Bad News! - BMW 1 series worst reliability record ever

Consumer Reports has identified the BMW 1 series with the worst reliability record ever. The problem mainly lays with the High Pressure Fuel Pump (HPFP), but the real problem is the company can't find a fix for it. They have tried five iterations without any success.

BMW will replace it without any questions asked and has even given a 5-year 120K miles warranty on the part. The real problem is the car stops dead in its tracks when the HPFP fails. Imagine what's going to happen to you if you are in heavy fast freeway traffic?

I'm afraid I'm out of the market for a car with these dangerous problems.

Glad I bought a 128 for my wife to drive, as it does not have the HPFP.
That being said, my 335 has 40K miles and never a problem!
dhc3

Grain of salt here.... CR also rated the Chevrolet Prism lower then it's twin the Toyota Corolla years back, despite the cars being near identical and assembled with the same parts on the same assembly line.

HPFP is a 135 only issue - that does not mean that the entire 1 series is unreliable.

This was my reason for choosing the 128i... the NA inline 6 is a proven product, honed over many years, if not decades.

I am sure BMW will eventually get a handle on the HPFP problems... so I will look into getting a Turbo down the road.

This is one instance where you can curse the farm lobby and their push for higher ethanol in gas... the one singular factor behind the higher HPFP failure rate.

HFP problem is an N54 issue so it applies equally to the 135, 335, 535, X3 3.5si, X5 35, 535GT.

I doubt many bmw buyers follow CR's advice, if they did they would be buying Toyotas.

Originally Posted by BestCS

BMW will replace it without any questions asked and has even given a 5-year 120K miles warranty on the part. The real problem is the car stops dead in its tracks when the HPFP fails. Imagine what's going to happen to you if you are in heavy fast freeway traffic?

Firstly its a 10year 100k warranty on the part. Secondly, the car does not stop dead in its tracks. When it happened to me, I drove my car home (a distance of at lease 100 miles). I then drove it to the dealership the next day.

Originally Posted by adgrant

Firstly its a 10year 100k warranty on the part. Secondly, the car does not stop dead in its tracks. When it happened to me, I drove my car home (a distance of at lease 100 miles). I then drove it to the dealership the next day.

+1 ^
Car lost power at 6000RPM in 2nd gear while doing a quarter mile run at the track. Was driven home exhibiting long starting crank, but otherwise drove normally at lower RPMs. CEL was on with codes indicating fuel trim out-of-range. Driven to dealership the next day for no-questions-asked replacement the same day.

Does N55 tech use HPFP too? Has anyone with 2011 model 135i or 335i had this problem yet?

The problem with HPFP is known among 135,335 & 535, my area local dealer is buying back cars with such as problem, glad I gought a 128i no worry.

Originally Posted by mazdaspeed3KING

Does N55 tech use HPFP too? Has anyone with 2011 model 135i or 335i had this problem yet?

The N55 is a direct injection engine too, so yes it has an HPFP. However, I don't think there have been any confirmed failures of the N55 HPFP and the last replacement pump for the N54 I have only seen one reported but unconfirmed failure (which would actually be in the normal range of failure for any mechanical part).

And to OP... yeah... CR has always been my magazine of record when making car buying decisions...

Well I value CR's many years of research and testing greatly over your uninformed "opinion".

Originally Posted by BestCS

Well I value CR's many years of research and testing greatly over your uninformed "opinion".

That's great. Let us know what toaster you decide on.

Originally Posted by BestCS

Well I value CR's many years of research and testing greatly over your uninformed "opinion".

Then you should probably sell your BMW.

Originally Posted by adgrant

Then you should probably sell your BMW.

Mercifully the last time he appears to have purchased one was quite some time ago. As a result, I think you can safely add him to your ignore list. I probably will.

own a 335i, have had 7 BMWs since the 80s, and 9 in my immediate family.
I dont want to make excuses for BMW or the HPFP. It is terrible, potentially unfixable, and i would never let my wife or children drive the car. We have had failures, and undoubtedly BMW has said it would be fixed, but keeps happening.
This will affect resale value, and i am glad it will. My hope is that BMW will learn from this and put out a better product. I dont want to defend this, if this happened to MB or audi, you guys would be all over them maybe...
This is a very dark part of BMWs reliability history. I hope the new turbo engines can turn that around. It is a shame.

