I've just picked up a 2008 535i with about 32k mi's on the odo and am concerned that with all the complaints about the High Pressure Fuel Pump (HPFP) , that my car will NOT be reliable. When I asked the dealership about this, they assured me that BMW has resolved this issue and that my 535i should run withou issue. The salesperson who I dealt with said that she would look into this concern and whether or not my car has the latest upgraded HPFP installed or not. So instead of being glad about my new Bimmer, I'm very concerned about whether or not this car will be reliable - especially when it comes to this pump. From some of the other forums I've read about this issue, the recommendation is that I only use high quality gasoline from national brand such as Shell or Sunoco. I also take it that I must use 91 Octane gas minimum for this car. Should I be concerned? I have the remainder of the 4yr/40k full coverage warranty left and will probably purchase an extended warranty when the time comes. I would appreciate any advice on this issue. Thanks, Keith R.
Welcome. Congrats on the new BMW. Your car may be covered under the recently announced recall. The dealer can tell by the VIN number. There are actually several "recalls" for x35i models for injectors and HPFPs. From what I have seen there is no confirmation that BMW has determined the root cause of the HPFP failures so the jury is still out on if this recall is just more of the same parts that fail? NHTSA.gov has hundreds of complaints for the HPFP and related turbo, fuel injector, ignition coils, etc. on the N54 powered vehicles and even the 2011 N55 models. While the HPFP has an extended 10 yr./120K mile warranty, it doesn't prevent the car from leaving you stranded on the side of the road or worse having a sudden and dangerous loss of engine power. This HPFP defect has existed for five model years and counting. Sorry for the bad news. I hope BMW finally figures out the problems and corrects them.
At one time BMW NA and their dealers tried to convince BMW owners that the HPFP failures were the result of bad (U.S.) fuel. Since the N54/N55 HPFP failures are a world wide issue, fuel quality probably is not the root cause of the HPFP failures. Top Tier fuels have what the major car companies believe is at least the minimum detergency required to keep injectors from building up excessive carbon deposits. 91 R+M/2 octane is the minimum but 92/93 octane is preferred for maximum performance. In some cases premium fuels have more detergent than regular or mid-grade fuels.
The irony is that my 2010 328i Owners Manual (page 199) recommends BP fuel, which isn't listed on the Top Tier listing... Go figure...
Top Tier Gas That's correct - they are referring to Top Tier gas sources. Thanks for the confirmation. Keith R.
Thanks for the information ForcedInduction, Thanks for the information. Having never really tracked down recalls like this, where would you recommend I go to find out whether or not my car is involved in a recall of the HPFP or other recalls for the x35i (N54) engine? Keith R.
I'd recommend that you check for all outstanding recalls for your vehicle and have them performed. Any BMW dealer can run the VIN and tell you. BMW NA should also be able to advise you.
Recalls ForcedInduction, Thanks for the advice. I'm going to go ahead and have my car checked out for any outstanding recalls. Can BMWNA help in this regard? Thanks, Keith R.
N54 HDP Replaced Under Warranty Lotta chatter about the N54 High Pressure Injection (fuel) Pump (HDP). Heard about the recall campaign late last year. Was about to query my Service Advisor (SA) at BMW of Sterling, Sterling, Va., after the first of the year when I received the December 2010 notification: "BMW Voluntary Emissions Recall Campaign N54 High-Pressure Fuel Pump, Campaign Number 10E-A02." I got online with my service center and booked an appointment. Per the notification, if required BMW free-of-charge would replace the HDP (including the low pressure fuel sensor) and/or will reprogram the engine control unit [ECU]. Additionally…other fuel system components may be inspected and replaced, if required. My 2008 E61 with manual transmission and most, but not all, of the luxury gadgetry, has about 19500 miles on it. It's been driven as a local daily driver, and on a number of multi-day cross country sojourns on Interstates where I keep up with the fastest traffic (if not inching by ‘em). I love every minute behind the wheel. Have had no problems related to this recall. I consistently use mid-grade fuel (89, or Plus), usually from Exxon or 7-Eleven (Chevron?). What BMW of Sterling did: "Per SIB 131310 - performed vehicle test, checked low pressure fuel sensor, replaced the HDP, cleared fault memory [presumably this meant reprogrammed the ECU]." "Per SIB 131410 - removed engine acoustical cover, checked injectors, removed and scanned injectors. No injectors needed to be replaced per the scanner, refit all 6 fuel injectors." What my SA told me: The ethanol content of the gasoline sold in the U.S. can cause deterioration of the internal components of the HDP, which can lead to failure. These components are made of synthetic materials (e.g., high tech plastics). This is not a problem in Europe because ethanol laced gasoline is not sold there. The replacement HDP's apparently contain stainless steel innards, and have a warranty of 10 years or 120,000 miles (per SIB 130309). Also, BMW has tested the U.S. gasolines and found most to be above the 10% amount they are supposed have with some they tested having 15-20% ethanol. Some of the gasolines tested were consistent at 10%, such as Shell and BP premiums (if I recall correctly), which I guess are the Top Tier products. (But all the pumps say 10%. Bummer!) So I guess with this recall work done, I should be a happy camper. Car is running like a top. Thank you Ed Mendez for the copy of the SIB 131310. Regards, ClarkG
BMW and the dealers blame U.S. gas but the HPFP failures are worldwide so it's likely to be more than just the fuel. In addition the HPFPs BMW has been installing continue to fail even with the newest software and injectors. BMW is on HPFP design number seven or eight I believe. How many re-designs does it take to deal with ethanol? At this point in time there is no reason to believe that BMW actually knows the root cause of the HPFP failures or has a proper fix, which is disconcerting considering the safety issues and the fact that these HPFP problems have existed for over five years. If it was the fuel BMW should have fixed the problem 5 years ago as no other car maker using DI has the same type of HPFP failures and they use the same U.S. fuel. IMO BMW and their dealers are being disingenuous when they make false statements.
