2008 535xi. Has the rough running issue (again). To keep it short, all 6 injectors were replaced at 54K miles under recall. Then 3 were replaced at 96K miles under warranty. Now at 110K miles they recommend replacing the other 3. Cost is $1200.

I looked into DIY.

There is a gasket that I saw on a DIY video that has to be stretched around the end with a special tool and installed in under 5 minutes.

The ones I see on line have a special silver cap on the end.

So here is the question. If I buy the new ones, is the gasket already installed on the injector and I just install it or do I need to put the gasket on the injector?

 

I just got mine done and the silver cap is the protective cover that needs the be removed before installing. You need pliers to do it. The cap keeps a rubber ring from expanding as well as keeping it clean before install. I also bought new o-rings and decoupling elements. Not sure if I needed the latter, but they are both inexpensive so I got them. I had a shop do it due to the coding.

 

Coding is required and there's a procedure on how to do it. I also had a rough idle at startup and thought it might be the injector so researched it. It doesn't look hard at all.

 

So if you had injectors (261) replaced prior to feb of this year, you will need to replace all 6. BMW released a new injector in Feb (079)that is not compatible with the old ones. Also as tony said you need to get them coded.

 

You will need to get the newest 079 injectors (all 6). The 261 and older injectors will all fail.

 

By the way, have you replaced your water pump yet?

 

Thanks for all the input. I will check on the injector numbers.

I still am confused. If I buy the injectors and take off the silver cap I am good to install?

What I am referring to is this video of replacing n54 injectors.


Now my rant. This e60 has been a pile of crap compared to every other car I have ever owned. 3 hpfp, 9 injectors, wallnut job, plugs multiple times, water pump (at 74K miles).

And BMW never any help.

Moving to an A6.

As an aside, BMW should be scared.

Last cars (before my 2006 e60) were a Saturn, Pontiac, and Oldsmobile). I was a GM guy growing up so I bought GM. All cars had relaibility issues after 36K mile warranty ran out and I looked to help from GM and the dealers and all I got was, sorry, out of warranty. I moved on.

When people wonder why GM went bankrupt, it is not salaries, benefits, or design. It was customer service and standing behind their product. So my prediciton is BMW 10 years from now is significantly smaller than it is now.

 

The new style injectors are shared with the newer v8 turbo cars. They seem pretty solid.

All the older injector parts were prone to leaking. And of course we know all about the hpfp fiasco which was hopefully resolved by now.

The water pump seems to always fail before 100k miles, usually around 70k. I have heard the latest pump design is more reliable but who knows. I plan on replacing my pump at 60k before it fails.

So hopefully going forward, these parts will be more reliable overall. Yes, it took BMW 6 years to fix it but at least they eventually did (hopefully!)