# 2014 X5 35d HPFP failure



## Reamer (May 3, 2014)

I also posted this in the F15 forum.

Joyce has an X5 35d, and I have a 2105 F31 328d. I'm hoping the story below will not become recurring.

About a month ago the high pressure fuel pump (HPFP) in my wife's X5 35d failed catastrophically sending metal throughout the fuel system. BMW fixed it under warranty of course, but the car was down for about 2 weeks. We had a loaner, but over all an unsettling issue.

Can anyone comment on whether the HPFP failure is 'common'? I had a VW TDI and sold it partly because, according to Internet forums like this one, it was not an uncommon issue, and Very Expensive to fix if out of warranty. My TDi had had several significant fuel system problem while under warranty.

Any comments on the use of fuel additives (Diesel) to increase fuel lubricity and would this help with the HPFP issues?? 

When pump failed the car stopped dead in the street. It showed "Drivetrain Malfunction" on the dash. It would crank but not start. It seems there is no way to get this car into neutral making it impossible to push to the side of the road. Are there any tricks to getting this car into neutral? I called the SOS line, got the tech support people. The guy told me that there was a 5mm allen head bolt on the transmission near the linkage. If I screwed that bolt in the car would go into neutral. I didn't have an allen key and wasn't going to crawl under the car on a busy roadway.

Comments, thoughts?


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## KeithS (Dec 30, 2001)

Can't respond about not being able to get into neutral, but based on reading these boards for years, HPFP failure is pretty rare.


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## Nadir Point (Dec 6, 2013)

Reamer said:


> When pump failed the car stopped dead in the street. It showed "Drivetrain Malfunction" on the dash.


Ya think?! (Sorry - couldn't resist. )

That type HPFP failure mode is most often associated with contaminated fuel, water typically. If it's bad enough to overcome the filter/separator the HPFP and injectors are toast in pretty short order.


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## Flying Ace (Jan 26, 2015)

In the manual there may be some instructions how to get the car back into neutrel. For the common automatics, yes there's a mechanical lock that can be switched to put it into neutral. I know this is no longer an issue, but I would familiarize yourself with this process for the future.


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## BB_cuda (Nov 8, 2011)

Reamer said:


> I also posted this in the F15 forum.
> 
> Joyce has an X5 35d, and I have a 2105 F31 328d. I'm hoping the story below will not become recurring.
> 
> ...


How many miles on the X5? EDIT:[ I see in your thread that its a 2014 so has to be low miles, <20,000] Were you running additives to increase lubricity? It is supposed to increase your odds of pump life but we have had debates on this. Pierre should be along shortly. To have died this soon, there must have been a defect or fuel was contaminated. Glad to hear you got it fixed under warranty


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## d geek (Nov 26, 2008)

Reamer said:


> I also posted this in the F15 forum.
> 
> Joyce has an X5 35d, and I have a 2105 F31 328d. I'm hoping the story below will not become recurring.
> 
> ...


Unlike the Bosch CP4.1 failures in VW/Audi tid, the CP3.2 has been quite reliable. My guess is that you got some contaminated fuel.

I can't remember another CP3.2 failure reported here.

One thing to note- that same CP4.1 HPFP pump is used in the 4 cyl BMW diesels here in N America. I have not heard of these failing in a BMW diesel here yet. There was a failure reported from Europe a couple of months ago, but the poster never provided follow up info. I think its possible that BMW spec'd these pumps with special internal coatings to deal with lower lubricity fuel likely to be encountered on this continent. I know they took that precaution with the CP3.2 used in the E90 & E70 diesels upon their introduction to this continent in 2009.

I think taking measures to ensure fuel quality is good practice. I would look for B5 (up to 5% biodiesel) from a high volume pump. I regularly used name brand additives when I had diesels. I would only use those that had data proving lubricity improvements. Power Service was the one I stuck with most of the time.


