The Vano Housing System bolts all broke off and fell into the engine causing sudden failure and stopping of the vehicle causing it to need to be towed. Upon some researched I learned that in 2014 BMW of North America issued a recall for 2010-2011 BMW 3 series (N55 Engine) Models for this exact defect except apparently my VIN was not included. However, clearly my vehicle should have been included because it sustained damage and could have caused me harm by sudden stoppage. The car is currently being looked at by BMW of Rockville, MD and BMW is attempting to skirt responsibility
2011 BMW 335I engine complaints
Page 2 of 2: complaints 11 to 36 of 36, newest first, as owners wrote them.
Well maintained vehicle with approximately 81,000 miles when the rod bearing broke. Bmw has a record of rod bearing failures and recalls. Bmw is not helping in my case and from my research there has been rod bearing failures in the same year and model as mine. I was driving when I heard knocking in the engine. I pulled over, had to be towed ajd bmw said the rod bearing went. They said it just went. Plenty of oil in the engine so it wasn't that. I was going about 60 MPH when all of this happened
Vanos bolts backed out after recall service replacement completed. Vehicle went into safe mode on the freeway suddenly.
Tl* the contact owns a 2011 bmw 335i. While driving 55 MPH, the check engine warning indicator illuminated. The contact stated that the vehicle began to hesitate and seize. The vehicle was towed to fields bmw south orlando (located at 9750 s orange blossom trail, orlando, fl 32837, (407) 956-6300) where it was diagnosed with needing the engine block replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact associated the failure with the federal safety agency campaign number: 14v176000 (engine and engine cooling). The manufacturer has been informed of failure. The failure mileage was 78,250.
I was driving in a parking lot at about 5mph, and the vehicle suddenly stopped on its own while I was still pressing the accelerator. I continued to press the accelerator, but the vehicle would not move. After 3 or 4 minutes of trying to determine what the issue was, I put the car in park and restarted the engine. The car was able to accelerate once I turned the car off and restarted. If this would have happened while in traffic, it would have put many people at risk. No one was harmed because I was in a walmart parking lot traveling at 5mph when the car stalled, but I am unsure what caused this to occur. This situation seems to be related to the national highway traffic administration's recall number 14v176000, as it describes what I experienced while driving the vehicle.
Engine seized 10 miles after oil filter housing gasket was replaced. Car has 107k miles and has been meticulously maintained. Now I'm going to have to spend from $8k-$10k for a new engine. Never received a warning light. From what I've been reading, this is not uncommon after that specific job is done and the gasket starts leaking around 100k so it is necessary to address.
Tl* the contact owns a 2011 bmw 335i. While driving various speeds and accelerating, the speed decreased and the message "engine pressure reduction" appeared. In addition, while driving 40 MPH, the vehicle stalled without warning. The vehicle was taken to niello bmw in elk grove, california where the high pressure fuel pump was replaced along with the asa bolts. In regards to the vehicle stalling, the coolant pump and the water pump were replaced. Furthermore, the dealer found a leak in the seal of the radiator and diagnosed that it needed to be replaced. The manufacturer stated that the VIN was not included in the recalls related to the failures. The failure mileage was approximately 50,000.
Water pumped failed after 40,400 miles only. The car was well maintained by dealer. The age of the car is 5 years and 6 months after purchase. Water pump failed during in town driving. Speed was under 30 miles/hr.
Engine shut off loss of power steering loss of ability to accelerate while driving on 7/27/17, our 2011 bmw 335i's ability to accelerate stopped, RPM increased but still in drive not in neutral. During loss of accelerate, power steering failed and was unable to pull off side of the road. This happened while vehicle was in motion on a busy city street. Had to put on hazards in middle of street.
Tl* the contact owns a 2011 bmw 335i coupe. While driving 70 MPH, the vehicle began to lose power and the engine stalled without warning. The vehicle was unable to restart and was towed to the contact's residence. The contact used a diagnostic tool that read that the valvetronic actuator failed and needed to be repaired. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The VIN was invalid. The failure mileage was approximately 149,000.
