[iatacs19]

It finally happened in the worst way I can imagine. I was heading to Rockville MD and decided to take US-29 through DC. Right before I get on Key Bridge my CEL comes on and I feel all the power from the car just go away. This is at 5:00PM in DC on a Friday, which is rush hour, I look for somewhere to pull over but no luck, I continue as much as I can, thankfully I was in the right lane, I get on a bridge and about 25 feet later my car just dies. I put the hazards on immediately and press the SOS button. The lady from BMW Assist asked me if I am blocking traffic, I calmly tell her I am stuck on a bridge in the middle of rush hour. She takes down my location and says she will call me back. About 10min later she calls me back saying it's a 90min wait, but they will do whatever they can to expedite it since I am blocking traffic.

Well, the tow truck finally arrives at 7:30PM after 2.5hrs of waiting and watching people go around me giving me the dirtiest looks I have ever seen. Also, during those 2.5hrs, 2 people stopped to ask if I needed help. First person was a mom out with her kid in a stroller, I smiled and thanked her. Second person was a young woman going home from work, I smiled the best I could and thanked her as well. I guess there is some humanity left in DC. It was a strange experience, the people walking on the bridge would pass by and stare or smile at me. If they smiled I smiled back and shrugged. If they stared, I just stared back at them.

I also say three 335i whiz by me and thought you guys are so lucky.

The tow truck guy was really cool and he was telling this was his 5th 335i tow in 4 weeks. I am guessing dead fuel pumps, he said BMW is the brand he tows most for new cars. He also said he heard about my traffic blockage on the radio right when he was getting the info from BMW Assist.

Finally got to the dealership around 8:20PM and the service dept is of course closed. I ran over to the sales dept and looked around for my CA. Thankfully he was there I asked him nicely if he could help or at least drive me home. He made some calls and got me a 328i with 40miles for tonight, but I have to go back tomorrow to exchange it for another car. I am guessing an enterprise rental, I hope it's not a Kia Rio. I drove the AT 328i a little and it's very interesting car with an AT.

Funny thing is that I had already schedule a service appointment for next Tuesday to have it looked at, I guess my car was impatient...

So, after 7 weeks of ownership and 2,750miles my car is dead, it does not start. I await to see what happens.

[sambonator]

Dang, sorry to hear that. I'm just praying my car's pump will last until the recall...

[wj4]

Damn bro, I am really sorry to hear about this. What I've been thinking about all along...has happened to you.

There are threads on fuel pumps dying, but I always thought what would happen if it happened in the most undesired place...ie in rush hour traffic, dies while you're making a left turn, etc.

This will be interesting to see how long you wait. Some people have mentioned that there's a big shipment of pumps that came in this week. I hope your car is back on the road soon!

[karliejai]

lets see wat u can get tmrw... =)

[John 070]

Sorry to hear about your experience....the thing is nowadays, we don't expect to ever be helpless or stranded, with all our Blackberries, laptops with aircards, GPS, AAA, BMW Assist, etc. And to be blocking traffic in a brand-new BMW....

We were just there for a trip to Reston, VA, Georgetown, Rockville, MD, and B'More, so I know exactly where you were stuck.

It's baffling how your car is only 7 wks. old, and this problem still exists. I think there is an argument saying that the number of people having fuel pump issues is large on the forum, but relatively small in the general population of 335's?????? But I'm feeling that if these problems were all isolated to 8/06-9/06, maybe, but yours may be 3/07 production???? Has BMW ever heard the expression "5 9's" or 99.999 uptime?

Anyway, my 9 year-old Nissan just passed inspection again, and we're taking it to the dealer for a 60k major service (I'm going 85k on these plugs). Wouldn't it be crazy if the 335 died on the way to the Nissan dealership? That car has 150k and NEVER left me stranded once over 9 years. That's 99.999 uptime/reliability.

Good luck with your repair, that shouldn't be happening on recently produced 335's imho.

[FrankoQ]

Very sorry to hear about your experience.

[bmw0perat0r]

Ugh...ugh...DC traffic and being on a bridge blocking traffic...what a nightmare that must have been. I had a jeep driving up toward frederick on i-70 one day. The engine began to sound strange and then...the oil pressure guage went to ZERO. I was pushing on the gas but the engine was slowing, pulled off just after a stop sign near the frederick municiple airport. I wasn't blocking traffic and I had 5 cops stop and ask if I needed help - got some dirty looks, what a huge pain in the rear that was.

Oh, the engine seized up b/c the oil became trapped in the top of the engine and would no longer ciruclate - gotta love those Jeeps after 170k miles right? heh.

5k miles and 2 months of ownership and no fuel pump probs, knock on wood.

Glad to hear you got out of that in one piece and no one hit you - i've heard that happens a lot.

[Swoop]

Damn, Juan...I live a few blocks from there...you shoulda called me up....

