[Dr_Dirt]

Last month my sister in-law purchased a 2008 335i E90 step.
She lives in the Palatine, IL area and was driving home on the freeway when the car just died, everything including the electrical went off. She pulled over and of course the SOS is dead as well. So she used her cell phone and called BMW assist and they couldn't send anyone out right away. They eventually did send someone, but I guess it was too little too late.

Anyway the BMW dealer (I think it was motorwerks) wasn't able to find the problem and tried to make things right but she was upset enough that she didn't want another BMW, so the dealer refunded her money I believe the dealer did everything they could but she was just upset.

I could be wrong but I haven't heard of anyone else having an issue where the 335i completely died during normal driving.

[vgame64]

The dealer has no idea of how it happened after analysis? Did they ever get it working?

I find it hard to believe they don't know how it happened considering the computer logs everything large and small from TMAP disconnects to vacuum actuator disconnects...though maybe the problem is beyond what sensors can detect? (Could this happen if the pyrotechnics on the battery blow...thus disconnecting it and all electric power?)

Hopefully they figure this out to prevent it from happening to someone else.

It's good they refunded her though...it was the right thing to do and keeps up Motorwerks' good reputation. (along with some compensation for her inconvenience as well)

[amgthis]

Dangerous, very dangerous. BMW is some explaining to do! Someone could have been seriously injured!

[Mr. 5]

Originally Posted by Dr_Dirt

Last month my sister in-law purchased a 2008 335i E90 step.
She lives in the Palatine, IL area and was driving home on the freeway when the car just died, everything including the electrical went off. She pulled over and of course the SOS is dead as well. So she used her cell phone and called BMW assist and they couldn't send anyone out right away. They eventually did send someone, but I guess it was too little too late.

Anyway the BMW dealer (I think it was motorwerks) wasn't able to find the problem and tried to make things right but she was upset enough that she didn't want another BMW, so the dealer refunded her money I believe the dealer did everything they could but she was just upset.

I could be wrong but I haven't heard of anyone else having an issue where the 335i completely died during normal driving.

The only thing that I can think of is if the battery cables weren't attached properly.
It happened to me when I was driving my '62 Nova a while back.
I know that it's not a good comparison, but it will give you an idea with what happened in my case.
The negative side of the battery was loose.

[Dr_Dirt]

Originally Posted by vgame64

The dealer has no idea of how it happened after analysis? Did they ever get it working?

I find it hard to believe they don't know how it happened considering the computer logs everything large and small from TMAP disconnects to vacuum actuator disconnects.

I'm as stunned as you are about this. Apparantly they worked on it for a few days and could not repair it, they offered her a new car but she just wanted her money back.

[vgame64]

Originally Posted by Dr_Dirt

I'm as stunned as you are about this. Apparantly they worked on it for a few days and could not repair it, they offered her a new car but she just wanted her money back.

Geez that's friggin' scary. I hope that never happens to me otherwise I would lose it.

I miss the days of simpler cars like my E34 that does not have a computer control/monitor everything thereby causing complex problems. (I could probably change my cams in my E34 faster then I could replace the valve cover gasket in my 335i!)

[hotrod182]

Probably a power cable, battery or otherwise.

[Dr_Dirt]

Hopefully someone from Motowerks Barrington, IL is on here and could shed some light on this failure.
It is a scary failure.

[darkphantom]

Whoa! how long ago did she purchase it? I don't know if I'd be able to return my 07 E93...

Don't know what I'd do...!

[Vudoo4u2]

One thing can be said..Motorwerks in barrington seems to have some great service

how many dealers would quickly offer a new car or give the money back?

[sambonator]

Ya probably the battery cable was loose. It happened to me on my e90 335i after a lightweight battery mod. Now I have the cables ultra-secured

[vase330]

Originally Posted by Dr_Dirt

Last month my sister in-law purchased a 2008 335i E90 step.
She lives in the Palatine, IL area and was driving home on the freeway when the car just died, everything including the electrical went off. She pulled over and of course the SOS is dead as well. So she used her cell phone and called BMW assist and they couldn't send anyone out right away. They eventually did send someone, but I guess it was too little too late.

Anyway the BMW dealer (I think it was motorwerks) wasn't able to find the problem and tried to make things right but she was upset enough that she didn't want another BMW, so the dealer refunded her money I believe the dealer did everything they could but she was just upset.

I could be wrong but I haven't heard of anyone else having an issue where the 335i completely died during normal driving.