Tl* the contact owns a 2011 bmw 335i. While driving 60 MPH, the vehicle stalled and the check engine warning light illuminated. The contact pulled the vehicle over to the side of the road and was able to restart the vehicle. In addition, the engine temperature warning light illuminated. The contact noticed the engine coolant was still full. The failures recurred intermittently. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed that the coolant unit and the battery failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired, but the failure recurred. The contact stated that the VIN was not included in the federal safety agency campaign number: 14v176000 (engine and engine cooling). The manufacturer was not notified. The failure mileage was 30,000.
Tl* the contact owns a 2011 bmw 335-I. Comments: I was driving my on a long uphill section with plenty of room to pass and I started passing two cars when my engine lost power and stalled. The cars I was passing kindly started to slow down to let me move past them, but I kept slowing down at the same rate as they were, remaining side by side with them, leaving me no room to move back to the right and with the truck coming in the opposite direction closer and closer. Eventually I felt I had no choice, and managed to get off the road on the opposite side so the truck could pass between the two cars and mine. I tried to restart my car. It did start albeit with the engine malfunction ? Reduced power light on. The recurred the next day I drove my car to bmw of darien which told me that for the third time (twice on my previous 2008 335is convertible) the fuel pump had failed. Then I received recall no. 13v‑044: power supply system about a potential failure of the electrical system resulting in engine stalling, but could not ever get an answer from bmw whether the cause of the engine stalls with my car was really the fuel pump. I have been trying to get to the bottom of this dangerous engine failure for almost two years. Bmw customer service has been completely evasive. One gentleman called me once on my cellphone, not on the phone number I had provided. I called them and wrote to them multiple times. I am happy to provide you with copies of that correspondence that seems to indicate that they did not have a response! Thank you very much for looking into this. Best regards.the contact requested the complaint to filed in their own words pulled from an email sent to the federal safety agency.
For 8 mos now, my car has been stalling. I have taken it in twice and they have not been able to replicate the problem. It happened again yesterday and I called but now it is not under warranty! It happens about 15-20 minutes into my morning commute, stop and go traffic on highway or expressway. Usually at a complete stop or rolling to a stop. It always starts right back up.
While accelerating from a stop into traffic, the charge pipe leading from turbo to engine ruptured causing a dangerous loss of power which resulted in a near collision. Bmw uses plastic for the charge pipe which is easily cracked under normal turbo boost loads.
My 2011 335i bmw convertible stalled for 2nd time while less than 200 miles driven in between. Vehicle stalled in slow speed while turning left in both cases. Vehicle lost total power in both cases. Took to the bmw mountain view, ca dealership in first occurrence. Dealer checked and no fault found in the system. Technician drove ~60 miles and couldn't reproduce the issue. Dangerous to drive the car as it stalls. Vehicle has only ~38k miles on it.
Tl* the contact owns a 2011 bmw 335i. The contact stated that the service engine warning lamp illuminated several times and the engine was riding extremely rough. The contact later received notification of the federal safety agency campaign id number: 14v176000 (engine and engine cooling), received the recall repair and within four months the failure recurred. The contact stated that the service engine warning lamp illuminated again and the engine was making a loud noise. The contact pulled the vehicle over and after several attempts it was able to restart which reset the computer. The contact later tried to start the vehicle and the key would not turn over. The vehicle was towed to the authorized dealer for further inspection and diagnosis. The recall remedy did not repair the vehicle. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 20,000.
Driving down road and car loss power. Then stop car, took a well start car, the check engine light came on, make home. Later slow cranking car and losing power well driving. Next day engine light turn off. Then later engine light back on car runs with less power and slow cranking up. I only had my car 1 yr and bmw dealership says it my hpfp/injector it's not good everything start happening right after warranty end on car that was left from first person purchase. And I love my car but this not looking good..
After starting the car, the center console gave an error message "engine malfunction. Engine operating at reduced output. Possible to continue. Drive with caution. Have the system checked by the nearest bmw center." the car could not go more than 2mpg and the entire car was shaking. I turned the car off and turned it back on and it did the same thing. I took it to the bmw center and I am waiting to get it back. They claim it had something to do with the fuel pump or the fuel injectors and the detection of ethanol in the gasoline.
