Transfer Case problems of the 2007 BMW 328

Transfer case noises.

One evening in December 2014, my car (2007 BMW 328xi) suddenly started making a loud clanging noise and vibrating violently. I immediately pulled over to the side of the road. I had it towed to a local shop and was told that the driveshaft (propellor shaft) had broken. Less than a month later, the vehicle's transfer case failed - damage from the driveshaft that had been undetected at the time of the driveshaft rupture. In January 2015 I contacted BMW as I had heard of other drivers of similar 3 series Bmws having driveshaft and transfer case problems, but BMW denied there was an issue. But in August 2015, BMW announced a "component specific limited warranty extension" for the driveshaft for the BMW x5 - for 10 years and 120,000 miles. No such program has been announced for the 328xi. Given that the failure of the driveshaft and transfer case of my 328xi was very premature and that it was identical to the repeated driveshaft failures that led to the action announced for the x5, I believe that the same issue exists for the 328xi and merits an investigation and action by NHTSA.

My 2007 328xi transfer case on the drive train failed at approximately 65 mph on Sunday 6/16/2013. This caused an immediately loss of all wheel drive and abs in the rear of the vehicle. With some simple research online it is evident that this is a common problem amongst similar models and year groups. The x3 and x5 are notorious for the issue. A whole aftermarket industry and developed on replacing the gears with newer, high heat and stress gears so this issue doesn't happen and there are retailers who market to people with these vehicles to replace them. The fact that a secondary market has appeared and it has not been acknowledged as a serious issue is confusing. The interior of the transfer case shows the gears are made from plastic which degrade overtime and eventually cause all wheel drive to fail to engage or to disengage and causing severe brake and handling issues. I was fortunate enough to maintain control but others may not be.

I was driving home on the highway during a rainstorm when the 4x4, breaks warning came on. The handling immediately was affected. I didnt feel the traction I was used to and breaking became dangerous. I wanted to pull over but the breaks made the car stop too abruptly, causing me to skid on the wet road. Had the highway been busier I'm sure I would've been in a serious accident. I consider myself very lucky. I took my car to a local mechanic. I was told that it was the transfer case actuator gear. It's plastic and the intense heat causes it to fail. I was told this problem is very common. . . . So much that the replacements are made of of a different composite and more heat resistant. My question is why do I have to pay for a gear that is recognized as faulty. If the replacements are better than the original then obviously BMW recognizes that too. This is becoming way to common for BMW not to react.