BMW has announced today that they will conduct two separate recalls, both due to the possibility of a fuel pump failure.

The first recall concerns certain vehicles equipped with the twin-turbocharged inline-six N54 engine. BMW has been receiving complaints about high pressure fuel pump failure on these vehicles for some time now, but it took them until now to fall into the public pressure and recall the vehicles to fix them up. The affected vehicles are the 2007-2010 BMW 335i, 2008-2010 135i, 535i and X6 xDrive35, as well as the 2009 – 2010 Z4 sDrive35i. An estimated 130,000 vehicles will fall under this recall. 40,000 of them are expected to need new fuel pumps, while the rest will receive software upgrades to prevent pump failure.

The second recall will affect 20,800 2008 BMW X5s fitted with the naturally aspirated inline-six. The low pressure fuel pump on these cars may fail, resulting in the engine shutting down and the driver losing power assist for steering and braking.

Notification letters will be sent out to owners in the coming weeks.

Press Release

BMW to Conduct Voluntary Emissions and Safety Recalls

26.10.2010 | Press Release

Woodcliff Lake, NJ – October 26, 2010… BMW of North America has notified the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) of its intent to conduct a voluntary recall of some model year 2007-2010 BMWs equipped with twin-turbo inline six-cylinder engines, all of which feature BMW’s High Precision Injection direct fuel injection system.  It has also asked for approval from the California Air Resources Board to conduct this action. Affected vehicles may experience a failure of the high-pressure fuel pump.

Symptoms include long-crank engine starting times along with the illumination of the “Service Engine Soon” light.  In certain cases, the driver may experience reduced engine performance in a Safe Mode accompanied by a tone and the illumination of the “Engine Malfunction” light.

Based on the individual service history of the vehicle, the action will entail replacement of the high-pressure fuel pump and/or a software update.

Approximately 130,000 vehicles are potentially affected with about 40,000 expected to require a new high pressure fuel pump. Affected BMW models include:

• MY 2007–2010 335i models.
• MY 2008–2010 135i, 535i and X6 xDrive35i Sports Activity Coupes
• MY 2009 – 2010 Z4 Roadster sDrive35i

In a separate action, BMW has notified the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) that it will voluntarily recall approximately 20,800 MY 2008 X5 Sports Activity Vehicles equipped with normally-aspirated inline six-cylinder engines to replace the low-pressure fuel pump.  In this case, should the fuel pump experience a failure, the engine will stop running and the driver will lose power assist for the steering and brakes although both the steering and the brakes remain operational.

Letters will be sent by First Class mail to owners of affected vehicles in the coming weeks, requesting the scheduling of a service appointment with an Authorized BMW Center to have the update performed.

No injuries have been reported with either of these issues.

In the case of either issue, if the customer experiences a problem, they should contact their authorized BMW Center. Customers with additional questions should contact BMW Customer Relations at 1-800-563-4269 or email CustomerRelations@bmwusa.com.

Source: BMW