Firm organizing class action lawsuit against BMW for E9X M3 bearing failures

[radiofrequency]

Personally, I am grateful for this situation being addressed. It is unfortunate that BMW did not step up with a recall as a remedy to current and potential future problems associated with rod bearings. My M3 is stock, and I intend to leave it that way, however my warranty has expired and the rod bearing issue does lurk in the back of my mind. I have owned 7 BMW's over the years, 4 purchased new, and love the product. These situations come down to a lack of corporate leadership, I would respect the brand if the C Suite dickheads would step up to the situation, own up to the problem, and recall our vehicles for repair. I have been involved in a great deal of litigation, and, in my experience, when two sides are involved in a conflict, and decide to go to war (litigation), there is no winner, both sides ultimately lose. I do respect the fact that, in light of BMW not providing for a recall, that litigation is the only remedy. The attorneys working on this deserve to be compensated, however, anything less than a full recall and replacement of the rod bearings with BMW bearing the cost is unacceptable. I don't want a check, I want to receive a letter in the mail requesting that I schedule an appointment with my local dealer for replacement of the rod bearings as a remedy to the situation.

IMHO, the brand image suffers greatly when situations such as this are not addressed at the C Suite level. Specifically, with the M3, BMW has a cadre of dedicated gearheads, we love our cars and we love the brand, this said we are typically repeat customers, and it's highly likely that we'll buy another BMW. At the local level, my BMW dealer is superb, they replaced my X5 (limp mode issue) with no questions asked. I did not raise hell or enter into a conflict with them, I simply had a reasonable conversation with the Sales Manager, he saw my point and helped me out in a collaborative way, there was give and take on both sides, ultimately a remedy was decided upon to the satisfaction of the parties. I respected his initiative, and provide his name to anyone who is in the market for a new vehicle. So BMW, please listen and provide a remedy, you have dedicated group of car owners who speak highly of the brand, and who will, perhaps (if this situation is remedied), purchase more vehicles from you, We also refer anyone who'll listen, to your brand. This is a leadership issue, so take it head on and you'll win in the end, by circumventing the lawyers and avoiding the bad publicity. It's not like you aren't making any money, here are BMW Group 2014 Revenues:

Group revenues up 5.7% to € 80.40 billion
Profit before financial result increased to around € 9.12 billion
Profit before tax at around € 8.7 billion
Automotive segment EBIT margin rose to 9.6%
Group net profit for 2014 increased to around € 5.82 billion
Record dividend of € 2.90 per share of common stock proposed

It's simply not enough to lead with your revenues in the premium vehicle segment, you need to lead in all areas, most specifically - QUALITY!

[CSBM5]

Originally Posted by radiofrequency

It's not like you aren't making any money, here are BMW Group 2014 Revenues:

Group revenues up 5.7% to € 80.40 billion
Profit before financial result increased to around € 9.12 billion
Profit before tax at around € 8.7 billion
Automotive segment EBIT margin rose to 9.6%
Group net profit for 2014 increased to around € 5.82 billion
Record dividend of € 2.90 per share of common stock proposed

It's simply not enough to lead with your revenues in the premium vehicle segment, you need to lead in all areas, most specifically - QUALITY!

Of course the above stats are the top-ticking data. The bubble has burst months ago. BMW stock topped in March, broke it's 20-day low from the all-time high, and never looked back. Currently sitting down 39.8% from the peak.

[JRob23]

Originally Posted by BNBM3

When Jimmy Johns told me I would have alfalfa sprouts on my sandwich, I was irreparably harmed as I took a bite and realized I had been flat out lied to.

Thank god there was a class action law suit last year, and I was able to claim a free pickle for my trouble. The settlement was worth it.

I got a pickle with a face value of $1.40.... the lawyers walked with $370k.....

When you put it that way I laughed.

[Mvy]

Guess who is recalling half a million cars due to rod bearings.....Hyundai...
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/hyunda...--finance.html

[BNBM3]

Originally Posted by JRob23

When you put it that way I laughed.

True story.... seriously.

[admranger]

I received a $8k class action lawsuit settlement for faulty plumbing fittings in my house (Kitek).

Don't make crappy stuff, don't get sued. Easy.

[chris719]

From the Hyundai case:

"...connecting rod bearings, and since they are cooled by oil, they could fail. If that happens, the engines could stall and cause a crash."

I'm not sure why NHTSA complaints seem to be ignored when this would be the same thing.

