bigbadbull

This needs to be a a faq some place on the board.

The guys over at e90post generated this. This will answer a lot of the noob,squid,new user questions on HPFP failure on 535I/XI/XIT cars with the N54 motor.

http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=333519


1. What are the possible symptoms of HPFP failure?

- Your car has long crank (it will take longer than usual to start the car) repeatedly and/or
- You're driving on the freeway and the 1/2 engine light (malfunction engine light) comes on. You could still drive the car home. Sometimes, the 1/2 engine light disappear the next day but you do need to take it in. If the dealership is nice enough, they will test and depend on the result, they will go ahead and replace the HPFP for you. Other dealerships won't touch it if they said "No HPFP code was found". YMMV.

The 1/2 engine light could come on for different reasons: injectors, spark plugs, coilpacks, whatever else but if you have a combination of 1/2 engine light and long crank, it is your HPFP. At least that's what happened to mine.

-Your car shakes violently and power got cut off in 1/2 where you have to drive like grandma home, or the other term "limp home".

2. How many miles on the car when HPFP failure could happen?

I've seen 500 miles, 1,200 miles, 62 thousand miles, who knows. I'm not a psychic teller.

3. Which MY HPFP has failed the most?

Based on reading from this fantastic forum, 07 and 09 MY. Yes, someone will say I have a 07 and still on original pump so what gives? Who knows!

4. Which brand of gas I should stick with?

There is no telling. People who had Shell only or Chevron only, HPFPs still fail.

5. Is there a permanent fix for this?

There is a well known shop who's working on a better pump. There is no telling when this pump will be available. Search is your friend. When it comes out will it work better? Who knows!

6. Is tuning the cause of HPFP failure?

There were threads swear that HPFP failure is not tuned related as there are folks who did not have tunes, HPFP still failed. You make the call.

7. Could HPFP failures continue after 3-4 replacments?

Yes.

8. With the HPFP failure like this why you guys/gals still have the car?

- BMW extends the warranty to 120k miles. The replacement takes only few hours and you're good to go. As of 12/21, MY 09 and 2010 users have not received letters to state the same extended warranty for 07 and 08 MY users.

- Can't afford the lost to trade in for a different car plus everything else is more expensive and who knows the other brands don't have issues?

- Can't find another the car that could drive/handling this good and still is affordable with the luxury for the Jones.

9. OK sounds good, if I decide to keep the car, is there anything I could do to prevent it from happenning?

Not really. But if you own a high 40k's or 50k's car, you should get a BT scanner for a few hundreds. Scan your car to see if it generates any HPFP code. However, mine did not generate any HPFP code (long crank, 1/2 egnine light came on) but the dealership replaced it and i'm back on the road.

10. As of December 2009, an unconfirmed source from Bimmerfest says BMW has given another try to improve the high pressure fuel pump in the N54 engine. The current part number as of 12/09 for the HPFP ends in 881.

The new HPFP part number is said to end in 943.

There is NO information at this time as to when this pump will be released or used. There is no data and no other information as to what this pump fixes or doesn't fix.

11."What should I do if I experience any of the symptoms you described in Question #1?"

Answer: don't waste time posting about it or talking about it -- take it to the dealer ASAP to avoid a potentially dangerous situation.


Y'all feel free to chime in/update/corrections, etc.

vkhong

Thank you for this post. This should help anyone considering a new or CPO 335i or 535i.

pukka

There is a BMW technical bulletin out that instructs the service techs on how to perform the long crank test procedure. My car sometimes had long cranks but not long or frequent enough for me to complain. When I brought the car in for a service that was completely unrelated, the techs noticed the long crank and replaced the HPFP. I never mentioned the problem to my SA and there was never any error code.

A dealership should not turn you away for this if your car doesn't have an error code.

Gene

great post...

perhaps a pdf file of the letter that was sent out to owners that extends the hpfp warranty to 120K miles/10 yrs should be included as well (just in case a second owner did not receive this letter)....


agreed, this would be a nice post to put in the FAQ section.....

bigbadbull

I will see if I can dig my old letter up, If some one has one could you scan it and PM me. I will convert it and post it.

03clyde

Thanks - I've subscribed to your post - just in case.

Rudy

I think I have a .pdf copy of the warranty extension at home. I can post it up later on...

e6t

my car started puttering on the highway recently and the yellow engine light came on. took it straight to the dealer, explained the situation and asked if it could be the hpfp. they said that it sounded like it and they would take care of it.

after checking it out, they concluded that it was a faulty injector, replaced it and said all is well. also, they told me that the hpfp in my car, MY2009 9/2008 build 4k miles, was a different pump than the ones that have failed.

i wonder if their explanation is accurate and above board?

Gene

nice, thanx Rudy...

Rudy

Here's the version I have (it's not the actual customer letter but it may help):

SI_B13_03_09_N54_Special_Limited_High_pressure_Pump_Emissions_Warranty_of_10_Years_120_000_Miles.pdf