2012 BMW 328I: fuel pump failure

Filed Jun 27, 2025 · CA

DRIVE TRAIN MALFUNCTION. On June 25th 2025, for the second time I got this Drive Train Malfunction Issue on my 328i 2012 Model. The car just stopped in middle of road ( thank GOD not on a freeway ; otherwise, this would have resulted in multi car accidents and could have costed people's life including mine ). The car just died and STOPPED all of a sudden in middle of road and when I tried to start it, it only crank's . After waiting for about 10 minutes, it started . I had exactly same issue earlier in July 2024 and that time BMW service found high pressure fuel pump to be defective and they changed that. I was told by my BMW dealer that certain model and year BMW has this issue and it is well know. But I do see BMW issuing to its customers or doing anything. If the car just stops without any warning to pull over etc. while you are driving is very serious is VERY SERIOUS and LIFE- THREATENING ISSUE . Imagine one is driving at 70 miles an hour on a busy freeway and car abruptly stops ( like my car did , twice in last 11 months, thank god not on freeway though) and there are several cars behind you driving at more or less at same speed; this will result in multi cars collision and multiple accidents and deaths. I request the federal safety agency to take this serious issue on priority basis and do something ASAP.

Filed Mar 25, 2024 · Fuel system · CA

Yesterday morning 3/24/24 , car stalled on highway with Fuel Pump message on dashboard. Car would not start and had to be towed.

Filed Jul 11, 2023 · Acceleration, Transmission · 117,000 miles · AZ

The contact owns a 2012 BMW 328I.The contact stated while driving 70 MPH, the vehicle independently accelerated at high speed before the vehicle shut off with the message “Transmission Not in Park” displayed. The contact was able to pull over on the side of the road, and after the vehicle cooled down the contact was able to restart the vehicle and the vehicle operated normally. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and the fuel pump was replaced but the failure reoccurred. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, but no cause for the failure was found. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and no failure was found. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was contacted and stated that the VIN was not under recall for the failure. The failure mileage was 117,000.

Filed Jan 13, 2022 · Engine, Fuel system · NJ

Car stop completely on main st / took car to dealer and they said it’s the fuel pump ( defective ) / cost to replace about 2000. Lucky no lots of cars behind us at the time ( 2012 / 328 i BMW )

Filed Dec 21, 2019 · Engine · 73,000 miles · CA

Stalled on busy express highway, almost resulting in crash. Towed to shop. Fuel pump was defective and it costed 729.86 dollars plus 140 dollars towing. This occurred at 60 MPH on express highway.

Filed May 7, 2019 · Engine, Fuel system · 68,000 miles · TX

I was driving on a busy highway and the vehicle randomly stalled and lost power. Drivetrain malfunction trouble lights lit up the dash. I was barely able to get out of traffic before coasting to a stop. I had the vehicle towed to bmw south austin and it was diagnosed with a faulty fuel transfer pump, and a faulty fuel tank. Essentially I had run out of fuel with 1/4 tank showing on the gauges. Bmw denied my request to repair the vehicle under warranty, even though there is an extended warranty on the "in tank fuel pump". I guess people need to die in traffic when they run out of fuel unsuspectingly for bmw to care or issue a recall.

Filed Jan 18, 2018 · Fuel system · 30,000 miles · GA

The 3 series bmw's were not included in the recall 16v‑746 for fuel leak even though the 5 and 7 series have the same fuel pump. My car is leaking gas which is extremely dangerous to my family and others. I have read countless accounts online of the same issue with other owners of the 3 series. A problem of this magnitude should have been included in the original recall.

Filed May 16, 2017 · Fuel system · 63,595 miles · NV

My husband and I were driving home from la to nevada. On the freeway between barstow and baker, the car suddenly stopped on the left side of the freeway. Warning light appeared but disappeared so fast that we did not get a chance to read what it was saying, only the last part which I think said engine failure. It did not give us a chance to look for a safer place to stop. From driving at 75 MPH, my husband was able to drive it to a nearby left shoulder, which was very narrow that incoming cars started to honk because we were not really parked inside the space. I had to call our insurance for tow service while cars were driving 75-80 MPH. After an hour, the tow truck came but could not hook us up because of the position we were in and cars coming in so fast. The tow truck had to call the california highway patrol for help. So we were left again (tow truck had to go back to wait for the chp). This was a very scary situation (we had to leave the car to avoid being hit by the fast, incoming vehicles). We were lucky that we were not hit but it was a close call. Chp came and the tow truck brought us home. The dealer was closed because it was a sunday. I had to call another tow company on monday to bring it to the dealer. The dealer said it did not have communication with the fuel pump module which was different from what the warning indication showed. (but as I mentioned earlier, it was a short notice that I think it said "engine failure"). We had the impression that bmws are supposed to give the driver enough warning but in this case, it did not happen. We are afraid to drive for more than 300 or less miles because it might stop again in the middle of the freeway. That is an accident we do not want to be in.

Filed Dec 2, 2014 · Engine · 38,000 miles · MD

Came out of the parking lot into a busy main road and engine suddenly stopped in the middle of the road. There was no indication before engine stopped. Tried to restart the engine (the car has keyless push button start) but did not start. When tried to restart, the dashboard message said something like "engine will not start". There was no indication before the problem occurred. I was on the busy highway in chicago area an hour before the incident. The car was serviced in maryland dealership two days before the incident and drove to chicago from maryland and the incident happened in chicago. The car was then towed to the nearest dealership in chicago and after two days they said the fuel pump broke/burned out and have to be replaced and will take 3-4 days to fix it. Note that the car is less than two years old, under full warranty and at around 30800 miles. Also note that the scheduled 30,000 mile service was done the day before the incident happened and the car was inspected and cleared for any issues/problems. An incident like this can be dangerous if the vehicle stops like that on a highway or a busy road with no apparent signs. After this incident I lost confidence in the vehicle and also do not want something like this happen to anybody else. I would like the company/manufacturer to take serious note of this incident so that it does not happen to anybody else. I was also stranded in chicago for 3-4 days with family and three small kids. As the part was back-ordered the dealer in chicago was not sure when it will be ready and I and my wife had to get back to maryland for work and school for kids. So I rented a car and drove back to maryland. The car is now in chicago and have to figure out a way to get it back to maryland. Bmw is saying that they can only haul it for 250 miles.