ugh my fuel pump went out!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Add1ct]

Originally Posted by Kokanator135

Let me add to the list of the HPFP failures, as of tonight. Was out enjoying the balmy 23 degree weather in the 'burgh, and came out to leave a store I had been shopping at, started the car.....rough start, the idle was so rough the car was almost rocking side-to-side. Thought to myself, "Oh, sh!t", and sure enough, there goes the CEL. I even tried to "limp" to the next store under "reduced power" hoping I'd be able to at least get around, albeit with my flashers on with people swearing at me on the road for going so slow. Unfortunately, even after revving the heck out of it just to get going a little, the car stalled on me 3 times before getting to the next store, about a 1000 yds away....at least BMW Assist doesn't suck...

So this thread is particularly timely for me, especially about making sure I have part 881. And maybe I can take some solace in the face that GuardianAngel had less than a day turnaround time. I guess this is common enough now that dealers are keeping this part in stock routinely....

BMW....ISSUE A F@$%ING RECALL ALREADY!!! Enough is enough....

Sorry for venting....the flatbed took 2.5hrs to get to me...missed dinner. You don't want to be around me when I've missed dinner...

BTW, my car is bone stock except for cosmetic mods. Don't plan on doing anything to the engine until I'm out of warranty...Think it would be worth asking about the latest ECU version? Is there any benefit?

man that sucks, sounds like a frustrating night, can I ask how many miles you have on the car?

[Kokanator135]

Little over 10k. On the plus side, I got the car back same day and she seems to be running fine. My SA stated that they were told it was just a "bad batch" of pumps to be replaced if/when they failed. The "bad batch" should have already been taken out of circulation with regards to replacement parts. The dealer had a rental car arranged in case the car wasn't finished that day, so I can say I'm very pleased with the dealer.

As an aside, I had been promised some all weather mats for the car when I originally got it, but my CA never followed up with me, despite 2 follow-up emails. Turns out, he had been let go, and the sales manager gave them to me with no problem, just before a nice big snow. Redemption for this dealership all around, in my eyes (can you tell they weren't looking too good before?)

[Judge]

Anybody know what month they started installing the newer pump?

[CAMike]

I've been having long starts for awhile but got the limp mode yesterday (5400 miles)...I'm taking it in today and will ask about getting an 881 but I'm overseas and not sure how this will all workout. Hopefully it'll be done right without problems. Will let you know how it goes.

When sitting at a light (windows up, radio off) can anyone else hear a deep beep kinda sound...maybe could be the fule pump as car idels...when I rev the engine, the sound become constant. I didn't notice it when I first took delivery but have noticed it lately. My wife hears it too so I know it's not just me. Anyway, will be interesting to see if the sound goes away if they replace my fuel pump.

[nobbyv]

imdanomite,
Is your dealership replacing any of these proactively by request, or is it always a "wait until it fails" type issue?

[Alpine135]

Hey im wondering if my horrible gas mileage could be attributable to a failing pump. My car yesterday the idle was fluctuating pretty noticeably at stop light then when i stepped on the gas it hesitated for about 1 second then everything was ok. Also this morning when getting on the highway i noticed the same thing when the car kicked down to a lower gear for passing the first second its almost as if it had water or something in the fuel kind of feel then all was ok. Could these be signs of a failing pump?

[raolc]

Is there anything I can do to kill my gas pump while preserving everything else?? *Half joking btw, doubt there is such a thing*

[CAMike]

Well...it was my HPFP...got the car back today but they had to order the part and I'll take it back next week to have the part replaced. They were amazed that I was able to diagnose the problem correctly and I even provided the part number for the replacement pump. As 90% of the BMW's sold in Europe are diesel, they don't have as much experience with the N54 as they have in the states so they were just floored I knoew what I was talking about. Anyway, looking forward to getting this fixed next week

[arrutled]

Originally Posted by Judge

Anybody know what month they started installing the newer pump?

If your car was produced before july 08 you might have the bad batch of fuel pumps. They began installing the upgraded fuel pump on the new cars in july.

[Upgrade+]

Ha, of course. I received mine in July 08. So far mine sees ok, but it does seem like it doesn't pull as strong like before.

[CAMike]

I too received my car in July 08. Mine was great for about 2 months and then the hard starts happened and I could hear the pump running at stop lights both of which started at the same time. It's done that for about 4 months but until it threw a code this week, the dealer wouldn't do anything. At least it's getting fixed. I have heard of people with build dates after July that have had this problem too as BMW tried using remanufactured (though still "new") pumps for a while before going to the 881 part numbered pumps that are now being used in both the initial build and new replacements. If you're having to hold in the start button for more than a quick second (the engine cranks several times before starting) you too will be visiting the dealer sometime soon. More likely a when rather than an if.

[babu88]

What are the symptoms of fail pumps? I was driving my 08 128i on the highway today. All of sudden engine lights comes on and the engine vibrates when i push on the gas pedals. When I exit the highway the engine light went off and everything back to normal.

