The lawsuit alleges that in 2006, BMW announced with much fanfare the development of its new N54 twin turbo engine. BMW touted the new engine as incorporating state of the art technology that included "twin” turbo chargers and a newly developed fuel injection system. BMW represented to the public that this new technology would eliminate "turbo lag,” a common problem in turbocharged vehicles, and that its new state of the art fuel injection system greatly increased the performance and fuel efficiency of its vehicles.
According to the complaint, the new engines that were so highly touted by BMW in fact contain serious design flaws that render the vehicles unsafe to drive. There are essentially two design flaws at the center of the case. First, the plaintiff asserts that BMW’s new fuel injection system that supposedly incorporates a new "state of the art” fuel pump has design defects that cause the pumps to malfunction at an alarming high rate. As a result, many BMW owners have had to repeatedly replace their high pressure fuel pumps (HPFP), sometimes within 1,000 miles of vehicle ownership.
Lead attorney on the case, Stuart Talley of Kershaw, Cutter & Ratinoff, noted, "When these fuel pumps fail, the car comes to a complete stop or loses substantial power. If this happens while someone is driving on a highway at high speeds, this can create a very serious safety hazard. We believe the defect is so significant that it makes these cars unsafe to drive.”
The second problem relating to BMW’s fuel pump relates to its turbo chargers. Specifically, the complaint alleges that owners of the affected vehicles were told that BMW’s new engine had eliminated "turbo lag.” "Turbo lag” is the delay between the time that driver of a vehicle presses the accelerator and the time that turbo chargers on the engine essentially "kick in” to provide added power to the engine. However, shortly after the vehicles were released, BMW began to receive complaints from owners that they were hearing strange noises from the engine along with a delay in throttle response. BMW eventually discovered that these problems were the result of a design defect in the turbo chargers.
Plaintiffs allege, however, that rather than repair the defective turbo chargers, BMW implemented a secret "software fix” to hide the problems from consumers. Any time a consumer brought their BMW in for repair or routine maintenance, BMW would "upgrade” the vehicle’s software. This software tweak kept the turbo chargers from operating at full capacity, ensuring that their defects would go undetected. Consequently, consumers noticed a decrease in their vehicles’ performance.
Understandably, owners aren't happy. A number of user generated petitions, forums and blogs have cropped up criticizing BMW for their handling of the issue. As reported on the BMW Blog, several consumers reported their BMW's going into "limp mode." They also reported excessive power loss and "turbo lag,” the very condition BMW said it had eliminated with its "state of the art engine.”
The plaintiff’s complaint seeks to force BMW to repair the defective turbo chargers and/or reimburse consumers for the diminution in value to the vehicles.
If you own a BMW model released between the years of 2007-2010 and are interested in
being a part of the suite contact Kershaw, Cutter & Ratinoff
Email: stalley@kcrlegal.com
Phone: 888-285-3333.
Thanks to 'maof2girls' for the tip
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October 8, 2010, 12:12 am
....About time it happened...It was going to happen sooner or later anyways.
October 8, 2010, 1:01 am
I wonder what the "complaint" is seeking and how many petitioners are on board.
October 8, 2010, 1:08 am
I believe that is to be discussed when one signs on to a class action suit.
October 8, 2010, 10:53 am
This is exaclty why I stayed away from the 535i and chose instead a 2007 530i 6 Speed Manual. The hell with those turbos.
October 8, 2010, 11:56 am
You are automatically included in the class - you can only opt-out and sue on your own.
October 8, 2010, 2:48 pm
Here is a history of the different HPFPs build by BMW -
The first 335/135s came out with the:
1351 7 537 320 HPFP
followed shortly by
1351 7 585 655 HPFP
and my 2009 model had this one:
1351 7 592 881 HPFP
Followed by:
1351 7 596 123 HPFP
These pumps were updated and replaced again due to the high rate of failure with:
1351 7 594 943 HPFP
But these also started to fail and got updated and replaced a couple of months ago (May 2010) with a brand new remanufactured pump:
1351 7 613 933 HPFP
October 8, 2010, 2:51 pm
Well well well.
I must say this is pretty much the reason that I've not been down to the dealership to test drive a 335i.
October 9, 2010, 1:33 am
You are automatically included in the class - you can only opt-out and sue on your own.
October 9, 2010, 2:12 pm
Its just the way it works.
