BMW Announces Voluntary N54 Engine (HPFP) and X5 Recall

[nordique14]

Originally Posted by rsjean

The numbers might be too small based on consumer sales but you'd think BMW would step up and make some sort of commitment to the company to avoid all the continued bad press as well as covering both the labor and the parts cost to execute on the extended warranty of a defective part.

First HPFP related death and BMW will realize they could have bought cp-e and still been better off financially.

Could not agree more. Too bad BMW is acting like an ostrich with their head stuck in a hole.

[ptack]

Was in for normal service today and asked about the recall. The dealer said they didn't have a directive from BMW to replace them yet - ha. I would have insisted if I had any symptoms. Last week I did have some long cranks, but this week everything is back to normal. They are fixing some rock chips for free though.
On the other hand they stuck me with a Camry loaner.

[RPM90]

Originally Posted by rsjean

The numbers might be too small based on consumer sales but you'd think BMW would step up and make some sort of commitment to the company to avoid all the continued bad press as well as covering both the labor and the parts cost to execute on the extended warranty of a defective part.

First HPFP related death and BMW will realize they could have bought cp-e and still been better off financially.

True.
However, we don't know that CPE's pump was any better.
Since there has been NO word from them on their pump, it's possible that their pump didn't solve the problem, especially if the HPFP failure is not just from the pump itself. It's possible that the HPFP is the biggest and obvious symptom of a greater disease.

So even if there were a beefier "better" HPFP available, it would only be a matter of time until it failed too.
Seems that's what is happening with BMW's pumps too. They have had 3-4 revisions of the HPFP and they have all failed.
It leads one to consider that there is a greater problem.

If it were just the pump or it's construction, then changing the manufacturer should have solved it, or even changing the actual part that fails should have solved it, or the other things they tried.
The N55 is a new engine and some HPFP's have failed there as well.
What is it with that fuel system that is causing the pumps to fail?
I'm sure BMW are scratching their heads too.
Maybe the have found the problem but the problem might be the greater fuel system itself, and replacing that whole thing will cost more than just replacing pumps? I don't know.

But, since they are using the N54 and N55 in current models and future models, BMW must be developing a new fuel system. It doesn't make sense that they would just accept continuous HPFP replacement for every turbo engine until 120k miles.

It's also possible that the actual failure rate is not as high as some believe, and it will cost BMW less in the long run to just replace pumps as they happen. The problem I, and I'm sure others have, is that if BMW is claiming a "recall", then that's what it should be.
Seem BMW is playing word games so that "recall" means "we'll replace the HPFP in any car that shows any documented/coded issue", which is what the regular warranty does. The only difference now, from what I understand, is that the tech's won't have to go through the long documentation/testing process like before. That too is not a "recall".

I know, I'm a broken record at this point, so I'll just stop now.

[nordique14]

A couple days back, I brought the car in for long cranks but no codes. They upgraded the software that day but could not replace the pump without authorization. The next day they called the regional rep and apparently he quickly authorized replacement of the pump. So although the tech still needs codes to replace the pump without authorization, it seems pretty easy for the service adviser to get authorization if they ask.

[schmeah]

Originally Posted by TrackRat

It would seem to me that BMW should be up front and explain to all exactly what they are doing to address the HPFP failures on both the N54 and N55 models - considering the 2011 models are not included in the recall announcement. If BMW hasn't come up with a reliable HPFP and appropriate system changes, do they really have a proper solution for the HPFP safety issues?

I would imagine that they have not included the 2011 models in the recall because as far as I can tell there is perhaps one documented N55 failure, which doesn't exactly justify a recall. The N55 has been out for nearly eight months. By eight months there were many reports of N54 failures. As others have pointed out, even if it is the same pump, a change in its interaction with any one of numerous components may be the basis for the "fix". A think, however, for the sake of transparency, it is incumbent upon BMW to provide full disclosure as to what the nature of the problem was, and what specifically constitutes a "fix".

[135i Cabrio]

When I took the car in for the seatbelt recall for which I got a letter the dealership advised that there was a recall for programming and and taillight gaskets as well which they did. Today I had the car in for an oil change and was advised that there was now a recall to replace the HPFP. No questions about symptoms (I've had none at 21K+ miles).

[robian]

Just went through most of these posts. The HPFP issue knocked the 135i off my 2010 buy list but I will be forgiving in 2011 if BMW comes out with a defining solution.

So, I just noticed on wikipedia this: "On the 26th of October, 2010, immediately following an ABC News story about HPFP failures, BMW announced a recall of vehicles with the pump in question from manufacturing years 2007-2010. The finalized replacement part number is thought to be 1351 7 616 446 HPFP with positive results reported thus far."

