIMING CHAIN TENSION, AN EXCESSIVE FEE FOR 30 MINUTES OF LABOR. QUOTED ME NEARLY $6K FOR UPGRADING THE TIMING AND OIL CHAIN SYSTEM PARTS PER THEIR TSB, AND SAID IT WOULD NOT BE SUBJECT TO THE COST SHARING TERMS OF THE LAWSUIT SETTLEMENT. VERY FRUSTRATING TO NOT GET BETTER SUPPORT FROM A LUXURY BRAND FOR A KNOWN AND ACKNOWLEDGED PROBLEM. IT IS OBVIOUS THEY ARE ENCOURAGING THE OWNER TO WAIT UNTIL THE PROBLEM GETS "BAD ENOUGH", BUT BY THEN THE CLOCK MIGHT HAVE RUN OUT, AND MUCH MORE DAMAGE AND DANGEROUS SITUATIONS ARE MORE LIKELY TO OCCUR. THIS IS NOT A NICE WAY TO TREAT YOUR CUSTOMERS, BMW. I'M SURE YOU DON'T WANT YOUR AIRCRAFT MECHANICS THINKING ABOUT MAINTENANCE THE SAME WAY, DO YOU?

BMW HAS REPORTED AND EXTENDED THE WARRANTY FOR A TIMING CHAIN AND OIL PUMP DRIVE CHAIN. I HAVE SEEN SEVERAL POSTS ONLINE THAT SAY THE ENGINE FAILED COMPLETELY. WHAT I DO NOT UNDERSTAND IS WHY THIS HAD NOT BEEN A RECALL. I HAVE SEEN OTHER MANUFACTURERS RECALL CARS, RECENTLY ONE EVEN SAID THAT IT MAY HAVE TO REPLACE THE ENGINE BECAUSE OF POTENTIAL FAILURE. WE DON'T HAVE A LOT OF MILES ON THE CAR AND IT HAS BEEN MAINTAINED BY OUR DEALER BUT AM REALLY CONCERNED ABOUT FAILURE ON A HIGHWAY. I AM SORRY, I HAD TO PUT A DATE BELOW IN ORDER TO GO TO NEXT PAGE.

COMPLETELY OUT OF THE BLUE AT 82,000 MILES, MY 2014 BMW X1 WOULD NOT START. MY MECHANIC DIAGNOSED THE PROB AND MY ENGINE WAS DEFECTIVE, AS IT WAS MADE WITH A PLASTIC TIMING BELT COVER, WHICH DEGRADES OVER TIME & DESTROYS YOUR ENGINE BETWEEN 70-85K MILES. THERE WAS A CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT WHICH ENDED 2 YEARS AGO, WHICH REQUIRED AN EXTENDED 7YR/70K WARRANTY. THERE IS ALSO NO PREVENTATIVE MAINTENANCE PLAN FOR THE TIMING CHAIN AND THEY ARE APPROXIMATELY $3-13,000 EACH. THIS DEFECTIVE ENGINE WAS OUT IN SUPERCHARGER BMW ENGINES BETWEEN 2014-2017. I PERFORMED EVERY OIL CHANGE & PM ON MY VEHICLE AND IT JUST DIED, WHEN I WAS OPERATING THE VEHICLE ON THE FREEWAY. I'M STILL DRIVING A 2000 BMW Z3 WITH 168K MILES. THEY SOLD ME AN ENGINE THEY KNEW WOULD FAIL AND THEY WILL NOT HELP ME REPAIR MY CAR, BECAUSE IT'S OUT OF WARRANTY. I WAS ALSO TAKING IT TO BMW SERVICE CENTERS FOR SERVICE AND IT WAS NEVER MENTIONED ABOUT THE TIMING CHAIN WEARING OUT. VERY DISMAYED & DISAPPOINTED. I COULD HAVE BROKE DOWN ANYWAY AND BEEN UNSAFE.

I HAVE BEEN ALERTED BY THE DEALER (BMW) THAT THE TIMING CHAIN ON THE VEHICLE IS COMING LOOSE. THE VEHICLE HAS LESS THAN 100,000 MILES, IS SIX (6) YEARS OLD AND AVERAGES >14,000 MILES PER YEAR. IT HAS HAD NO OTHER MAINTENANCE ISSUES EXCEPT A THERMOSTAT, WHICH WAS REPLACED TWICE AT COST TO THE MANUFACTURER. I WAS INFORMED THAT BMW PROVIDED A WARRANTY OF 7-YEARS/70,000 MILES ON THE TIMING CHAIN, HOWEVER THE CAR IN QUESTION HAS SURPASSED THE MILEAGE CONSTRAINTS. I WENT ONLINE TO RESEARCH AND HAVE NOTICED HUNDREDS OF COMPLAINTS BY OTHER BMW OWNERS THAT THE N20 ENGINE INSTALLED IN A FEW DIFFERENT MODELS ARE HAVING THE SAME ISSUE---MEANING THAT BMW IS AWARE OF THIS DEFECT, BUT IS NOT INFORMING CONSUMERS, AND INSTEAD, PASSING ALONG THE COST AND POTENTIAL HARM. *TR