2008 BMW 335I: sudden loss of power

Filed Aug 22, 2018 · Driver assistance, Fuel system · 92,000 miles · GA

I was driving and all of a sudden I could not steer, and the power was gone; it was barely moving; and the light came on saying to continue to drive with diminished speed. I was close to home on an access road; and was able to limp home. It was almost impossible to turn the steering wheel. I took it to global bmw in metro atlanta; and paid close to $3000 for repairs. Approximately a month later I had a problem again. The light came on and stated engine malfunction; reduced power, proceed with caution. In doing research this morning; I discovered that there was a recall on my vehicle for this exact problem. I did not know it; but global bmw had to know it. I called bmw recall and they claim that they are waiting on the parts. This recall has been in effect since 2010; so they must have the parts. Most of the lawsuits were settled out of court with a gag order; so it appears that bmw don't respond unless there is a formal complaint; and this is the reason for this complaint with your office. I will appreciate any assistance that you may provide.

Filed Apr 17, 2017 · Acceleration, Transmission · 103,000 miles · CA

Tl* the contact owns a 2008 bmw 335i. While driving 30 MPH, the vehicle was shifted into second gear, but lost power and failed to accelerate without warning. The contact was able to coast the vehicle to the side of the road, but the vehicle failed to restart. The vehicle was towed to the contact's job. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and stated that the VIN was not included in the federal safety agency campaign number: 17v067000 (power train). The failure mileage was 103,000.

Filed Feb 7, 2016 · Fuel system · 94,000 miles · CA

Faulty high pressure fuel pump- loss of power - engine stall in traffic

Filed Jun 12, 2015 · Electrical, Engine · 86,335 miles · IL

The engine malfunction "reduced power " message keeps coming on and off , low engine oil message keeps coming on even though its good on oil , the steering wheel was hard to turn while I was driving causing me to have to pull over and turn the car off and back on and the steering was ok after that. It's currently being looked at my the dealer where I purchased it only 3 months ago.

Filed May 15, 2015 · Fuel system · 86,188 miles · CT

Vehicle 2008 bmw 335i lost all power while accelerating on highway (approx. 55mph). Forced to weave thru lanes / traffic to a complete stop on shoulder of road. In addition, vehicle 2008 bmw 335i has engine light on during "cold start". During cold start vehicle states "reduced power, engine malfunctioning". Car diagnosed: diagnosis

Filed Mar 9, 2015 · Electrical, Engine · 59,000 miles · DE

I just got belt replaced. About two weeks later the belt pops. The car lost power steering and then would not start. I've researched online n saw that its a design flaw in the 07- 08 335i's but bmw is refusing a recall. Imagine if I was on the highway n it happened. Its terrible.

Filed Mar 4, 2015 · Engine · 56,185 miles · OR

While driving at 35 MPH in an area where there was no pull off and a blind turn and the temperature gauge was well within the normal range, an overheat engine light indicator came on and the car immediately lost power leaving us in the middle of the road obstructed around a turn. The time between the warning and the car last power was a few seconds with no other warning. This was an extremely hazardous and dangerous situation. After about 5 minutes, we were able to restart the car and get it about 1/2 mile, thus removing it from the middle of the road, again losing power with no warning. A qualified car repair center said it was a faulty water pump (the car has 56,000) and they said that many other bmw owners with my type of car are having the same issue; in fact they told me another owner had their car in for repair with the same issue and bmw was not cooperating. I researched both complaints on this site (which confirm the same issue) as well as bmw owner's forums which likewise confirm the same issue as well. I called bmw and they said there was no recall and that they would not address the issue. This is a dangerous and unfortunate position for bmw to take. Not only is it unacceptable for bmw to ignore a known water pump issue that fails prematurely, but the car looses power without time to react. For the sake of safety, I ask this please be addressed.

Filed Jan 30, 2015 · Electrical, Steering · 65,000 miles · PA

An oil leak from the top mounted oil filter housing spilled onto the rubber accessory belt causing it to overheat and disintegrate. The result was a total loss of all powers, most importantly the loss of electrical charging and power steering. This occurred at high speed while I was driving on the pennsylvania turnpike. The loss of power steering created a situation where the auto was nearly impossible to steer. The loss of the charging system, alternator not charging, caused an eventual complete shutdown of power and shutdown of the engine leaving me on the side of a highway. This was an expensive repair, but fortunately I was able to avoid a collision. This occurred at only a 65,000 mile odometer reading.

Filed Sep 14, 2014 · Engine · 102,000 miles · TX

The engine is idling very roughly at a full stop whether its a traffic light, or just stop and go traffic. The rpms will spike to 750-800 rpms and drop below 5-400 rpms randomly causing the entire car to shake violently, and stall at times.the incident seems common with my model car though online forums and friends that have the same car and the 328 with n54 engine. My main issue is that there is no malfunction code associated with it, and it happens randomly; sometimes when the car is cold, sometimes at running temp, sometime with AC on, sometimes with AC off. There doesn't seem to be a specific variable causing the issue, but it is a major issue non the less, therefore bmw dealership can't seem to figure out a fix for my problem and continuously turn me away even though I have extended bumper to bumper warranty. This issue has become a safety concern of mine and I don't want it to get worse and causing an sudden loss of power or an accident. I've noticed that there was a recall for 2007-2011 3-series for loss of electrical power/stalling, but I'm not sure if its the same circumstance for my car or different.

Filed Aug 30, 2014 · Fuel system · 90,234 miles · VA · crash

Car had fuel pump initially replaced when car still under the factory warranty. Bmw na will try to avoid the absolute truth. Note injectors for the n54 engine are also on a world wide recall. Now the injection pump from a recall is being called extended warranty for 10 years or 120,000. Miles well it happened, got hit by a car from rear when my 335i stalled!!!!!! I was experiencing extended starts, followed by engine stalling repeatedly for 3 attempts then it will clear out. Now when light load is applied the engine light with the engine half graded out appears (reduced power), engine running violently rough codes comes up are p142e & p3090. They wanted me to replace my injectors first because they said I have "old injectors" note when hpfp was replaced they replaced the recalled injectors but they changed only 4 ! Even though they know it's a 6 cylinder I wanted to tell bmw that when they built the engine they installed all 6 new injectors. Their reply was it only needed 4 at that time, well what a out now your telling me I need to replace all 6 because their old injectors so the replacement done was to mask the problem!!! To this date they have issues with the current engine plate form n54 - n55 epic failure. Some say its also replacement of just a fuel pressure sensor. I'm changing mine on monday bought it online from a bmw dealer installation is 2-2.5 hours basic tools needed and care.

Filed Sep 3, 2013 · Engine · 47,000 miles · NJ

Why driving my vehicle, I received a yellow warning followed immediately by a red warning. While trying to understand the issue the car began to lose power, causing unsafe highway handling. Once I was able to get over, it was determined that the car was overheating. The water pump failed rendering the car disabled. I have driven quite a few cars and have never seen a water pump disable the car so quickly and create a dangerous condition. Upon doing some research, talking to repair mechanics this problem appears to happen all too often in bmw's.

Filed Aug 3, 2013 · Acceleration, Engine · 67,000 miles · NJ

I was driving vehicle on 295 near hamilton nj and while accelerating the car lost power. The car was not responses and when I would try to press accelerator the car and steering wheel shook violently. The service engine light came on. The speed rapidly decreased and put me in very dangerous situation. I was very lucky that I was able to put hazard lights on and pull to shoulder. I turned car off and restarted and the car, the service engine light turned off and I immediately dropped car off at dealer.