2009 BMW 3 Series FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM
Owner-reported problems and safety issues filed with NHTSA. Review common failures, severity levels, and complaint trends over time.
Complaint Timeline
Chronological view of owner reports
Multiple misfiring due to faulty injectors. Bmw has revised the part 12 times. This is a very common and known problem in the EU where a recall was issued.
4 MONTHS AGO MY CAR STOPPED SUDDENLY MECHANIC CHANGED FUEL PUMP , COUPLE WEEKS AFTER THAT IT HAPPENS AGAIN I TOOK IT BACK AND THE MECHANIC SAID EVERYTHING IS OK , I WENT HOME AND TODAY I WAS DRIVING ON THE HIGHWAY WHEN THE CAR SUDDENLY STOPPED AGAIN, I WAS SO SCARED I JUST WANT TO KNOW IF YOU GOING TO FIX THIS PROBLEM
I TOOK MY CAR TO A BMW DEALERSHIP IN CANNONSBURG, PA. HAD NO ISSUES WHATSOEVER DROPPING IT OFF. I HAD DRIVEN 3 HOURS TO GET TO THE DEALERSHIP FOR THE RECALL. BY THE END OF THE DAY I RECEIVED A CALL TELLING ME MY CAR WAS OVER HEATING AND NOT DRIVABLE. HOW IS THAT MY RESPONSIBILITY? WHEN OBVIOUSLY I DROVE IT A LONG DISTANCE TO GET 3 RECALLS TAKEN CARE OF. I WAS TOLD THE WATER PUMP, I THINK WAS NOT WORKING? IT WAS WORKING WHEN I DROPPED IT OFF? IF IT WAS OVERHEATING I COULD HAVE NEVER BEEN ABLE TO DRIVE IT. PLEASE HELP ME FIGURE OUT OUR TO RESOLVE THIS ISSUE. I NEED MY CAR AND I'M REGRETTING TAKING IT IN FOR A RECALL NOW.
FUEL INJECTORS BEGAN LEAKING AND HAVE BECOME FAULTY CAUSING MIS-FIRING. BMW HAD A SIMILAR RECALL INVOLVING CARS WITH THE SAME MODEL YEAR AND ENGINE AS MY CAR BUT HAS REFUSED TO CLAIM IT WAS ALSO INVOLVED IN THE RECALL.
MARCH 28, 2018 - DRIVING ON THE FREEWAY, CAR SUDDENLY COMES TO A STOP AND SHOWS MESSAGE FUEL PUMP WITH CAR ON ROCK ICON. CAR GETS TOWED. NEXT DAY MECHANIC SAYS IT RAN OUT OF GAS, ADDED GAS STARTED THE CAR. MARCH 29, 2018 CAR STALLS AFTER 5 MILES NEAR THE RAMP OF EXIT. GET THE CAR TOWED TO ANOTHER MECHANIC. MECHANIC DOES NOT FIND ANY PROBLEMS. APRIL 14TH, 2018 - CAR STOPS ON THE FREEWAY. TOW IT TO MECHANIC MECHANIC SAYS THAT ITS RELATED TO FUEL TANK SENSOR. THIS CAUSES A WRONG READING OF LEVEL OF GAS IN THE CAR. MECHANIC CHANGES IT AND CAR RUNS OK FOR 2 MONTHS. JUNE 21, 2018 - CAR STOPS ON THE FREEWAY WITH THE SAME MESSAGE "SERVICE ENGINE SOON" WITH THE CAR ON ROCK ICON. I GET TOWING SERVICE TO ADD GAS AND WAIT FOR AN HOUR. RESTART THE CAR AND IT WORKS. THE MESSAGE IS GONE, THE ICON IS GONE. THIS IS THE FOURTH TIME I WAS STRANDED ON THE FREEWAY.
I WAS DRIVING MY CAR AND IT JUST COMPLETE LOST POWER,I CALLED ROAD SIDE ASSISTANCE AND THEY DID SOME TESTING. KEEP IN MIND I JUST GOT A NEW BATTERY THREE MONTHS AGO,HAVE SHOWN NO SIGNS OF ANY POWER ,START UP ISSUES,. I JUST DON'T UNDERSTAND HOW A CAR WITH A HIGHER STANDARD JUST DIES. THEY SAID IT WAS THE FUEL PUMP. ITS SEEMLY INTERESTING HOW MANY PEOPLE HAVE HAD THE SAME ISSUE AND BMW SHOULD BE ASHAMED WITH THEMSELVES NOT TO RECALL THIS ISSUE ,AT LEAST ADDRESS THE PEOPLE WHO ARE HAVING THE ISSUE..FUEL PUMP ISN'T SOMETHING THAT SHOULD GO AT 100K.VERY DISAPPOINTED. THE CAR WILL NOT START,I CAN GET A CRANK BUT NOTHING MORE.
