26 complaints reported

2009 BMW 3 Series Fuel System

Owner-reported problems and safety issues filed with NHTSA. Review common failures, severity levels, and complaint trends over time.

Reports
26
Crashes
0
Fires
0
Injuries
0

Complaint Timeline

Chronological view of owner reports

May 2014

MY VEHICLE SUDDENLY STOPPED IN THE ROADWAY AT APPROXIMATELY 10:30PM. I WAS UNABLE TO RESTART THE CAR AND VEHICLE HAD TO BE TOWED. IT WAS LATER FOUND THAT THE FUEL PUMP FAILED. NO INDICATION AS TO WHY THE PUMP FAILED. *TR

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2009 BMW 328I, Manufacturer: BMW of North America, LLC
Incident: Nov 2013
Jun 2012

MAKE : 2009 BMW 328I SEDAN E36 PROBLEM : 11/11 : ENGINE STOP RUNNING, LOSE POWER ASSIST FOR STEERING AND BRAKES. TRIED TO RE-STARTED MY CAR BUT COULD NOT - LONG-CRANK ENGINE STARTING TIMES ALONG WITH THE ILLUMINATION OF "SERVICE ENGINE SOON" LIGHT. TOWED TO BMW OF SAN DIEGO. 1 WEEK REPAIR AND HAD BEEN TOLD FUEL PUMP MODULE NEED TO BE REPLACED. PAID $730.68 FOR REPLACEMENT. 01/12 : SAME PROBLEM - ENGINE STOP RUNNING, LOSE POWER, LONG-CRANK. TOWED TO BMW OF SAN DIEGO AGAIN. HAD BEEN TOLD FUEL PUMP BROKEN AND CAUSE FUEL PUMP MODULE BURNING. PAID AGAIN $7XX FOR REPLACEMENT FOR SAME PROBLEM. *TR

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2009 BMW 328I, Manufacturer: BMW of North America, LLC
Incident: Nov 2011
Nov 2011

DRIVING ON THE HIGHWAY AT 65 MPH RESULTED IN SUDDEN LOSS OF POWER AND NEED TO PULL OFF TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD IN A VERY DANGEROUS SETTING. FUEL PUMP REQUIRED REPLACEMENT IN A VEHICLE THAT WAS ONE YEAR OLD. APPROXIMATELY ONE YEAR LATER THE SAME PROBLEM OCCURRED WHILE DRIVING. "ENGINE MALFUNCTION LIGHT" AND COMPLETE LOSS OF POWER WHILE DRIVING. AGAIN HIGH PRESSURE FUEL PUMP HAD TO BE REPAIRED (CAR MILEAGE ~ 28,000 MILES) *TR

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2009 BMW 335I, Manufacturer: BMW of North America, LLC
Incident: Sep 2011
Feb 2011

2009 BMW 335I WITH 11000 MILES STARTED TO SPUTTER WHILE DRIVING ON THE FREEWAY AND THE YELLOW SERVICE ENGINE AND LOW POWER LIGHTS CAME ON. VEHICLE WAS DRIVABLE BUT WITH LOW POWER. MANAGED TO LIMP INTO TOWN AND HAD CAR TOWED TO BMW DEALERSHIP. PROBLEM DIAGNOSED AS HIGH PRESSURE FUEL PUMP FAILURE. DEALER REPLACED HIGH PRESSURE FUEL PUMP AND PERFORMED SOFTWARE UPDATE UNDER WARRANTY. *TR

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2009 BMW 335I, Manufacturer: BMW of North America, LLC
Incident: Dec 2011
Feb 2011

CAR SUDDENLY LOST POWER WHILE ACCELERATING AND ATTEMPTING TO MERGE INTO TRAFFIC ON INTERSTATE 5 N IN IRVINE. HAD TO EXIT INTERSTATE AND DRIVE SURFACE STREETS. CAR CONTINUED TO OPERATE AT GREATLY REDUCED POWER. DEALER REPLACED HIGH PRESSURE FUEL PUMP UNDER WARRANTY. *TR

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2009 BMW 335I, Manufacturer: BMW of North America, LLC
Incident: Jan 2011
Jan 2011

