2012 BMW 528I: engine failure

Filed Sep 21, 2026 · Engine · NC

car engine timing chain guides are faulty and there have been lawsuits that were settled and no recall on the actual part with drivers still having issues with the N20 engine now getting quotes for over $15,000. is this not an incident where it’s not the fault of a driver but manufacturing? This needs to become a recall for all N20 engine timing chain and guides as the faulty part is causing complete engine failure. seems very deceptive when a BMW only last 100,000 miles.

Filed Apr 18, 2025 · Engine, Fuel system · CA

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.

Filed Apr 2, 2025 · Engine · 160,000 miles · CA

The contact owns a 2012 BMW 528I. The contact stated while the vehicle was parked, the vehicle failed to start. The contact attempted to restart the vehicle. After several attempts, the vehicle failed to start. Several unknown warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic; however, no cause for the failure was found. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact stated that on another occasion, while driving 60 MPH, the vehicle lost motive power and stalled. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact was able to coast to the side of the road. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the residence. The vehicle was then towed to the contact's office. An independent mechanic arrived and diagnosed the vehicle with engine failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 160,000.

Filed Dec 4, 2024 · Electrical, Engine · 111,000 miles · GA

The contact owns a 2012 BMW 528i. The contact stated that while the vehicle was parked, the vehicle was started, however, the vehicle failed to start. The contact stated the vehicle eventually started. In addition, the contact stated that when the accelerator pedal was depressed, however the vehicle failed to accelerate as intended. The contact stated that the steering wheel seized and the vehicle lost motive power. The vehicle was towed to the contact's residence. The dealer was made aware of the failure and confirmed that the parts were not available. In addition, the contact stated that previously the vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed with a failed coolant pump and unknown sensor. The contact was informed that the coolant pump and the unknown sensor needed to be replaced. The unknown sensor was replaced, however the contact was informed that the coolant pump was unavailable. The contact received notification of the federal safety agency Campaign Number: 24V608000 (Engine and Engine Cooling, Electrical System) however, the part to do the repair was unavailable. The contact stated that the manufacturer exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure but provided no assistance. The contact was offered to have the vehicle towed to the dealer, however the parts were not available. The failure mileage was 111,000. VIN tool confirms parts not available.

Filed Jul 16, 2022 · Brakes, Engine · CA

Picked up from a stop light no aggressive but normally and a few seconds after going around 20-30ish mph the car stalls and goes into neutral. I was really confused and panicking of what happened, the cars behind me almost crashed into me and I was trying to manage to pull the car over to the side of road and thankfully I did. This could have caused a serious injury to me and others. As I was able to pull off to the side of the road I try to start my car back up and it cranks and cranks for a few seconds which it normally never does and finally when it starts back up the car just starts miss firing like crazy and the check engine light comes on and the car is throwing codes all over the place like drive train malfunction, engine malfunction, low oil pressure, check engine oil, auto stop start malfunction. I was super confused so I shut it off and tried to start it again but it didn’t help at all. I drove slowly into a parking lot and got it towed to a independent repair shop to which they diagnosed the timing chain guides breaking and falling into the oil pump, clogging the oil pump then causing further damage due to no oil going to the top of the motor. I was very confused how all of this could have happened since I took care of my car . If the car had given me a service warning light I would have went and got my engine serviced for this job. Now The thing is these timing chain jobs aren’t cheap and replacing the oil pump chain is even more expensive since it requires lowering the sub frame. Now In my case the timing was so bad to where the engine did something to the cylinders as of what my mechanic said. So my engine is toast and I need a new engine. Car has a hunk of metal parked in my driveway now that I’m still paying off. Good job BMW. I really want to sue bmw for this bs. The car is poorly designed and I’m super thankful this issue did not occur on the freeway because I could have died. I looked into the bmw warranty and it’s only covering up to 100K.

