[SkipSauls]

Yesterday while driving on the highway at 70 MPH I was greeted by the following on my dash:



I know that red == bad, but the car seemed fine and I assumed the battery was flat or something similar. As I neared my left turn off of the highway I slowed to around 25 or so MPH and started the turn, and to my surprise there was no power steering. I am thankful that I'm a strong man and have lots of experience in race cars without power steering, so I was able to make it through the turn okay. If my wife had been driving the car I'm not sure she would have avoided a wreck, and I'd bet it would catch many people up as it was very difficult to turn. At 70 MPH going straight there was nothing that felt wrong, but at slower speeds it was clear that this car needs power steering. Every little bump in the road upset the car, and if you think tramlining is bad in the car normally...

When I got home I checked the owner's manual and it said that the icon means that the battery and/or alternator is having problems. That's great, but I'd have appreciated a red steering wheel icon (maybe with a slash through it) to warn me about the potential issue. There was a big curb and a lightpost that I missed, but by less than I'd have liked.

This morning I started my careful drive to the dealer, and when I called them they said to watch the temperature as a belt may have failed. I watched the temp and it never went above the 230 mark that the 335i's are famous for. About a mile from the dealer the ABS and stability control lights came on, followed soon after by airbag, TPM, etc., and finally a yellow icon that looked like a gear. The car stumbled once about 1/4 mile from the dealer and I felt what must have been the "limp home" mode where there was very little power available. It limped to the dealer, where they're now looking at it. The SA said that he realized after my call that the 335i has an electric water pump, so overheating probably wouldn't have been an issue.

The car has a bit under 29K miles on it and has been fairly reliable, having had the HPFP replaced but never failing while I was on the road. Last Saturday I received one of those emails from BMW saying that my car was indicating it needed a "Condition Based Service" computed based on miles, etc. This was unrelated to the failure, but I'd have preferred an email or other warning from the car saying that it was about to have a potentially catastrophic failure.

I love BMW's and I'm looking to get a new one soon, perhaps a new 5 or X5, but this sort of thing certainly shakes my faith in them. I know for sure that I don't want to own one while they're out of warranty!

[ezatnova]

When all the lights act up and the battery icon shows up, it's likely the alternator. There's no way the car could show you warning lights for steering wheel, etc etc, when the alternator is failing. It would have to rotate through a million icons...the alternator screws with everything when it goes dead.

On a related note, my personal favorite experience with an alternator failing was when I knew mine was going, and I was revving the heck out of the car to keep it alive...I was about 2 miles from the dealership. Got caught in work traffic on a 4 lane busy road...fump...car dies. Then I have morons literally yelling out of their window for me to A) move, and B) turn my flashers on so I don't get crushed. Given the slow moving traffic, I had time to have some choice words in return.

[matrix76]

First, sorry to hear about this failure of yours, I too would be concerned about the cost after warranty. Let us know what the damage turns out to be. I, and others, I am sure would be curious to know , ,

[Atombyte]

Pretty sure you just threw the drive belt. No big deal and can happen in any car. As your battery drained, various systems (ABS, TPMS, etc...) probably shut off to keep power going to more critical systems.

[persian54]

damn... well good thing you got it home etc safely

i remember blowing the power steering in my old C230... it wasn't fun to drive

[FJc335]

Twice happened on my CLK cabrio where i was driving about 25mph, all of the sudden the power shut down, everything went dead, no steering, no lights, nothing. I had to restart the car and everything was fine. Lucky I wasn't going 65mph on a freeway. Happened again, so i decided its time to get rid of the car. I heard computer glitch was the blame.

[Atombyte]

Originally Posted by Railgun

Actually it is a big deal.

Apparently it's another design flaw. There is a TSB about it (don't ask me the # as I don't recall anymore). Basically the PS pump carrier may allow the pulley to smack the sub frame. Big problem. They replace the carrier if by finding physical damage while inspecting . I had the same thing happen. Fortunately I was only a block away from home on local side streets.

Didn't know any of that. Doing a search, there's only a few threads about this, so I must have missed them.

[noro]

For someone with lots of experience with race cars you seem to have gotten more scared in the moment that I would expect.

I am glad you made it ok though. Low voltage + no power steering = belt, that's pretty definite.

If I were you I would tow the car in and not drive it. You are VERY lucky that this car has an electric water pump. The fact that you were watching the OIL temp seems odd for someone with your experience. The water pump and therefore the water temp is key on cars with belt driven water pumps and if this car had belt driven pump you would be looking at head gasket replacement at the minimum.

keep us posted.

[SkipSauls]

Originally Posted by noro

For someone with lots of experience with race cars you seem to have gotten more scared in the moment that I would expect.

I am glad you made it ok though. Low voltage + no power steering = belt, that's pretty definite.

If I were you I would tow the car in and not drive it. You are VERY lucky that this car has an electric water pump. The fact that you were watching the OIL temp seems odd for someone with your experience. The water pump and therefore the water temp is key on cars with belt driven water pumps and if this car had belt driven pump you would be looking at head gasket replacement at the minimum.

keep us posted.