Tell me about it. I was pissed and felt completely confused as I was in Germany maybe 3 miles from delivery. In my case I was lucky. I was right infront of BMW Nieladassen the main dealership where they take the VIP cars in Munich. I was pulling my hair out and a two different pendestrians came over and tried to assist. First guy was clueless but very kind I must add. He offered to call for me, but I wanted to try to start it as I couldn't understand how a brand new car just dies! Second guy was actually more knowledgeable than me on these cars. He tried and told me he thought only the dealer could help, then pointed out the dealership straight a head of me. I guess I was so pissed I couldn't see it until he pointed it out. I walked over to the gate talked to the guard. He called inside a tech came out went over with me, he couldn't restart it, so they sent a guy to tow it in. 30 minutes later, they "reset" it for me and sent me on my way. I am now at 14K miles and it has never happened again. Shit happens man.

If I was at home in the US, I too would have returned it and demanded a refund. Being Germany complicated issues for me, not to mention no way I was going to pay all those $$$ and then no have it exactly as I planed it with my own damn car. I had 3 weeks all planned out and the thought of being in a rental just wasn't going down easy. They had offered to get me a loner from their lot, but I wasn't having that after going all the way there. They said it happens and sometimes its simple glitch sometimes its worse. I lucked out, so I am not complaining.

[vase330]

Originally Posted by vgame64

The dealer has no idea of how it happened after analysis? Did they ever get it working?

I find it hard to believe they don't know how it happened considering the computer logs everything large and small from TMAP disconnects to vacuum actuator disconnects...though maybe the problem is beyond what sensors can detect? (Could this happen if the pyrotechnics on the battery blow...thus disconnecting it and all electric power?)

Hopefully they figure this out to prevent it from happening to someone else.

It's good they refunded her though...it was the right thing to do and keeps up Motorwerks' good reputation. (along with some compensation for her inconvenience as well)

I had 5 months of endless electronic BS with my car, so bad it became undrivable and BMW wound up replacing all electrical stuff from CCC to GPS to Bluetooth module to the entire I-Drive. I posted here many months ago, and you know what? Not a single fault recorded! NOT ONE! Dealer was frustrated just like I was. BMWNA took over but never figured it out either. In the end they fixed by replacing everything. I was offered a buy back, but I declined as my car now worked and I was reticent to risk getting into a repeat. Its been trouble free last 10K other than wastegate rattle.

[vase330]

Originally Posted by Mr. 5

The only thing that I can think of is if the battery cables weren't attached properly.
It happened to me when I was driving my '62 Nova a while back.
I know that it's not a good comparison, but it will give you an idea with what happened in my case.
The negative side of the battery was loose.

Mine was not the battery. Lights, other accesories worked but engine was dead. BTW the brakes worked too even though they were rock hard to pump. I think saying someone could be seriously injured might be a little extreme. I stopped without a problem.

[undecided]

The alternator had gone bad (I was hearing what sounded like the well known turbo failure whine from the engine bay) but there was NO warning light on the dash about it. When the car died ( I was a bit lucky, I was stopped at a light ), the the "battery" light flickered on. I barely got a call to BMW in before all power was completely gone.

I think I posted a thread here about it. Things to take away:
1) No warning lights
2) Alternator failure sort of sounds like turbo failure
3) My dealer ignored the sound (I stopped in the day of the failure before I got stranded)
4) Battery gor completely drained and shot had to be replaced.
5) It took 3-4 days of driving with a bad alternator for the battery to completely drain.
6) My car's quality is lower than a kia's.

[Dr_Dirt]

Originally Posted by undecided

The alternator had gone bad (I was hearing what sounded like the well known turbo failure whine from the engine bay) but there was NO warning light on the dash about it. When the car died ( I was a bit lucky, I was stopped at a light ), the the "battery" light flickered on. I barely got a call to BMW in before all power was completely gone.

I think I posted a thread here about it. Things to take away:
1) No warning lights
2) Alternator failure sort of sounds like turbo failure
3) My dealer ignored the sound (I stopped in the day of the failure before I got stranded)
4) Battery gor completely drained and shot had to be replaced.
5) It took 3-4 days of driving with a bad alternator for the battery to completely drain.
6) My car's quality is lower than a kia's.

Damn, this sounds like what it could have happened to her car. I'm surprised that BMW doesn't have something in place to monitor whether or not the alternator is working.

[335e92tx]

The legacy way of confirming alternator output WAS to pull the battery cable - if the motor stayed running the alt was doing something. Knowing cars now days, that probably either fries something or it would die anyway bc the batt now tends to act as a big capacitor to help reduce spikes in the electronics.

[Jb7]

Originally Posted by Dr_Dirt

I could be wrong but I haven't heard of anyone else having an issue where the 335i completely died during normal driving.

I know this response is late, but a similar thing happened to me. At 1200 miles on my car, i was in a middle of a turn and the car just shut off. i waited and tried to restart several times, but it didnt work. My sos did work however and i got it towed to my dealer. The dealer could not figure what was wrong, so they replaced the whole engine except the turbos. Thankfully, nothing has happened since then.