Help BMW Troubleshoot My 335xi?

binaryagent · 05-25-2010, 09:18 AM

2008 335xi Sedan M-sport
50,880 miles

The car first threw codes at cold start and went into limp mode over the weekend of April 24-25. It had never shown a hint of any problems for the 3 weeks prior that I owned it. I took it to the dealer that next Tuesday, April 27th and the report came back that it had error code 2FBC and a bad fuel pump. They updated the software and then replaced the HPFP (with 943).

The car then showed faults at crank sensor and low fuel pressure sensor and they were awaiting a response on the Puma. Then after a few days they told me I had a bad battery and needed a new one with registration for over $500 because the fuel pump wasn't getting enough voltage. I took the vehicle from them and purchased a MAXX-94R at Walmart for $75 and had the battery registered at a local shop for $47. Also, I had the original battery tested under load at two different locations and it showed good.

I took the car back to the dealer and they said that they were still getting faults at the crankshaft sensor even after the new battery so they wanted to replace the crankshaft sensor at a cost of over $500. I agreed to that work (out of my pocket) and then they came back and said the fuel pump was bad again and were going to replace it (warranty). Then the car was still showing low pressure and other faults so they decided that it was a bad DME which would be replaced under warranty.

So yesterday, Tuesday, May 24th, and almost a month after I first brought the vehicle in, they said that they weren't ready to replace the DME yet and that they were continuing to troubleshoot.

Any experts out there have experience with these type of symptoms from a 335i?

I think BMW could use a hand in troubleshooting their product. For whatever reason the whole Puma case process combined with an issue that doesn't readily show up in an error code seems to be creating a worst case scenario for BMW and getting this particular vehicle repaired.

Thanks for your help.

PS: I don't intend on paying for the crankshaft sensor replacement. That apparently wasn't the problem in the first place so my thinking is, "why should I pay to fix something that wasn't broken to begin with". Any advice on that?

binaryagent · 05-25-2010, 05:53 PM

Hmmm... SA says reseating the DME plugs has kept the fault codes away all afternoon. The technician got my permission to take it home overnight.

GMWNashville · 05-25-2010, 09:43 PM

so out of curiosity...since the HPFP was replaced and the crank sensor wiring as well as low pressure fuel sensor and wiring are located RIGHT by the hpfp and since all of that would have to be moved out of the way to replace the hpfp...is it just pure luck that you have all these faults? or were the faults there before hand? was the low pressure fuel system not tested properly before hpfp replacement(since its part of the test plan and SIB's which are used to troubleshoot the limp mode/hpfp issue)...to me all of that just doesn't make sense?

binaryagent · 05-26-2010, 10:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by volkswackin

so out of curiosity...since the HPFP was replaced and the crank sensor wiring as well as low pressure fuel sensor and wiring are located RIGHT by the hpfp and since all of that would have to be moved out of the way to replace the hpfp...is it just pure luck that you have all these faults? or were the faults there before hand? was the low pressure fuel system not tested properly before hpfp replacement(since its part of the test plan and SIB's which are used to troubleshoot the limp mode/hpfp issue)...to me all of that just doesn't make sense?

I was wondering also. I don't have a repair manual to look at so I don't know if replacing the HPFP or the crankshaft sensor would have the capacity to disturb the plugs to the DME.

Honestly I wonder if the problem was the loose plug from the beginning and BMW is so focused on HPFP failures they jumped right into that line of troubleshooting without considering alternative root causes.

binaryagent · 05-26-2010, 10:43 AM

I dropped by the dealership this morning and got the good news that the technician didn't experience any fault codes overnight.

After some discussion within the service department my SA gave me the word: No Charge.

So if this is indeed the fix and the end of this story then the moral would be to verify all connections before addressing the fault codes shown by the DME.

I've been in the computer industry for over 20 years and the first thing we do in the case of non-responding or faulty hardware is to reseat all connections.