IT'S AN ONGOING ISSUE WHICH BMW HAS FAILED TO FIX. I BELIEVE I HAVE ISSUES WITH MY HIGH PRESSURE FUEL PUMP. I HAVE HAD THE LOW PRESSURE SENSOR REPLACED, AND A SOFTWARE UPGRADE. LAST NIGHT, THE CAR HAD A ROUGH IDLE, AND THE WARNING ENGINE MALFUNCTION, REDUCED POWER WAS DISPLAYED. I DROVE HOME SLOWLY. THE CAR ROUGHED IDLED. IN ADDITION, I CALLED BMW ASSIST TO FILE THE COMPLAINT. THERE WAS A VOLUNTARY RECALL, BUT I HAVE NOT RECEIVED ANY TYPE OF NOTIFICATION FOR MY VEHICLE. *TR

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2009 BMW 335I, Manufacturer: BMW of North America, LLC
Incident: Jan 2011
Sep 2010

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2009 BMW 335XI. WHILE THE CONTACT WAS DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 55 MPH, THE ENGINE COMPLETELY STALLED AND THE ENGINE WARNING INDICATOR ILLUMINATED. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO AN AUTHORIZED DEALER WHERE THE CONTACT WAS INFORMED THAT THE FUEL PUMP WOULD NEED TO BE REPLACED. THE VEHICLE WAS REPAIRED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 4,500. THE VIN WAS UNAVAILABLE.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2009 BMW 335XI, Manufacturer: BMW of North America, LLC
Incident: Sep 2010
Sep 2010

DRIVING ALONG HIGHWAY ON RIGHT LANE, COMING ALONG TO A HIGHSPEED MERGE. VEHICLE LOST SIGNIFICANT POWER, ERROR MESSAGE ON DASH DISPLAYED LIMP MODE ENGINE MALFUNCTION. I WAS NOT ABLE TO ACCELERATE AND CAUSED A SEVER BACK UP IN HIGHWAY TO GET ON SHOULDER. BMW STATED A SOFTWARE UPGRADE WAS NEEDED TO CORRECT ERROR. I RECEIVED THE CAR BACK WITHIN A WEEK. AGAIN I WAS DRIVING WHEN THE SAME EXACT ERROR STATED ABOVE HAPPENED. THIS TIME AT LEAST I WAS IN A SOMEWHAT LOW TRAVELED AREA AND HAD NO PROBLEM PULLING OVER. TECH AT BMW SAID THE FUEL PUMP WAS AT FAULT AND MANY CARS OF MY MAKE AND MODEL HAVE THIS PROBLEM, BUT NO REAL SOLUTION TO THE FUEL PUMP FAILURES HAD BEEN FOUND BY BMW. *TR

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2009 BMW 335XI, Manufacturer: BMW of North America, LLC
Incident: Sep 2010
Sep 2010

I OWN A 2009 BMW 335I WHICH HAS THE TYPE N54 ENGINE. I HAVE OWNED THIS CAR SINCE MAY 2009. I HAVE HAD 2 HIGH PRESSURE FUEL PUMPS REPLACED. THE LAST MALFUNCTION JUST OCCURRED AS I WAS AT HIGHWAY SPEED 65MPH + AND THE ENGINE WENT INTO THE LIMP HOME MODE. BECAUSE OF THIS MODE THE CAR HAD A DRASTIC REDUCTION OF POWER, WITHOUT ANY WARNING. I WAS LUCKY I WAS ABLE TO GET TO THE RIGHT LANE AND LIMP TO DEALERSHIP WITH A TOP SPEED OF 50MPH. THIS WAS A DANGEROUS SITUATION TO ME AND OTHER DRIVERS ON HIGHWAY. THE N54 ENGINE IS A MAJOR ISSUE FOR BMW, THEIR OWN SERVICE ADVISORS STATE THAT ALMOST 60% OF THESE ENGINES HAVE HAD FUEL PUMP MALFUNCTIONS, RESULTING IN REPLACEMENT. *TR

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2009 BMW 335I, Manufacturer: BMW of North America, LLC
Incident: Oct 2010
Aug 2010

