general problems of the 2012 BMW 528

The contact owns a 2012 BMW 528xi. The contact received notification of NHTSA campaign number: 24v608000 (engine and engine cooling, electrical system); and the vehicle was taken to the dealer for the recall repair. The contact was informed that the recall repair had been performed. The contact stated that upon driving off the parking lot at the dealer and coming to a complete stop at the traffic light, the message "drive train malfunction - service to nearest BMW dealer as convenient" was displayed. Additionally, the vehicle was significantly sluggish and failed to respond upon depressing the accelerator pedal. The vehicle was taken back to the dealer, where the contact was informed that the failure could be related to the coolant pump, and the part was not covered under the recall; however, the recall remedy information stated that the dealer would inspect and replace the water pump and plug connector as necessary, and would install a protective shield, free of charge. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and referred the contact to the NHTSA hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 129,000.

Vehicle leaked oil to where it caused an engine fire.

While driving error message came up on screen saying add a quart of oil, car was smoking and engine block caught fire.

My BMW started leaking fluid 4 months ago. Lights on dash came on one light was the triangle light which engine light. I had it serviced completely oil & filter change hooked up to machine that checks all components senors everything checked out great. One week later I was driving I was coming to a stop my brakes sounded like they were grinding next day had mechanic check the brakes all good. Next day I am pulling out of attorney parking lot as I am turning the steering wheel my BMW makes a load screaming cracking noise so I turn my steering wheel up right to drive straight it makes the same noise. I stop to look around my vehicle to see if anything is leaking or dragging nothing was dragging but maybe one or drops of something I touched the solution to feel if it was water or oil? it felt oily so I drove to my mechanic he lifted it up on the racks. We both could see some solution was leaking around possibly where engine oil plug is then we saw it had been leaking back to middle of my vehicle water area and running back to the middle of my vehicle. My mechanic decided to put the machine that checks for certain items on vehicles I know it checks my sensors not sure what else?? he and a couple of the other mechanic stop and help him. I left my vehicle he let me drive his vehicle home he wanted to check other issue tomorrow. Next day I got to the mechanic he said he knew it needed a transfer case and 4 sensors he said it would take time to buy a new transfer case for 2012 BMW 528i xl so to leave my vehicle with him. Then I get this letter today 12/13/24 from BMW dated 10/2024 it states there defect which relates to motor vehicle safety issue which means a part is being recalled on my vehicle!! my question my vehicle has already gotten damaged by this recall I am trying to fix the problems plus paid already $1500. For repairs to my mechanic whom thought that fix my issue but has not. Please inform me as to what I the owner of this model vehicle that has a defective part.

The drivetrain disintegrated. Car started running really rough, and then just stopped completely. Would crank but would not move. Yes, it is available. Car would barely go, and then just stopped in the road. I had to have it towed to a mechanic. No, I had not received a warning of this possible hazard. No, it was not inspected by any of the above, but was inspected by numerous mechanics. Yes, drivetrain light/warning came on, as well as, drive at a slower rate when the car started to drive roughly. The turbo also went out on the car. May 28, 2024.

The contact owns a 2012 BMW 528i. The contact stated while driving 40 mph, the transmission warning light illuminated on the instrument panel. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer or an independent mechanic. The vehicle was not repaired. After investigating the failure, the contact related the failure to NHTSA campaign number: 17v138000 (power train) but the VIN was not included. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 87,000.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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).

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.

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.

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.

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. . Read more...

Tl 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.

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.

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 couldn't 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.

Tl- the contact owns a 2012 BMW 528i. The contact states that fuel supply warning light illuminates while driving at various speeds, after the warning, the vehicle stalls then abruptly stop. The vehicle was able to restart. The contact took the vehicle to the dealer ( BMW of tulsa 9702 s memorial dr, tulsa, ok 74133 (918) 663-4444) where it was diagnosed that the fuel pump needed to to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified with no resolve. The failure mileage was 124,038. Jo.

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. 00 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.

I was driving down the highway and my �low oil pressure� light came on so I pulled over to the side of the road immediately and shut the car off. I had the car towed to a certified BMW repair shop global imports. The BMW service center confirmed the failure was the drive chain causing the engine to seize and needing to be replaced. As I researched the issue I found thousands of similar internet stories elaborating on the design flaws in the engine that uses plastic flywheels for the drive chain/oil pump chain. BMW extended the warranty for this issue beyond their normal 4 year 48,000 miles to 7 years and 70,000 miles. I am at 76,000 miles just out of warranty. It is odd they extended the warranty years by 3 but only extended the warranty miles an additional 22,000 miles or an average of 7,333 miles per year. Who only drives 7,333 miles a year. BMW's other extended warranties usually offer an average of 12,000 miles per year on the additional years it is extended. The other extended warranties for this engine were extended 10 years and 120,000 miles. I was diligent in changing the oil long before the recommended change intervals issued by BMW. There is no reason an engine would seize at 76,000 miles when the regular maintenance was followed unless there was a major engine design flaw. BMW has already acknowledged the engine design issues by extending the warranty on the �timing chain and oil pump drive chain�, �engine oil feedline� to the turbo charger and the �fuel tank leak diagnostic module (nvld)�. With this being a known design flaw and the number of issues there should be a recall on this engine so the fly wheels can be replaced with a better part or at very least BMW should be forced to extend the warranty and miles as they do with other warranty extensions. This design flaw caused the engine to stop in the middle of the highway which is very dangerous.