Yes but with WD 40 they didn't use consumers as test dummies for crash testing... It's worth noting that BMW owners with x35i models that have never had any ethanol laced fuel, still have the HPFP failures. I suspect with reported accidents and multiple class action lawsuits, BMW will eventually be forced to find the root cause and fix it properly on all N54/N55 powered vehicles sold worldwide. The question is why this has not occured already?
HPFP Issues I had my first Secondary HPFP replaced last January 2010 and in December 2010 I stated having the same issues, long crank time starts, sputtering and missing until all cylinders fired, reduced power icon and check engine lights, etc. This time BMW said that it was the Fuel Injectors. I said to knock themselves out but I really thought it was the same issue with the HPFP. They replaced those only and low and behold, one week later, the same issues. Now they are replacing the HPFP again. Bimmer magazine in their February 2011 issue has a great article on this problem. It appears that pumps mfg after March of 2010 have not been failing, so hopefully they will replace mine this time with a newer one. You can guess which of the Seven Dwarfs I am not. I am not Happy.
Same thing GM used to do in the 80s. Release a car and let the consumers, with their hard earned dollars, finish our R&D.
HPFP Issues The Bimmer Magazine article that I mentioned in my last post, the February 2011 issue, states that BMW has extended the warranty on these parts for 10 years or 120K miles. I took a copy of the article to my dealer along with my 2008 535i. That made me feel a little better. However, I just counted up how many days that my car has been in at the BMW dealer for work related to this issue and it is one whole month total. Not good. And if you factor in that they usually give me a 328i loaner, then I am paying for far more car than I have been driving, ha! In an ironical twist, I mentioned that I should have bought a 3-Series as that is what I have been driving mostly of late, so they gave me a new 2011 F10 528i this time, ha!
N54 HPFP failures, etc. . . To follow up on the experience of wdpenhale. We've leased our 2008 335xi with the typical 3 year / 36,000 mile lease. We live a little more than 20 miles from the dealership. To date we have spent more than 5% of our contract lease miles doing nothing but driving to and from the dealership for warranty repairs (quality and reliability failures). .. . . What if we lived 100 miles from the dealership? In over 1.6 million miles of personal driving, with 41 different automobiles, I have never had such a Jeckyll and Hyde experience with a car. The first year was love with a few snags. The second year was fun but very frustrating. The last 8 months have been miserable. A direct comparison: Prior to owning our first BMW we drove three Honda products. A Civic, an Accord and an Acura TL. Between them, 305,000 miles driven over 14 years of ownership. Collectively, those three cars, added together, required half as many service interventions (warranty, etc.) as this single BMW 335xi has needed in it's 34,000 miles of life. . . Roughly 1800% of the Honda/Acura collective requirements. . . . . And no, the car is not abused. It's driven the same as our other cars, including my 540i sport and our previous 330xi. It just seems like BMW has lost it's way. Maybe it turned down the same path as Toyota ... ? . . .
Not empirical data but going from friends who own BMWs, they are either great or complete duds, there seems to be no middle ground. When my dad bought his '84 733i his friend liked it a lot. A few years later he traded in his trusty 450SLC (he always kept his cars for a long time and was very anal when it came to maintenance) on a 1986 L7. He sold that L7 in less than 2 years and 10K miles because it spent roughly 30% of the time he owned it in the shop. In contrast, we kept the 733i until late 2001. As a side note, my experience with a 2004 Acura TL 6 speed turned me off to Honda products for life. Way back when I owned a 1987 Integra that gave me well over 200K miles of great service. The TL was the exact opposite. Between power window issues (they went down and refused to go back up), A/C and other things, that car spent quite a bit of time going back to the dealer for unscheduled stuff. Granted, it never left me stranded but it was enough of a headache to keep me from getting another one.
