David,ethanol is one problem,no doubt.Maybe the only problem.Sulpur content?Bad fuel delivery design? The only thing is every auto manufacturer is dealing with ethanol.Vehicles made here and abroad and don't have any problems. I bought the car knowing of the FP issue. Now I can deal with a couple of fuel pump changes.I just want warning signs like the usual long cranks,dashlights and even the old 'limp mode' to get me to a dealer or home if and when my FP goes.The possibilty of getting stranded that bothers me a bit. I do love the car and it's power so I can deal with the issue.Also bothering me is that a $50+K vehicle can have a problem like this for 3 years.
The interesting thing is I'm on my 2nd 335 and have not had a pump go bad yet. I think we will still see this problem years down the road. Right now, the EPA is trying to mandate 15% ethanol since the farmers corn sales are down. I am fearful what that will do to all cars. The corngrowers say cars should still be fine. I say take that ear of corn, shove it. Put it on the dinner plate where it belongs.
Since shell came out with this nitro crap I stay away from it. My 07 felt like I lost 2o horspower with it. I put it in my 09 and it didn't feel like it had all the power it should have. I switched back to my Mobil 93 and both cars would returned to normal. This top tier stuff is BS. I also use Speedway with no issues.
They started discontinuing a couple months ago. All the 94 is gone here in Columbus, OH and all should be gone by the end of the year.
The basic problem is the (extremely) high pressure needed to make direct injection work properly in these engines. I believe this is unique to BMW, who may have pushed the envelope a bit too far with the 3.0 liter turbo engine.
Numerous companies use Direct injection with the required high pressure fuel pumps. VW/Audi had HPFP drive issues for about a year and it was corrected. Some companies have had carbon build-up, fuel dilution and oil consumption issues on DI engines too. BMW seems to be the only company who has had HPFP failures from 2007 right into the 2010 models with no reliable solution.
Do you really believe BMW doesn't know the solution to this problem? With all the failed HPFPs out there, they should have more than enough data to have made a definitive diagnosis. Or at least it would seem so to me... As one of the other posters hypothesized, it really makes me wonder if the fix is just too expensive. Altho, having said that, it's hard to believe it could be more expensive than the R&R bills, especially now with the extension of the warranty to 120K miles. To say nothing of the PR hit BMW is taking on this... BTW, do you have any specifics on the revisions you mention?
It is also possible that the problem is not the pump, but something that causes damage to the pump. It is hard to believe that those with multiple pump failures are so unlucky as to get 2,3 and more bad pumps, while most have had no failures at all. My 2007 335i had no problems in 15,000 miles over 2 years. My 135i has had occasional long cranks, but no problems since the software was updated. I believe something else is going on.
Can't argue with your logic. But if it were as simple as a software update, wouldn't the prob have disappeared by now? From what I've heard, even the latest model year is affected...
One thing we know is an extended warranty doesn't fix the problem or prevent the sudden loss of power when the engine goes into limp mode let alone being stranded on the road some place. That seems of particular importance this time of year where parts of the country see single digit temps, snow, sleet, etc.
One thing the software update has done is lower the oil temperature by 10 to 15 degrees. No one has been able to tell me why, in particular my dealer or BMW NA. Many have speculated that temperature may be a cause (but not the only cause), in particular since the solvency of the ethanol in our fuel increases with temperature. I wonder if HPFP failure could be linked with oil temperature? From what I have heard, every model from every year with the N 54 engine has had failures.
I've heard ethanol fingered as a likely culprit in all this, but AFAIK the jury's still out. The possible combo of ehtanol and increased heat from the turbos is an interesting idea, something I hadn't heard mentioned before. What's so frustrating about this is that we're spending time on this forum speculating on what's wrong with our $50K cars 4 years after the problem surfaced. Where are the German engineers?
To rule out (or finger) US gas as the problem, what would be helpful is if someone here who speaks German could scour German messageboards on the subject and see if any of them get it over the pond. If it's not a problem there, then it's definitely US gas. I wouldn't be surprised if that was the case.
There are reports on Euro Bimmer forums too of the HPFP failures. The problem is not unique to the U.S.
