I've been a long time reader of this forum and an even longer fan of BMW, but my recent experience with my 335i has really soured my image of the brand and want to share my short story.
Let me start by saying I have loved BMW since I was a kid:
This was my uncle's E30 M3 that he purchased new in 1990.
I've owned several other BMWs in the past including an E39, E46, and a 330i E90. These were all great cars with which I never had any major issues. I've encouraged friends and family to purchase BMW. I have a giant BMW flag hanging in my garage. Needless to say, I am a fan.
Fast forward to today: My 2010 335i is having idle issues, ticking noises, misfires, etc. and at 53k, it is
just outside of warranty. The problem that I have, and suspect that most people have/had/will have in the future, are the fuel injectors.
BMW has acknowledged this in the 07-08 production years and performed an open campaign to replace them with a revised part number (13 53 7 585 261) as part of an "emissions recall." This revised part is found in the later N54 engines up to the N55. But the new injectors are crap as well; from what I see and read, these issues are becoming more and more prevalent. After reading countless threads about faulty injectors (referring to the revised part), I decided to call BMW NA in hopes that they might be able to assist with replacement costs. After taking the car to get an official diagnosis from the dealer, they quoted me $1500 in parts and $600 in labor to replace all 6 injectors. This seemed unusually high for parts but, OK. A week later, BMW called and said they could cover 10% of labor costs.... WOW!
10%.
Fuel injectors are and easy fix so I decide to order them from ECS and replace them myself. They are out of stock. OK. Try other places, they are out as well. Finally call the dealer and they say they are "nationally backordered." He goes on to tell me that the part (13 53 7 585 261) that I'm looking for has actually been revised again with part number
13 53 8 616 079. Which costs
twice as much (hence the $1500 amount in the quote). And
it's also backordered. Anyone else heard of this part number? Google doesn't produce results.
So now I'm stuck with crappy injectors and I can't replace them with the old part number because they are obviously crap and I don't think it's prudent to spend $1500 on parts for the new ones. Would likely have to wait several weeks for dealers to get the part even if I wanted to.
Before someone goes off about how my car is out of warranty and I shouldn't expect anything from BMW, this seems to be the exact same situation with 07-08 production years where BMW have performed a recall and I simply feel they should do the same with later years as well. The N54 has serious fuel issues that should be addressed, otherwise, customers are constantly giving money hand over fist to BMW for parts and labor only to encounter the problem in the future.
In short, they are profiting from their own bad design and I'm pissed. Thoughts? Comments? Suggestions?