Sorry to hear about that, btw.....

[KL2DC]

Wow...sorry to hear that Juan

Damn, you should've called me , I was on key bridge (VA bound) at about 17:40-ish, I didn't see you. I did see the long line heading into Georgetown but didn't think it was anymore than normal.

[Spool]

LOL when you called me to tell me your car died on the busiest bridge at the busiest time i can't help but chuckled a bit...but i held it in since i know you were angry...

it'll be okay, let's take that loaner to the beach...

[KL2DC]

Originally Posted by iatacs19

....First person was a mom out with her kid in a stroller, I smiled and thanked her. Second person was a young woman going home from work, I smiled the best I could and thanked her as well....

Damn, Juan... you're quite the ladies man, even in your predicament

[FrankoQ]

Originally Posted by KL2DC

Damn, Juan... you're quite the ladies man, even in your predicament

hope you took her number for future assistance.

2.5 hours to get there
And no cops came to check on you?

[RiXst3r]

I was lucky, mine died in a parking lot! Same thing... wouldnt start... and if it did, then it would just die again in 10-20 seconds after some really nasty idling... throttle input did nothing.

Interesting thing was... when the tow truck driver showed up a few hours later, it fired right up, and I drove it up onto the flat bed... but i guess it died again when they went to drive it at the dealer to test it.

[iatacs19]

Thank you guys for your concern and kind words. I will let everyone know how it goes with this whole deal.

My car was a Week 11 production, March 07. This is the supposed MY2007.5 where they BMW did many minor production changes, but I guess the fuel pump was not one of them.

(Take this with a grain of salt, but my CA briefly mentioned that the ethanol in the fuel might be causing the problems with fuel system as a whole. He said there was an issue with condensation in the fuel system which might lead to other parts in the fuel system to fail eventually.)

I forgot to say 2 police officers stopped by, a normal DC crown vic and later an unmarked SUV. I told them both I had called for assistance and they just said ok and left. I thought maybe they would do a flare for me or something? But, I rather they be out there helping people who really need to be helped.


Called service dept and earliest they can look at my car is Wednesday at 9:00AM

[KL2DC]

Juan, ethanol is like the biggest scapegoat, it very well be but my ex-SA once used that line on me when I enquired why my fuel consumption was atrociously bad early on in my ownership.

So are you mobile or what? Your car is at VOB right? I think they'll give you an enterprise car, maybe. If you're lucky there are some interesting choices there....

Dood, call me if you need anything, you got my number.

[PSI Power]

Sorry to hear that.
I know how you feel. My clutch on my Audi gave out on me on the 14th street bridge at 9am on a weekday.
I was blocking traffic so moved the car by putting it in gear, starting up the car, and just letting it go.

Not a very happy day for me.

Hopefully you'll get your fuel pump fixed soon. I think the waiting times are better now, no?

Sounds like we need a DC Metro hotline to call for moral support and so that someone can bring out a six pack while we wait for the tow truck.

[Swoop]

i like the hotline idea......I think we should all exchange numbers in case of instances like this.....

[Spool]

Starch's went dead, Mine went dead, Juan's went dead...who's next to go?

[MDman]

Mine is a 10/06 production with 5300 miles and still going stong, but each time I hear about late production units going, I start praying before I turn mine on after reading this. I feel for you though. I know how it feels to be without your baby. VOB has a few new and undelivered 335Is waiting in their garage upstairs for fuel pumps. I saw them the other day with my CA. I hope this doesn't take long with them.
We definitely should share phone numbers between us DC Metro folks, I was in Georgetown at that time yesterday!

[Zirenz2006]

Sorry to hear this happened to you. When I hear of these late production cars having issues it makes me more concerned about my November production car.

[45ACP]

Originally Posted by Spool

Starch's went dead, Mine went dead, Juan's went dead...who's next to go?

I'm taking a roadtrip to Charlotte next weekend. 2/07 production with 2900 miles. I'll be incredibly pissed if my fuel pump craps out on me during the 12 hour round-trip. I take 81 instead of 95 so will be at the mercy of the local gomers and slack-jawed yokels. Deliverance, anyone? I'd also have to worry about taking out the PROcede before the towtruck comes along.

[Spool]

Originally Posted by 45ACP

I'm taking a roadtrip to Charlotte next weekend. 2/07 production with 2900 miles. I'll be incredibly pissed if my fuel pump craps out on me during the 12 hour round-trip. I take 81 instead of 95 so will be at the mercy of the local gomers and slack-jawed yokels. Deliverance, anyone? I'd also have to worry about taking out the PROcede before the towtruck comes along.

Why do you take 81? I take 95 all the way down, took me 4.5 hours last time to drive to Charlotte...

stop driving like a grandma...


it might die, mine die at the same mileage...good luck