[ss134]

Originally Posted by M3 Eater

I am running jb3 and meth. Anytime I spray at low rpm the car shutters and check engine light comes on. Dealer just replace HPFP, 6 injectors, 6 plugs. Has been moving the coils, plugs and injectors and problem started in # 2 and he moved that injector to #5. Car ran fine for a day and then missed in #5 after adaptations were allowing the car to really start to pull hard. I have been more than patient with this car and the dealership is starting to worry about working on a tuned car which they blessed off on before they began. I asked about Lemoning the car and the said that BMW would discover the tune and void my warranty as well. I need a miracle!!

You should change your user name to M3Eaterwhenitworks Of course BMW will void your warranty looking at your mods and so they should - if you sold someone a stereo and they took 'modified' it and added their own parts and then came back to you and complained that it was not working would you give them their money back??

Your dealership has placed themselves in a awkward position by agreeing to your mods - i hope for your sake that they can fix your car because make no mistake BMW will take you to the cleaners (and the dealership if they found out they had agreed to work on your modded car)

Good luck with your car.

[joec500]

Originally Posted by ss134

You should change your user name to M3Eaterwhenitworks Of course BMW will void your warranty looking at your mods and so they should - if you sold someone a stereo and they took 'modified' it and added their own parts and then came back to you and complained that it was not working would you give them their money back??

Your dealership has placed themselves in a awkward position by agreeing to your mods - i hope for your sake that they can fix your car because make no mistake BMW will take you to the cleaners (and the dealership if they found out they had agreed to work on your modded car)

Good luck with your car.

Well the work has already been done and he has signed the paperwork to receive his car, so they really can't go after him, but the dealership on the other hand....

[M3 Eater]

Um, everything wrong with the car has absolutely nothing to do with the mods. Thats why they decided to work on it. I know I am lucky and grateful for all that was done, But they would have treated someone with no mods the same way..... thats the point. It's like offering a line of car with no spare tire/wheel... this " we don't make mistakes attitude" is good and all but it seems like BMW always says there stuff is just fine until enough customers call them out on it. It just seems like there is a better way to handle these issues.

[ss134]

Originally Posted by M3 Eater

Um, everything wrong with the car has absolutely nothing to do with the mods. Thats why they decided to work on it. I know I am lucky and grateful for all that was done, But they would have treated someone with no mods the same way..... thats the point. It's like offering a line of car with no spare tire/wheel... this " we don't make mistakes attitude" is good and all but it seems like BMW always says there stuff is just fine until enough customers call them out on it. It just seems like there is a better way to handle these issues.

After reading the post above yours it looks like you have been very lucky indeed! Glad for you that your car is fixed but your dealer and BMW could have tried to blame the problems on your mods and voided your warranty. It could have been a long and messy affair.

[M3 Eater]

BTW... car is back to eating m 3's for now.....I was posting not to rag on BMW but to let other BMW customers know that there may be an issue with injectors or related programming/sensors etc. Swapping plugs, coils and injectors revealed the problem. If it were the ecu #2 would have kept malfunctioning. BMW did provide the Dealership with a defective fuel injector and had I not had a strong relationship with my SA and Foreman I would surely have been screwed. I think the dealership appreciated me coming clean with my mods up front instead of playing hide and seek with them the way most of the folks that tune their turbo cars do. This is why my car runs the way it is suppose to now. My car was infact a lemon when i bought it. Day 3 1/2 engine light on with vanos issues. I am the victim here, I have been driving a loaner as long as I have my car. I haven't even really been able to enjoy the tune because the vanos system couldn't handle stock boost levels let alone tuned boost levels. As soon as the vanos stopped coding, the car began to misfire.

If I bought a radio and plugged up an amp, mp3, and EQ and the radio didn't tune in FM stations the way it was suppose to, I don't think I would blame the EQ or the CD player for that matter. If I built the radio I would fix it or replace it.