How does this affect 128i drivers?

Originally Posted by Peregrinus

How does this affect 128i drivers?

It doesn't, except for the fact that people, or magazines, will make blanket statements such as 'BMW I Series worst reliability record ever'. And that type of attitude can create an environment that could potentially have a negative effect on resale.

The 128 is a great car. Enjoy 'em.
dhc3

Originally Posted by thumper_330

The N55 is a direct injection engine too, so yes it has an HPFP. However, I don't think there have been any confirmed failures of the N55 HPFP and the last replacement pump for the N54 I have only seen one reported but unconfirmed failure (which would actually be in the normal range of failure for any mechanical part).

Thanks bud.. I hope the HPFP on the new N55 will behave better.... I'm not way too concerned about reliability anyway as the car will be my weekend ride. I got a ****ty vehicle to be used for work anyway (70+ mile round trip).

I'm pretty sure the 5 series has the same prolbem. I looked a t a preowned 5 twin turbo & the sales rep basically said it was traded in on the lemon law, but he assured me the issue was sloved & the car in addition to CPO warrenty had an extended warrenty on the pump as well. It was a mint car & the price was absurdly low, but I wanted a 3 series vert so I passed.

You know, it's funny. I once had a 2004 330i and that fuel pump crapped out on me one day. It happened to coincide with the increase of ethanol in the local gas. Regardless, my point is, I don't get all bent out of shape over it. Sure, I'd prefer my car to have 100% reliability, but I don't see it happening. It's not an excuse for BMW, just a fact of life. Hopefully, BMW continues to improve the pump, along with every other component of all their cars. Progress is good. In the meantime, I will enjoy my car, and should the fuel pump crap out, I will simply bring it to BMW and they will fix it.

Originally Posted by Peregrinus

How does this affect 128i drivers?

Gonna hurt the resale value as most used buyers won't know that the 128i doesn't have the problem.

Doesn't mater at all for leased cars.

Could help if you are shopping for a used one.

Originally Posted by The Thomas J

I'm pretty sure the 5 series has the same prolbem. I looked a t a preowned 5 twin turbo & the sales rep basically said it was traded in on the lemon law, but he assured me the issue was sloved & the car in addition to CPO warrenty had an extended warrenty on the pump as well. It was a mint car & the price was absurdly low, but I wanted a 3 series vert so I passed.

Its the same engine so it does of course have the same problem.

Originally Posted by Andrew*Debbie

Gonna hurt the resale value as most used buyers won't know that the 128i doesn't have the problem.

Doesn't mater at all for leased cars.

Could help if you are shopping for a used one.

It's going to hurt the resale of all BMWs if buyers are paying attention.

Consumers Reports is not a reliable source of information on cars. Not only is their "data" uncontrolled opinions from readers but they outright lie at times to make headlines. Remember the Suzuki Samuri. CR basically admitted they lied but proving intent is very difficult and that is what they rely upon to avoid paying penalties. They did something similar to the Izuzu Trooper. If you think they are credible, you need to check out these websites:

http://www.junkscience.com/consumer/...r_wsj0919.html

http://www.topspeed.com/cars/car-new...d-ar41569.html

They are dishonest. Their view of the truth is based upon their upper management being lawyers. To lawyers, the truth is whatever you can convince a jury it is.

When CR does testing and reports the results, they are worth listening to. Unfortunately they do no real tests on cars. They may have somebody drive them around and make comments but there are better places to get that sort of information. Their feedback is so limited (above average, what does that mean? How does it compare to a smaller or larger vehicle? What if the owner loves his vehicle and considers a trip to the dealer a month acceptable? What if that is not acceptable to you? CR is just not a good source of information. As you can probably tell, the thing that bothers me most is I do not think they are honest.

Jim

HONESTY?

It has not been CR that is dishonest! It has been BMW! The HPFP has a serious flaw!

It is hard to fault CR, when BMW has introduced a serious flaw into numerous model lines (1, 3, 5 series), and they only admitted fault when a newscast was going to rat them out.

They have claimed several times that the issue has been fixed - 5 different iterations of the HPFP... come on?

I don;t understand how this is an indictment of CR?!?!?!