2008 Fuel Injector Recall Question

Dear Forum Mates:

I purchased about a year ago, a 535 XI wagon. Last week, while on a ski trip in Vermont, my fuel injectors failed. I had no choice but to cause the car to be towed 70 miles to the only available BMW dealership in Burlington Vermont. I was told that although only 2 of the fuel injectors were bad, I had to replace all six of them!! It cost me about $2,500 in total. The dealer told me that all 6 injectors had to be replaced because of changes that the manufacturer made to the injectors, which now requires that they all be replaced, rather than just the ones which were defective. When I spoke with BMW, and asked them to cover part of the cost due to a change caused by them, they said "We understand. Sorry, can't help you." Great. I now see that perhaps my car was part of an overall recall for this item. Can anyone provide me with some more information on this issue. It seem that the position which BMW has advanced is most unfair, immoral and unconsciounable. It is as though you have one bad tire, the rest are fine, but because of some change the manufacturer made, you must now replace all four tires. Its a win win for BMW, but a profound loss for the consumer. Thanks very much.

Gary Mitchel Gash, Esq.
Gashlaw@aol.com

Unfortunately there is no recall for the fuel injectors, the recall was for the High Pressure Fuel Pump. Therefore, while not fair, it is not a recall and must be a Service Bulletin, which is different than a recall. They have updated the HPFP and Fuel Injectors, and while they do warranty the HPFP for 120k miles there is no such warranty extension for the Fuel Injectors.

Here is a quote from Boyaazaa (apoligies for the spelling)

The injector recall only applies to certain injectors (if i recall correctly the injectors for the n54 used up to 10/08 build date) and have specific part numbers that are associated with it. Have the dealer check the service tsb to ensure you are good. Otherwise they won't change them out unless you have a problem like I had and they changed all 6 injectors for me last month.

My N54 was built in 2007, 5 or the 6 injectors were replaced without charge

I got some news for you... The injectors were updated again about 3 weeks ago. These new injector part numbers are not compatible with any of the older ones. So if you have another bad injector in the future, you will have to replace all six again!

During the HPFP recall I believe three of my injectors were found to be failing but at that time my car was still in warranty. They were replaced at that time.

There is no logic to the action on the fuel injectors. Sometimes it's ok to replace less than the full set, but now it is not?

For this thread to be more useful, listing the fuel injector part number(s) would help. I had 3 injectors (bank 2) 13-53-7-585-261 replaced in May 2012 at no charge after the warranty had expired December 2011. The bank #1 injectors with the same part No. were replaced October 2011 under warranty. Car has been running OK since May 2012.

Originally Posted by Mac Hadley

There is no logic to the action on the fuel injectors. Sometimes it's ok to replace less than the full set, but now it is not?

BMW is using a newer injector now and if you replace one in the bank then all 6 have to be replaced if you have the old ones. I took my car in last month due to misfiring and they replaced one bank of injectors (eventhough I only had one bad injector). Luckily i had a misfire in the other bank when they tested the injectors and they replaced my other bank of injectors.

Latest: 13538616079
Previous: 13537585261
Original: 13537565138

You can mix-match previous and original but not the latest, BTW the latest is twice as much @ $240 a piece..
I think the latest injector is shared with N63 V8 TT.

Oh well I miss the recall for free, so now all 6 needs to be replaced everytime any of us have injector problems (My guest, due to cost BMWNA will say no good-will out of waranty no more).

Originally Posted by HPIA4v2

Latest: 13538616079
Previous: 13537585261
Original: 13537565138

You can mix-match previous and original but not the latest, BTW the latest is twice as much @ $240 a piece..
I think the latest injector is shared with N63 V8 TT.

Oh well I miss the recall for free, so now all 6 needs to be replaced everytime any of us have injector problems (My guest, due to cost BMWNA will say no good-will out of waranty no more).

That's the info I was waiting for. Thanks!
Not looking forward to another injector replacement.

Originally Posted by HPIA4v2

Latest: 13538616079
Previous: 13537585261
Original: 13537565138

You can mix-match previous and original but not the latest, BTW the latest is twice as much @ $240 a piece..
I think the latest injector is shared with N63 V8 TT.

Oh well I miss the recall for free, so now all 6 needs to be replaced everytime any of us have injector problems (My guest, due to cost BMWNA will say no good-will out of waranty no more).

Yep those new ones are pretty expensive and I'm glad I've got 2 more yrs left on my warranty.

thank you for the prompt response. I appreciate it.

Gary Mitchel Gash, Esq.

I just got my route 66 warranty in Jan and last week used it for new injectors. Started up my car in the morning and got violent shaking and white smoke. The injectors in bank two were bad however due to the new part nr which does not allow for mixing with old i was authorized to replace all 6. Glad that i got route 66 as they covered all expenses to include towing and a rental.
Also the indy shop i use in el paso is Moroni's BMW and they do amazing work and are very friendly. Moroni himself will let you go in the back as he runs diagnostics and explains all the faults and he is bmw master technician certified!

Originally Posted by polski7

I just got my route 66 warranty in Jan and last week used it for new injectors. Started up my car in the morning and got violent shaking and white smoke. The injectors in bank two were bad however due to the new part nr which does not allow for mixing with old i was authorized to replace all 6. Glad that i got route 66 as they covered all expenses to include towing and a rental.
Also the indy shop i use in el paso is Moroni's BMW and they do amazing work and are very friendly. Moroni himself will let you go in the back as he runs diagnostics and explains all the faults and he is bmw master technician certified!

