335I Engine Malfunction

One of the reasons I joined this forum is to see if anyone else has experiended a similar problem I'm having with my 335I Coupe. I'm currently living in Germany and purchased my American spec 335I Coupe in Nov and have approx 4100 miles on it. While crusing at approx 80 MPH in 6 gear my car started to run rough, acting as if a spark plug was misfiring or water was in the gas tank. Eventually an engine fault indication appeared on my display and the words power reduced service engine also appeared. I took it to my local dealer and was informed there was a recall and I needed new software. The software was loaded and the probelm remained. I took it to a different dealer and they hooked it up to their computer and found nothing wrong. I will take it for a thrid time because I'm still having the problem. When driving agressively and shifting throught the gears at high RPMs I don't experience the problem only at crusing speed and lower RPMs. Has anyone else had this problem?

Possible fuel pump issue. Has been a fairly common problem on these engines.

I had the exact same problem you described to a T. The dealer replaced the fuel pump (one week back ordered) and the problem immediately went away.

My 335i Sedan was manufactured in December and delivered in early Februrary. I had the fuel pump replaced after 2000 miles when the car started taking extra long to crank over because the fuel in the line was flowing back while it sat. I also noticed that when I punched it at times the car studdered, as it were. It will take about a week to get the part, but your dealer will likely give you a loaner if you take it to the place you bought it.

Take it in stride. Not a big deal.

Good luck and let us know how it all turns out.

I have a similar problem. My car bucks/hesitates at low RPMs, especially when the engine is cold. I took it to the dealer yesterday morning, and they are working with BMW North America on diagnosing the problem. They said my car already has the most current software, and they think it is actually a fuel pump problem. I'm waiting to hear back from my service advisor for an update on the diagnosis. I hope I don't have to be without my car for long. I've only had it since Feb. 3.

Originally Posted by tenzig

I had the exact same problem you described to a T. The dealer replaced the fuel pump (one week back ordered) and the problem immediately went away.

Damn. A lot of people having trouble with their 335 engines?

My ZHP had that issue. Turned out to be a coil issue.

I think the fuel pump issues were related to an early build period but cars built recently shouldn't have this problem. I think if you search you can find the specific date range that was affected.

Originally Posted by SenSpeed

Damn. A lot of people having trouble with their 335 engines?

Jeezus, man....can`t you read???? It`s NOT an engine problem, it`s a fuel pump (or other auxiliary system component) problem....

Originally Posted by Fast Bob

Jeezus, man....can`t you read???? It`s NOT an engine problem, it`s a fuel pump (or other auxiliary system component) problem....

you mean like when you have a stroke it's not a brain problem but a blood vessel problem? dont be a dumbass. I can read just fine.

Originally Posted by SenSpeed

you mean like when you have a stroke it's not a brain problem but a blood vessel problem? dont be a dumbass. I can read just fine.

Reading and comprehension are two different things!

It's not the main fuel pump, it's the secondary high pressure fuel pump. It runs at a very high pressure so it's sort of not a huge shock they are dying. Apparently it's limited to a certain production run though, so once these are all sorted we should stop hearing about them.

It's a pretty easy fix too.

Originally Posted by picus

It's not the main fuel pump, it's the secondary high pressure fuel pump. It runs at a very high pressure so it's sort of not a huge shock they are dying. Apparently it's limited to a certain production run though, so once these are all sorted we should stop hearing about them.

It's a pretty easy fix too.

More than 30 psi??

I had the same symptoms (09/06 build) and needed a new HP fuel pump. It took 11 days to get BMWNA to approve the repair and get the part from Germany. As of a few weeks ago, there was a national backorder...

I just heard from my Service Advisor. He said that BMW NA approved the replacement of the high pressure fuel pump in my car. He said the part is on backorder, as expected, and he said I can come pick up my car and hold onto it until the part comes in. That way I don't have to drive the smoke stinking loaner they gave me. By the way, my car was a 12/23/06 build. Attached is the service bulletin I found on the problem. You can see that they now think the problem exists on engines produced between 6/06 and 12/1/06. And that is the ENGINE build date, not the car build date.

man you guys, this is no ok. fuel pump or not. at 3000 miles? Multiple failures? Give me a break. blind loyalty can only get in the way of improving a product. Look a ford and chevy. Their cars sucks and it had been ok because people still bought them. Now facing share loss they actually starting to make better cars.

So stop defending the cars defects and maybe BMW will start building more reliable cars. Wake up and realize that BMW didn't fully validate this vehicle and are using the first batch of owners to do the most basic of tests. Any sort of decent testing would have uncovered this.

Some of you guys are like the moms that defend their obnoxious kids without reason and point to other kids. It cracks me up every time I see a "Infiniti recalled 1000 times!" thread on the 3series board.