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## Reamer (May 3, 2014)

The car had about 13,000 miles. I/we had not used any additives. If the fuel was contaminated would BMW had likely found that as the cause and refuesed to cover the repair? That was/is VWs m.o. as far as I know. I'm sure there would be junk/water in the filter itf the fuel was the source of the problem. 

Anyway, thanks for the replys. I'll look for some power service for both our 'd's.


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## Michael47 (May 9, 2014)

Sorry to hear of it, glad it was fixed under warranty, and I think you found that one bad pump statistics predicts to be "out there" no matter how great the product or how tight the QC. Everybody else can now breathe easier, seeing it's been located and is NOT in their car. May this be the only non-routine visit to the shop you ever experience.

BTW, the very best anti-wear additive has been proven to be biodiesel, with even 1/2% being all you need. Since up to 7% is supported by BMW, if you can find it, you can use it. Power Service (white bottle) is second best, but Wally World carries it.

Oh, yes, there is a way to put it into neutral in your owners manual. It will put it into neutral for 15 minutes, and is intended to allow loading onto a tow truck. As I recall it, it involves a sequence of actions from driver's seat, not crawling under with a wrench. I don't remember it, but I do remember seeing it and noted at the time it was there for future reference.


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## n1das (Jul 22, 2013)

Reamer said:


> Can anyone comment on whether the HPFP failure is 'common'? I had a VW TDI and sold it partly because, according to Internet forums like this one, it was not an uncommon issue, and Very Expensive to fix if out of warranty.* My TDi had had several significant fuel system problem while under warranty.*


I'm suspicious of the fuel source. I only put 102k miles on my 2010 Jetta SportWagen TDI before selling it in 2013 and had ZERO fuel system issues. I've logged more than 700k miles on diesel vehicles over the past 13 years (3 VW TDIs, Ford F350 SuperDuty w/PowerStroke, 2 BMWs) and have never had a single fuel related issue of ANY kind. I also live up in the cold northeast part of the USA (in NH).

Have you generally fueled up the X5 35d at the same station(s) that you filled the TDI up at? If so, change where you fuel up ASAP! Fuel up ONLY at high volume / high turnover stations along major routes that do lots of diesel business. Go where the big rigs go. The fuel at these stations is constantly being replaced, often daily. It is not uncommon for a busy truck stop along a major route to do more than $30k worth of diesel business in a single day. The fuel at these stations will always be the freshest fuel in the region and the least likely to be contaminated with water and microbes and who knows what else. This is most important during winter months in cold areas where condensation is more of a problem.

Also regularly use one of the commercially available ULSD-compliant diesel fuel additives to add lubricity and take care of any remaining water in the tank. Providing Cetane boost is of secondary importance IMHO. My favorites are Howes Lubricator Diesel Treat and PowerService Diesel Fuel Supplement (come in a white bottle).

While diesel fuel lubricity is important, avoiding water contamination is also critically important. With Common-Rail TDIs, there have also been HPFP failures even when using 5% Biodiesel. 2% is enough to provide lubricity benefits but HPFP failures have still happened so using Bio isn't the cure-all. I suspect WET fuel is a contributing factor. Slugs of free water in diesel fuel will kill a HPFP in no time at all. Water in diesel fuel is to be avoided at ALL costs! A single tank of bad fuel is all it takes to do a lot of damage and in a worst case scenario the damage can be done in a matter of minutes. It's not worth the risk IMHO. That's why I choose to fuel up ONLY at busy high volume / high turnover stations along major routes. I go where the big rigs go in my area.

Bottom line is fuel quality is ABSOLUTELY EVERYTHING when it comes to ensuring long life and reliable service from the HPFP!

Sorry to hear.
Good luck.


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## Reamer (May 3, 2014)

Michael47 said:


> Oh, yes, there is a way to put it into neutral in your owners manual. It will put it into neutral for 15 minutes, and is intended to allow loading onto a tow truck. As I recall it, it involves a sequence of actions from driver's seat, not crawling under with a wrench. I don't remember it, but I do remember seeing it and noted at the time it was there for future reference.