Driving 40mph, smoothly at consistent speed, in middle lane of 3 lane road during morning rush hour. I had been driving for about 10-15 minutes after car had been in garage the night before. Attempted small acceleration, car did not respond, engine had turned off unclear if before or at time of attempted acceleration. Power steering was off. I put on my hazards, slowly drifted to stop, put car in park, attempted restart, first attempt failed, waited 15 seconds and second attempt successful. For next 3 hours, the engine had a rhythmic grinding sound which then stopped. Fuel tank had been filled the day before and was not near empty. Took to dealer, they have not been able to replicate event or find anything to fix.
Tl* the contact owns a 2011 bmw 335i. The contact received a recall notice in june of 2014 for the federal safety agency campaign number: 14v176000 (engine). The dealer informed the contact that a letter from bmw was needed in order to have the vehicle repaired. The contact received a letter from bmw that stated the parts were not available. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified. The contact had not experienced a failure. Updated 10/23/2014*lj updated 4/7/2015
Tl* the contact owns a 2011 bmw 335i. The contact received a recall notification for the federal safety agency campaign number: 14v176000 (engine); however, the parts needed for the repair were unavailable. The dealer was unable to provide a specific date as to when the parts would become available. The manufacturer was notified. The contact had not experienced a failure. Updated 10/8/14*cn updated 10/10/14
Upon driving at highway speed (70+MPH) the car slowed down (engine braking) to approx 40mph instantly. The cars behind me were forced to brake forcefully. An accident was avoided because it was sunday morning and light traffic. The car displayed "engine malfunction-drive to the dealership". The car was without power - just coasting at 40mph or so, not able to accelerate. I managed to get it over to the dealer - fields bmw of northfield, il. They kept it for a week - told me it was a computer malfunction that cut off power to the pressure converter for the turbocharger. When asked if this can happen again, they said possibly. I called bmw of north america customer service 1‑800‑831‑1117 spoke to [xxx] extension [xxx]. I described the life threatening malfunction and I asked him to talk to the engineers and to get back to me on whether this can be avoided in the future. Next time we will be looking at a fatality for me or other drivers. I also asked him to extend the warranty to 100,000 miles due to the proven lack of safety and reliability. He never responded to my requests - I called today - 8/25 - he told me as far as bmw of north america is concerned - there is no issue with the vehicle. I believe that due to the possible future loss of life, this issue needs to be investigated. I am available for comments/contact. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6).
Tl* the contact owns a 2011 bmw 335i. The contact received a notification of the federal safety agency campaign id number: 14v176000 (camshaft bolts/vanos) and stated that the part needed was unavailable to perform the repair. The dealer was unable to provide an expected date for the remedy part to become available. The manufacturer was not notified of the problem. The contact had not experienced a failure.
Tl* the contact owns a 2011 bmw 335i. The contact stated that it was taking too long to have the vehicle serviced for the federal safety agency campaign number 14v176000 (engine and engine cooling:engine). The dealer stated that the part for the repair was unavailable. The manufacturer was notified. The contact had not experienced a failure.
Tl* the contact owns a 2011 bmw 335i. The contact stated that the vehicle was driven through four inches of water when it stalled without warning. An authorized dealer informed the contact that the hydro lock failed and the engine needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was aware of the failure, but offered no assistance. The failure and current mileages were 7,400. The VIN was unavailable.
I would formally like to report a major safety concern I have regarding my new 2011 bmw 335is convertible. From a standstill without modifying any of the default configurations on the car, flooring the gas pedal, the car lurches forward (as expected) and then power completely cuts out for a second and then will continue on its way. My guess is the dsc is kicking in causing power to be reduced and then re-established. My concern is that a brand new car should be able to be floored without this happening. I recently had this exact situation occur as I was pulling out into traffic and very narrowly missed getting pummeled by another car when power was cut to my car. I have taken my car to my bmw service station and although they agree that the car should not do this?they at the same time say the car is operating normally. Their advice was to turn off dsc in a situation I want to floor it. This is my 3rd bmw 3 series convertible and I have never experienced this. Also, I do not think the driver should be forced to consider this before pulling out in traffic. And, if I were to lend my car to a family member, how would they know.
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