[stressdoc]

BMW NA cannot get away with this after-the-fact warranty denial. Yes, it clearly states in the manual that only gas with 10% ethanol or less can be used. But what if owners cannot get access to premium fuel with <10% ethanol in some areas??? What if gas stations do not post the ethanol % on the pump or otherwise make that information readily available? We would all be happy, for example, to avoid putting Shell gasoline in our cars if we knew they had >10% ethanol. But we don't know that. And using a less-than-precise test at the dealer after the fact is such terrible, terrible!!! business practice.

There are a lot of smart, wonderful people working at BMWNA. Whoever cooked this one up should be forced to drive a Yugo for the rest of their life.

I feel sorry for the poor SA that has to tell an owner that warranty work is denied for this reason. What a mess.

[gtrokin330]

wow bro...ive had nothing but the best expierence with Rallye service...its Hassel BMW that gave me a shitload of problems. I actually just got my car back from rallye today with a new clutch

[NYC_335xi]

UPDATE:

Just got a call back from the dealer, didn't get too much info, they just confirmed the ethanol content, and said it was probably the gas stations fault for the elevated ethanol percent. They are now waiting to hear from BMW on what to do and if they approve the warranty work. I'm pretty sure I know what their response will be. I do have all the receipts from the shell gas station I used and the SA said that might help. So, we'll see what happens.

[Drakos]

Does it state anywhere in the manual about staying away from ethanol blended gasoline? All I am aware of is the 91 octane recommenation. I think the ethanol excuse is absolute crap. Ethanol is supposed to help the environment and is a natural bio product. There will be more and more E85 stations in NA. I just bought my car and am already upset even though I haven't had a HPFP replaced yet. I have a friend that is an advisor at a BMW dealership. I will ask him tomorrow and ask him to pull any technical bulletins on the 335i. I will let you guys know.

[yomama69]

Originally Posted by Drakos

Does it state anywhere in the manual about staying away from ethanol blended gasoline? All I am aware of is the 91 octane recommenation. I think the ethanol excuse is absolute crap. Ethanol is supposed to help the environment and is a natural bio product. There will be more and more E85 stations in NA. I just bought my car and am already upset even though I haven't had a HPFP replaced yet. I have a friend that is an advisor at a BMW dealership. I will ask him tomorrow and ask him to pull any technical bulletins on the 335i. I will let you guys know.

Clearly, you've been hiding under a rock or are just an absolute moron. The ethanol industry has become a bust for use as an alternative fuel source to gasoline. All the ethanol stations that you do see will slowly disappear.

[doggiedog]

Wow!

I just got my 09 E90 back for an issue with the idle and the dealer ended up replacing the HPFP and fuel injectors all on their own. I have to hand it to the dealership (Wide World of Cars in Spring Valley, NY). They were great. They proactively fixed my car without me having to do anything.

[xtac]

wait a sec, which gas stations are we supposed to use? i know some gas station who do shady things, what are we supposed to use and who has it!

[tke344]

I had my heart set on getting a 335 this fall but with stories like this I simply wouldn't feel comfortable. I'm really hoping that a solution is in the works but it seems like the same design is being re-built with no improvements.

Has anyone actually taken apart a failed pump? It would be interesting to see what exactly is going wrong. There must be an aftermarket company out there willing to develop a fix, even if we have to pay a one time out of pocket expense I know I would for peace of mind.

[yomama69]

Originally Posted by tke344

I had my heart set on getting a 335 this fall but with stories like this I simply wouldn't feel comfortable. I'm really hoping that a solution is in the works but it seems like the same design is being re-built with no improvements.

Has anyone actually taken apart a failed pump? It would be interesting to see what exactly is going wrong. There must be an aftermarket company out there willing to develop a fix, even if we have to pay a one time out of pocket expense I know I would for peace of mind.

This makes no sense to me. People treating this like the end of the world. Every car has some sort of issue. If they replace the part under warranty if it goes bad, why would that deter you from buying a car you like?

I know it can get annoying to bring your car in for repairs. I just got mine back yesterday after almost 50 days. You do realize that there are a lot of 335's out there that never had a HPFP go bad.

No offense, but when people come on this board and say, "I was going to get one, but [insert fabricated justification here] it comes off like they can't afford it.

[ragingclue]

Originally Posted by xtac

wait a sec, which gas stations are we supposed to use? i know some gas station who do shady things, what are we supposed to use and who has it!

Are you serious? xtac strikes again and, once again, I feel my own brain cells dying from reading this post.

[bbbuzzy]

Originally Posted by yomama69

This makes no sense to me. People treating this like the end of the world. Every car has some sort of issue. If they replace the part under warranty if it goes bad, why would that deter you from buying a car you like?

I know it can get annoying to bring your car in for repairs. I just got mine back yesterday after almost 50 days. You do realize that there are a lot of 335's out there that never had a HPFP go bad.

No offense, but when people come on this board and say, "I was going to get one, but [insert fabricated justification here] it comes off like they can't afford it.

Are you serious? You're willing to have you car in the shop for 50 days to fix it? That's ridiculous. It takes less time to build a new one. You are way out on the fringe if you find occasional out of service episodes of 50 days to be acceptable. All the Japanese cars I've owned over the last 25 yrs have had excellent reliability. Service could aleways be scheduled without a stranding and nothing took more than a day to fix. I love my 330i, but if it starts giving me frequent problems that require a long time to fix, I'll be looking for something else.

The HPFP problem seems unacceptable but until we get true failure rates from BMW, it's all just hearsay. If I was a 335 owner, I'd be upset. bottom line for BMW, some potential buyers are going elsewhere. Seems like it's worth fixing to me.