2009 328 XI BMW WITH 120K FUEL PUMP JUST BREAKS. BMW REPLACED FOR FREE DUE TO ALL THE COMPLAINTS AND RECALL INFO,THIS SUCH BE A NATIONAL RECALL AS SOMEONES CAR CAN JUST STOP WHILE DRIVING,AND THIS IS A SAFETY ISSUE.
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2009 BMW 328I. WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 75 MPH, THE FUEL PUMP INDICATOR ILLUMINATED AND THE VEHICLE STALLED AND SHUT OFF. THE VEHICLE WAS COASTED TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD. THE CONTACT WAITED FOR A WHILE IN THE PRESENCE OF A POLICE OFFICER, WHO WAS ABOUT TO CALL FOR A TOW TRUCK WHEN THE VEHICLE RESTARTED. THE CONTACT STARTED TO DRIVE AWAY, BUT THE FAILURE RECURRED. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO THE DEALER WHO WAS UNABLE TO DIAGNOSE THE FAILURE. THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE AND REFERRED THE CONTACT TO NHTSA TO FILE A COMPLAINT. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 150,000.
I WAS DRIVING WEST DOWN ROUTE 66 IN VIRGINIA. CAR HAD STALLED 5 TIMES IN A 60 MILE TRIP STATING WITH A MESSAGE FUEL PUMP FAILURE CONTINUED DRIVING IS POSSIBLE. IT LEFT ME WITH NO POWER STEERING OR BRAKES. THE VEHICLE WILL RESTART AFTER A 5 MINUTE COOL DOWN PERIOD AND CONTINUED DRIVING IS THEN POSSIBLE. THIS HAS BEEN HAPPENING WITH THIS VEHICLE SINCE 70K MILES.
BMW ISSUED A RECALL - SI B13 14 10 - AND IT COVERS REPLACING INJECTORS, IF THE CAR FALLS UNDER A CERTAIN DATE AND HAS A CERTAIN BATCH OF INJECTOR. MOST IMPORTANTLY, ON THE BOTTOM OF THE RECALL BULLETIN STATES: "WARRANTY INFO" - AND IT SPECIFICALLY SAYS, "THE REPAIR DESCRIBED IN THIS BULLETIN IS COVERED UNDER WARRANTY REGARDLESS OF TIME OR MILEAGE." THE CAR HAD THE INJECTOR(S) FAIL A FEW WEEKS AGO, AND VEHICLE IS CURRENTLY AT STEVENS CREEK BMW. THE DEALERS/MANUFACTURER ARE REFUSING TO HONOR THE RECALL NOTICE THAT I HANDED TO THEM - EVEN THOUGH IT SPECIFICALLY STATES THERE IS NO TIME LIMIT OR MILEAGE LIMIT TO REPLACING THE INJECTORS... 3 OF THE INJECTORS WERE REPLACED SEVERAL YEARS AGO, BUT 3 WERE NOT, AND THE INJECTOR THAT FAILED IS PART OF THE BATCH THAT SHOULD HAVE BEEN REPLACED BUT THE TECHNICIAN DECIDED NOT TO YEARS AGO. THEY ARE SAYING THIS IS NOT A RECALL - ALTHOUGH IT CLEARLY SAYS "VOLUNTARY RECALL". BECAUSE THERE IS NO TIME LIMIT AND THE MILES DO NOT COUNT AGAINST THE RECALL (ACCORDING TO THE BULLETIN) THE INJECTORS SHOULD BE REPLAECD (AND SHOULD HAVE ALREADY BEEN) WITHOUT ANY CUSTOMER NEEDING TO PAY ANYTHING, BECAUSE THAT IS WHAT THE RECALL IS FOR AND THAT IS WHAT IT DIRECTLY SAYS. BUT THE DEALERSHIP (STEVENS CREEK BMW) AND BMW NA OR SAYING THEY WON'T HONOR THE RECALL OR TELL ME WHY. I'M NOT SURE WHAT TO DO BECAUSE MY CAR IS STRANDED OVER THERE AND THEY WANT $3500 TO REPLACE SOMETHING THAT BMW SAYS SHOULD ALREADY BE REPLACED (REGARDLESS OF TIME OR MILEAGE).