The wife had removed the owners manual from the vehicle. Helpful, I know. Thanks, I'll check it out.



n1das said:


> I'm suspicious of the fuel source. I only put 102k miles on my 2010 Jetta SportWagen TDI before selling it in 2013 and had ZERO fuel system issues. I've logged more than 700k miles on diesel vehicles over the past 13 years (3 VW TDIs, Ford F350 SuperDuty w/PowerStroke, 2 BMWs) and have never had a single fuel related issue of ANY kind. I also live up in the cold northeast part of the USA (in NH).
> 
> Have you generally fueled up the X5 35d at the same station(s) that you filled the TDI up at? If so, change where you fuel up ASAP! Fuel up ONLY at high volume / high turnover stations along major routes that do lots of diesel business. Go where the big rigs go. The fuel at these stations is constantly being replaced, often daily. It is not uncommon for a busy truck stop along a major route to do more than $30k worth of diesel business in a single day. The fuel at these stations will always be the freshest fuel in the region and the least likely to be contaminated with water and microbes and who knows what else. This is most important during winter months in cold areas where condensation is more of a problem.
> 
> ...


Ive had a couple VW TDis and a Dodge Ram diesel. Only the 2011 Golf has given me trouble. And it's issues started before I bought it. That car's issues were likely involving the electronics controlling the fuel system. But under warranty it had 2 HPFP, an entire fuel rail, all new injectors, engine wiring harness, and probably other things I can't remember. I think the second HPFP fixed that car, but I didn't want to keep it to make sure. I had chronic CEL & limp mode in the 2011 Golf. I always ram OK and never broke down. (restarting generally cured the limp mode)

No, I didn't fuel the Golf and the X5 at the same place. I do use a fairly new very high volume filling station. They fill the tanks there up to three times a day! I will look for a good source of B5, otherwise go with one of the recommended additives.

Aren't there water separators in the fuel system on these BMWs? I can easily drain a bit from my Dodge diesel periodically.

Charlie


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## n1das (Jul 22, 2013)

Reamer said:


> No, I didn***8217;t fuel the Golf and the X5 at the same place. I do use a fairly new very high volume filling station. They fill the tanks there up to three times a day! I will look for a good source of B5, otherwise go with one of the recommended additives.
> 
> Aren***8217;t there water separators in the fuel system on these BMWs? I can easily drain a bit from my Dodge diesel periodically.
> 
> Charlie


OK good. That puts a lot of my fears and suspicions to rest. I was thinking you might have been getting fuel at a station that doesn't get much diesel business and the fuel turnover is low. Another advantage of high turnover stations is should they ever have a problem with their fuel it likely will be caught and corrected very quickly before a lot of diesel vehicles get damaged. I like to go where the big rigs go to get only the freshest fuel in the region. 

Hope you get it all taken care of.
Good luck.


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## AutoUnion (Apr 11, 2005)

Do you fill at the same diesel station with your X5 and as your VW TDI? Maybe that's the common denominator here.

I've owned a Jetta Wagon TDI and then traded it in on my X5d a few years ago. Both have been fine. In fact, before I traded in my VW TDI, it had the 20k service and I watched the tech remove the fuel filter. No particles or anything. Same with my X5d which got the filter replaced a few months back. On TDICLub, that used to be a tell-tale sign that your fuel system was going to grenade.

I fill up my BMW in the same 3 stations I used for my VW. Never had any problems.

Edit: didn't read all the responses. Looks like you answered the question already. Sorry.


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## Doug Huffman (Apr 25, 2015)

I did my own periodic service on my ALH TDI and always inspected the old fuel filter and poured the contents through a clean white rag. Always pristine.


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## MnRiverman (Feb 21, 2010)

What was the micron rating of "the clean white rag"?


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## Doug Huffman (Apr 25, 2015)

Adequate for a qualitative analysis; as indicated by a career repairing and testing nuclear reactors (during which I was qualified by NS 0989-028-5000 Manual for Control of Testing and Plant Conditions). Quantitatively, filter performance is a distribution of particle size versus fraction retained. To suggest a simple "micron rating" simplifies a complex device to meaninglessness.