THE CAR'S HIGH PRESSURE FUEL PUMP FAILED ON FREEWAY ON-RAMP ACCELERATION LEADING TO A NEAR REAR-END COLLISION BY A FOLLOWING CAR. THIS FAILURE WAS PRECEDED BY LONG-CRANK STARTING AND ENGINE RACING ON STARTING. THE HPFP WAS REPLACED AT 6,000 MILES (10/09). AT 12,000 MILES THE SOFTWARE WAS REPROGRAMMED. (6/10) THE DEALER SAYS IT IS REPLACING THE HPFP AGAIN. THIS APPEARS TO BE AN ONGOING PROBLEM WITH THE BMW 335I ENGINE STARTING WITH THE 2007 MODELS AS REPORTED ON THIS WEBSITE. ACCORDING TO A SURVEY OF 300+ OWNERS NEARLY 50% HAVE EXPERIENCED THIS PROBLEM. *TR

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2009 BMW 335I, Manufacturer: BMW of North America, LLC
Incident: Aug 2010
Aug 2010

I WAS DRIVING AND THE HIGH PRESSURE FUEL PUMP ON MY 2009 BMW 335I WENT OUT AND I RECEIVED A WARNING SIGN INDICATING REDUCED POWER. THE CAR DIED IN THE MIDDLE OF THE ROAD. POTENTIALLY UNSAFE WITH CARS COMING AT ME AS MY VEHICLE CAME TO A STOP IN THE MIDDLE OF THE ROAD.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2009 BMW 335I, Manufacturer: BMW of North America, LLC
Incident: Apr 2010
Jul 2010

THE CAR IS A 2009 BMW 335I . ABOUT 23 WEEKS AGO, THE CAR LOST POWER. FORTUNATELY, THERE WAS NOT A ACCIDENT. WHEN THE CAR WENT INTO THE DEALER, I WAS TOLD THAT IT WAS A FUEL PUMP PROBLEM AND THE CHANGED THE PUMP. *TR

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2009 BMW 335I, Manufacturer: BMW of North America, LLC
Incident: Oct 2010
Jul 2010

THE FUEL PUMP ON MY 2009 BMW 335I HAS FAILED AND I BELIEVE IT'S STARTING TO FAIL AGAIN BUT EVERYTIME I TAKE IT IN THEY SAY IT'S FINE AND THEY CANT DO ANYTHING UNTIL IT ACTUALLY FAILS. PROBLEM WITH THAT IS IF IT FAILS ON THE HIGHWAY DOING 70MPH THEN I'M GOING TO BE IN A WORLD OF HURT. THE PUMP HAS ALREADY FAILED ONCE. *TR

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2009 BMW 335I, Manufacturer: BMW of North America, LLC
Incident: Nov 2009
Jul 2010

FAILURE OF HIGH PRESSURE FUEL PUMP WITH RESULTING LOSS OF POWER AND DRIVABLE. FAILURE HAS OCCURRED ONCE SO FAR AT 10 MONTHS OF OWNERSHIP AND APPROXIMATELY 9000 MILES. INITIAL REPAIR WAS A SOFTWARE UPDATE. THIS REPAIR WAS OF NO BENEFIT AND SHORTLY THEREAFTER THE CAR WAS RETURNED TO THE DEALER AND THE HPFP WAS REPLACED WITH A REMANUFACTURED HPFP. *TR

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2009 BMW 335I, Manufacturer: BMW of North America, LLC
Incident: May 2010
Jul 2010

I OWN A 2009 BMW 335. IT WAS PURCHASED IN EARLY 2009. PRIOR TO THE FAILURE OF THE PART, THERE WAS NO SIGN OF TROUBLE. WHILE I WAS DRIVING ON THE FREEWAY IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA, MY CAR STARTED TO LOSE POWER. CONCURRENT WITH THAT POWER LOSS, THE "SERVICE ENGINE SOON" LIGHT APPEARED ON MY INSTRUMENT CLUSTER. ADDITIONALLY, AN ICON (IT LOOKED LIKE A TRANSMISSION) LIT UP AS WELL. WHEN THE POWER LOSS FIRST OCCURRED, I WAS IN THE FAST LANE ON THE FREEWAY. I HAD TO WORK EXTREMELY QUICK TO GET TO THE OTHER SIDE OF THE FREEWAY, FOR FEAR THAT SOMEONE WOULD HIT ME FROM BEHIND (AS MY CAR SLOWED DOWN). I EVENTUALLY MADE IT TO THE OTHER SIDE OF THE FREEWAY WITHOUT INCIDENT. I PULLED OFF TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD AND TURNED THE CAR OFF. I EVENTUALLY CALLED A TOW TRUCK AND HAD MY CAR TOWED TO THE NEAREST BMW DEALERSHIP. TURNS OUT THAT MY HIGH-PRESSURE FUEL PUMP FAILED. I DID NOT HAVE ANY WARNING PRIOR TO THE FAILURE. THE DEALERSHIP REPLACED THE HIGH-PRESSURE FUEL PUMP. SINCE THEN, I HAVE PUT 5500 MILES ON THE CAR. MY FUEL PUMP IS STILL WORKING PROPERLY. *TR