No one is defending them (at least I don't think?), we're just pointing out the facts behind this issue. It's a secondary high pressure pump, it effects engines built between June '06 and Dec '06, the repair itself is not difficult, nor is diagnosing it (it's a black or white yes or no code), but the part is on backorder so it can take some time. Yes, it sucks; same as the engine oil cooler being left out of auto's with ZSP sucks - but get some perspective, in terms of brand new model launches this one has been surprisingly uneventful.

Originally Posted by SenSpeed

Damn. A lot of people having trouble with their 335 engines?

No, that's not true...a small percentage of ppl on BMW Enthusiast Internet Forums are having some issues, but a majority of 335i owners are enjoying trouble-free driving!

FWIW -- to the OP, it does sound like the fuel pump problem.

Originally Posted by SenSpeed

So stop defending the cars defects and maybe BMW will start building more reliable cars. Wake up and realize that BMW didn't fully validate this vehicle and are using the first batch of owners to do the most basic of tests. Any sort of decent testing would have uncovered this.

I have yet to see a single post "defending the cars defects..." Although these cars are thoroughly tested before launch, I know that this is not uncommon for a first year car. I bought my 335i knowing that I would be one of the first owners and that there might be some teething issues. It's the price that we pay for being on the bleeding edge and having the newest toy in the neighborhood!

Originally Posted by roup1

I have yet to see a single post "defending the cars defects..." Although these cars are thoroughly tested before launch, I know that this is not uncommon for a first year car. I bought my 335i knowing that I would be one of the first owners and that there might be some teething issues. It's the price that we pay for being on the bleeding edge and having the newest toy in the neighborhood!

definition of defend here is blowing it off as something that is expected or writing a problem off as a minor bug. I would be angry and embarassed if my 46k vehicle started sputtering before I even finished the break-in.

I am a previous owner of a s2000, and on the forums whenever a cluth problem, or tranny problem appears everyone on the forums would be all over it. None of this "ah it's nothing" or "hey, it's just the teething process".

Of course it is always difficult to criticize your baby.

Hey,

I don't want to jinx my 335i coupe, but I'm at 4000 miles and it's running great. I did have a nail in one of my runflats and had to replace it..........$350- ouch.

Originally Posted by zim248

Hey,

I don't want to jinx my 335i coupe, but I'm at 4000 miles and it's running great. I did have a nail in one of my runflats and had to replace it..........$350- ouch.

knock on wood my friend!

i support the teething theory here honestly...people should know that in technically advanced cars the first MY has issues...i mean look at toyota/lexus! the haulted the launch of several new MY cars last year because there were pre-release issues not caught in initial testing!

fact of the matter is this...direct injection is a new technology for production cars...audi brought it in MY 2005.5 with the 2.0T FSI...and that has initial fuel pump issues fixed for MY 2006+...if you want ot lead the pack in ownership you MUST accept the fact that these things happen. furthermore, FI is new for BMW after decades of hiatus...there will be a few bumps in the road, and at the end of the day that is what a waranty is for.

by MY 2008 all of these little issues will have been resolved and it wil be back to normal for the 335, and time to run into issues with the new m3!

i agree that it's not acceptable for having more than average reliability issues on cars costing a lot more than average. can't german car companies learn from janpanese companies? there really isn't any excuse. and making new car owner wait for parts to fix problems is poor customer care. i'm impressed that most toyotas are built in the usa and are able to maintain their quality.

Originally Posted by quidycat

i agree that it's not acceptable for having more than average reliability issues on cars costing a lot more than average. can't german car companies learn from janpanese companies? there really isn't any excuse. and making new car owner wait for parts to fix problems is poor customer care. i'm impressed that most toyotas are built in the usa and are able to maintain their quality.

It's not the origin of the car, the lesson is to never buy a new product in its first year. I can assure you that my E39 (last year of production) has been way more reliable in its first 50k miles than my old 1997 Toyota Camry (first year of that bodystyle's production, and my car was built in Japan not Kentucky)

Originally Posted by SenSpeed

definition of defend here is blowing it off as something that is expected or writing a problem off as a minor bug. I would be angry and embarassed if my 46k vehicle started sputtering before I even finished the break-in.

I am a previous owner of a s2000, and on the forums whenever a cluth problem, or tranny problem appears everyone on the forums would be all over it. None of this "ah it's nothing" or "hey, it's just the teething process".

Of course it is always difficult to criticize your baby.

Maybe there is just a different perspective coming from BMW owners compared to, in your example, S2000 owners. I'm a pretty laid back guy. If my car had the fuel pump problem I'd make an appointment, drive a loaner for a week, and then get my car back fixed. If it were another brand of car I'd look at this issue the exact same way. If I continued to have problems then I would start to look at other solution; but right now this particular problem seems to be well handled. I don't know, that's just me.