End result is as follows:

BMW is not taking any responsibility for the fire and claims there never was one, even though the fire dept., our neighbors, and my wife were all witness to the smoke, etc. They said verbatim "we don't want to hear any more of this, there was no fire or smoldering." They've given us no paperwork indicating what they did to the car, and have not contacted us, despite numerous promises to do so.

Yes, I can take the car back anytime, but we also have a legal duty to mitigate any potential damages. So, if we said "no you can't perform the SPI inspection," it could be argued that we were the reasons BMW is in breach of the express warranty.

As is, this all became too much and we hired an attorney, who's taking the case on contingency. We'll see what happens. Maybe we'll get the car back, maybe we'll get a replacement, maybe we'll go with a different brand. I don't know, as I can't get a hold of them.

To say this boggles my mind is an understatement. There's something obviously going on with SOME of the X5 diesels, as evidenced above and as evidenced with my vehicle. If it's only these two, great. But, it's fishy.

Legally, they must give us paperwork, so that's the first thing we're trying to get from them. The only proof we even have that it's at the dealership, is a BMW Road Side Assistance Tow Slip! It could be on the planet pluto, for all I know.

In any case, we really had no choice in this matter. If we can't get in touch with the people who are working on this issue, after weeks of VERY polite phone calls, what's the alternative? I went to the dealership in person,but they said it's out of their hands, and they're simply doing what BMW NA is telling them to do.

To their credit, the person I'm dealing with at the dealership is being helpful, but once BMW NA takes over, they're pretty much out of the loop, when it gets to the level of an SPI (special product inspection).

Arghhhhh.....if they'd simply put the payments on hold, that would be fair, but BMW Financial has refused. None of the departments speak to one another, so it's up to the consumer to retell the story, over and over again, to each person you speak with.

Today they flat out called me a liar, the fire department, our neighbors, my wife, said the car was fine, there never was any smoke/fire and hung up.

That was the SPI dept. I'm still waiting to hear back from Customer Relations, BMW Roadside Damage Mitigation, BMW Financial, and the dealer! What a ride....

My advice, if you smell anything fishy in your 35d, have the thing towed to the dealer right away (see above), and my example also. I'm positive, had I left the car running or done something stupid, like opened the hood, I'd have similar pictures to share.

:-/