[Letuz]

Yes, you read the topic, it is true!

After leisurely driving my car for about 10 miles today, I stopped at a light. All temps were normal and the car was not driven hard at all. There was no indication anything was wrong until i stopped the car at the light. When the revs dropped down to idle the entire car started shuddering and shaking as the revs bounced erratically up and down. When I tried to drive to a parking lot, I noticed a severe power loss, the exhaust even sounded way different: Deeper, but very rough. I was able to make it to a parking lot. I restarted the car and after about 4 seconds of the starter firing the engine turned over into what seemed to be a completely normal idle. I did get a "Engine malfunction: Reduced power" warning light but this went away after i restarted the car. After about 20 seconds the severe shuddering started happening again and I had my car towed to the dealer.

Now i'm stuck paying for a brand new car i can't even drive. Any ideas as to what this could be? A fuel pump seems to be the only thing that comes to mind... Unless it could be something more serious. As you can imagine, I am extremely annoyed with my brand new car not working! Damn

[ALPINE6SPD]

You may have got some bad gas with over 10% ethanol or you may need a new fuel pupm from the sound of it. Just a guess though.

[SMOKE EM IF U GOT EM!!]

i think ur on the right track. i think a couple months back there were a couple of people stating the same problem. i believe one kid actualy damaged the head on his car due to a fuel starvation problem. not 100% sure. but sorry to hear that neways....

[Letuz]

i really don't think it would have anything to do with the fuel itself. keep in mind I had been driving the car for about 20 minutes before the problem started.

[gashero]

when driving around was it rough? everytime you step on the gas the car want to die out? could be a hose then.

[///Matt]

probably the high-pressure fuel pump. =(

Easy to replace, but hard to get (A) BMW to say "go ahead" and (B) GET ONE. they're backordered. If your car is out of comission for more than a week or so, definitely start talking to the service manager about getting reimbursed for the months payment. It's common.

Matt

[Letuz]

The car just felt a lot rougher and like it had MUCH less power. I've never driven a car that was running out of gas before but I would imagine it being something like this. Power was intermittent and not consistent at all.

As far as getting reimbursement for a months payment, I didn't even realize this was possible. Any suggestions on how to best approach that if my car is out for more than a week?

[CASHBY]

could be a lot of things.

the same problem happens on Audi's all the time and 9 out of 10 times it is a coilpack failure. it will almost sound like a WRX and sputter.

[RRGOO7]

which dealer in Miami did they take it to? Braman or South?

[///Matt]

It's easy. Just go to / call the service manager, and tell him that you're very dissatisfied with the fact that your brand new car is undriveable. Tell him you think you shouldn't be responsible for this months payment. Whether BMW pays it, or the dealer pays you out of pocket, you don't care... as long as you're not paying this month. If you DIDN'T buy the car from the dealer it's at, then don't fight TOO hard for the dealer to pay out of pocket. THEY didn't sell you a broken car. However, even if the car is NOT at the dealer you bought from, you can still call the dealer you DID buy from, and ask for the months payment.

[RiXst3r]

These cars are very picky with gas, I filled up with BP 93, and my car would idle a little ruff, and act funny from a cold start... switched to shell vpower, and its flawless. I think its the direct injection and high compression, doesnt like cheap gas...

[///Matt]

I NEVER use BP products. they are notorious for having high water or alcohol content. consistent use, even if you DON'T feel the performance loss, will damage your fuel system.

[DamnitDavid]

that could be a VANOS failure.

same thing that happen to my M3. (I had about 18k when i had vanos failure)

[pincud]

Can somebody please start a poll of the 335i on the following?

1) how many fuel pumps were replaced
2) how many seat belt feeders were replaced
3) how many sensors were replaced
4) how many power failures were reported
5) how many brake lights were replaced
6) how many items were recalled
7) how many software upgrades were applied

It would be interesting to see... i think.

Thanks.

Dan in Phx

[Letuz]

Just to clarify.

I need to stress the point that the car wasn't simply sputtering around a little bit or making a few weird noises.

It was violently lurching and completely undriveable with a rattly, deeper exhaust note.

The car is at South Motors BMW right now.

