BMW Recalls 150,000 Cars for Faulty Fuel Pumps

BMW's North America unit is recalling about 150,000 cars and sports-utility vehicles in two separate actions to fix faulty fuel pumps that could cause the vehicles to lose power, the German automaker said Tuesday.

The first recall involves about 130,000 vehicles that may experience a failure of the engine's high-pressure fuel pump. Affected models include the 2007-2010 335i; 2008-2010 135i, 535i and X6 xDrive35i Sports Activity Coupe; and 2009-2010 Z4 Roadster sDrive35i. The models are equipped with twin-turbo inline six-cylinder engines with direct fuel injection systems.

To correct the problem, BMW will replace the high-pressure pump or update software -- or both. BMW said about 40,000 of the recalled vehicles are expected to require pump replacements.

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Symptoms of the defect include long engine-cranking times along with a illuminated "Service Engine Soon" light on the dashboard, BMW said. In certain cases, drivers may experience reduced power, accompanied by a chime and the illumination of the "Engine Malfunction" light.

In a separate action, BMW recalled 20,800 2008 X5 Sports Activity Vehicles with non-turbocharged inline six-cylinder engines to replace a low-pressure fuel pump. Should the part fail, the engine will stop running and the driver will lose power assist for the steering and brakes, although both the steering and the brakes remain operational.

BMW said it has received no reports of accidents or injuries related to either problem. It said owners will be advised via regular mail in coming weeks where to bring their cars for repairs.

In July, DailyFinance published a report about BMW vehicles losing power due to faulty fuel pumps after receiving complaints from owners about engines that unexpectedly stalled, even while driving at highway speeds.

The report noted that BMW had issued a technical service bulletin to service departments, advising of "driveability symptoms." At the time, however, a BMW spokesman declined comment on the suspected defect, saying that he was unaware of stalling problems associated with the vehicles' fuel pumps.