ABC News has cottoned on to the story that BMW is in some hot water over the high-pressure fuel pump on its potent twin-turbocharged N54 inline six-cylinder engine. As we first told you about earlier this month, the pump seems to have an abnormally high rate of failure and can cause intermittent stalling, backfiring and loss of power in certain 135, 335, 535 and X6 and Z4 models. But that doesn’t mean that BMW has issued a recall to fix the problem just yet. As a result, a number of lawsuits have stacked up against the German automaker including at least one class-action suit in California. After a number of complaints, the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration conducted an investigation in 2008 and decided that the pumps did not pose a threat to owner safety.
BMW, meanwhile, says that what drivers are experiencing is a built-in limp mode. It may feel like the vehicle has completely stalled because of a lack of power, but it maintains that afflicted cars and SUVs can still be driven to a safe place. Likewise, the company says that vehicles experiencing the failure don’t rapidly decelerate, so there’s no danger of being rear-ended should the fuel pump fail. The company also said that it sent a letter to vehicle owners warning of decreased engine performance and has extended the warranty on the fuel pump to 10 years. After being harangued by ABC producers, however, BMW has also reportedly agreed to take major action on the subject in the near future – an action that could come as soon as today.