[ss134]

Originally Posted by M3 Eater

BTW... car is back to eating m 3's for now.....I was posting not to rag on BMW but to let other BMW customers know that there may be an issue with injectors or related programming/sensors etc. Swapping plugs, coils and injectors revealed the problem. If it were the ecu #2 would have kept malfunctioning. BMW did provide the Dealership with a defective fuel injector and had I not had a strong relationship with my SA and Foreman I would surely have been screwed. I think the dealership appreciated me coming clean with my mods up front instead of playing hide and seek with them the way most of the folks that tune their turbo cars do. This is why my car runs the way it is suppose to now. My car was infact a lemon when i bought it. Day 3 1/2 engine light on with vanos issues. I am the victim here, I have been driving a loaner as long as I have my car. I haven't even really been able to enjoy the tune because the vanos system couldn't handle stock boost levels let alone tuned boost levels. As soon as the vanos stopped coding, the car began to misfire.

If I bought a radio and plugged up an amp, mp3, and EQ and the radio didn't tune in FM stations the way it was suppose to, I don't think I would blame the EQ or the CD player for that matter. If I built the radio I would fix it or replace it.

Thats not a fair comparison! If you built the radio and someone else added parts to the radio that it was not designed for and changed the way it operated and then it wouldn't work - you would probably tell them it was their own fault and that it was working before they tampered with it!

I realise your car was not working correctly before you modded it but BMW could have blamed it on the mods quite easily....that was my point.

Glad your car is up and running again though.

[M3 Eater]

no new car.... still the same old 07 that I bought with the check engine light on.... just no check engine light today.

[M3 Eater]

all mods were designed specifically for this car by experts. Now BMW offers this car with 14lbs of boost with the same mechanical parts. The engine was made to handle 500hp, tranny 450. Anything less and the car should work fine. This is a compliment to BMW's ability to make cars, they obviously detuned this car for longevity but are offering the same car with the same amount of boost that my tune offers (335is). The car was made to support 14lbs plus... Either way this is all for naught because its the stock injectors under stock software that were malfunctioning. And you are 100% correct. BMW could easily void the warranty but It wouldn't make their injectors any better.

[marcel b]

still no news... had a Z4 35is for 2 days to enjoy a bit. nice boost, but not my type of car. anyway, dealership feels really bad and is doing their best.

[shifterboy45]

Originally Posted by TrackRat

Sorry man!

This absolutely SUCKS and is another example of why I believe BMW is alienating it's customer by not providing a proper solution to the N54 engine issues that have existed for four model years and counting. An unreliable car is not worth the headaches IMO. Thankfully you weren't in an accident as other BMW owners have been.

now i have searched the nthsa.gov site for information regarding accidents --the only thing that is listed as an investigation is PE08032 -- and its is closed with no conclusive evidence.. and this is only one (1) investigation opened as of 2007 -- nothing further
this information came from the .gov website under the heading defects and investigations

i will attach a copy of the ODI report ..
if there is another source for your claims I would appreciate the link on the web as others may also ....

[ss134]

Originally Posted by marcel b

still no news... had a Z4 35is for 2 days to enjoy a bit. nice boost, but not my type of car. anyway, dealership feels really bad and is doing their best.

Really hope they find a solution soon Marcel, nothing worse than having these problems on your car with the dealership not being able to rectify them.

[shifterboy45]

[QUOTE=TrackRat;7594959]I didn't say there was a current investigation, I said there were accidents as a result of the HPFP failing and to see nhtsa.gov and read the safety defect complaints. The 2007 investigation has been discussed many times and was closed prematurely because at that time - in early 2008 neither BMW nor nhtsa new how widespread the problem would be.

NHTSA claimed their limited resources was the reason for closing the case once BMW agreed to extend the HPFP warranty to 120 K miles and 10 yrs. The investigation is still subject to being re-opened at any time. We are hearing reports of BMW N54 HPFP recalls in other countries so the U.S. is likely to get a full recall for this safety issue also. It just might take the numerous pending class action lawsuits to get BMW to do the right thing?

so if there is a recall of a product, it either has to be fixed or rendered harmless by the maker of the product. this would logically infer is that BMW has acknowledged the fact and has a "true" fix for the present fuel system issue -- are they holding out on one the their largest markets, and withholding this information. or this there a different standard (exceedingly tougher) in other countries that would constitute this type of action.. ?

[marcel b]

Originally Posted by ss134

Really hope they find a solution soon Marcel, nothing worse than having these problems on your car with the dealership not being able to rectify them.

I have told me dealership I do not want the car anymore and are waiting for an offer to change to a M3. If it is affordable I will do it without a doubt. I am too dependent on the car for work (planes to catch for business trips) and cannot live with an unreliable car.