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## Michael47 (May 9, 2014)

Just posted to the VW TDI forums is the tale of a fellow whose HPFP on a 2012 TDI failed catastrophically about 120 miles after he got a tank full of contaminated fuel. It was purchased from a cheap station where they only took cash and frankly, my guess is that it was black market fuel, stolen from elsewhere, which may bode ill for the TDI owner trying to recover the costs. If BMW covered the cost of the OP's HPFP failure, it was no doubt because they determined the cause was NOT contaminated fuel, as no vehicle mfg warranty covers that.

The lessons here are two: (1) buy your fuel only from a source that pumps a lot of fuel, never from a sketchy fuel seller whose only claim to fame is cheap price; and (2) if you do manage to get a tank full of contaminated fuel, prepare yourself for severe ***8211; and expensive ***8211; damage as well as possible litigation to recover financially.


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## Doug Huffman (Apr 25, 2015)

Contaminated fuel (a sample from the tank looked similar to oil and vinegar - 1/2 dark fluid on bottom of glass, 1/2 light fluid floating on top, sediment on bottom of glass). Particles in fuel filter, and in HPFP which seemed to show some light coloured fine powder/sediment. Big, expensive repair job ahead (insurance)http://forums.tdiclub.com/showthread.php?t=443266&highlight=HPFP


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## lakerholic (Sep 6, 2006)

Thought I would throw my own experience into the mix here, as I went googling for similar instances as to what happened to me over the weekend and ran into the OP's thread. 

It was funny and shocking at the same time to come across this thread as my 2014 X5d experienced exactly the same catastrophic failure. 2014, 11,500 or so miles... car just died in the middle of the road with my wife and two young kids in the car. Could not get the car into neutral to push it off to the side of the road, in fact BMW roadside couldn't either and had to use "skates" to get the car to roll on to the flatbed. 

Maybe it's bad fuel, maybe not... but I would've expected my dealer to let me know, right? I usually pump at the same stations around town and do try to go to to "big rig" stations if we are traveling longer distances and I need fuel.

Just very unsettling that a one year old car (we leased a left over 2014 in March of 2015) could fail so spectacularly. :/


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## Michael47 (May 9, 2014)

Sorry to hear of your experience, @lakerholic. As unsettling as it was, it must be noted that (a) there are many parts on all cars on the road, any one of which will leave you stranded should they break; and (b) thankfully, such occurrences are relatively uncommon. But they do happen, to cars of all makes, from ones just off the new-car showroom to ones with hundreds of thousands of miles on them. Just happened to me, in fact, a month ago: Jeep with 200,000 miles on it, and into which we'd just put $3,500 worth of repairs/upgrades, dropped a valve while climbing a hill at 70 on the freeway. 

It should also be noted that this thread contains mention of two HPFP failures out of how many hundreds of thousands of X5ds on the road? So, no, not a common failure.


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## lakerholic (Sep 6, 2006)

Michael47 said:


> Sorry to hear of your experience, @lakerholic. As unsettling as it was, it must be noted that (a) there are many parts on all cars on the road, any one of which will leave you stranded should they break; and (b) thankfully, such occurrences are relatively uncommon. But they do happen, to cars of all makes, from ones just off the new-car showroom to ones with hundreds of thousands of miles on them. Just happened to me, in fact, a month ago: Jeep with 200,000 miles on it, and into which we'd just put $3,500 worth of repairs/upgrades, dropped a valve while climbing a hill at 70 on the freeway.
> 
> It should also be noted that this thread contains mention of two HPFP failures out of how many hundreds of thousands of X5ds on the road? So, no, not a common failure.


Thanks. Definitely feel better knowing it's not common... but disconcerting nonetheless. Especially since I couldn't find the manual override to get the car into neutral and to the shoulder. Yikes!


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