[mayno]

Originally Posted by ///Matt

It's easy. Just go to / call the service manager, and tell him that you're very dissatisfied with the fact that your brand new car is undriveable. Tell him you think you shouldn't be responsible for this months payment. Whether BMW pays it, or the dealer pays you out of pocket, you don't care... as long as you're not paying this month. If you DIDN'T buy the car from the dealer it's at, then don't fight TOO hard for the dealer to pay out of pocket. THEY didn't sell you a broken car. However, even if the car is NOT at the dealer you bought from, you can still call the dealer you DID buy from, and ask for the months payment.

there's no way in hell that a dealership will pay a single (or even partial) payment...buying car is like anything else. you bought it...it's yours and you have to make your payments or your loan company will post a negative item on your credit score. the most any dealership can do is fix it and give you a free loaner while it's getting repaired...oh yeah, and apologize for the inconvenience.

[teknochild]

Originally Posted by ///Matt

I NEVER use BP products. they are notorious for having high water or alcohol content. consistent use, even if you DON'T feel the performance loss, will damage your fuel system.

would that be something with their tanks or their trucks, because to my knowledge all the gas in this country goes through the same pipeline, companies put it in at one end and take it out at the other, but the gas they take out is never the actuall gas they put in (or even from their company) and the only diffrence in gasoline is the additives they put in it after they pick it up

[335Black]

Originally Posted by maynardc

there's no way in hell that a dealership will pay a single (or even partial) payment...buying car is like anything else. you bought it...it's yours and you have to make your payments or your loan company will post a negative item on your credit score. the most any dealership can do is fix it and give you a free loaner while it's getting repaired...oh yeah, and apologize for the inconvenience.

NOT TRUE...
I have seen my dealership make up a half or a whole payment depending upon how long the car is there, I believe BMW pays for some portion of the goodwill...most times if you complain hard enough you can get things like this, better to make a payment than to do a Lemon Law Buyback...

[teknochild]

Originally Posted by maynardc

there's no way in hell that a dealership will pay a single (or even partial) payment...buying car is like anything else. you bought it...it's yours and you have to make your payments or your loan company will post a negative item on your credit score. the most any dealership can do is fix it and give you a free loaner while it's getting repaired...oh yeah, and apologize for the inconvenience.

im pretty sure its bmw thats been paying peoples payments, they dont want you pissed off if your car is going to be sitting in the shop for a long period

this is because in florida 15 days in the shop waiting for a fuel pump = manufacturer has 15 more days to fix it before they have to give you a new car

id be pretty pissed off having to drive a rental or loaner around though, especially if it was coming out of my pocket, who pays for the loaners when your car is in for service, bmwna or the dealer?

[mayno]

Originally Posted by 335Black

NOT TRUE...
I have seen my dealership make up a half or a whole payment depending upon how long the car is there, I believe BMW pays for some portion of the goodwill...most times if you complain hard enough you can get things like this, better to make a payment than to do a Lemon Law Buyback...

maybe...if you raised HELL all the way to the General Manager and owner, but I highly doubt that this is common practice. if the repair will take a month or more, then it's possible, but we have no idea yet how long this guy's car will be in the dealership

Originally Posted by teknochild

im pretty sure its bmw thats been paying peoples payments, they dont want you pissed off if your car is going to be sitting in the shop for a long period

this is because in florida 15 days in the shop waiting for a fuel pump = manufacturer has 15 more days to fix it before they have to give you a new car

id be pretty pissed off having to drive a rental or loaner around though, especially if it was coming out of my pocket, who pays for the loaners when your car is in for service, bmwna or the dealer?

rentals are paid by the dealership...loaners are generally cars owned by the dealership. at my dealership, all loaners are BMW cars. the rest are Enterprise rental cars. in both cases, rentals and loaners are ONLY given out to customers for warranty work. if it's not warranty work, then the customer pays.

[///Matt]

Maynard...

It's not like I work in a dealership, right? how would I know if it's fairly common for a lease/loan payment to be covered when the cars in service (WHILE UNDER WARRANTY) for an extended period?

[Letuz]

I've been reading the forums quite a bit, and I can almost safely assume that the fuel pump is the issue.

If this is the case, does anybody know whether or not this part is backordered or have any idea how long it will take to fix.