I had just purchased a car but a month ago I was driving to lunch and I was at a stop sign when the light turned green I started to go the car started shaking and smoke was coming out of the front under the hood I had just an oil change so I took it back to the oil change shop. They could not figure out why the engine blew and I had to take it to a different BMW shop where I have to purchase a rebuilt motor and pay for the repairs. I can request all records from the automotive shop if needed.

The car front and rear tires were of different size and I noticed when I got the car from dealer next day as the car would drift towards one side. It gave "drivetrain error" since its all wheel drive with power not being equally distributed due to different rpm on front and rear. This wasn't the case when I test drove the day before. I kept thinking its a transmission issue but it was tire that was causing it. At high speed (40-60mph) when I take off from gas the car would drift to one side and would stall. This is serious safety issue and could have caused not only passenger life but also major transmission and drivetrain breakdown. The dealer swapped the tires because with mismatched tires the car would have been non-drivable at the time I bought. This awd is very sensitive to tires tread differences. After calling dealer he is denying and saying its "as-is" and not responsible for anything.

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.

Turbo charger system is affected due to the engine oil filter housing failing which caused oil to transfer through out the turbo system into the coolant reservoir resulting in black sludge that caused my car to stall and not run and have to be towed. Every since this recall issue my car gives the drive-train malfunction warning which when diagnosed indicates low turbo boost pressure which I'm certain has to do with the black sludge that ran through the turbo system and coolant system because of the engine oil filter housing failing. A software update was recommended that BMW is not willing to pay for or I need to pay $3660 to replace the turbo charger which I truly believe is the result of the oil filter housing fail and oil leaking into the turbo system and the coolant system.

The contact owns a 2012 BMW 528i. While driving 20 mph, the vehicle lost power. The coolant fluid, transmission malfunction, and please have car serviced lights were illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the engine oil filter housing needed to be changed. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notifed of the failure. The vehicle was not included in a recall, but there was a manufacturer communication. The failure mileage was 34,000.

Vehicle bought in July 2014 with ~24k miles; still under factory warranty. Maintenance maintained. 9-12 months later, a "drive train malfunction" light came on. I had just left the dealership so I called them and they told me to bring it back immediately; I did. Many tests later, was told my "motherboard died" (dme unit); after a month in the shop. . . Repaired. Now, 4/2016, less than 60k and fresh out of warranty. . . I was driving home with my son on the interstate, about to get off of my exit and another "drive train malfunction and low engine pressure" light comes on and then all of a sudden my car stopped on the 4 lane off-ramp. After waiting for an hour for the tow truck to arrive and trying to put my car into neutral and about 30 min with the tow truck driver trying to put the car in neutral, I called the BMW dealership and I found out that because my car is all electric it cannot be put into neutral; a week at the dealership and still there as I type¿diagnosis: timing chain broke into the engine and now the car needs a new engine which I was quoted to be $21,000. The car is only 4 years old!!!!! needless to say, it was by the grace of god that my son and I were not injured or killed when the engine just shut off in the middle of traffic. And on top of that, it is absurd that the consumer cannot manually put this vehicle into neutral to move it out of harm¿s way if it¿s possible to do so. The only way to put the car in neutral when inoperable is to take it to the dealership. Unsat! and for a car company that is supposed to have a great reputation and high standards, it's absurd that a new engine is needed for a car that is barely 4 years old. I have seen the same issues with other BMW owners all over the internet. Love BMW and have owned 3 of them and it¿s unfortunate that this one will be my last because I do not feel safe in this vehicle anymore.

Last month my car was approximately 52,200 miles (out of warranty) and leaking oil all over my driveway and under the hood. It costed me $1570 to fix by replacing the fiter casing. Luckily that the oil leak was in my driveway. What if I was on the freeway? this is totally unsafe car to drive. The local shop told me that the filter housing (2012 version) was made of plastic and the current BMW one 2014 is made of metal. The local shop told me to call BMW if there is any recall for this. So before fixing it local shop, I did call the crevier BMW in santa ana, CA and the service advisor told me that there is no recall for the filter housing and my car was out of warranty. I told the BMW advisor that I cannot believe that a 2012 BMW 528i with 52k miles on it and leaking oil all over the place. The BMW advisor told me that I drove too much. What kind of service is that? and BMW will not cover it. So BMW cannot be driven over 50k miles. I also did call BMW corporate and someone from BMW corporate called me back that and said nothing BMW can do about this. Now I found out because of the oil leak, the alternator is having problem. I want to report this incident so that BMW should be responsible to similar cases of their unsafe cars. Anthony v. Tran 714) 594-8009.