Recall runaround: Homewood woman struggles to get loaner vehicle from BMW

CHICAGO (WLS) -- A woman in the south suburbs is going toe to toe with luxury carmaker BMW.

The woman says her car was under recall for weeks, but she couldn't get BMW to give her a loaner.

It is no small recall. It affects more than 700,000 BMW vehicles.

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It's the last thing any driver wants to get in the mail: a recall letter. But when drivers get one, they expect the carmaker to take care of the problem and get them back driving as soon as they can.

Tracy Ford says BMW put her through the wringer, so she called the ABC7 I-Team.

"I am upset because I'm paying on a car and I'm paying insurance for something I cannot drive," Ford said.

Ford owns a 3 Series BMW, but she hasn't been able to drive it for months.

The Homewood woman received a recall notice from BMW in early October, stating the recall involves the water pump's electrical plug connector. Small drops of liquid could drip down onto the water pump's electrical connector, and over time, it could lead to a short circuit, and in rare cases a fire.

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The recall says "do not continue to drive the vehicle."

"Ugh, I freaked out," Ford said. "I'm not going to drive it and run the risk of me and my family being in the car and something happens like that, so I was scared."

Ford says she called her BMW dealership, and a manager told her they had no clue when the parts would be available and suggested she call corporate for a loaner.

She detailed the response she received from BMW.

"Call around to different dealerships to see if I can get a loaner," Ford said. "So it put me in a place of calling all different dealerships in Illinois."

Ford says all of the dealerships told her corporate handled these types of loaners. It was a frustrating back and forth, meanwhile her car is sitting in her garage collecting dust.

After nearly two months went by, she called the I-Team to get on the case.

"I've seen how you care about consumers, and you care about people," Ford said. "You've helped people and it's gotten results."

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BMW tells the I-Team the recall involves more than 700,000 vehicles. The company says "BMW's dealer partners do their best to accommodate as many customers as they can with loaners for short-term repairs, but the number of available vehicles is limited, and it can be difficult to accommodate longer-term needs. Given the inherently low risks associated with the recall, customers can continue to use their vehicles until they're notified that the remedy is available."

But Ford pointed out the recall letter clearly states, "do not continue to drive the vehicle."

"I'm mad," Ford said. "I'm upset... because I can't believe they're telling me it's cool to drive the car."

BMW told the I-Team they'd be happy to work with Ford to come to some sort of resolution, and would inspect her car in the coming days. About a week later Ford says BMW contacted her, saying they'd tow her car to their facility and would issue a rental car at their expense.

She's relieved to say the least, but hopes BMW lays out a better plan for their customers with recalled vehicles.

"It's a billion-dollar corporation," Ford said. "It should be no way that as the consumers have to sit here and not have a loaner."

BMW tells the I-Team they expect a supply of parts to be available sometime in the new year. In the meantime, the company says they can inspect impacted vehicles for corrosion near the electrical connector. If no corrosion is present, they say no repairs would be necessary, as there would be no risk.

Ford says she got the loaner, her car was inspected and she got the okay to drive it as they wait for parts. She just wishes it didn't have to come down to all of this.