People that have to pull and replace working injectors because they do not match should consider reselling the used injectors. The profit is there because of the expense of new injectors. Again get the part #s as those are needed to match up like injectors.

Originally Posted by German Steel

People that have to pull and replace working injectors because they do not match should consider reselling the used injectors. The profit is there because of the expense of new injectors. Again get the part #s as those are needed to match up like injectors.

Who would buy working versions of injectors that have failed? The injectors are being replaced for a reason, can't imagine anyone would want to go backwards and get some that were known to be prone to failure.

Originally Posted by pjinca

Who would buy working versions of injectors that have failed? The injectors are being replaced for a reason, can't imagine anyone would want to go backwards and get some that were known to be prone to failure.

Because not everyone can afford the $1300+ for six of the new version, even if it is a little better. The reason BMW replaced them has nothing to do with the N54 engine. It's because the N63 (V8) engine had issues with the older version and it's simply easier to produce and stock one product compatible across multiple product lines then a version specific to just the N63. I bought one of the old version from Tischer/BMW of Silver Spring as a spare just in case I need to replace one down the road. If I have to replace more than that I'll bite the bullet and replace all six.

Originally Posted by pjinca

Who would buy working versions of injectors that have failed? The injectors are being replaced for a reason, can't imagine anyone would want to go backwards and get some that were known to be prone to failure.

The only injectors avail are the new series as the dealers sent back the old. If one injector goes bad, would you want to try an $80 used injector or pay for 6 of the new series injectors at greater than 1 grand? Just an option I am sure someone would rather do.

Originally Posted by DJtoad

Because not everyone can afford the $1300+ for six of the new version, even if it is a little better. The reason BMW replaced them has nothing to do with the N54 engine. It's because the N63 (V8) engine had issues with the older version and it's simply easier to produce and stock one product compatible across multiple product lines then a version specific to just the N63. I bought one of the old version from Tischer/BMW of Silver Spring as a spare just in case I need to replace one down the road. If I have to replace more than that I'll bite the bullet and replace all six.

So you agree there is a market for the used injectors maybe?

Originally Posted by German Steel

So you agree there is a market for the used injectors maybe?

I personally wouldn't buy a used injector since you don't know how used or abused it is. Now if there is a way to find the stash of new older injectors then that would work. I guess it really doesn't matter to me since the dealer just changed out all 6 of my injectors last month.

Buying a used injector is a bad idea. If one is trying to save money then they probably also will not pay to have the ECU properly coded for the injector which means it still won't work as well as it should.

A skilled DIY enthusiast that can code their own it might make sense to try but I wouldn't promote the idea of selling used injectors to novice forum members so they can try a save a few bucks.

Originally Posted by NoQuarter

Buying a used injector is a bad idea. If one is trying to save money then they probably also will not pay to have the ECU properly coded for the injector which means it still won't work as well as it should.

A skilled DIY enthusiast that can code their own it might make sense to try but I wouldn't promote the idea of selling used injectors to novice forum members so they can try a save a few bucks.

While I can certainly see your point, I don't think most novice members would try to tackle replacing an injector without seeing what's involved, including the need to code the ECU with the "new" injector's value using INPA. Besides, it's not just to save "a few bucks" but well over a thousand. That said, the injector tips are extremely delicate and have to be carefully protected. New ones come with a metal cap to both protect the tip and to keep the o-ring compressed. Even if the injector was good when it came out of the car, it wouldn't take much to damage it so I'd have to think twice before buying one from someone I don't know.

Dealer just replaced all six of mine under CPO w latest part number. No hassle at all. Although the list price on my receipt was $327 ea!!

Originally Posted by andymax

Dealer just replaced all six of mine under CPO w latest part number. No hassle at all. Although the list price on my receipt was $327 ea!!

Hmmmm Let me think about it here. If two out of six fuel injectors are bad, and now I am looking at nearly 2 grand to replace all six.

or

A friend on the forum just happens to have two of them for sale say like for $160 each with a work guarantee.

I think I would want to at least try installing the used injectors that match the other four working injectors in my car for a savings of $1,840. That is a lot of dough!!

But I am just a beginner on the forum......just trying to fiqure it out.

Originally Posted by German Steel

Hmmmm Let me think about it here. If two out of six fuel injectors are bad, and now I am looking at nearly 2 grand to replace all six.

or

A friend on the forum just happens to have two of them for sale say like for $160 each with a work guarantee.

I think I would want to at least try installing the used injectors that match the other four working injectors in my car for a savings of $1,840. That is a lot of dough!!

But I am just a beginner on the forum......just trying to fiqure it out.

If you plan on keeping your BMW for a while then I recommend you invest in an extended warranty. My rte 66 warranty cost broke even with the replacement of 6 injectors.

Originally Posted by polski7

If you plan on keeping your BMW for a while then I recommend you invest in an extended warranty. My rte 66 warranty cost broke even with the replacement of 6 injectors.

I agree 100% with your good idea. The extended warrenty is the first thing I bought after i got the car. I just hope mine is as good as yours. Better yet, I hope I never have to find out.