You may have already been reading surprising information on BMW vehicles powered by the N54 turbocharged inline-6 engines about them having a defect regarding the high pressure fuel pump. Recently ABC News posted a story about many owners complaining of losing power while driving in certain vehicles equipped with the N54 engine due to a malfunctioning fuel pump forcing their car into ‘limp home’ mode. After the story, BMW announced they will be performing a recall on various vehicles including 2007-2010 135, 335, 535, X6, Z4 and 20,000 2008 X5s.

ABC is said to be continuing their investigation of the matter as well as the NHTSA. So far there have not been any related accidents or deaths from the matter, only a large amount of discouraged BMW owners. Some of angry owners are ‘repeat offenders’ for visiting the service department for the same issue that so far BMW has failed to completely resolve until now.

[source: ABC News]

BMW Recall Press Release [source: BMW]

BMW to Conduct Voluntary Emissions and Safety Recalls

* 26.10.2010
* Press Release

Woodcliff Lake, NJ – October 26, 2010… BMW of North America has notified the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) of its intent to conduct a voluntary recall of some model year 2007-2010 BMWs equipped with twin-turbo inline six-cylinder engines, all of which feature BMW’s High Precision Injection direct fuel injection system. It has also asked for approval from the California Air Resources Board to conduct this action. Affected vehicles may experience a failure of the high-pressure fuel pump.
Symptoms include long-crank engine starting times along with the illumination of the “Service Engine Soon” light. In certain cases, the driver may experience reduced engine performance in a Safe Mode accompanied by a tone and the illumination of the “Engine Malfunction” light.

Based on the individual service history of the vehicle, the action will entail replacement of the high-pressure fuel pump and/or a software update.

Approximately 130,000 vehicles are potentially affected with about 40,000 expected to require a new high pressure fuel pump. Affected BMW models include:

* MY 2007–2010 335i models.
* MY 2008–2010 135i, 535i and X6 xDrive35i Sports Activity Coupes
* MY 2009 – 2010 Z4 Roadster sDrive35i

In a separate action, BMW has notified the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) that it will voluntarily recall approximately 20,800 MY 2008 X5 Sports Activity Vehicles equipped with normally-aspirated inline six-cylinder engines to replace the low-pressure fuel pump. In this case, should the fuel pump experience a failure, 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.

Letters will be sent by First Class mail to owners of affected vehicles in the coming weeks, requesting the scheduling of a service appointment with an Authorized BMW Center to have the update performed.
No injuries have been reported with either of these issues.

In the case of either issue, if the customer experiences a problem, they should contact their authorized BMW Center. Customers with additional questions should contact BMW Customer Relations at 1-800-563-4269 or email CustomerRelations@bmwusa.com.

ABC News Investigation uncovers the reports of Toyota’s “runaway cars” that may have resulted in 16 deaths and over 200 Accidents. Toyota owners are demanding answers. Watch the controversy unfold November 3^rd on World News with Charles Gibson’ and ‘Nightline’

[source: ABC NEWS]

Owners of Toyota Cars in Rebellion Over Series of Accidents Caused by Sudden Acceleration

ABC News Investigation Uncovers Reports of 16 Deaths, Over 200 Accidents; Toyota Owners Demand Answers

By BRIAN ROSS, JOSEPH RHEE, ANGELA M. HILL and MEGAN CHUCHMACH

Nov. 3, 2009 —

Refusing to accept the explanation of Toyota and the federal government, hundreds of Toyota owners are in rebellion after a series of accidents caused by what they call “runaway cars.”

Safety analysts found an estimated 2000 cases in which owners of Toyota cars including Camry, Prius and Lexus, reported that their cars surged without warning up to speeds of 100 miles per hour.

Toyota says the incidents are caused by floor mats becoming stuck under gas pedals, but owners say that’s not what happened to them.

Watch the full report tonight on ‘World News with Charles Gibson’ and ‘Nightline’.

“I’m absolutely certain that in my situation, it was not the floor mats,” Elizabeth James told ABC News. She was driving her Toyota Prius outside Denver, CO when she says it suddenly shot up to 90 miles an hour, even though her foot was on the brake and not the gas pedal.

“I kept going faster and faster,” James said. “And all of a sudden& my foot was pressing on the brake super, super hard and I wasn’t slowing down.”

James and some other Toyota owners suspect the accidents have been caused by some kind of glitch in the electronic computer system used in Toyotas that controls the throttle.

Toyota officials refused to talk with ABC News about the incidents, but posted a statement from executive Bob Daly on its website last night that said: “Some news reports suggest there may be other causes of unintended acceleration, speculating about electronic engine control systems, braking performance or electro-magnetic interference among other theories. There is no evidence to support these theories.”

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has done six separate investigations of such acceleration surges in Toyotas since 2003 and found no defect in Toyota’s electronics.

Some Toyota Owners Point to Problem Other than Floor Mats

Many Toyota owners remain convinced that an electronic problem is to blame.

Bulent Ezal was driving with his wife of 46 years in their Toyota Camry in central California, when he says it suddenly took off. The car plunged over a 100 foot cliff into the Pacific ocean, and while he survived, his wife did not.

“All of a sudden the car surged with force and I was thrown back to the seat,” Ezal said. The last thing he heard was his wife screaming before he blacked out. Toyota says the accident was caused by Ezal mistakenly pushing the gas pedal, but Ezal is adamant that his foot was “absolutely, positively on the brake.”

There have been other deaths as well, including a fatal accident near San Diego this August that took the lives of California Highway patrol officer Mark Saylor, his wife, daughter and brother-in-law.

The Lexus they were driving, borrowed from a dealer, raced out of control at 100 miles an hour before hitting another vehicle, crashing into an embankment and bursting into flames.

Right before the crash, Saylor’s brother-in-law called 911 from the backseat of the vehicle and said urgently, “Our accelerator is stuck. We’re in trouble&There’s no brakes.”

Toyota said the problem was the wrong-sized, all-weather rubber floor mat in the car which was caught and held down the gas pedal. The company ordered a huge floor mat recall for 3.8 million cars.

In Tokyo, the president of Toyota, Akio Toyoda, formally apologized, saying, “Four precious lives have been lost. I offer my deepest condolences.”

But many Toyota owners remained unconvinced, including Elizabeth James in Denver, CO and her husband Ted. They organized a YouTube campaign accusing Toyota of gross negligence and cover-up and are demanding answers.

To see more of ABC News’ investigation, tune in to ‘Nightline’ tonight.

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