being stranded is a common fallacy when the FP dies. you go into limp mode, but the car is OK to drive. it may seem like its unsafe to drive b/c of the reduced power, but you'll be fine to drive to your destination. in fact, when mine died i drove around for about a week waiting for my service appointment.
Simply not true. Just check around the web forums and you will find people who's car has died in rush hour traffic, left them stranded on the side of the road in snow storms on Thanksgiving, caused serious risk when the car stalled on the hwy. at speed and even a documented accident when the car stalled on a shift and the power steering assist was lost. The false perception that a HPFP won't endanger people or leave them stranded on the roadway is proven false beyond any shadow of a doubt based on actual owner experiences. See the NHTSA.gov website for documented reports of these safety incidents.
I'm quite active on many boards and have read many of those stories too and those are rare occurrences. mine failed early on when e92s first came out, so i've seen my fair share of failed fuel pumps. i personally know more than 20+ people locally that went thru their fuel pumps (some have gone through 3+) and they would all say the same thing as I did. in the the vast majority of the times where the HPFP dies, you're safe to drive. in addition, for those who do not know of the HPFP problem, they have no idea what limp mode is and they deem that as the car dying on them (which I could understand). they do not know that its OK to drive it to their destination and they make themselves stranded. i understand that too and that was the point i was trying to make.
I think it's important not to diminish the safety aspect of the HPFP failures and sudden loss of power and engine stalling when people's lives are endangered. While I agree many people can limp off the roadway, that's of little consequence if you have an accident because your vehicle won't go over 40 mph when you're in 70 mph highway traffic with 18 wheelers all around you and you suddenly slow without any brake lights. When your car will not run and stops on the hwy. or in traffic this is extremely dangerous IMO. As previously noted numerous owners have been stranded on the side of the roadway for hours, some hundreds of miles from their destination. As documented in several forums, many vehicles simply will not run when the HPFP fails. Even after repeated attempts to re-start the engine, it will not start and the vehicle has had to be towed. I understand that some engines go into limp mode and are drivable, but to suggest that all or most engines do this is incorrect and misleading IMO. I'm sure you can understand and appreciate what it's like to have your family stranded on the roadway let alone the significant chance of a serious accident with a sudden loss of power when the HPFP fails. This is a serious safety issue that BMW should have addressed a long time ago IMO. It's also worth mentioning that it's not good to run the engine in limp mode any more than to get safely off the highway. Limp mode is just what it's name implies, to limp out of the way and call a tow truck. To drive the car in limp mode for any distance is not a good idea despite what some SAs might advise.
question about fuel pumps on 335 Does anyone know if there are specific months during 08 335 production that are more prone to fuel pump failure?....I have an 08 335 cab. that I picked in january of 08 in Colorado..thanks ...[great forum discussions by the way]
The problem with HPFP failures exists from MY 2007 right into 2010 models. There is no specific time of production as the problem exist in all x35i models using the N54 engine right up until now with no cure.
My personal theory is that the HPFP failures happen more often if you drive the engine hard. All three of my HPFP failures happened under heavy load (too much fun entering the freeway), and I'm the kind of driver that has no issues running an engine hard (where it is safe and legal). I went through 3 HPFP in 2 years. One every 8K miles. In California, the car qualified as a Lemon, which has very specific buyback rules. When the engine malfunction light came on (at least for me), power was so reduced I had trouble keeping up with 70MPH freeway traffic, but I wasn't stranded. After restarting the engine, the system "reset", but went into limp mode consistently under power (more than 1/2 throttle for more than 1 second). If you are like 90% of the x35i drivers, you have an automatic that rarely sees sport mode, and your engine probably never sees over 3K RPMs, and you probably never come close to full throttle. If you are in the BMW club, and reading this, you are probably one of those "enthusiastic" drivers in the minority. BMW blames the failures on ethanol in US fuel, but as mentioned, other European automakers have figured out direct injection with no issues. I'm not sure if the 2010 x35i (N54) engines were redesigned. I thought I read somewhere that the turbo design was modified/changed, and it wouldn't surprise me if some other components got a once-over as well. BMW does a "refresh" every 3 years or so.
There are lots of theories as to the root cause of the HPFP failures including running the car "hard" but none of these theories has ever been proven. There are x35i owners who track their cars regularly and have not yet experienced the HPFP failures and their are people who drive their cars with the greatest of ease and they have had HPFP failures. There is no evidence to support the ethanol content as the root cause either. It's all speculation at this point because if BMW actually knows, they ain't talking. FWIW, the 2010 3 and 5 series models have already experienced the same HPFP failures and BMW is still installing the same part number HPFP ending in 881, so nothing has improved yet.
HPFP Failure Petition To all interested parties... There is a petition to ask BMW to do something definitive about the ongoing HPFP Failure problem... ... http://www.petitiononline.com/fixpump/petition.html I have tried to communicate directly with CustomerRelations@bmwusa.com, but I have met the predictable blockades... your HPFP failure is an isolated incident, BMW will not take second hand stories into account in addressing your particular problem, be sure to use Top Tier Gas as is rec'd by BMW, there are lots of unsubstantiated rumors on the internet (you can't always believe what you read)... and so on. Maybe the law of mass action might apply if a greater number of customers express their concerns ensemble? In the meantime, I have prepared a HPFP Failure emergency kit for my glove box. It includes phone numbers for my service department, with the manager's name, the numbers for BMW Roadside Assistance, the numbers for both Hertz and Enterprise car rental, insofar as both have pre-arranged daily rates with BMW. Hertz CDP#: 1646338 1-888-204-0234 Enterprise NA24109 1-800-Rent-A-Car These promotional codes are on the BMW site. It took about 4 hours last time to effect a tow and car rental. Good thing it was during the day.
It just happened Friday to my wife's 535i. Never been on the track and is never driven hard. It just decided to shut down on a Friday afternoon right before the dealership closed. Thankfully she managed to drive it there and they will be looking at it today.
That's the Twin-scroll turbo which will replace the two small turbos on the six cyl that you're referring to. Not worth a hill of beans if the fuel pump craps out all the time
There is apparently a recent change to the design/manufacturer of the HPFP, as indicated by new part #13517594943 which replaces #13517592881. See http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=342408 for more. Also, see item 10 in this FAQ: http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=333519 The new part has only been available since November, so it's too soon to tell whether this is the definitive fix or not. Fingers crossed...
