Hey guys, just an fyi about a long cranking time diagnosis on a 2008 535xi wagon.

On about one of every ten starts, the car would crank for 5-10 seconds before starting. It never failed to start. The problem seemed to be independent of temperature and didn't have to be the first start of the day.

The dealer replaced the high pressure fuel pump. It's been three weeks and I haven't seen the problem since. In fact, some jerkiness on acceleration and intermittent shutters while idling for a long time (like waiting at a stop light) have gone away.

The old HPFP was a real dog! I'm happy they replaced it but they refused to do a software upgrade to get rid of the turbo lag.......................

 

Lack of compression? Is it mostly when the engine is warm?

 

It was probably the pump leaking out pressure and the car had to crank for a while to repressurize the lines. It seemed to be independent of engine temp. I'm pretty sure the new HPFP fixed the problem (for now).