[carve]

Ironic in socialist europe they can run straight gas, but in the capitalist US we have to subsidize the corn industry. If you DESIGN the engine with ethanol in mind you can take advantage of the octane, but I think at the pump they just reduce other octane-boosting additives and you don't get a thing.

Unless we can make ethanol out of waste products, it's a TERRIBLE idea. There is one good way to use it though; we could have a seperate ethanol tank and ethanol injector. Engine could have higher compression ratios, but run on normal pump gas. When you floor it or climb a hill, just enough ethanol is metered in to keep it from knocking. Huge efficiency gains while using, most of the time, little to no ethanol. A friend of mine did this to his 240z in college to run extra boost. There's also a rumour Ford is working on something like this on their ecoboost engines. Of course, you need a straight ethanol pump at the stations to make this work, as well as safety features to throttle back when your ethanol tank goes dry. Not sure why nobody talks about this idea.

[NYC_335xi]

Originally Posted by Prissy

which shell did you go to?

I usually go to the one on grand ave, or whitestone.

[Andy74]

I hope BMW realizes that they are loosing potential customers over this. I used to have a 2004 ZHP, but I gave up on it after 2 years of well known issues that the dealer would not fix. 3.5 years later I decided to look at e90 335i, love the car, but I don't want to be stuck arguing with BMWNA what is covered and what is not.
I understand that the part fails, but denying warranty coverage over a known issue is just absurd. I tried convincing myself that I will live with HPFP failures if I get this car, but reading this post just makes me mad.

[MSPORTWORLD]

This is some BS

The worst part is how they say it voids your warranty when you don't even get to choose the ethanol content of fuel you put in.

Edit: Found some bad news... about Sunoco 94

http://www.ethanol-gec.org/winter96/eawin9610.htm

[ss134]

Whatever happened to ' the customer is always right'? Even if they believe that youve used the wrong fuel they should still be courtious and respectful
towards their customers - you should find out the name of this sales rep and report your expieriences to BMW- im sure they would be concerned at how their customers are being treated by this individual.

Good luck with your situation.

[canrhea]

Originally Posted by NYC_335xi

I'm not going to throw the name of the SA out there yet (going to see how this plays out), he became the nicest guy in the world after receiving a call from BMWNA yesterday. He called today to give me an update, they should receive word from BMW if im I'm covered under warranty for a new HPFP on Friday.

sorry but your a push over. This crap woudnt pass with me

[Slidewayz]

Ethanol might maybe be justifiable in Brazil, but definitely not the corn-based stuff here.

Total scam from A to Z.

We might get a switchgrass-based ethanol product that makes sense environmentally and energy-wise, but that's not commercially viable yet.

[stressdoc]

The fault on this issue is not with the Service Advisor. It is with the shortsighted doof that put the ethanol test into the SIB that the SA's have to follow -- or more precisely, the action taken against the owner when high ethanol content is detected. There are some bad algorithms in the PUMA system. Stuff like this should be screened and eliminated.

In my experience BMW nearly always gets it right in the end. The HPFP is a trivial problem, the vast majority of cars never have it go bad, and it does not 'leave you by the side of the road'. BMW is as good as car companies get in terms of taking care of engineering problems. But it's annoying when something as muddleheaded as blaming the customer for high ethanol goes on for more than a few days. Someone at Woodcliff Lake needs to set things right on this once and for all. Or better yet, someone in Washington!

[bbbuzzy]

To really understand the HPFP problem, we need a supersleuth. Someone with a mechanical engineering background that can disassemble a new a failed part and figure out what the hell is going on. If it's truly the seals, then that should be a relatively easy fix. This sort of thing is really doable. I also own an '05 XC70 and they have a notoriuos ETM problem. A gentleman named Don Wilson took it upon himself to figure this out. Check out his crusade (http://www.vexedvolvo.org/). Perhaps he'll be interested.

