[lateshow]

I went on a 1000 mile trip last week, so I went ahead and got my 14,000 service done on my 2011 35i. The trip went well. It's been about 1 week and my car all of the sudden gave me the following error message as I'm trying to leave a car wash in Chicago (thus blocking the exit for everyone else): "Drivetrain: Drive moderately. Maximum drivetrain output not available. Have the system checked by your service center." I tried to shut off the engine and re-start a couple of times, but the engine clearly sounded like it was missing and it would die in about 10 seconds. It then wouldn't start at all.

I called roadside assist for a tow to the service center. They told me that the car could not be put into neutral, but that the BMW contracted tow service would know how to manually disengage the drive to allow it to be pulled onto a flat bed. Nope, the guy had no idea how to do that. He ended up trying to start the car about a dozen times. At some point he was able to put it into neutral and we were able to pull it up.

What kind of design is it to not allow you to put a car into neutral unless the engine is running? What if I was blocking a major intersection for an hour waiting for a tow? I was told there is no way to do this without physically disconnecting by the service center. Is there any other alternative? If not, I love the car, but this is really bad engineering.