[lauer87]

Sucks, good luck man!

[gqmd]

It is beyond me why a 335i owner should have to go through this especially on a known issue with the HPFP...

[bmw-hoya]

Happy to hear that BMW NA got involved. Hope your back in your bimmer soon. Thanks also for posting. Another HPFP-related issue that everyone needs to be aware of.

[stressdoc]

Originally Posted by Spydeputy

pls be sure to let us know how you make out.

this is the 2nd time i've heard that a dealer not honoring a HPFP warranty due to high ethanol content

Seriously, this is more like the 5th or 6th case of this. We need to get the straight poop from BMWNA on this ASAP.

BMW needs to be going after the Petrol suppliers, not BMW owners. The HPFP fiasco was bad enough, and initially handled poorly by BMWNA. This 'blame the owner for high ethanol' crap must be taken care of immediately before some baaad PR gets going.

[markinva]

it appears that bmw hpfp's are extremely sensitive to ethanol content fluctuations. It is not reasonable for the customer and owner to bear the brunt of this. This is BMW's problem, because clearly the part is a weak link and should be more durable. I realize bmw can't control what gas is in gas stations, but you don't see a million other cars having this same problem, so obviously the bmw has a design flaw that other cars don't have.

so many people love BMWs, and will buy them all their lifes, but things like this HPFP and the dealer reaction are huge flies in the ointment.

[yomama69]

OP, do you have written documentation that the dealer isn't replacing due to ethanol content?

[meegle]

Originally Posted by NYC_335xi

Just now I received a call back, basically they did a "few" tests and it seems that the fuel is the problem. He found over 15% ethanol content and is positive that is the cause.

Just a thought but did anyone else pump fuel in your tank? perhaps they mistakenly used E85.

[stressdoc]

Some premium fuels test at >10% ethanol with the kits used at BMW service.

[ilidon]

Originally Posted by stressdoc

Some premium fuels test at >10% ethanol with the kits used at BMW service.

Does this mean that were being ripped off by these gas stations by putting more than 10% ethanol?

[305]

it appears that bmw hpfp's are extremely sensitive to ethanol content fluctuations.

For all the 335 drivers out there it might get worse for you. Assuming Ethanol is the problem. Ethanol might go up to 15%.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/10/au...ef=automobiles

[Drakos]

You are not the only one with a new ride and problems. I just took delivery of my 335xi last week and have 215kms on it. Rough starts and studder to 60km. I will be pissed if I have to replace a fuel pump this early. I was still on my first tank of fuel and filled up this morning with Shell V 93 octane. I hope the situation improves. Maybe the dealer filled it up with ethenol blend?

[F32Fleet]

A couple of things to consider with the HPFP.

#1 This appears to be a problem with US based cars.
#2 I believe Ethanol contant is regulated by the states.
#3 I don't hear of Audi having problems with their HPFP's however I'm not certain if they work under the same pressures as BMW's system.

- Personally I believe there is some evidence that excessive concentrations of ethanol were partially responsible for HPFP failure however I think there's something elso going on between BMW and their supplier where BMW agreed to pay X for the pumps and that the supplier wants to charge Y for re-designed "beefier" versions. BMW is being cheap by blaming the ethanol content. The owner merely becomes the ping pong ball between the Gas station and the BMWNA.

Oh, and for those of you that think BMWNA is "going to bad for you", don't be suprised if there's an unspoken agreement between BMWNA and the dealerships where the dealerships will initially deny warranty repair.

Worst case is you can call your state regulatory body to come out and do a test of the gasoline. I don't know how responsive they are, and I have yet to hear anyone who's done it.

[2e9x's]

This really sucks! I am sorry to read it. I recommend you take your car somewhere else. It is amazing how different experiences can be based on which dealership you use.

As for the ethanol content in the gasoline - BMW NA is handling this whole HPFP/fuel injector debacle really poorly. They designed these cars to be driven in the US. During development they should have tested with our piss poor gasoline. Apparently their institutional memory is very short...they seem to forget the whole alusil/nikasil debacle from the 90's v-8 engines. After replacing so many engines, you'd think they would keep our gasoline in mind when engineering their cars for our market.

As for BMW NA Customer Service...well there's false advertising. Don't hold your breath for anything good from those folks.

Sorry for the bitterness but I am in the middle of my own HPFP battle. IMHO BMW NA needs to do better.

[ragingclue]

Wow they're still pulling this shit even after pretty much officially acknowledging it's an issue? What a load of BS.

Kill his family.

[montreal red]

thats such crap... but i guess you can always bring it to another dealership and see what they say... cant beleive your dealer is giving you crap for a part that they know always fails.

[SteveMD]

I wonder what the dealer's reasoning is? They will be compensated by BMW for the labor although at a lower rate than non-warranty work.

Is there some reason that they would not get compensated? If a dealership consistently gets bad survey answers, does the dealer get a lower percentage?

[LeifW]

Originally Posted by SteveMD

I wonder what the dealer's reasoning is? They will be compensated by BMW for the labor although at a lower rate than non-warranty work.

Is there some reason that they would not get compensated? If a dealership consistently gets bad survey answers, does the dealer get a lower percentage?

I'm wondering, if because of the cost of all these HPFP failures, BMW is pushing back at the dealers and telling them to use the ethanol excuse. That's one possible conspiracy theory.

Leif W.

[budman1]

Wow. Sorry to hear about your troubles. It is amazing BMW is still dealing with the HPFP issues now, three years after the 335i was launched. I wrote off the HPFP failure on our 07 335i as a first year model glitch.

I expect much better from a company like BMW. Sadly, this was our first BMW and will likely be our last.

[BMWDAD]

I live in the area (LI) where did you get the shell? And go to Habberstad in Huntington, they are the best in the area.

[DANMACINSD]

I have started to keep all of my Shell receipts for the last 3 months or so. I can't wait for the poor SA to tell me it's the gas and my warranty will not cover it. I will have a lawyer on their ass so quick. A couple of things we should do as the victim is become more informed. These two questions would go a long ways in defense, first what is BMW's threshold for ethanol? Is it less than 10%? Second, how accurate exactly is the test they use for ethanol content? Is it plus or minus 5%, 10%? You could ask even more, like what exactly fails as a result of the high ethanol content. I suspect it has to be some kind of seal, but why doesn't it leak? How did they determine ethanol causes failure? I'm not a conspiracy theorist...just throwing some $hit out for digestion.

[markinva]

Can BMW or BMWNA please issue a statement to their customers on this? In the internet age, you can't just sweep this type of thing under the rug. Internet speculation will hurt a brand in no-time flat.

-What causes HPFPs to fail?
-Is there a fix and has it been implemented?
-How many (#s and %s) of the x35s are impacted?

[jlstyle]

Here's what I would do.

1. Call the dealer back and get his name.
2. Call BMWNA and do it multiple times until you get the representative who can actually help you.
3. Tell him/her about the situation, your car and the dealer, then ask him/her to call the GM of that dealer for you.
4. If #3 doesn't make you feel good, take the car out from that dealer and tow it to other dealer.
5. If #4 fails again, call BMWNA again. Tell the representative about the situation and ask for the better resolution. Also, if you have had many problems on your car and falls under lemon law, hire the lemon law laywer and get your car bought back.

I did the all that and got my car bought back with no stress.
BMWNA representative could be VERY useful.