[yomama69]

Originally Posted by bbbuzzy

Are you serious? You're willing to have you car in the shop for 50 days to fix it? That's ridiculous. It takes less time to build a new one. You are way out on the fringe if you find occasional out of service episodes of 50 days to be acceptable. All the Japanese cars I've owned over the last 25 yrs have had excellent reliability. Service could aleways be scheduled without a stranding and nothing took more than a day to fix. I love my 330i, but if it starts giving me frequent problems that require a long time to fix, I'll be looking for something else.

The HPFP problem seems unacceptable but until we get true failure rates from BMW, it's all just hearsay. If I was a 335 owner, I'd be upset. bottom line for BMW, some potential buyers are going elsewhere. Seems like it's worth fixing to me.

I don't care. It's not like I wasn't driving around in the same fucking car. it just wasn't mine.

[Stronie]

Originally Posted by yomama69

This makes no sense to me. People treating this like the end of the world. Every car has some sort of issue. If they replace the part under warranty if it goes bad, why would that deter you from buying a car you like?

I know it can get annoying to bring your car in for repairs. I just got mine back yesterday after almost 50 days. You do realize that there are a lot of 335's out there that never had a HPFP go bad.

No offense, but when people come on this board and say, "I was going to get one, but [insert fabricated justification here] it comes off like they can't afford it.

You are very wrong, It's all about reliability and reputation.

[two30i]

Wow, Im so glad I picked up the last brand new 330i on the lot in 2006 instead on a 2007 335. I'd be frickin' pissed. Good luck.

[yomama69]

Originally Posted by Stronie's BMW

You are very wrong, It's all about reliability and reputation.

I was not suggesting that there is not an issue here. I was suggesting that you're purchasing a mechanical item. Mechanics are not perfect with any vehicle. If it's not a fuel pump, it's something else. That's why there are warranties. I can understand your argument if warranty was not in place, but it is.

It's really nonsensical. Not buying a car because one of the parts covered under warranty might fail. Just sayin.

BTW, wasn't N54 International engine of the year?

[LeifW]

Originally Posted by tke344

I had my heart set on getting a 335 this fall but with stories like this I simply wouldn't feel comfortable. I'm really hoping that a solution is in the works but it seems like the same design is being re-built with no improvements.

I'm with you. It's because of these HPFP issues, that I've now decided to purchase a 328 instead of the 335.

Leif W.

[Easternedge]

I Had my HPFP go the same day I got my car back from the Dian stg 2 install... OD read 9.5K. After a scan and some research it came up as HPFP, brought it to Habberstad they replaced it by 10:30 the next day and I was on my way. (Thanks Joe)

Then about a week later, i felt the car got slugish like no boost, loss of 20-30HP. Called him back, and said (bad gas) get a bottle of Techron and use the tank see if its better. About half way through the tank, it got the power back. But My oil change is due in -1.5k. May this have been to much Ethanol? Or some full service idiot put in 89?!?! Thats why I like to pump my own GAS!

[DANMACINSD]

I think what everyone is saying, is yes every car has the one part that fails. To pick apart a 335 solely on the fact that it has HPFP issues may be unfair. The difference here is BMW knows they have a bad part and they try to get out of paying to replace it (i.e. high ethanol excuse). That to me is shady shit and COULD deter me from purchasing another BMW. Don't get me wrong I love my BMW and luckily I haven't had a problem yet (18K miles), but it's the shady practices they are choosing to take instead of manning up and replacing all HPFPs that fail with no questions asked.

[yomama69]

Originally Posted by DANMACINSD

I think what everyone is saying, is yes every car has the one part that fails. To pick apart a 335 solely on the fact that it has HPFP issues may be unfair. The difference here is BMW knows they have a bad part and they try to get out of paying to replace it (i.e. high ethanol excuse). That to me is shady shit and COULD deter me from purchasing another BMW. Don't get me wrong I love my BMW and luckily I haven't had a problem yet (18K miles), but it's the shady practices they are choosing to take instead of manning up and replacing all HPFPs that fail with no questions asked.

These aren't really expensive parts. Have you considered that BMW hasn't issued a recall and replacement because they don't have an adequate designed part yet? Supposedly they upgraded the HPFP for 09. 09's are still failing. If you were BMW, what would you do if you didn't have a fix for a situation that needed one?

[DANMACINSD]

Originally Posted by yomama69

These aren't really expensive parts. Have you considered that BMW hasn't issued a recall and replacement because they don't have an adequate designed part yet? Supposedly they upgraded the HPFP for 09. 09's are still failing. If you were BMW, what would you do if you didn't have a fix for a situation that needed one?

I can tell you what I WOULD NOT do, and that's make a customer that decided to invest great amounts of money in my product pay for a fu#ked up fuel pump, by using some excuse of high ethanol content.

[DANMACINSD]

I think we should expose this to the media...anybody have any connections. The headline could read, "Don't buy a BMW if you live near a $hitty ass gas station that may put too much ethanol in the gas supply". Really the heat needs to go in two directions, the unregulated gas station owner/ supplier and BMW....not us the consumer. It seems like we are just the easiest kid to beat up.

[yomama69]

Originally Posted by DANMACINSD

I can tell you what I WOULD NOT do, and that's make a customer that decided to invest great amounts of money in my product pay for a fu#ked up fuel pump, by using some excuse of high ethanol content.

What if that was not an excuse? From the users on this forum, I have seen more failures in the North and Northeast parts of the US, where they use an elevated ethanol content in their fuel during the colder climate months. Don't discount the possibility that ethanol content is at issue. I'm not in any means advocating for BMW, just trying to put this whole thing into perspective.