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Most people remember the Ford Pinto. Many of us took our high school drivers' education classes in these cars. One of the pinto's lasting memories involves Ford's decision to put the gas tank filler in the rear of the car behind the license plate. Not the brightest idea when you think of how many rear end accidents there are. Once Ford figured out that they had a serious safety problem, instead of recalling the car and making a relatively cheap repair, they performed a cost benefit analysis. Ford calculated the cost to repair all of the cars versus the cost to let people get hurt and / or die and the pprobability of lawsuit and just paying the judgements. It worked great for Ford until they got caught. When they got caught, the juries' verdicts were swift and painful. Hopefully manufacturers learned their lesson. Did they? If you ask a group of BMW owners, they would tell you NO.
In 2008, BMW introduced its updated M3 model (E90 / E92). For the first time, the new BMW offered a seven-speed dual-clutch transmission (DCT / DKG). Developed in conjunction with Getrag, the transmission was available as an option. Unfortunately, according to owners, problems with the new transmission appeared almost immediately.
First, BMW recalled 2500 of the 2008-2009 models with the double clutch transmission. According to the recall ((NHTSA CAMPAIGN ID Number: 08V595000)), in a rapid vehicle deceleration, the transmission may perform a multistage downshift resulting in a stall and possibly a crash. As part of the recall, BMW updated the transmission software to progman version 31.1 then 31.2 and finally 32.1. Sadly, according to M3 owners, the updated software addressed a rarely seen transmission failure, however, it created a now common, arguable more dangerous, transmission failure.
The new transmission problem, known to the M3 owners as the DCT lag or hesitation problem, presents during deceleration or a rolling stop situation which is followed by any acceleration, such as a changing traffic light or a left or right hand turn. When the driver tries to accelerate, there is a lag, hesitation or delay in the transmission and the vehicle has the feeling of an engine stall and losses all power for one to two seconds before finally regaining power and accelerating.
Many owners claim that this transmission failure was not present prior to the recall being performed but has been consistent since. The failure presents in both D and S modes regardless of the number of Drivelogic bars, however, it is most noticeable with three or fewer Drivelogic bars. Owners complain that many have narrowly avoided major accidents and serious injuries when the vehicle's transmission “hesitated” and they were unable to move out of the way of oncoming traffic. The most serious complaints of near accidents involve transmission hesitation and "lagging" on left hand turns. These transmission failures occurred mainly during normal (opposed to spirited) driving. Multiple owners have already logged complaints of hesitation and transmission lag issues with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).
Shockingly, instead of immediately addressing this dangerous safety issue with the M DCT transmission, BMW issued a Technical Service Bulletin (SI B 28 07 08) which instructed BMW technicians “not to attempt any repair (software update or hardware replacement) for this type of complaint.” Instead, BMW claims that the lagging / hesitation problem is in fact a "design characteristic and normal behavior for the M DCT transmission, rather than a malfunction or deficiency." Owners vehemently disgree.
The Product Liability / Personal Injury Attorney at The Lance Firm is currently investigating these BMW M3 M DCT transmission failure complaints. If you or someone you know has suffered a personal injury in an accident involving a BMW M3 M DCT stall, lag or hesitation wreck, contact us today, a product liability lawyer at our law firm will discuss your options and legal rights.
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