BMW Recalls 130,000 Cars after ABC News Report
BMW has just issued a recall of 130,000 cars featuring its twin-turbo six-cylinder engine because of a faulty fuel pump that can fail when the cars are driving at high speeds. The company and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration received complaints about the cars going into a reduced-power or “limp home” mode, which allows drivers to safely pull off the road. It will also illuminate the “Service Engine Soon” light on the instrument panel.
Vehicles included in the recall include:
- 2007–2010 335i
- 2008–2010 135i, 535i and X6 xDrive35i sports activity coupes
- 2009–2010 Z4 Roadster sDrive35i
ABC News reported the problem this morning along with harrowing reports from concerned drivers. There have been no accidents or injuries due to the malfunctioning pump, BMW says. Many owners report having the part replaced numerous times.
Dozens of complaints about the fuel pump problem appear on NHTSA’s website, and they may illustrate this lack of education. Here’s one excerpt: “10/8/2010 – While traveling on Alligator Alley in Southern Florida, 2009 BMW 335i experienced a severe loss of power with engine lamp turning on. Loss of power worsened for the next seventy five miles until the car could not go over forty miles per hour and had insufficient torque to go up any inclined highway off ramps.”
We’re not blaming drivers for the failure of the fuel pumps, and it sounds like this is a serious flaw in what is otherwise a very good engine. But when your engine suffers a severe event with a warning light illuminating, we’d advise all drivers to pull over when safe and call a service vehicle. BMW spokesman Matthew Russell says the company has tested the limp home mode on a 135i and it performed at a reduced performance level, but one that was comparable to a lesser-powered 128. Russell also said different transmissions would react differently, with an automatic transmission locking you out of higher gears.
BMW offers free roadside assistance for the first four years of ownership and if you buy a certified pre-owned BMW, you get free roadside assistance until the sixth year of the original service date.
The recall does not include all 2010 BMW models with this engine. The 2010 BMW 335is and 740i are not included. The engine in 2011 BMWs is a different turbocharged six-cylinder that has a newer fuel pump design and is not included in the recall.
Owners experiencing any issues can call BMW’s hot line at 800-563-4269.
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Why would the fuel pump failing in turn cause you to loose power steering?
And going off that, I get so tired of people saying that driving without power steering is dangerous and makes it difficult "to avoid traffic." Seriously? Maybe it would be unusual at first, but I hardly think "unsafe" Millions of people have driven cars without power steering just fine, and to my knowledge they contain to sell several without it as well.
RS,
No engine, no power, no power steering.
In a car that is not equipped with power steering at all, like a classic car, sure you can pilot it just fine, it just is harder to steer.
However, for most modern cars if the power steering goes out you can't move the steering wheel much at all and in turn the wheels won't turn enough to get you out of a bad situation. Try turning your steering wheel with the engine off.
Lol, best part of post:
"Loss of power worsened for the next seventy five miles"
So, your $45,000 car has a severe loss of power and you go ahead and slog on for another 75 miles? Sounds like the same people that put 500 miles on a donut spare...
Where is the the recall for the MINI Coopers?????????? We are fighting the same battle but not only with the fuel pump but also with the timing belt tensioner! Shame on you BMW for leaving the Mini Cooper Crowd behind!
Here is the info for the Mini Cooper timing tensioner issue if anyone wishes to cover this story.
http://www.minicooperspeed.com/mini-cooper-cold-start-knocking-noise-issue-2007/
@RS,
Driving cars w/o ps is actually dangerous nowadays, particularly in US or other developed countries, for "modern" cars, even if they offer a low-level option of not having ps in their pkgs. U c, u r essentially handling vehicles - even a compact size h/b - of over 3000 lbs. Speed has also increased in many fwys from 50 to 65 or even 75 mi/hr. This is way different from the 80's Civics or many of the vehicles being sold in Asia/Europe nowadays but are built in, say, China, India, former Eastern European countries, etc.
BMW has known about this problem for a long time and has been offering extended warranties to cover the problems with the sub par, turbo lag plagued, twin turbo engine. It took media scrutiny for them to do the right thing. Consumer Reports just branded BMW as one of the most unreliable brands too. IMO what they offer is not worth the ultimate price of ownership.
I've had two BMW's and liked them both but after the numerous warranty issues and the failure of BMW to own up to the faulty run flat tires they stuck every one with I gladly went back to Lexus. My IS350 may not be as perfect as a 335i however in 72,000 miles I've had to take zero trips to my Lexus dealer as it's been bullet proof reliable and a ton of fun to drive. The Lexus Service Manager wouldn't know me from a total stranger and I like that.
I agree there is "lack of driver education." But then again where could you get the chance to educate people on knowledge like this? To be honest, even I didn't know failing fuel pump could eventually lead to power steering failure. But even then I know not to continue to drive a car with loss of power and a check engine light on for 75 more miles. I sense a feeling that this is why the twin turbo engine is now discontinued. I agree with @Zack that BMW probably knew of this problem early on and changed it for the next model year. I've been curious why they switched it and I wasn't exactly sure what was wrong with these engines. Now I know.
Oh and shouldn't BMW engineers at least think to not only have the check engine light on but notify drivers through the trip computer that their car is in limp mode?
Johnny,
I'm guessing a special light would be hard to integrate since its one engine in vehicles that sometimes feature 3 different engines etc.
good information,thank you
I think it's the season for recalls. All major companies have been doing them.
You can YouTube, BMW high pressure fuel pump and you will see hundreds of videos of people that have had this problem for a looooooong time. When it is failing the car will also take longer to start and idle rough. This is old. I can't believe they took so long to address it.
@ RS, this probably hasn't happened to you, so you don't understand. I encourage you to google BBC Watchdog's report on the MINI power steering failure. It will enlighten you. @ skippy dod, I could not agree more.
Will the new tuning be standard on cars delivered new as of this announcement? Similar to Ford's tuning package for the Mustang 5.0, I wonder why a company would charge more for increased performance if it comes at no detriment to reliability or fuel economy and is as cheap as a re-flash.