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2009 BMW 335I, Manufacturer: BMW of North America, LLC
Incident: Aug 2009
Jul 2010

1 ) HIGH PRESSURE FUEL PUMP (HPFP) FAILED WITH NO PRIOR INDICATION. 2 ) THE FAILURE OCCURRED SEVERAL TIMES BETWEEN INCEPTION AND CORRECTION BY THE DEALER, RESULTING IN STARTING AND ENGINE RUNNING ISSUES FOR THE CAR. 3 ) THE PART WAS REPLACED UNDER WARRANTY. *TR

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2009 BMW 335XI, Manufacturer: BMW of North America, LLC
Incident: Jan 2010
Jul 2010

THIS IS AN UPDATE TO ODI 10290275. MY CAR (2009 335XI) IS YET AGAIN EXPERIENCING LONG STARTING TIMES AND I HAVE HAD ANOTHER ABRUPT LOSS OF POWER. ALTHOUGH THERE IS NO "CHECK ENGINE LIGHT" ON YET I BELIEVE IT IS ONLY A MATTER OF TIME BEFORE THE HIGH PRESSURE FUEL PUMP IS AGAIN REPLACED. THIS IS A CHRONIC PROBLEM THAT IS RECOGNIZED BY BMW (AS THEY HAVE EXTENDED THE WARRANTY ON THE HIGH PRESSURE FUEL PUMPS) BUT DOES NOT ADDRESS THE UNDERLYING SAFETY CONCERN OF A SUDDEN LOSS OF POWER THAT WILL ULTIMATELY RESULT IN AN ACCIDENT. *TR

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2009 BMW 335XI, Manufacturer: BMW of North America, LLC
Incident: Jun 2010
Jul 2010

I WAS DRIVING UPHILL LAST NIGHT AND AN ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON AND THE NAVIGATION SCREEN SAID REDUCED POWER. I HAD TO SHIFT DOWN INTO THIRD GEAR AND PUT MY FOOT TO THE FLOOR AND THE CAR HARDLY KEPT GOING UP THE HILL. I TURNED IT OFF AND THEN ON AGAIN AND ALL SEEMED FINE. ON THE WAY HOME THE SAME LIGHTS CAME ON BUT THEN THE SERVICE ENGINE SOON LIGHT CAME ON AND BEGAN FLASHING AND THE CAR BEGAN SHAKING AND IDLING VERY ROUGH. THE CAR WAS VERY HARD TO DRIVE AND HAD ALMOST NO POWER WHATSOEVER. PROBLEM OCCURRED AGAIN THIS MORNING AND THE CAR WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALERSHIP ON A FLAT BED. THIS WOULD BE EXTREMELY DANGEROUS IF IT HAPPENED AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS OR ON AN OPEN STRETCH OF HIGHWAY WITH LITTLE ACCESS TO SERVICES AND/OR REPAIR FACILITIES. THE DEALERSHIP SAYS IT IS THE HIGH PRESSURE FUEL PUMP. *TR

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2009 BMW 335I, Manufacturer: BMW of North America, LLC
Incident: Jul 2010
Jul 2010

FUEL PUMP FAILURE WHILE DRIVING ON THE HIGHWAY AT 65MPH. COMPLETE LOSS OF POWER AND ENGINE. *TR

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2009 BMW 335I, Manufacturer: BMW of North America, LLC
Incident: Jul 2010
Jun 2010

2009 BMW 335I HIGH PRESSURE FUEL PUMP FAILED ON MAY 30TH. I WAS ABLE TO DRIVE THE CAR HOME WITH REDUCED POWER. I SUBSEQUENTLY BROUGHT THE CAR TO MOUNTAIN VIEW BMW ON JUNE 10TH. NEW FUEL PUMP WAS INSTALLED WITH SOFTWARE UPDATE. *TR