TAKATA RECALL: THE CAR WHILE BEING DRIVEN WILL JUST STALL ALL POWER IS LOST, AND THEN AFTER ABOUT 30 MINUTES IT WILL START BACK UP. IT IS HARD TO HAVE IT REPAIRED BECAUSE IT IS NOT DISPLAYING THE ISSUE WHEN THE MECHANIC LOOKS AT IT. BUT IS SHOWS AN ERRORS CODE OF FUEL PUMP OVER HEATING. I HAVE HAD ALL SEVERAL REPAIRS DONE AND NOTHING HELPS. I CAN'T JUST KEEP DUMPING MONEY IN TO SEE IF THIS MIGHT ELIMINATE THE ISSUE. I SEE THIS HAS BEEN A PROBLEM WITH A NUMBER OF BMW MODELS. I CAN NOT SAFELY DRIVE THE CAR OR SELL IT, IT COULD CAUSE A HORRIFIC AUTO ACCIDENT. I BELIEVE IT IS AN ISSUE INVOLVING SOME PART OF THE FUEL PUMP SYSTEM. I HAVE SEEN RECALLS FOR SOME BMW MODELS WITH THESE ISSUE BUT NOT MINE. I HAVE HAD IT IN THE SHOP 5 TIMES SINCE APRIL
DRIVING ALONG AT 80 MPH ON THE EXPRESSWAY IN RUSH HOUR TRAFFIC, HEADING INTO A CURVE. CRUISE CONTROL WAS ACTIVATED, SERVICE ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON, AND CAR SHUTOFF. WAS ABLE TO ACTIVATE HAZARDS AND MANEUVER BETWEEN THE CAR AND SEMI NEXT TO ME TO GET TO RIGHT SHOULDER. (DITCH ON LEFT SIDE) ONCE SAFELY OFF THE SIDE OF THE ROAD TRIED TO RESTART AND CAR CRANKED BUT DID NOT START. JUST HAD FUEL PUMP REPLACED 6 WEEKS AGO FOR SAME CRANKING, BUT NOT STARTING BEHAVIOR. BMW HAS CONFIRMED THE NEW HPFP THEY PUT IN 6 WEEKS AGO FAILED.
WHEN CROSSING AN INTERSECTION ENGINE LOST POWER AND POWER STEERING WENT OUT. TOOK CAR TO BMW DEALERSHIP AND THEY SAID THE FUEL PUMP WENT OUT AND THE PUMP AND TANK HAVE TO BE REPLACED.
THE ENGINE SHUT DOWN WHILE DRIVING IN TRAFFIC. ONLY AFTER DISENGAGING THE KEY AND WAITING ABOUT 30 MINUTES, THE VEHICLE CAN START UP AGAIN. IF THE PROBLEM IS NOT ADDRESSED, THIS EVENT WILL HAPPEN WITHIN ABOUT A DAY TO A WEEK. I DROVE THE VEHICLE DAILY ON MY COMMUTE TO WORK. THIS PROBLEM HAS ALWAYS OCCURRED ON MY RETURN TRIP IN THE AFTERNOON. THE ERROR CODES THAT SHOWED UP WERE: A GENERIC CODE FOR THE FUEL PUMP, FUEL MODULE CONTROL VOLTAGE TOO HIGH, AND FUEL MODULE CONTROL CURRENT TOO LOW. AFTER TWO TRIPS TO WEATHERFORD BMW, THE PROBLEM WAS TENTATIVELY SOLVED. ON MY FIRST VISIT, THEY MISDIAGNOSED THE PROBLEM TO BE THAT THE FUEL MODULE CONTROL VOLTAGE WAS OUT OF CALIBRATION. THEY SUPPOSEDLY RECALIBRATED IT, TEST DROVE IT, AND SOLVED THE PROBLEM. THEY CHARGED ME THE $210 DIAGNOSTIC FEE BECAUSE THEY CLAIMED THIS WAS NOT A WARRANTY ISSUE. HOWEVER, THE SAME PROBLEM OCCURRED THE NEXT DAY ON MY AFTERNOON COMMUTE. AFTER BRINGING MY CAR BACK TO THEM. THEY DIAGNOSED THE PROBLEM TO BE A FAULTY FUEL PUMP CONTROL MODULE (EKPS MODULE). THE REPAIR WAS COVERED UNDER THE SULEV WARRANTY FOR BMW VEHICLES WITH THE N51 ENGINE. THEY DID NOT CHARGE ME THIS TIME, BUT THEY REFUSED TO CREDIT THE CHARGE ON MY FIRST VISIT, SAYING THAT THEY WOULD HAVE HAD TO RECALIBRATE THE VOLTAGE ANYWAY. I CONTENDED THAT THE FAULTY MODULE CAUSED THE VOLTAGE TO BE OUT OF CALIBRATION AND THAT A FUNCTIONAL REPLACEMENT MODULE WOULD HAVE BROUGHT THE VOLTAGE BACK WITHIN SPECIFICATION, AND THAT IF THEY HAD JUST REPLACED THE MODULE ON MY FIRST VISIT THAT THEY WOULD NOT HAVE HAD TO RECALIBRATE THE VOLTAGE. HOWEVER, WEATHERFORD BMW INSISTED ON NOT REFUNDING THE CHARGE FOR THE FIRST VISIT, AND I HAVE FILED A CLAIM WITH MY CREDIT CARD COMPANY TO DISPUTE THE CHARGE.
