1989 BMW 535 User Comment / Complaint

Beginning spring 2004, the fuel gauge in our 2001 chevy pick-up began suddenly dropping to empty reading/low fuel indicator lights despite having a full tank of fuel. it is intermittent, dropping to empty then jumping back up to correct reading. i have taken it to a dealer for diagnosis and hopeful repair and was told the fuel tank sending unit is to blame. they also tested the wiring between the sending unit and fuel gauge and the gauge itself. it is scheduled for replacement (sending unit), but as i thought about this, it seemed an odd thing to have break in such a young vehicle (41k miles). i began researching recall information online, but have found it for only the jeep wrangler and nissan xterra. this is a pricey repair to be so common but not acknowledged as a manufacturer's defect.  view

I have experienced 2 dangerous incidents of sudden unanticipated acceleration with my 2000 nissan altima se (vin # 1n4dl01d8yc137536). the first, witnessed by my husband & son, occurred on december 26, 2003. approaching a red light, i slowed to a stop with my foot squarely on the brake. the engine suddenly raced alarmingly and the car tried to lurch through the light. i put the car in neutral and the engine racing increased. i turned the car off. the head mechanic at our local dealership had no ideas. against my better judgment, i took the car back. the next weekend, it happened again. i pulled backwards out of a parking spot, put the car in drive, and the engine suddenly took off. the rpms registered within seconds up to 6500 rpms. put in neutral, the rpms increased to 7000 rpms. i turned the car off. i told our local nissan dealership that i would not drive the car until this dangerous problem was diagnosed and fixed. on the nissan hotline (1-800-nissan-1), the customer relations representatives told me: (1) their technical services department was unfamiliar with this problem (nissan later said that, although they had received customer complaints, they had never been able to replicate the problem in a shop); and (2) if the problem could not be "replicated" in shop, then, in effect, "there was no problem" and no remedy. i went online and found that s.u.a. is a major problem nationally. i could not drive this car, could not allow a family member to drive this car, and could not sell the car. after almost six weeks without my car, i traded it back to the local dealership at considerable loss with the understanding that they would continue to try to replicate the problem and would not re-sell the vehicle to an uninformed consumer. i have 35 years of solid driving experience. there is no possibility of driver error here. the public needs your help.  view

Exiting the highway on an overpass bridge the engine stopped without warning and would not restart. a few moments later smoke was visible from under the direct ignition cover and small flame was apparent. the flame went out after a few moments. however, we were left stranded on an unlit bridge overpass that was under construction at dusk (with an infant and toddler). saab roadside assistance was contacted (they suggested we wait with the vehicle for approximately an hour until a tow truck could reach us.) this incident follows a string of minor electical / electronic "bugs" in which erroneous signals about light failures were displayed and the headlights failed to turn off when the key was removed (this is an automatic feature on saabs).  view

Exiting the highway on an overpass bridge the engine stopped without warning and would not restart. a few moments later smoke was visible from under the direct ignition cover and small flame was apparent. the flame went out after a few moments. however, we were left stranded on an unlit bridge overpass that was under construction at dusk (with an infant and toddler). saab roadside assistance was contacted (they suggested we wait with the vehicle for approximately an hour until a tow truck could reach us.) this incident follows a string of minor electical / electronic "bugs" in which erroneous signals about light failures were displayed and the headlights failed to turn off when the key was removed (this is an automatic feature on saabs).  view

Exiting the highway on an overpass bridge the engine stopped without warning and would not restart. a few moments later smoke was visible from under the direct ignition cover and small flame was apparent. the flame went out after a few moments. however, we were left stranded on an unlit bridge overpass that was under construction at dusk (with an infant and toddler). saab roadside assistance was contacted (they suggested we wait with the vehicle for approximately an hour until a tow truck could reach us.) this incident follows a string of minor electical / electronic "bugs" in which erroneous signals about light failures were displayed and the headlights failed to turn off when the key was removed (this is an automatic feature on saabs).  view

While driving on the highway in stop and go traffic the brake pedal went to the floor when depressed. when this occurred the brakes failed to stop the vehicle. this resulted in the vehicle rear ending the motorist in front of them. the emergency brake was engaged to stop the vehicle. the vehicle is currently at a body shop, but will be towed to the dealership to have the brakes inspected.  view

Firwall heat. 2003 honda accord, bought in sepetember of 2003. in october, on the way home from vacation, (speed 65, car on freeway for at least 5 hours) the cd ejected from the dashboard was so hot that i thought the other cd's in the player would melt, so i ejected them all. call to dealer service said that similiar complaints had come in but not to worry. june 8, 2003 the lights in radio and lower controls go out. suburban honda, is going to replace the radio unit, which i believe burned out from heat, the lower light bulb too, though service said it was working. it was not when i bought the car in. when i suggested the firewall heat problem, i was asked who i had been talking too. i know that there will be other complaints on this subject of this model year.  view

The vehicle is experiencing the failures described in the master cylinder pistons recall 89v223000. in addition, the abs light comes on. also, the vehicle is experiencing the failure described in the ignition switch recall 96v071000 but this vehicle not included in recall due to vin.  view

While starting my ford truck with the 5.4 l engine i heard a very loud pop and the engine ran as if the head gasket blew. a non-ford mechanic verified the no. 3 spark plug on the passenger side blew out and stripped the threads from the cylinder head insert that this ford dealer inserted to repair an earlier blown spark plug. the old insert for the previous failure was removed and replaced with a new type according to the ford mechanic. this is the second time for this to happen. on july 10, 2003, approximately 1 yr and 2 days before this failure the no. 3 spark plug blew out stripping the treads in the cylinder head. numerous non-ford mechanics i've talked to have verified this been a fairly common occurrence in the 5.4 l ford engine in trucks and suv's. an individual that i work with had the same spark plug (no. 3 passenger side) blow out from her ford explorer with the 5.4 l engine approximately 6 weeks ago.  view

98 isuzu trooper 3.5 engine burns oil excessively. i am original owner and regularly serviced per owners manual. at 55000 miles, engine oil light turned on 2,500 miles after oil change. over 4 qts low. $1400 repair bill (not covered by warranty) unable to fix oil burning issue. engine now at 75000 mi and burning approximately. 1 qt per 600-700 miles. seems to be common engine defect and known by mechanics and owners, but isuzu unwilling acknowledge problem. though monitoring constantly, am just waiting for significant engine failure.  view