Back in September 2015, a class-action lawsuit was filed against BMW N63 Engines by Joon Bang and co at the US District Court of New Jersey. The lawsuit was based on the abnormal or high oil consumption rate seen in BMW N63 Engines.
During the time of filing, the lawsuit claims that BMW was aware of the oil consumption abnormality in the N63 engines. And that the company even released a technical bulletin in the bid to redeem the defects even when they knew that would not save the situation. However, the lawsuit believed that the automaker did that just to buy time so warranties will expire.
Furthermore, the lawsuits also claimed that BMW addressed the situation by advising dealers to overfill the concerned vehicles with engine oil. But then, overfilling a vehicle can lead to serious damage.
This case was quite serious to the extent that the lawsuit was transferred to New Jersey federal court. At some point, a similar lawsuit was still filed against N63TU engines which is an updated version of the N63 Engine.
Apart from the oil consumption issue, the plaintiffs also complained that the batteries in these vehicles drain at a high rate. Therefore, requires replacement every year or at every 10,000 miles of the ride.
These transpired for a while until BMW finally agreed to settle these issues by proposing a settlement and reimbursements programs to avoid incurring unnecessary future litigations themselves. Now let’s look at some of these programs.
The Settlement and Reimbursement Programs
Starting with the battery issue, the automaker issued TSB SIB 61 30 14 asking BMW to change the batteries at each oil refill or change if the battery has not been changed in the previous one year or 12 months. In addition, owners will be provided with free spare batteries until the BMW’s four years or 50,000 warranty expires.
As regards the oil change, the automaker proposed to reimburse owners or lessees money paid for the cost of three oil changes of not more than $75 each, so far the owner or lessee paid for the oil change done during 10 years or 120,000 miles from the first use.
On the other hand, owners can still choose to receive a free oil change instead of the $75 cash reimbursement plan.
But in the case of N63TU Engines, the automaker plans to reimburse an amount not exceeding $95 each for the cost of four oil changes.
Also, BMW engine class action lawsuits customers will be reimbursed an amount close to $900 for unsuccessful oil consumption tests and repairs at BMW dealers. This can only be done if they provide proof of the amount paid before the effective date of the lawsuit settlement.
BMW customers affected can also file claims to obtain $1,500 credit on the purchase or lease of any BMW 7 series, 6 series, X7, X6, or X5. As regards other models, owners can apply to obtain a credit of $1000. The validity of these credits is just a year from the BMW settlement effective date.
Meanwhile, BMW promised to provide customers affected with replacement batteries at no cost, provided the batteries failure occurred within the 2 years’ warranty period. And assuming the failure is not from the customer’s negligence.
Also, customers affected by the N63 engine issue are entitled to one service/maintenance under the customer care program. Customers who wish to have their engine changed in the process, can do that but they would have to pay part of the cost.
Currently, Attorneys representing BMW owners are pushing for $1.9 million for expenses. And each plaintiff is expected to receive at least $3000 each. This pales in comparison to the compensation you may qualify under the California Song Beverly act.
Note: This reimbursement program doesn’t only include older models engines with N63 Engines. It also involves newer models like:
- 2013-2019 BMW 650i
- 2013-2015 BMW 750i
- 2013-2015 BMW 750Li
- 2013-2017 BMW 550i
- 2014-2016 BMW 550i GT
- 2014-2018 BMW X5
- 2015-2019 BMW X6
Conclusion
At the Lemon Firm, we are a team of experienced attorneys who can help you recover the right compensation if you are experiencing any of these defects in your BMW vehicle. Why don’t you contact us today for a free consultation?