(Yicai) Aug. 14 -- Hundreds of owners of Bayerische Motoren Werke vehicles have recently reported abnormal sounds coming from the drive shaft. Yicai learned from BMW resellers in China that the German automaker plans to begin changing the problematic shafts this month. 

Multiple owners of BMW’s 3 series and 5 series models, who purchased them this year, told Yicai that they started to notice strange sounds coming from the drive shaft after driving the cars for just a short time. The affected vehicles appear to have been those delivered since April, with the issue becoming clear in some cases after just a few dozen kilometers.  

A recent e-mail circulating among owners of BMW vehicles said the carmaker’s technological service division found after inspections that some models have a knocking sound that lasts for a second and can be sensed when the gears are shifted between the D and R positions in a stationary state.

But apparently there are no potential safety risks and it does not affect the performance of the cars, the e-mail said, adding that this problem is within the range of the maintenance warranty and BMW will shoulder the repair costs.  

Still, many BMW car owners told Yicai they are not happy about this repair plan. “BMW had better recall the problematic vehicles because that will not generate a record of repair,” one said. “Also, we hope that there can be compensation in the form of prolonging the maintenance warranty.”

The owner further noted that the drive shaft is a crucial component, and changing it will affect the value of the vehicles when they are sold on.

Editors: Liao Shumin, Tom Litting