2012 BMW 528I: engine stalls while driving

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 Mar 6, 2025 · Electrical, Engine · 136,898 miles · AZ

The contact owns a 2012 BMW 528I. The contact received notification of the federal safety agency Campaign Number: 24V608000 (Engine and Engine Cooling, Electrical System). The contact stated that while the vehicle was parked, there was condensation underneath the vehicle. The contact stated that while driving approximately 50 MPH, the "Engine Malfunction" message was displayed, and the vehicle stalled. The vehicle was restarted 20 minutes later after several attempts. The failure reoccurred several times until the vehicle was taken to the residence and parked. The vehicle was towed to a dealer where it was diagnosed that the control unit seal pump needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired but the failure persisted. The vehicle was taken to the same independent mechanic on several occasions where it was diagnosed that the ignition coil and timing chain had fractured into the oil pan valve cover, and the oil pan gasket, oil pan, and spark plugs needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 136,898.

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 Sep 27, 2021 · Brakes · 90,000 miles · CA

The contact owns a 2012 BMW 528i. The contact stated while at a standstill the vehicle stalled randomly. The contact stated that drive train failure warning message was displayed. The vehicle was taken to a dealer and was awaiting diagnostic testing. Upon investigation, the contact associated the failure with the federal safety agency Campaign Number: 14V627000 (Service Brakes, Hydraulic) however, the VIN was not included. The manufacturer was informed of the failure and informed the contact that they were unable to assist. The failure mileage was approximately 90,000. The VIN was not available.

Filed Aug 10, 2020 · Electrical, Fuel system · 107,000 miles · CA

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

Filed Jul 9, 2020 · Fuel system · GA

Tl* the contact owns a 2012 bmw 528i. The contact stated that while driving at an unknown speed, the vehicle stalled with the fuel supply error warning light illuminated. The contact was able to restart the vehicle. The contact stated that the failure recurred and the contact was unable to restart the vehicle. The vehicle was towed to the contact's residence and then to an independent mechanic. The contact was informed of the federal safety agency campaign number: 16v746000 (fuel system, gasoline) however, the VIN was not included. The vehicle was not repaired. The dealer was not contacted. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was unknown.

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 Jan 28, 2020 · Engine · 54,000 miles · CA

Six months I started hearing a high pitch noise and it only got worse over the few months. Two weeks ago (01/10/2020 and 01/17/2020), in the night around 8pm, my bmw 528i car stalled at a traffic light in culver city, califirnia. It flashed an error message on the display very briefly and it appeared to be "drive train malfunction". Stalled in the middle of the street, my first reaction was to turn on the hazard lights and hope nobody hits me from the back, as I was not able to drive forward. Before I could take my phone out and take a picture of the screen, the error screen vanished. I presumed the "error" would be saved in the system and shut the engine off, restarted and started to drive and proceed. At both these times there were cars behind me and I turned on the hazard light to warn the other drivers of my inability to drive. I took the car to two bmw service centers. One of the service managers said he cannot say what the issue is without doing a diagnosis, but the probable cause is something to do with tha oil-pump or the cam-shafts and related to timing. I took the car to another service center and here I left the car behind for a specific diagnosis. I was told the issue is related to timing chain and plastic parts that hold the chain in place, deteriorate over time. I was told that it is a common issue and it is my luck that the timing chain did not rip apart and cause an engine seizure, which would have cost me $15000 in repairs than what I was billed around $6000. Incidentally, few months ago there were other plastic parts that hold the engine in place also deteriorate and it was shaking the car. I had replaced them at a certified mechanic. This had costed me another $2000 plus in repairs. I have maintained the car in good condition and never missed any service appointments. I have bills of all the services performed on the car.

Filed Dec 31, 2019 · Engine, Fuel system · 83,000 miles · FL

While driving down the 95 highway my car showed a fuel supply error then powered down and stoped and wouldn't restart. I had it towed to a hotel and the following morning it started while the tow truck loaded it to take to the dealer. I had a full tank of gas at the time. I could have been killed with my kids. Towed it to bmw and all they told me was to replace my battery even though I had a perfectly good battery and the and everything requiring a battery worked like radio, lights etc. I bought a new battery from them and the tech drove the car for 30 miles. Within 2 hours after leaving the dealership my car did the same thing while exiting the highway and slowing down at a stop light. A diagram flashes on the console and then a message about the fuel supply. I was assisted by calling 911 to get my kids and I to safety and my car out the way. There is a recall on the fuel module or pump for my year and make but bmw claims my VIN is not included. This is dangerous, people can get killed if the cars are stalling while in motion.

Filed Nov 22, 2019 · Engine · 123,000 miles · WA

While driving my certified 2012 bmw 528i, which has an n20 engine, the "drivetrain malfunction, maximum output no longer available, drive moderately" warning light appeared on my dash and alerted me that there was a potential issue with my vehicle. Prior to the alert signaling my attention, I was driving on a heavily trafficked highway with speed limits ranging from 35 MPH to 60 MPH. I drove approximately 20 minutes / 13 miles to my destination before the "drivetrain malfunction" indicator light alerted me. Luckily, I was near a driveway to pull off into a parking lot when the warning light appeared. As soon as the warning light appeared my car immediately began to idle roughly, and my engine was not running at full capacity. I was only able to pull into a parking stall and moments following the "drivetrain malfunction" alert, an oil light also alerted me on my dash. My car is up to date on all required services. I have serviced my vehicle at my local bmw dealership. At all service appointments I requested current bulletins. My vehicle had no known problems, or warning indicators or alerts that I was made aware of. When I safely pulled off the road into a parking lot my car shut down completely, would not restart, and locked up. I was not able to put my car in neutral. My vehicle was towed to the bmw dealership where the dealership inspected the vehicle and alerts. The dealership diagnosed the vehicle and said that the timing and oil pump chain malfunctioned and the total cost estimate would be 13,651 + tax. After researching several online bulletins, bmw forums and news articles, the "drivetrain malfunction" has been an issue with other bmw customers, and bmw north america iswas aware of this issue and hazard. Experiencing this malfunction could have posed a risk to my safety and the safety of my passenger since the vehicle completely shut down and locked up.

Filed Jun 27, 2019 · Fuel system · 124,038 miles · OK

Tl* the contact owns a 2012 bmw 528i. The contact stated that the fuel supply warning indicator illuminated while driving various speeds. After the warning, the vehicle stalled and then abruptly stopped. The vehicle was able to be restarted. The contact took the vehicle to bmw of tulsa (9702 s memorial dr, tulsa, ok 74133, (918) 663-4444) where it was diagnosed that the fuel pump needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified and did not assist. The failure mileage was 124,038.

Filed Apr 23, 2019 · Fuel system · 80,000 miles · MD

While driving, my car stalled suddenly without giving me a prior warning. It put me in an extremely dangerous situation. Bmw diagnosed it: failure in the fuel supply system. This must be investigated. This problem has also seen in other bmw models. I have 80000 miles on my car. The car is always serviced by bmw dealership.