[e46charz]

wow you were in my exact position couple months ago, except i had problems at 1000 miles. long cranky starts in the morning, rough idles, you name it. dealership also blamed my gas saying ethanol content was too high even though i have only used shell vpower. i'm too lazy to read all 5 pages, but try contacting BMW NA directly. Tell them your situation and perhaps your car will qualify as a lemon and they'll buy your car back. PM if you need any help

[PaulBailey@ltbmw]

Total BS scam

[solefald]

The Great Ethanol Scam article in Business Week.

http://www.businessweek.com/lifestyl...temp_lifestyle

and yes, you guessed it, it mentions BMW's too!

[UncleWede]

Same issue (HPFP) with the 335d?

[markinva]

maybe we should all buy test kits to use before we fill up our tanks:

http://www.fuel-testers.com/instruct..._test_kit.html

[JSpira]

Originally Posted by stressdoc

I know nothing, nothing, nothing!

And my name is not Klink.

Of course not.

It would be Schultz.

[stressdoc]

Originally Posted by JSpira

Of course not.

It would be Schultz.

Ka-ching!

[stressdoc]

Originally Posted by UncleWede

Same issue (HPFP) with the 335d?

There is no ethanol in diesel. And it's a different system. But there are rare problems with it.

One more great reason to buy a diesel.

[stressdoc]

Originally Posted by solefald

The Great Ethanol Scam article in Business Week.

http://www.businessweek.com/lifestyl...temp_lifestyle

and yes, you guessed it, it mentions BMW's too!

+1, good summary of the problem.

[NYC_335xi]

Well, sorry for the long update, It's been a long day. Got a call from the dealership that my car is ready for pick up, the HPFP was replaced under warranty. One thing that does bug me is what the service sheet said, "HPFP was replaced as a one time goodwill in the interest of customer satisfaction". Gee, one time. I cant wait till my next HPFP failure, will probably have to do ethanol tests myself before hand.

On the way home, some guy did make a left from oncoming traffic and I ended up hitting him in the passenger side. His wheel and suspension was screwed, I need a new bumper,grill, and hood. He admitted all fault to my insurance company and on the police report, so it didn't end too bad. Might go M-tech

[yomama69]

Originally Posted by NYC_335xi

Well, sorry for the long update, It's been a long day. Got a call from the dealership that my car is ready for pick up, the HPFP was replaced under warranty. One thing that does bug me is what the service sheet said, "HPFP was replaced as a one time goodwill in the interest of customer satisfaction". Gee, one time. I cant wait till my next HPFP failure, will probably have to do ethanol tests myself before hand.

On the way home, some guy did make a left from oncoming traffic and I ended up hitting him in the passenger side. His wheel and suspension was screwed, I need a new bumper,grill, and hood. He admitted all fault to my insurance company and on the police report, so it didn't end too bad. Might go M-tech

PM me.

[ToadHollow]

Originally Posted by NYC_335xi

Well, sorry for the long update, It's been a long day. Got a call from the dealership that my car is ready for pick up, the HPFP was replaced under warranty. One thing that does bug me is what the service sheet said, "HPFP was replaced as a one time goodwill in the interest of customer satisfaction". Gee, one time. I cant wait till my next HPFP failure, will probably have to do ethanol tests myself before hand.

On the way home, some guy did make a left from oncoming traffic and I ended up hitting him in the passenger side. His wheel and suspension was screwed, I need a new bumper,grill, and hood. He admitted all fault to my insurance company and on the police report, so it didn't end too bad. Might go M-tech

I read that and literally had the palm of my hand meet my forehead with a UGH thrown in ............. unbelievable man. Gotta love someone who can be the optimist in this type of situation ....... not many of us left!

[NYC_335xi]

Originally Posted by ToadHollow

I read that and literally had the palm of my hand meet my forehead with a UGH thrown in ............. unbelievable man. Gotta love someone who can be the optimist in this type of situation ....... not many of us left!

Heh thats not all, yesterday my dads porsche got rear ended as well - while I was in it. A series of unfortunate events I'm just glad to have my car back and driving, even though she needs a face lift