Is this the pump being used in the N55 or is it something else? Has the HPFP problem been solved?

[gp135]

I had a similar proble with the dealer not knowing about the recall.. However after dodgy ipod killed my battery, I found i had a new battery and fuekl pump.. Its noisy as all hell..
But still no admission of the change of pump..

[Prof T]

Hey, 10 years/100k sounds good to me.

[m981addicts]

Rec'd my "IMPORTANT: RECALL NOTICE" letter today from BMW. Model years 2007-2010. N54 HPFP Campaign Number 10E-A02

"BMW will repair your vehicle free of charge for parts and labor. Based on the individual service history of the vehicle, your authorized BMW center will inspect and replace (if required) the high-pressure fuel pump (including the low-pressure fuel sensor) and/or will reprogram your vehicle's engine control unit. Additionally, to minimize any inconvenience and assure your satisfaction, other fuel system components may be inspected and replaced, if required. The complete repair may take approximately one day."

[Mattcali]

got my recall in the mail today - i live in California. 1. fuel pump; 2. software programing. further they (BMW) said for CA there is a, "tie-in" with emissions mandates so that if i do not perform the recall i likely will not be able to register my 135i this year for tags. practially speaking, i have had NO problems at all with my fuel pump and engine since i leased my 135i new in Dec of 09 - so i would not want to recall performed if i had a choice - however it looks like i have no choice and must let a dealer tear into my engine and replace the fuel pump and mess with my ignition software. i hope my car does get messed up with all of the major work so it breaks all the time in the furture now - just after i had decided i wanted to keep the vehicle after lease end. there is no way im going to hold onto this car if i wind up stuck in the shop all the time with all this major work. you know, they go in to "fix" one thing and bust two more things . . . this, "Murphy's law" has nearly always been my experience generally in the many vehicles i have owned in my life (new and used). hopefully this will be an exception - glad i am leasing for now, i may just turn this puppy in afterall now.

[Mattcali]

excuse me, i should "preview" my posts before hand. what i am saying is that i hope that my 135i DOES NOT wind up stuck in the shop and perpetually broken due to the major job the feul pump and software recall entails. i did not intend my big monthly lease payments to be merely for the privledge of driving a BMW loaner car for my shop bound car - i hope that this will not the case here as it has been most of my life for these kinds of things. glad i am leasing in the meantime, lets see if BMW can get their act together - i sincerely hope so as i really did want to keep the car but until proven otherwise i have second thoughts on that for sure.

[Xios135]

Got my letter yesterday.

[m981addicts]

Done. New HPFP #170

13-51-7-616-170

[Strykaas]

446 you mean ?

[m981addicts]

^full part no.

[scs]

Originally Posted by m981addicts

Done. New HPFP #170

13-51-7-616-170

interesting, just had mine done yesterday and ended up with the "446" unit and 5 new injectors...

[fun2drv]

Reprogramming and new pump "446" today. The reprogramming took my car back to it's "virgin" days. It was a pain to get everything back to where it was this morning prior to dropping it off at the dealer...

[JHOOPS2]

I got the 446 pump yesterday.

[GotM]

446 was installed on mine for the recall.

[Mattcali]

just got my 2010 135i back from the dealer (not the one i leased it from b/c they have horrible service). replaced the fuel pump and did the reprogramming. i never had problems with the origional pump but they replaced it anyway. car drives just fine - still as powerful as before all that work, maybe they bumped the mapping a tad thereby altering the drive ever so slightly but its a push and shove, not a loss in power which would be a big difference to me - so, at least in my case, the reprogramming did not make my car feel less powerful, and i drive the car hard as you have to in all the LA street and freeway traffic. so it comes down to my main point of dissatisfaction with my 135 is that there is, i guess, unfixable ratteling coming from the headliner (after a while you tune it out but its bad, my e46 M3 [8 yrs old 85K] still has NO sqeaks or rattels), and the sterio is just horribly quiet (easy to max out) and poor quality - sucks (and i have premium package, sport package w/ nav, HD radio, etc.) other than that i still really like the car and plan to keep it, unless it starts quitting on me or other things start breaking - who knows with these 135s - it seems some lucky owners get near perfect ones (like my M3) and others get quirky ones that do strange annoying things that just cannot be fixed at any center - why couldnt BMW have made these cars right? design wise they are very far ahead reflecting a sincere effort but some of the quality is simply poor (they are like mustangs this way). to me these issues are on the cusp of being lived with if it proves to be a dependable driver - they are truly thrilling when they work right and you get attached.

[rudyv1]

Does anyone know which HPFP the 1 Series M Coupe comes with?