THE VEHICLE WAS PARKED BUT STILL RUNNING. AN ERROR MESSAGE "FUEL PUMP FAILURE" POPPED UP ON SCREEN AND THE "CHECK ENGINE LIGHT" TURNED ON; THE CAR TURNED OFF. THE CAR HAS NOT BEEN ABLE TO RESTART. IT SHOULD BE NOTED THAT I TOOK THE CAR IN FOR SERVICE LESS THAN TWO WEEKS PRIOR.
CAR TAKEN TO DEALER FOR ROUGH IDLE AND POOR PERFORMANCE. TOLD THAT ISSUE WAS WITH FUEL COILS. PAPERWORK STATES THAT COILS NEED TO BE REPLACED. DEFERRED AS ONE OF THE COULD HAD ALREADY BEEN REPLACED. ON WAY HOME CAR BEGAN TO EMIT WHITE SMOKE. CAR UNABLE TO ACCELERATE. HIGH PRESSURE FUEL PUMP ALREADY REPLACED. HIGH RISK FOR ACCIDENT FOR ULTIMATELY TURNED OUT TO BE 5 FAILED FUEL INJECTORS. BMW KNOWS ABOUT THIS ISSUE BUT WILL NOT ADDRESS FOR RECALL. THIS IS NOT AN UNCOMMON OCCURRENCE PER MULTIPLE WEB SEARCHES. *TR
AS I WAS DRIVING MY CAR NORMALLY MY CAR JUST TURNED OFF ON ME WHILE GOING 50. ITS TELLING ME ON THE SCREEN ITS THE FUEL PUMP. *TR
I WAS DRIVING SOUTH ON RTE 495 IN MA IN THE LEFT LANE AND HAD JUST PASSED THE EXIT RAMP TO RTE 3 WHEN THE CAR SEIZED AND DRAMATICALLY SLOWED DOWN, I WAS GOING 70-75 MPH WITH OTHER CARS BEHIND AND NEXT TO ME GOING THE SAME SPEED. IT'S ONLY DUE TO THE ALERTNESS OF THE DRIVER BEHIND ME THAT BOTH OF US ARE NOT DEAD. HE SWERVED INTO THE MIDDLE LANE AND WENT BY ME. AFTER THAT I CROSSED THREE LINES OF TRAFFIC GOING AT 10-20 MPH ON A MAJOR HIGHWAY. I SURVIVED THE EXPERIENCE, BUT I FEEL IT IS MY RESPONSIBILITY TO REPORT THIS INCIDENT AND HOPEFULLY SAVE THE LIFE OF SOMEBODY ELSE IN THE FUTURE IF BMW CAN BE COMPELLED TO FIX THEIR FUEL PUMP ISSUE ON THE 328I. I CALLED BMW AS I WAS WAITING FOR A TOW AND WAS TOLD THAT THERE'S A RECALL ON THE 335'S FUEL PUMP, BUT NOT ON THE 328I. I BELIEVE ONLY A DEATH WILL COMPEL THEM TO TAKE ACTION. AS FOR ME, I PAID THE BMW DEALERSHIP IN SUDBURY, MA $800 TO REPLACE THE FUEL PUMP AND DROVE THE CAR STRAIGHT TO A MAZDA DEALERSHIP AND TRADED IT FOR A CX-5 BECAUSE I BELIEVE THE BMW IS UNSAFE AND A POSSIBLE DEATH TRAP. *TR
I WAS DRIVING HOME FROM THE DRY CLEANERS. AS I WAS TRYING TO MERGE INTO THE FREEWAY, THE CAR CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON WITH ABOUT A 70% REDUCTION IN POWER. I COULDNT MERGE ONTO THE FREEWAY SAFELY, AND HAD TO PULL TOT HE SHOULDER. THE CAR IS CURRENTLY AT BMW DEALER FOR REPAIRS. IT HAS BEEN SUGGESTED THAT IT IS DUE TO THE FUEL PUMP. *TR
Trend Over Time
Complaints by year
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Common problems reported
Quick Summary
The 2009 BMW 3 Series has 19 FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM complaints on file. Review the timeline above for detailed owner experiences.