[Dackelone]

OP.... sometimes techs forget.... just bc they put new parts on your car... does NOT mean they are GOOD PARTS!

They need to ttest the new parts and make sure they are infact good ones.

[marcel b]

Originally Posted by Dackelone

OP.... sometimes techs forget.... just bc they put new parts on your car... does NOT mean they are GOOD PARTS!

They need to ttest the new parts and make sure they are infact good ones.

I do not believe the parts are faulty. Would be to much of a coincidence. First they replace coils, plugs and injectors. No impact, issue still arising. Then they replace pump. No impact, the change the pump again because they thought is was faulty, and now also the plugs should be faulty although brand new.
Based on all the information available (already in this thread) I do not believe the issue is a sparkplug or the HPFP.
They are now working on the car for a week and no progress. I think that says enough. If it would be that easy and straight forward they for sure would not take so long and give me a rental car for the time period.

[ss134]

Originally Posted by marcel b

I have told me dealership I do not want the car anymore and are waiting for an offer to change to a M3. If it is affordable I will do it without a doubt. I am too dependent on the car for work (planes to catch for business trips) and cannot live with an unreliable car.

I sold my 12 month old 335i 2 weeks ago.......my new E90 M3 arrives in 10 days time.....i can honestly say i have not thought about my 335i once since i sold it, i had problems with mine as well and TBH the 335i never really did it for me - to get it to drive and feel like i wanted would have cost quite a bit and also i was having reliabiliy issues even though it was 100% stock with less than 10K miles on the clock.
Also i had no intention of modding a normal 3 series to try and be something it is not................time to get the real thing!

Hope the finances work out and you get your M3, keep us posted!

[marcel b]

for the people who have the errorcode "misfiring in cylinder 6", do you have the M3 strutbrace installed? If yes, then maybe the following can help you.

My dealer found out that because of the M3 Strutbrace water was coming into the engine compartment filling up the hole where the spark plug of cylinder 6 was mounted causing the spark plug to erode (was white).
They came to this conclusion after the put the car in a washing cabin. They will now make adjustments to the strut brace and check if it is water tight, if not, they will mount the original braces. Am surprised this could happen, as so many people are driving the M3 strut brace, and also that a bit of water can have such an impact.

[badass335]

Though it sounds like a possiblility, its crap as my car does not have the brace and i checked and no water ever hit the plug area. Fingers crossed for you though.

Originally Posted by marcel b

for the people who have the errorcode "misfiring in cylinder 6", do you have the M3 strutbrace installed? If yes, then maybe the following can help you.

My dealer found out that because of the M3 Strutbrace water was coming into the engine compartment filling up the hole where the spark plug of cylinder 6 was mounted causing the spark plug to erode (was white).
They came to this conclusion after the put the car in a washing cabin. They will now make adjustments to the strut brace and check if it is water tight, if not, they will mount the original braces. Am surprised this could happen, as so many people are driving the M3 strut brace, and also that a bit of water can have such an impact.

[marcel b]

Originally Posted by badass335

Though it sounds like a possiblility, its crap as my car does not have the brace and i checked and no water ever hit the plug area. Fingers crossed for you though.

thanks. But this is what I expected and also told them. I can follow the reasoning behind, but do understand it as I am driving for quite some time with it and never had an issue. I am also wondering why a bit of water can have such an impact... but let's see. fingers crossed.

[TheRealPeterman]

marcel b,
Feel really sorry for your experience, but feel excited for you if you get a chance to move into an M3.

When I got my 330, my neighbor told me his brother in law had a 7 series that gave him nothing but grief. I was thinking, no way, BMW is a solid car.

Stories like this make me think otherwise, and give me apprehensions about my own vehicle, even though I have not had any issues, so far, knock on wood!

[zsapphire7]

man this is what really scares me . If i had the chance i would jump to the m3 instead just for the peace of mind on the engine reliability. Fortunately the m3 doesnt seem to have any of the issues the n54 is seeing..

[marcel b]

Originally Posted by zsapphire7

man this is what really scares me . If i had the chance i would jump to the m3 instead just for the peace of mind on the engine reliability. Fortunately the m3 doesnt seem to have any of the issues the n54 is seeing..

currently it will be difficult to switch for me, as the dealer is convinced they have found the issue. I will get the car back and then I will find out fast enough if the issue is resolved.