Its a class action law suit...Your part of the "class"
October 9, 2010, 11:58 pm
Read this:
http://www.slate.com/id/2245774/
October 10, 2010, 10:33 am
I am a lawyer and yes...Scott is right. If you own an N54 equipped BMW (as do I) then you are automatically a member of the class. You can opt out though.
October 10, 2010, 10:38 am
I hope this results in a long term remedy for those affected.
October 10, 2010, 10:54 am
October 11, 2010, 9:10 pm
Just want to clarify for all... The turbo and HPFP issues are pretty much independent, but they were both included in the lawsuit as common issues affecting this engine.
The turbo issue was a rattling (noisy) wastegate. An annoyance noise to some, but certainly no safety issue. BMW changed the engine management software to slightly delay closing the wastegate when you mash the accelerator to "fix" (eliminate) the rattle. This unfortunately introduced more turbo "lag" and changed the performance profile of the engine. Many owners were ticked. This was cheaper than replacing turbos with an alternate design. Side note - my 2008 535i (February build) has never had any wastegate rattle and no software updates. AFAIK, I'm on the original software that had no delay.
The HPFP issue is much more serious in my mind and truly does represent a faulty design. And if they ever get a designed/manufactured part that proves reliable, I'm in favor of a recall to replace all vehicles with affected pumps. Of course the $50K question is how will they know a new design is truly reliable... They haven't got a good track record so far after numerous attempts.
October 12, 2010, 8:20 am
The sad thing is that the only real winner will be the class action attorneys. Every time I'm included in one of these I end up getting a worthless coupon or difficult to use credit of some kind. Meanwhile, the class action attorneys take a CASH award amounting to millions of dollars.
I just opt out now every time I get one of these notifications, on a matter or principle.
October 12, 2010, 8:34 pm
I just opt out now every time I get one of these notifications, on a matter or principle.
October 13, 2010, 1:55 am
BMW already extended the warranty to 10 years, 120k miles.... this is nothing but a $$$$ making thing for the lawyers. Seriously, people have been injured because of this? I would love to hear the situation.......
October 16, 2010, 1:04 pm
Only have ~13k on my '08, no issues so far. I could see a car cutting out on a highway as dangerous, especially if you live in congested areas w/ d-bags on the road :raises hand: but not to warrant a class action suit... maybe they just want to ride the toyota wave.
October 20, 2010, 12:51 pm
A lawsuit, no matter what the outcome puts a scar on these engines/vehicles regardless of a settlement or remedy to fix the problems. The turbo on my 2008 BMW 535, (26,500) miles started making strange noises last week. Plus, turbo lag has been consistenly getting worse over the last year that I've owned this car. I've had to feather the gas off the line so I don't get that big jerk when the turbo finally kicks in. My warrantly runs out in 4 months and paying $4K to get it extended 3 years/100K miles for the Gold package would be the only smart thing to do if I keep the car. I've had it with this issue. I traded it in to the dealer yesterday for low blue book and leased at 2011 335D. Now I get better mileage, no turbo lag, full warranty protection, full maintenance, and a fun car to drive all for the same payment I was making on my loan.
January 18, 2011, 12:31 pm
@ bvogel7475
I am in a similar situation as you. I lost my spouse a few months back and decided to trade my two BMW's (2008 535xi, 2006 330xi) on a new X3. I was shocked when they only offered me $28,000 for a MSRP $64,000 car when it is less than 4 years old and only has 36k miles. And I thought BMW's held their value. The trade in value for my 2006 was about right. Sad, sad, sad. I am not THAT concerned about the HPFP issue, but a loss in value.....? I guess BMW is going to lose a customer sad to say because I absolutely LOVE the BMW auto. BMW appears to be acting a lot like Toyota.
March 8, 2011, 11:41 am
Its a shame that these guys did not fix it or at least own it. The exact thing happened to me , contacted BMW and got completely cold shoulders. Now they will get hit even harder. I still like this company but seems to that it being run by some who looks only for numbers ..
March 19, 2011, 10:05 am
I was seriously considering buying the 2012 X5.
thx
March 26, 2011, 6:32 am
Hey I have a 2011 x5 and after 1K miles my pump had to be replaced and then last month they did a software upgrade ! Guess my car falls under this category, with this class action suit do I need to do anything or am I just part of it ?
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