[pulsk001]

Hi guys, my 2008 335i with 80k kms has started developing a slight issue.

It misfires slightly on cold start, sometimes the check light comes on, once I turn off and turn on it is fine. Occasionally(2 out of 10 times) the check light appears while driving. Again it goes away when restarted.

I was hoping it was the coil packs but I just had it diagnosed by a non BMW (European Specialist) and the error seems to be Fuel related. He wasnt sure what code.

He suspects Fuel Pump or Injectors. But it was running fine the whole time he had it.

How to determine whether it is the fuel pump or injectors?

Any insights highly appreciated.

Cheers

[7smurfs]

First things first... check the codes.

Long cranks? Fuel pump

Otherwise start with plugs then move onto coils if you haven't already done so before looking at fuel injectors.

If you also have jb4, update to latest firmware which allows you to check cyclinder timings to isolate which cylinder is being affected and causing the misfire..

[pulsk001]

Originally Posted by 7smurfs

First things first... check the codes.

Long cranks? Fuel pump

Otherwise start with plugs then move onto coils if you haven't already done so before looking at fuel injectors.

If you also have jb4, update to latest firmware which allows you to check cyclinder timings to isolate which cylinder is being affected and causing the misfire..

No long cranks.

According to this mech, the code appeared was fuel related and not ignition (so he ruled out coil n plugs). So he reckons HPFP or Injectors.

No JB4, car is still stock.

It played up this morning on start up, after that it was fine the whole day. The mech erased codes. Will drive it later and see if problems persists and get it checked out by a BMW specialist later this week.

Just thought I would get some opinions here before that. From what I'm reading it seems like a HPFP issue but even injectors have similar symptoms. Tough one!

[chappy]

Most likely fuel injectors, did you get your injectors done through the RECALL a year ago, as mine is 2008 and 4 injectors was replaced under the recall.

[pulsk001]

I bought the car a year ago from Doncaster BMW.

I am not sure if the injectors were replaced but if it was under a Recall I'd imagine they would have done it?

Maybe it would be good to give them a call and find out.

[djpro1]

how do you check if your car participated in a recall? I called up chatswood BMW and they were useless. even they didn't know

[Digitalism]

I was under the impression they sent out letters to the owners with cars that were affected.
I emailed my local BMW service department and they replied with no outstanding recalls.

[335i-boy]

The first I heard of an injector recall was when I had the car in for a service. When they scanned the key fob the service manager said it needed to have the injectors changed under the recall.

I though sweet. I had already had a new set put in under warranty, I'll now get another new set... an hour later I get a call saying the injectors had already been replaced previously and no new injectors for me.

Suggest taking the car in and get them to have a look if your car has had the injector recall work done or not. Phone calls unfortunately can be bit hit or miss when it comes to this stuff.

[donR]

Ok so what is the best BMW service centre in Sydney to check on recall issues? Sounds like Chatswood/Artarmon was not helpful?

[DR-JEKL]

any dealer in australia should be able to check to see if there is any outstanding recalls when you provide your vin.

[WRX-335]

Might be the injectors? Does the car sound like is popping when it starts?

[pulsk001]

It sounds like its misfiring when it starts in the morning. Give it a bit of rev and it gets better. After two minutes its fine.

Yesterday it did it in the morning and was fine the whole day. At night I filled her up and as I took off from the station I stepped on it for a few seconds and boom Check light on again and jumps into limp mode.

Its getting checked now.
Any ideas on how much I should be paying if it is:
-injectors?
-fuel pump?

[waterbottle1]

Before you go into Limp mode... is there any sound? or weird stutters?

heavy load and accelerate then limp aye??
sounds familiar to me.. lol

Few things... i can think of that happened to me

*AFR - air fuel ratio is much too high. ?? (Are you using any e85?)
*A weak lpfp (low pressure fuel pump) on heavy load does cause your car to stutter when you throttle it hard at low rpms. Also weak lpfp causes longer than usual cranks to super long crank.
*Worn sparkplugs/coil does cause misfiring at sudden throttle especially higher rpms.
i was told Sparks need to be changed 60-80k kms usually, and probz more often if your cars modded putting more stress

[djpro1]

funnily enough I received a letter for final notice for my battery cable replacement yesterday.

[7smurfs]

Call up BMW Australia and provide them with your VIN code. They will tell you whether the recall has been done on your car.

As others mentioned - if it's misfiring @ high RPM/WOT then it is most likely plugs/coils however since you are getting a fuel code, my bets are on injectors.

Try to get the exact code reading by taking it to a shop that has OBDII to read

[pulsk001]

I called up Doncaster earlier today to find out if the car has had all the recall's done. They were happy to share the past service records etc.

Injectors were checked and and replaced if needed (Unsure if replaced or not)
HPFP was replaced 2 years ago under warranty
Battery cable has been done.

No other reported major issues.

My mech (Michael McMichael in Adelaide) suspects HPFP. He hasnt mentioned injectors. Injector and fuel system appeared as fault. He has cleared and is trying to monitor before he decides if its a HPFP issue. He called me to pick the car up and use it and see if it persists, i told him to keep it overnight and start it up in the morning since it usually happens then.

How much does the injector replacement job usually cost?

Also not sure if I mentioned this, the car was sitting for about 3 weeks before these issues? Someone said battery may have gotten weak and tripping the system but I have been driving it for 2-3 days now, surely it has charged up?

[pulsk001]

HPFP replaced and problem solved.

[mspec]

what did that end up costing ?

I'm having same issue.
sounds like it's running rough for first 10sec in the morning on cold start only. Almost stall then the revs pickup until warm then drop back down again.
This happens every morning but it does get cold over here, -4 deg cel. It's in an enclosed garage though.

Also sometimes drop a cylinder if running on JB4 and WOT. It sounds like a tractor.
If I pull over turn the car off and back on it's fine.

Spark plugs were replaced less than a year ago.

[ATTN]

Ah the pleasures and pains of the n54 we love and hate.

[pulsk001]

Sounds similar to what I had. Same thing on cold start but also jumps into limp mode on hard driving (3 out of 5 times).

Cost me $680 for the pump and about 2-3 hours of labour including diagnosing the problem. I feel pricing a bit on the steep side but this guy is known to be on the expensive side. (Michael McMichael). Paid $1k all up.

If you are sure about the problem you can get a pump from BMR Autowerkes for $580 and get someone to put it in.

Yup! the pain of owning a N54. Wasn't feeling great when I paid the bill and collected the car last Friday, but I was smiling when I took it for a run up Adelaide hills on Saturday morning.

Good thing it wasn't the injectors, but I guess having passed the 80k mark it'll be no time till that comes.

Lets see!

[waterbottle1]

Originally Posted by ATTN

Ah the pleasures and pains of the n54 we love and hate.

so dam true.

[ATTN]

Originally Posted by mspec

what did that end up costing ?

I'm having same issue.
sounds like it's running rough for first 10sec in the morning on cold start only. Almost stall then the revs pickup until warm then drop back down again.
This happens every morning but it does get cold over here, -4 deg cel. It's in an enclosed garage though.

Also sometimes drop a cylinder if running on JB4 and WOT. It sounds like a tractor.
If I pull over turn the car off and back on it's fine.

Spark plugs were replaced less than a year ago.

I think from memory the HPFP is abotu 700-800$ (latest part#)

You can install it yourself which should take about 6 hours give or take, providing you have the right tools.

From memory there are 3 or 4 hex bolts on the HPFP you'd need one long hex key to un screw one off, was a little tricky to get to but eventually got it off with patients.