[Squidbilly]

Originally Posted by CAMike

When sitting at a light (windows up, radio off) can anyone else hear a deep beep kinda sound...maybe could be the fule pump as car idels...when I rev the engine, the sound become constant. I didn't notice it when I first took delivery but have noticed it lately. My wife hears it too so I know it's not just me. Anyway, will be interesting to see if the sound goes away if they replace my fuel pump.

I have a droning whine that's cycles every second or so...probably the same deep beep you're describing. The sound started a few weeks ago but I haven't had any rough starts yet. Anyone else with a failed fuel pump get this sound?

[Tom K.]

Originally Posted by babu88

What are the symptoms of fail pumps? I was driving my 08 128i on the highway today. All of sudden engine lights comes on and the engine vibrates when i push on the gas pedals. When I exit the highway the engine light went off and everything back to normal.

Haven't all the HPFP failures been on the twin-turbo motors?

Tom

[Red135]

Yes.

[BimmerMeUp]

My failed fuel pump at 6600 miles went like this. I was driving on the freeway, accelerating to merge, when it starts to run rough and is low on power. Flooring the accelerator pedal felt like my wife's car, nothing there. When I got off the freeway, I pulled up to a stop light and the engine is running really rough, shaking the car. I turn off the car, and immediately restart it, and everything seems fine.

Later in the day it starts poorly, the starter stays engaged for four or five seconds before it catches and starts and it is running rough again. Yellow engine light it lit. Once again a restart clears the problem and I am able to drive home. Next day (on the way to the dealer) same thing, slow start but drivable.

I was able to drive it in for service. Seattle BMW did great work, got the car in and out on a Saturday, fuel pump replaced, car washed, running as good as ever. No complaints. The service advisor mentioned that there is a service bulletin (just finding out about this myself, so I don't know if that has been confirmed here), and that they had the part for my car today because they are scheduled to do another car Wednesday (and can get the part back in again in time). Service advisor was super attentive and made sure to mention to me that if I included my email in my service record, I'd get a survey that would allow me to send any message directly to BMW engineering. New fuel pump part no. ends 881.

Has someone posted a poll on this somewhere? How many cars have had a HPFP failure that have posted here? (Yes, I'll use search, just asking.)

[Lester]

Originally Posted by Judge

Anybody know what month they started installing the newer pump?

Here is what Realoem has posted on this topic:

01 - HIGH-PRESSURE PUMP -1- 07/2008 - 13537537320
01 - RMFD HIGH-PRESSURE PUMP -1- 08/2008 - 13517585655
01 - HIGH-PRESSURE PUMP -1- 13517592881

It seems like the old pump was in place up to July '08 - there is the new pump p/n ending in 881.

If you get a replacement ending in 655 - then it looks like you are getting a reman'd old one. Nice work, BMW!

[Lucky1]

So I've been reading this forum for a while and there are dozens of posts about these fuel pumps failing. Other than the annoyance of having them replaced and the possibility that even the new parts may be defective as well are there any long term implications for this problem? I hear of long cranks to the engine and loss of power, shaking, etc. Will one or two of these events cause long term damage to the engine requiring expensive maintenance?

It seems to me that if a recall isn't issued once the warranty is up you will be replacing fuel pumps at your expense if BMW continues to manufacture defective units. I wonder if it is the units themselves that are defective or if there is a serious design flaw in the fuel injection system.

[BimmerMeUp]

I'm not too worried about it myself. The symptoms I experienced were all consistent with lack of fuel. Running too lean for a long time can toast stuff, but I think the lack of fuel was only occurring during hard acceleration and during start, and some idle possibly causing missing fires. It isn't like there was ignition while the crank was in the wrong position. There really is no reason for long term damage.

As for the cause, I suspect BMW manufactured/bought a bunch of crappy fuel pumps, and are in the process of dealing with that. Keep in mind that this kind of system has to run at a very high pressure. I haven't heard of an official tech bulletin, although I think my service adviser mentioned one. This costs BMW money, so you can bet they are interested in getting the crappy fuel pumps out of distribution as soon as possible.

[Alpine135]

okay i think mine is going. For the last two days my car has been idling rough and on two ocassions mild shake. Well today i started up the car and drove off normally. I got the the light and the tach dove down to about 600 rpm or so and the car missed badly almost to the point of stalling and then the needle rose back to 1,000 rpm and i gave it a bit of gas and no warning lights came on. Now i get in the car and fire it up and everwhere i come to a stop i feel as if the car wants to die on me and you can feel a slight vibration, i dont want to get stranded with a dead pump. My car has a June build date. But since no warning lights came on i doubt BMW will get a fault code. Any suggestions???

I had similar problem with my '07 GTi Turbo with the Direct Injection and they replaced the pump. Could this be related to Direct Injection Engines regardless of the make???

[Dave]

does anyone from 2008 Jan build have HPFP issue?
mine is still going strong at 7k.

It seems that anything after april build seems to have def. HPFP issues.

[Dr_Jones]

ive got 8 k on the latest and greatest pump and it seems that every night on my ride home from work idle just gets progressively more rough.

Am trying to schedule my girl a conjugal visit for tomorrow.

scheisse