[oolas3]

Originally Posted by Mvy

Guess who is recalling half a million cars due to rod bearings.....Hyundai...
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/hyunda...--finance.html

BMW should be doing the same thing. This also shows that every M3 owner that has a catastrophic failure should be making a report to the NHTSA. If this is unsafe in a Hyundai, it's unsafe in our cars too.

http://blog.caranddriver.com/hyundai...arate-defects/

[///MTex]

I've submitted my rod bearing/engine failure incident and would encourage others to do the same. I'm not an attorney so I don't know how this works, but it seems to me that they need to identify the number of potentially affected parties to determine whether they will pursue the case.

[FogCityM3]

This cannot be emphasized enough. If you've had bad bearings, log it in the NHTSA database. Once regulators get involved, especially these days with what's going on with VW, you bet BMW will be all over the issue like a rash.

Originally Posted by m3m3mr

BMW should be doing the same thing. This also shows that every M3 owner that has a catastrophic failure should be making a report to the NHTSA. If this is unsafe in a Hyundai, it's unsafe in our cars too.

http://blog.caranddriver.com/hyundai...arate-defects/

[///M Power-Belgium]

Originally Posted by m3m3mr

BMW should be doing the same thing. This also shows that every M3 owner that has a catastrophic failure should be making a report to the NHTSA. If this is unsafe in a Hyundai, it's unsafe in our cars too.

http://blog.caranddriver.com/hyundai...arate-defects/

Exactly !
Saw some cases where our cars had bearing failure at high speed and it looks really unsafe while the S65 blows up while driving 135 mph => http://www.m3post.com/forums/showthr...6#post17911886

[duvinclunk]

In for updates.

[swartzentruber]

Originally Posted by m3m3mr

BMW should be doing the same thing. This also shows that every M3 owner that has a catastrophic failure should be making a report to the NHTSA. If this is unsafe in a Hyundai, it's unsafe in our cars too.

http://blog.caranddriver.com/hyundai...arate-defects/

Well, lots more Hyundai's sold than M3s, so obviously more attention from the NHTSA. That said, I found this point in the article pretty interesting -- ", Hyundai says that metal debris may not have been fully removed from the crankshaft area during manufacturing at Hyundai's Alabama engine plant". There's been some worn M3 bearings that suggest contamination damage. Wonder if it might be a similar problem, at least in some cases.

[whats77inaname]

BMW filed a motion to dismiss the class action pending in New Jersey for the rod-bearing issue in the E9x M3. Their primary argument was that the class action can't proceed as a national class without a class representative from New Jersey. (The only rep so far is from California.)

As such, the law firm handling the suit is hoping to speak with anyone from New Jersey who has had rod-bearing issues with their E9x M3.

Link: http://lawgsp.com/important-update/

So, if we have anyone in NJ that has experienced rod bearing failure, it'd be awesome, for the sake of the community, if you reached out to the firm handling this.

[MPowerZ32]

Thank you for keep us posted on the law suite, whats77inaname! I certainly hope BMW would do the right thing and handle the RB issue at least like they did with the E46 M3.

[whats77inaname]

Up.

[blue flowers]

Is there a way to join the class?

[Rich150001]

Originally Posted by whats77inaname

BMW filed a motion to dismiss the class action pending in New Jersey for the rod-bearing issue in the E9x M3. Their primary argument was that the class action can't proceed as a national class without a class representative from New Jersey. (The only rep so far is from California.)

As such, the law firm handling the suit is hoping to speak with anyone from New Jersey who has had rod-bearing issues with their E9x M3.

Link: http://lawgsp.com/important-update/

So, if we have anyone in NJ that has experienced rod bearing failure, it'd be awesome, for the sake of the community, if you reached out to the firm handling this.

I'm sure there are some failures from NJ if anyone is bored and has the time to go through the failure listings and look at profiles for their location.

[tbassny]

I re-read the statement on the legal firm's website. It appears that though BMW America is based in NJ, the firm is seeking plaintiffs from multiple states, and NJ was cited as an example.

To be certain, I contacted the lead attorney and had a call with him yesterday. The firm is looking to speak with individuals who have had negative rod bearing experiences, including engine replacement, rod bearing failure, and premature wear that led to preventative maintenance, from all 50 states with the exception of California, which is already represented.

[Patrón]

Originally Posted by tbassny

I re-read the statement on the legal firm's website. It appears that though BMW America is based in NJ, the firm is seeking plaintiffs from multiple states, and NJ was cited as an example.

To be certain, I contacted the lead attorney and had a call with him yesterday. The firm is looking to speak with individuals who have had negative rod bearing experiences, including engine replacement, rod bearing failure, and premature wear that led to preventative maintenance, from all 50 states with the exception of California, which is already represented.

I hope a bunch of people participate.

[jaco]

We need to keep this bumped! A little time and effort for those who have suffered could help the group.

[antonio010]

I was referred to this thread by another member, I suffered a bearing failure in my car 3 months after purchasing. I've submitted my info to the law firm as well.