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2008 Fuel Injector Recall Question

13K views 43 replies 18 participants last post by  nelsonjmbf 
#1 · (Edited)
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
 
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#2 ·
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.
 
#3 ·
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
 
#8 · (Edited)
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.
 
#7 ·
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.
 
#9 · (Edited)
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).
 
#13 ·
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!
 
#16 · (Edited)
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.
 
#18 ·
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?
 
#20 ·
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.
 
#21 · (Edited)
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.
 
#23 ·
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. :dunno:
 
#26 · (Edited)
Bank 1 vs Bank 2

I've been reading about injectors because I had one fail and am getting the "replace them all" recommendation. There is a campaign letter in another post that covers some injectors for certain cars.

A lot of posts mention Bank 1 or Bank 2 and replacing all injectors on one of the Banks. If these were V6 engines I would understand, but since they are Inline 6's can someone let me know what is meant by a "bank".
Thank you.
 
#33 ·
I emailed the SA the recall letter. He had his warrenty clerk look into it. The answer is that my car (08 335i) had the recall done in 2010, two of the injectors were replaced at that time. They said the recall is a "It is a one and done type inspection replacement" and that even though there is no time or mileage restriction, once they do the recall, anything that fails after that is on the owner. One of my other 4 failed so they replaced it with a new 079 injector. I drove it down the street got on it and it studdered went to limp mode and turned on the Service Engine light. He called me back the next day and said that the tech just informed him that you could not mix the newest injectors with old ones... I'm not sure why he didn't know this, or why the tech didn't jump up and down saying that it was useless to replace the one. Looks like I'm stuck paying for the other 5. He gave me a decent price break though. It seems to me that BMW has not really owned up to this issue. I can see if there was only an occasional failure, but it sounds like an ongoing common problem that has affected thosands of cars. I have had many cars both expensive and cheap that will go 100k miles with no major issues. This is my first BMW and it has a major problem at 66k miles, and they don't seem to care much.
 
#34 · (Edited)
I really feel for you here. I thought I had a bad interaction with my dealer. Yours is certainly much more upsetting. My SA immediately told me they couldn't mix injectors. A lot of people told me to not give in to the dealership in my situation; which may be a little different than yours. I hadn't owned the car that long. However, I was willing to go nuclear if need be, and I didn't even have to show my level of disappointment for them to take care of it and have BMWNA good will it. All I did was (thanks to the posters on this board) get info and then ask some questions that strongly implied that I wasn't going to get walked on without a fight. They took care of me after that.

EDIT: I just re-read your post and saw that you emailed them the recall. FWIW, my SA was caught off guard that I suddenly wasn't an ignorant moron on the topic (thanks, again, to the posters here) and started asking for me to give him info. At that point I think he knew I was losing my patience even though I was being polite, so I told him I didn't have time to do this for him. He said OK and the SM called me back with info much like what they gave you, but quickly told me they were taking care of it. He did not mention that is was 'one and done', but the service manager answered questions about how this recall could have transpired on my specific vehicle. I put some of that info in my final update of my thread.

I'd hate to see you lose out in a situation that is clearly a BMW-caused issue. You're not alone here. IMO, you should fight it. I wouldn't have, but the posters here gave me solid advice, take that all for what it's worth.
 
#35 · (Edited)
I read your story and you definately had more to stand on then I since you bought the car from them with their warrenty. I bought mine from a honda dealer and it came with a 15 day state required warrenty. The Service Engine light came on on day 2. The BMW dealer diagnosed it as a bad #2 injector and gave an estimate of $700 to replace it. Honda agreed to pay it after pressuring them and getting a total run around. When I picked it up and it didn't run right I new I was screwed. I'm sure I can't get Honda to pay for 5 more. If the BMW SA would have known and told me that you had to replace them all I might have had a chance of getting Honda to pay, but no way now. He could have also told me that I could still buy a new "261" version injector on-line for $140 and had them or someone else put it in, the car would have been fixed and Honda would have paid the bill. (this solution probably wouldn't last as long as all new style injectors but the car would have run fine). I am frustrated by how little these highly trained professionals know. A half day surfing the net and you can know more about a particular problem then they do and I'm not in the car business. They are there working on these 50 hours a week, you would think they would at least known about the incompatibility of the new version injectors. He said they are giving me the parts at almost cost and only charged two hours for the remaining 5 injectors, but I am still paying $1400 when I would not have had to pay anything if they were more educated. With Honda's $700 they are getting $2100 so I don't feel too bad for them.
 
#36 ·
That sucks. I think "HF" had a post in my thread about lemon laws. It sparked me to due some digging and, although not applicable in my situation, what I learned could be applicable in yours. I am not sure what state you are in. Look up your lemon laws. My state explicitly states that if the issue was present in the time period (30 days in my state) that it is still covered. I don't want to beat a dead horse, but I think you can get this payed for.

Like you, I didn't know a damn thing about this stuff before I came on these boards. Your writing on dealership lack of knowledge vs. individuals like us that don't know jack about cars is spot on.

It's up to you how much you want to fight for it. I wouldn't pay any amount of money (much less what you are being charged with) to make this go away without fighting it first. However, that is not a value judgement on whatever you decide. Some people don't want the hassle and have the money. I wouldn't judge anyone for that. To each their own.
 
#37 · (Edited)
This is from your attorney general's website:

https://www.azag.gov/consumer/cars

Used Car

Your car is covered by the Arizona Used Car Lemon Law if a major component of your car breaks before the earlier of 15 days or 500 miles after you buy the car.

If it breaks, you'll still have to pay up to $25 for the first two repairs.

The recovery for the consumer is the purchase amount paid for the car.
How many days has it been? If it is past that date you may be able to find whether it is still covered by reading more online or making a 2 minute phone call to an attorney (either of which is free).
 
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