In the end I don't fault BMW any more than I would any other company because this type of process and troubleshooting failure goes on everywhere. I just got caught directly in the middle of this one. Now they stepped up and did what's best for all parties. That's what's important.

05-25-2010, 09:18 AM	#1
binaryagent Enlisted Member 7 Rep 35 Posts Drives: 2014 X5 xDrive50i M Sport Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Dallas iTrader: (0)	Help BMW Troubleshoot My 335xi? 2008 335xi Sedan M-sport 50,880 miles The car first threw codes at cold start and went into limp mode over the weekend of April 24-25. It had never shown a hint of any problems for the 3 weeks prior that I owned it. I took it to the dealer that next Tuesday, April 27th and the report came back that it had error code 2FBC and a bad fuel pump. They updated the software and then replaced the HPFP (with 943). The car then showed faults at crank sensor and low fuel pressure sensor and they were awaiting a response on the Puma. Then after a few days they told me I had a bad battery and needed a new one with registration for over $500 because the fuel pump wasn't getting enough voltage. I took the vehicle from them and purchased a MAXX-94R at Walmart for $75 and had the battery registered at a local shop for $47. Also, I had the original battery tested under load at two different locations and it showed good. I took the car back to the dealer and they said that they were still getting faults at the crankshaft sensor even after the new battery so they wanted to replace the crankshaft sensor at a cost of over $500. I agreed to that work (out of my pocket) and then they came back and said the fuel pump was bad again and were going to replace it (warranty). Then the car was still showing low pressure and other faults so they decided that it was a bad DME which would be replaced under warranty. So yesterday, Tuesday, May 24th, and almost a month after I first brought the vehicle in, they said that they weren't ready to replace the DME yet and that they were continuing to troubleshoot. Any experts out there have experience with these type of symptoms from a 335i? I think BMW could use a hand in troubleshooting their product. For whatever reason the whole Puma case process combined with an issue that doesn't readily show up in an error code seems to be creating a worst case scenario for BMW and getting this particular vehicle repaired. Thanks for your help. PS: I don't intend on paying for the crankshaft sensor replacement. That apparently wasn't the problem in the first place so my thinking is, "why should I pay to fix something that wasn't broken to begin with". Any advice on that? Last edited by binaryagent; 05-25-2010 at 01:19 PM..
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05-25-2010, 05:53 PM	#2
binaryagent Enlisted Member 7 Rep 35 Posts Drives: 2014 X5 xDrive50i M Sport Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Dallas iTrader: (0)	Hmmm... SA says reseating the DME plugs has kept the fault codes away all afternoon. The technician got my permission to take it home overnight.
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05-25-2010, 09:43 PM	#3
GMWNashville Colonel 172 Rep 2,373 Posts Drives: 19 G05, 16 F80, 10 E70x5D Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Nashville, TN iTrader: (2)	so out of curiosity...since the HPFP was replaced and the crank sensor wiring as well as low pressure fuel sensor and wiring are located RIGHT by the hpfp and since all of that would have to be moved out of the way to replace the hpfp...is it just pure luck that you have all these faults? or were the faults there before hand? was the low pressure fuel system not tested properly before hpfp replacement(since its part of the test plan and SIB's which are used to troubleshoot the limp mode/hpfp issue)...to me all of that just doesn't make sense?
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05-26-2010, 10:43 AM	#5
binaryagent Enlisted Member 7 Rep 35 Posts Drives: 2014 X5 xDrive50i M Sport Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Dallas iTrader: (0)	I dropped by the dealership this morning and got the good news that the technician didn't experience any fault codes overnight. After some discussion within the service department my SA gave me the word: No Charge. So if this is indeed the fix and the end of this story then the moral would be to verify all connections before addressing the fault codes shown by the DME. I've been in the computer industry for over 20 years and the first thing we do in the case of non-responding or faulty hardware is to reseat all connections. In the end I don't fault BMW any more than I would any other company because this type of process and troubleshooting failure goes on everywhere. I just got caught directly in the middle of this one. Now they stepped up and did what's best for all parties. That's what's important.
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