What 65 owners told NHTSA about the 2013 BMW 335i

The car died without warning on highway. Lost control because of no power. Car was towed. no codes found. Car died again on highway, lost control no power to brakes and steering. Car was hit trying to got off into breakdown lane. High pressure fuel pump no good.

NHTSA ODI 11718453

Fuel system leaks when full. It emits a strong odor both in the car and in the garage. Visible fuel leak on exterior of tank. This poses health, environmental, and safety concerns. This is, after internet searching, a fairly common issue.

NHTSA ODI 11447635

THIS VEHICLE'S FUEL PUMP HAD AN ISSUE WHICH WOULD CAUSE A STALL, AND IT WAS EVENTUALLY REPLACED BY BMW JUST LIKE A RECALL, BUT THEY MADE SURE TO EMPHASIZE THAT IT WAS A "LIMITED WARRANTY EXTENSION" AND WAS 'NOT' A RECALL. STALLING AND FUEL LEAKS SEEM LIKE A RECALL ISSUE ESPECIALLY WITH RESPECT TO "DEFECTS IN MATERIALS OR WORKMANSHIP" AS STATED IN THE ATTACHED DOCUMENT. I DO NOT KNOW IF THIS IS A NEWER PRODUCTION OF THE SAME DEFECTIVE FUEL PUMP, OR A REVISED VERSION. BUT IF IT'S THE OLD ONE, IT FEELS LIKE THEY'RE JUST TRYING TO PUSH THE ISSUE FURTHER AWAY UNTIL IT'S FORGOTTEN. JUST LIKE THEY ATTEMPTED WITH THE HIGH PRESSURE FUEL PUMP (HPFP) FOR THE OLDER MODEL 335I (2007-2012). PLEASE STOP THE BMW RECALL-SORRY NOT-RECALLS; IT'S CONFUSING AND IT LEAVES LARGE POPULATIONS OF DEFECTIVE VEHICLES WITH NO ACCOUNTABILITY WHATSOEVER. THANK YOU

NHTSA ODI 11006102

WHILE DRIVING ON THE FREEWAY GOING TO WORK, AROUND 5:30 IN THE MORNING, THE POWER TRAIN WARNING LIGHT CAME ON THE SCREEN.., WHILE ON SPORT MODE SELECTED I NOTICED THAT MY RPM WAS CLOSE TO 3K DOING 65 MPH., THE VEHICLE SLOWED DOWN TO 45 MILES PER HOUR AND HAD NO POWER.., I WAS ABLE TO PULL OVER THE SHOULDER AND TRIED SEVERAL TIMES TO RE-START THE CAR TO NO AVAIL., I HAD THE CAR TOWED TO THE NEAREST BMW DEALERSHIP, AND THEY DIAGNOSED IT AS A BAD HIGH PRESSURE FUEL PUMP. THEY REPLACED THE PUMP THE SAME DAY, TEST DROVE IT AND EVERYTHING IS BACK TO NORMAL. THE REPAIR WAS COVERED UNDER WARRANTY, I SENT THE TOWING EXPENSES TO THE BMW ROAD SIDE ASSISTANCE FOR REIMBURSEMENT., SAID IT WILL TAKE A FEW WEEKS TO GET IT IN THE MAIL..

NHTSA ODI 10926503

DRIVING THE VEHICLE ON A HIGHWAY WITH NORMAL SPEED LIMIT. VEHICLE STARTED TO SPUTTER AND DRIVETRAIN MALFUNCTION WARNING LIGHT CAME ON. VEHICLE WAS LOSING POWER AND SPEED DECREASING QUICKLY IN THE MIDDLE OF THE HIGHWAY. I DID HAVE A CHANCE TO PULL OVER SAFELY ON THE SHOULDER. WIFE AND CHILDREN WAS SCARED AND SO WAS I. HAD THE VEHICLE TOWED TO THE NEAREST BMW DEALERS/SERVICE STATION. DIAGNOSTICS SO FAR WAS BAD FUEL. ONLINE FORUM SUGGESTED OTHERWISE. ANY HELP IS GREATLY APPRECIATED. *TR