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2009 BMW 335I, Manufacturer: BMW of North America, LLC
Incident: May 2010
May 2010

2009 BMW 335I, HIGH PRESSURE FUEL PUMP FAILURE. 9500 MILES ON VEHICLE. ENGINE IS SLOW TO START. WHILE DRIVING AND RPM ABOVE 3000, CHECK ENGINE LIGHT COMES ON AND ENGINE REDUCES POWER SIGNIFICANTLY. IF PUMP WERE TO FAIL COMPLETELY, ENGINE WOULD DIE, LEAVING DRIVER WITHOUT POWER STEERING. THIS COULD BE A MAJOR SAFETY PROBLEM ON HIGHWAYS WITH DENSE TRAFFIC. AFTER READING INTERNET BLOGS ON VEHICLE, THIS IS A KNOWN DEFECT FOR BMW N54 ENGINES. SOME DRIVERS HAVE HAD THE PUMP REPLACED MULTIPLE TIMES WITH SAME OUTCOME EACH TIME. *TR

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2009 BMW 3 SERIES, Manufacturer: BMW of North America, LLC
Incident: May 2010
May 2010

FUEL PUMP FAILED ON BMW 335I. ON THE FREEWAY, CAR INFORMATION PANEL INDICATED "ENGINE MALFUNCTION -- REDUCED POWER" AND THE CAR WENT INTO A LIMP MODE, WITH RADICALLY LOW POWER AND ROUGH RUNNING. BECAUSE OF THE PREVAILING SPEED OF RUSH HOUR TRAFFIC, MY INABILITY TO MAINTAIN NORMAL FREEWAY SPEED DID NOT SERIOUSLY ENDANGER ME OR OTHER MOTORISTS. I AM REPORTING THIS FAILURE BECAUSE I HAVE LEARNED THAT THE SAME FAILURE IS EPIDEMIC WITH ALL APPLICATIONS OF THE ENGINE IN MY CAR. INJURIES ARE INEVITABLE IF THE DEFECTIVE FUEL PUMP IS NOT REDESIGNED. *TR

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2009 BMW 335I, Manufacturer: BMW of North America, LLC
Incident: May 2010
Apr 2010

FOURTH REPLACEMENT OF HPFP ON 2009 BMW 335 XI LESS THAN 12K MILES. LESS THAN 12 MONTHS OLD. *TR

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2009 BMW 335XI, Manufacturer: BMW of North America, LLC
Incident: Apr 2010
Apr 2010

VEHICLE HAD APROX, 3,400 MILES AND BEGAN TO EXPERIENCE LONG CRANKS DURING START UP. FOR ABOUT 1 MONTH I EXPERIENCED INTERMITTENT LONG CRANKS BUT THE VEHICLE PERFORMED NORMALLY. WITH 4,800 MILES ON THE VEHICLE I WAS DRIVING ON A HIGHWAY ATTEMPTING TO PASS A VEHICLE IN RIGHT LANE AND THE VEHICLE SPUTTERED AND A REDUCED POWER INDICATOR SHOWED ON DASH. I WAS ABLE TO LIMP THE VEHICLE TO DEALERSHIP, STALLED ONCE DURING TRIP TO DEALER. DEALERSHIP DIAGNOSED BAD HIGH PRESSURE FUEL PUMP AND REPLACED SAME DAY. *TR

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2009 BMW 335I, Manufacturer: BMW of North America, LLC
Incident: Apr 2009
Mar 2010

BMW 335I CAR HAS CRANKING PROBLEMS. DEALER RESET COMPUTER. WHILE DRIVING AT HI-WAY SPEED CAR FAILED. POWER WENT TO HALF. SPEED DROP FROM 65 TO 35 IN SECONDS. THERE APPEARS TO BE AN ISSUE WITH FUEL PUMP WHICH BMW HAS FAILED TO ADDRESS. CAR HAS 6,600 MILES. *TR

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2009 BMW 335XI, Manufacturer: BMW of North America, LLC
Incident: Mar 2010

Trend Over Time

Complaints by year

Quick Summary

The 2009 BMW 3 Series has 26 Fuel System complaints on file. Review the timeline above for detailed owner experiences.