Filed Feb 15, 2022 · Engine, Steering · CA

Casually picking up from a stop light when my car just randomly decided to turn off on the middle of the road and go into neutral. I lost power steering and brakes. I was able to manage to pull over and restart the car and I was welcomed with a bunch of check engine lights and many other malfunctions. Got the car towed and comes out that the timing chain has failed as well as the oil pump and resulted in damage to the camshaft and cylinder head of the motor. This is just insane how all of this happened in just a few seconds. I took care of my car did oil changes on time, coolant, brakes, transmission fluid. I took care of my car. Bmw put me in a very unsafe condition that day and I’m very upset because that could have ended very bad for me. The n20 motor has been very well known to fail at any time without any warning and bmw has yet to recall this motor. It became very bad to the point to where they even got sued but only limited the warranty up to 100K miles. Many people experienced this problem before 100K and some experienced it earlier. Their is no given time when this timing chain can fail on you. In my case so many things were damaged in the engine and I even contacted bmw NA and they didn’t even care to help. Bmw put me in a very bad spot and they want me to replace the engine and pay labor and pay more than what the cars worth! Bmw is crazy for this and I hope all of these engines get recalled and get replaced free of charge without worrying about how many miles you got on the car.

Filed Jan 29, 2020 · Engine, Transmission · 54,300 miles · CA

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 the federal safety agency 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

Filed Nov 13, 2019 · Engine, Transmission · TX

Tl* 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.

Filed Jun 24, 2019 · Transmission · 80,000 miles · FL

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

Filed Mar 7, 2019 · Engine, Transmission · 83,000 miles · NJ

Last week I was on the nj turnpike when all of a sudden my car stall and lost power, I barley got off the turnpike when the car came to a completely stop. No warning messages or noises just stopped. Fortunately no accident occurred due to this but could have been an ugly one. The car would not start and was towed to the bmw dealer. The car was inspected, oil was clean, no water damage, however they tell me I need a new engine (13k) has the engine seized without telling me what caused it.the car has 83k miles. I've been a bmw owner for 19 years. I now have mixed feelings about bmw and the way I feel now I will nevery buy another bmw as I'm not getting the attention I thin I deserve. Any advice is greatly appreicated!

Filed Jan 4, 2019 · Engine · TX

My car has always been serviced they bmw service department. There is a running log. Car was last serviced back in oct. My car had been there 2 times previously. Not sure how metal shaving would end up in my engine. My vehicle is out of warranty. 109,000 miles. I have the same driving patterns. Warning issued while driving engine oil pressure. Pulled over , car turned completely off. You could here the car trying to restart. Car was towed to the bmw service department. I was told a needed to replace the engine. Not sure how or why I never received any indication of engine falliure. I'm the second owner of this car. My service records prove I have faith fully bought my car in for service whenever needed or any issue would arise. Not I'm told I'm responsible for paying the repairs. Bmw has issued several recalls. This is clearly another issue that should be investigated and bmw should assume responsibility.

Filed Nov 17, 2018 · Engine · 98,000 miles · OH

On a rainy october 13, 2018, while riding on the highway(rte. 422) with my 7 year old son my bmw 528i stopped running; without warning. Miraculously, we coasted on the highway ramp into the dealership driveway. The vehicle was diagnosed with an internal engine failure, which required $12,000+ to rebuild/repair. Currently, the payoff is $13,895.32 till 11/25/18. The monthly payment is $425.00 and the date of maturity for the loan is 9/15/21. I purchased the vehicle under a pre-owned certified guarantee, which expired in july. The car was regularly serviced and I kept all of my paperwork. Upon researching the engine failure, I discovered that this is a common problem. In fact, presently, an acquaintance of mine has his car at the bmw cleveland dealership with the same problem. These engines suffer reliability issues that result from problems relating to the timing chain, fuel injectors, mass airflow sensors, crankcase vent lines, battery, the engine vacuum pump and low-pressure fuel sensors. Such problems LED to more serious concerns such as excessive battery drainage (the 'battery defect'), oil leakage (the 'oil defect') and engine seizure, often causing pistons to crack the engine block due to the high pressure (the 'engine defect'). Additionally, the engines experience internal engine failure due to loose metal shards in the engine. My question is...how did the vehicle pass the multi-point inspection to earn the pre-certified designation?