NHTSA ODI 10584049

"LIMP MODE" IS A VERY WELL KNOWN ISSUE AFFECTING 2012-2014 BMW 335I MODELS WITH THE M SPORT PACKAGE. AFTER ACCELERATING FROM A STOP TO 60-65 MPH, AND MERGING INTO TRAFFIC, I EXPERIENCED LIMP MODE. THE CAR WOULD NOT ACCELERATE, THE RPMS WOULD NOT RISE ABOVE 2500 OR FALL BELOW 2000. THE OIL TEMPERATURE WAS APPROXIMATELY 200 DEGREES. DURING THE SUDDEN LOSS OF ACCELERATION AND POWER, NO MATTER HOW HARD OR FAR I PUSHED THE ACCELERATOR, THE CAR WOULD NOT ACCELERATE- THE CAR COMPLETELY LOST ALL POWER AND THE ABILITY TO ACCELERATE. AS I WAS COASTING, I TRIED PUMPING THE GAS AND SHIFTING GEARS (SHIFTABLE AUTOMATIC) TO NO AVAIL. THERE WERE NO WARNING LIGHTS ON THE DASHBOARD OR OTHER WARNING MESSAGES DISPLAYED. WHILE TRAFFIC ZOOMED PAST ME, I COASTED FOR A GOOD 30-60 SECONDS GRADUALLY SLOWING TO ABOUT 15 MPH. AFTER ROUGHLY 60 SECONDS, I PUSHED THE ACCELERATOR DOWN AGAIN AND THE CAR BUCKED, LURCHED AND JUMPED AND THE RPMS BEGAN TO RISE. I WAS ABLE TO ACCELERATE NORMALLY AGAIN THOUGH THE TEMPERATURE DID RISE TO ROUGHLY 240. I MADE AN APPOINTMENT IMMEDIATELY TO HAVE THE CAR CHECKED BY MY LOCAL BMW DEALER. THEY REPLACED THE AUX COOLING FAN AND APPLIED A SOFTWARE UPDATE AS IS THE CASE WITH "LIMP MODE". THIS IS THE SAME "FIX" APPLIED TO COUNTLESS OTHER 335I OWNERS WHICH SIMPLY DOESN'T WORK. MY DEALER OPENED A PUMA CASE WITH BMW TO RESOLVE THE ISSUE. STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURE IS TO REPLACE THE FAN AND APPLY A SOFTWARE UPDATE THE FIRST TIME, REPLACE THE FAN RELAY THE SECOND TIME AND APPLY A SOFTWARE UPDATE THE THIRD TIME. NONE OF THESE WORK!! CHECK F30 POST, BIMMER WORLD AND BIMMER FEST FORUMS. DEALER WAS GREAT, BUT I WANTED THEM I WILL FIGHT FOR A BUYBACK IF IT HAPPENS AGAIN. HAD THIS HAPPENED A FEW SECONDS LATER, WHILE PULLING OUT IN FRONT OF CARS TRAVELING 65+ MPH, I WOULD NOT BE HERE NOW. RECALL THIS PIECE OF CRAP!! WHEN MY LEASE IS UP OR IF I CAN GET OUT OF IT, I WILL. NOT SAFE. *TR

NHTSA ODI 10565341

THE CAR GOES INTO "LIMP MODE" WHILE DRIVING REDUCING POWER IMMEDIATELY. I WAS MAKING A TURN ONTO A STREET CROSSING A HIGHWAY AND MY CAR WENT INTO THIS LIMP MODE. I WAS ALMOST HIT DUE TO THE SUDDEN LOSS OF POWER. SYMPTOMS: 1) LOSS OF POWER AND CAR WILL NOT REV. PAST ~3,000 RPM (NO FAULT CODES ON DASH) 2) RADIATOR ELECTRIC COOLING FAN ON MAX (VERY LOUD) 3) ENGINE OIL TEMP. APPROX. 205 DEGF OR LOWER (WHILE LIMP MODE IS OCCURRING, TEMP. IS USUALLY NOT AT NORMAL OPERATING TEMP OF 245 DEGF) THE PROBLEM GOES AWAY ONCE CAR IS TURNED OFF AND BACK ON (IT RESETS). MANY USERS HAVE REPORTED THAT IT SEEMS TO HAPPEN AFTER A LONG COMFORT MODE DRIVE ON THE FREEWAY FOLLOWED BY CITY DRIVING AND SWITCHING TO SPORT MODE. REPAIR ATTEMPTS: 1) AUXILIARY ELECTRIC COOLING FAN REPLACEMENT (MOUNTED TO THE RADIATOR AND FAN SHROUD) - BIGGEST CULPRIT (THE FAN IS TESTED DIRECTLY AND WILL FAIL THE TEST BUT MAY OR MAY NOT HAVE A FAULT CODE STORED IN THE ECU) 2) FAN RELAY REPLACEMENT 3) THERMOSTAT REPLACEMENT 4) DME REPLACEMENT WITH SOFTWARE UPDATE AS FAR AS WE CAN TELL, THERE IS NO SIB YET BUT PLENTY OF PUMA CASES HAVE BEEN FILED. A FEW PEOPLE HAVE HAD THEIR CARS BOUGHT BACK AND REPLACED BY BMW. PLEASE LOOK HERE HTTP://WWW.F30POST.COM/FORUMS/SHOWTHREAD.PHP?T=786475 THERE ARE 50 PAGES OF THIS AND BMW IS NOT HELPING. *TR

NHTSA ODI 10560721

HEARD NOISE AND THE CAR STARTING SHAKING AND THEN CAR DIED ON ME AND SERVICE ON MIDDLE OF NOWHERE AND I STARTS THE CAR BACK BUT IT GOT STALLED MANY TIMES AND IT WAS SHIFTING THE GEAR TO NEUTRAL IT WAS A BAD EXPERIENCE I COULD HAD AN ACCIDENT BRAND NEW BMW. *TR

NHTSA ODI 10500706