When I'm in a race car I have a very different mindset than when cruising on a public road. Driving a modern car on the road is easy and supposedly fairly safe, and BMW matches most others in terms of the various electronic nannies. Most race cars are fairly basic by comparison, and when driving one I know what I'm supposed to watch and how to react. If I were to drive a street car with the same heightened awareness and intensity as a race car, I'd be exhausted after every commute.

The SA said "watch the temperature" on the car, so I watched the gauge that is on the dash. None of the myriad idiot lights indicated that there was a water temperature issue. Obviously BMW doesn't think that water temperature is an issue on these cars or they'd have included a gauge, right?

[michaelthepsycho]

Sigh... It's these horror stories that really worry me... I'm taking delivery in three weeks >_< And the fact that BMW ranked only one place above the industry average in the 09 J.D. Power dependability studies isn't too reassuring either...

http://businesscenter.jdpower.com/ne...spx?ID=2009043

However, I, like you, have some track time and personal records under my belt... So, I'm not worried about when it breaks down. Hopefully, I'm one of the millions of owners who don't have a complaint. *Knocks on wood*

[jmsent]

Originally Posted by michaelthepsycho

Sigh... It's these horror stories that really worry me... I'm taking delivery in three weeks >_< And the fact that BMW ranked only one place above the industry average in the 09 J.D. Power dependability studies isn't too reassuring either...

http://businesscenter.jdpower.com/ne...spx?ID=2009043

However, I, like you, have some track time and personal records under my belt... So, I'm not worried about when it breaks down. Hopefully, I'm one of the millions of owners who don't have a complaint. *Knocks on wood*

Keep it in perspective. In all the posts on this and other BMW boards, how many times has this problem occurred? Cars fail. My 335 has been quite reliable after 4 years of ownership. I've had the HPFP issue, but I've never been stranded or had any other major problems.

[Dackelone]

Damm OP, does your oil temp really run that high all the time? Mine rarely breaks the 250'F mark even on the Autobahns.

[jmsent]

Originally Posted by noro

For someone with lots of experience with race cars you seem to have gotten more scared in the moment that I would expect.

I am glad you made it ok though. Low voltage + no power steering = belt, that's pretty definite.

If I were you I would tow the car in and not drive it. You are VERY lucky that this car has an electric water pump. The fact that you were watching the OIL temp seems odd for someone with your experience. The water pump and therefore the water temp is key on cars with belt driven water pumps and if this car had belt driven pump you would be looking at head gasket replacement at the minimum.

keep us posted.

I thought the power steering on the 335 was electric. I can't remember the last time I've heard of a serpentine belt being "thrown". My guess is something electrical, like the alternator.

[tim818]

Originally Posted by jmsent

I thought the power steering on the 335 was electric. I can't remember the last time I've heard of a serpentine belt being "thrown". My guess is something electrical, like the alternator.

335i = hydraulic
328i = electric

So failure on the serpentine belt and its mechanism is likely.

Tim

[noro]

Originally Posted by jmsent

I thought the power steering on the 335 was electric. I can't remember the last time I've heard of a serpentine belt being "thrown". My guess is something electrical, like the alternator.

Nope, water pump electric, power steering pump belt driven. The only model that I know that had/has fully electric power steering is Z4.

[noro]

Originally Posted by tim818

335i = hydraulic
328i = electric

So failure on the serpentine belt and its mechanism is likely.

Tim

The steering on 328i is belt driven too.

[noro]

Originally Posted by Dackelone

Damm OP, does your oil temp really run that high all the time? Mine rarely breaks the 250'F mark even on the Autobahns.

The bottom mark is at 210 and not at 250. I don't recall when they changed the markings.

[py335]

wow glad you came out ok OP and didnt get injured or anything. please keep us updated

[John 070]

Originally Posted by SkipSauls

I love BMW's and I'm looking to get a new one soon, perhaps a new 5 or X5,

If you go from a 335 to an X5, you can boast that you went from one car on the Consumer Reports avoid list, to another car on the Consumer Reports avoid list. I used to think people must be blithering idiots to drive a car on the avoid list when there are so many cars out there to choose from. I have no reasonable explanation as to how I wound up being one of those people with one of those cars in my garage!

[mechanixhorseman]

I had the same thing happen to me in a 3000GT while flying down a pretty steep and wind-y hill at night. Everything failed. Power steering, brakes, headlights, the works.

Was scary as shit, but fortunately brakes and steering still worked with a healthy amount of muscling.

[slowSwede]

When you get the clonk and the cog in the display, it will shut down shortly.

[ellipsis212]

Originally Posted by ezatnova

Got caught in work traffic on a 4 lane busy road...fump...car dies. Then I have morons literally yelling out of their window for me to A) move, and B) turn my flashers on so I don't get crushed. Given the slow moving traffic, I had time to have some choice words in return.

you gotta love people