[dcaron9999]

Originally Posted by Unklejoe

WOW. This kind of pisses me off even more. They issued a recall in China but not any other country?

Are they going to try and say the problem is isolated to China? They released a damn SIB about the issue and it clearly impacts all N55s.

Hopefully this recall propagates to other countries.

If they issue a recall in China and no other country, what does that tell us about BMW's level of give-a-fuck about their customers?

I am going to write them another letter. I never got a reply to my first one. What address are you guys mailing these to for BMWNA?

I will include comments about the recall in China and how that actually makes BMW look worse than if they were to just pretend it's not an issue.

The recall in China PROVES that they know it is a serious problem. Meanwhile, they have our service reps over in the states telling us that it's no big deal.

No better in Canada. I first sent them a FAX, and got a pleasant "kiss off" reply from a lady with a beautiful voice 2 days later. Im thinking about sending a second complaint (email or FAX) with a link to the Reuters article as well.

[Unklejoe]

Originally Posted by dcaron9999

No better in Canada. I first sent them a FAX, and got a pleasant "kiss off" reply from a lady with a beautiful voice 2 days later. Im thinking about sending a second complaint (email or FAX) with a link to the Reuters article as well.

lol...."lady with a beautiful voice" lmaooooo

i sent another letter in. let's see where it gets me

[c2513892]

Hi,

I have a 2011 335i with the N55 production date 04/10, so I am certain my car is impacted... I sent a e-mail to BMW NA, I talk about the recall in China, the fact that they know there is an issue by their TSB (is that what is call?) and perhaps we should point out the potential to loss of life, due to a sudden loss of power in the letters as finding yourself on say, an overpass in the middle of the night with reduce or no power could be a serious problem...

Any how, did anyone figure out if the bolts could be replaced without removing the VANOS units, by removing one bolt at the time? It appears that the real issue is the bolts, I don't understand why the whole VANOS units are being replaced, unless no action is being taken before damage occurs due to bolt failure.

[weehe126]

Hi all, figured I would make my first post to document the sheer luck I had. Picked up my 335i a week and a half ago. Drove it for three days and on the third as I was merging on to the high way, check engine light came on. Took it to the local dealership and sure enough it was a vanos bolt failure. The lucky part being that I still had 3600 miles left on the warranty. Figured I would just add to the list as it has a build date of 7/10. I will be writing a letter to BMW NA as I can't imagine how pissed off I would have been if it was out of warranty.

[Unklejoe]

Originally Posted by weehe126

Hi all, figured I would make my first post to document the sheer luck I had. Picked up my 335i a week and a half ago. Drove it for three days and on the third as I was merging on to the high way, check engine light came on. Took it to the local dealership and sure enough it was a vanos bolt failure. The lucky part being that I still had 3600 miles left on the warranty. Figured I would just add to the list as it has a build date of 7/10. I will be writing a letter to BMW NA as I can't imagine how pissed off I would have been if it was out of warranty.

FYI some places have laws about dealers selling cars. I believe there is a mandatory warranty of like 30 days in New Jersey at least when selling a used car with 60k miles or less (as a dealer).

I wish this would happen to me under warranty!

http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?p=15758784
RECALL

[Andrewe92]

Originally Posted by index1489

http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?p=15758784
RECALL

as soon as I saw the front back I came straight back to this thread haha great news I guess some of us might of made a difference

[DesertBMW]

So what fails? Or what causes the fail? Weak vanos bolts or the design of the vanos itself?

[Unklejoe]

Holy shit!

Good thing I didn't replace my bolts myself!

LOL

Thanks guys. I don't know if we had any influence here (probably not) but this is wonderful.

[Unklejoe]

Originally Posted by DesertBMW

So what fails? Or what causes the fail? Weak vanos bolts or the design of the vanos itself?

The bolt heads snap off and oil squirts out of the hole (inside the motor) thus causing a drop of oil pressure in the VANOS actuator which in turn prevents it from controlling the cam as well as it needs to. The ECU detects this and throws a code. Eventually, all the bolts can snap off and bad shit can happen as a result.

[M.a.r.k.u.s]

I called my SA as well to find out when I can get it done. Seems like it hasn't hit the dealers yet but he said that he put me on a list that gets checked weekly for recalls and that I should be expecting a call as soon as they get it.

[papiti]

WOW, I just left my car for service yesterday and I was talking to my service agent, who is my friend, about the bolts problem. We had to put on some specific wording so that they could check it out. But now, I'll call him and tell him about the recall. hope I get the job done right away then, I mean, my car is already in for service, LOL!!

[Sidnito]

this is awesome. hopefully I get my money back from all the shit I had to go through!

[DesertBMW]

I wonder if my local dealer would issue me free vanos bolts and VC gasket if I was to do the job myself?

[actionj_99]

Wife's 7/10 build 335i sedan (37K miles) threw the "Engine Malfunction - Reduced Power" light 3 days ago. Took it right to dealer as car is under factory warranty. First they replaced HPFP as car threw that code.

Then they kept it an extra day to try to chase an intermittent TPMS issue. Instead car threw SES light and code 2D55. In the service notes its says "Removed Cylinder Head Cover. Inspected and found 2 bolts to intake vanos unit loose. 1 other bolt broke away. Removed intake cam, recovered broken piece successfully. Reinstalled intake cam. replaced both VANOS adjusting units as outlined in SIB 12-14-12"

Get your car into the dealership ASAP! We bought this car brand new and my wife drives her car VERY gently... If it can happen to her, it can happen to anyone!

[Mr. Vapor]

Add me to the list.....

2011 N55 335i.


popped up code ND55 and have an appt next thursday to bring her in to the stealership.

I'm at 41,000 miles and will show up armed with the SIB that relates to this.

Question to those that have gone through this already:

Because its an SIB, does that mean that i should expect BMW to cover the costs due to the known issue? i bought the car second hand, so i am not the original owner and i it is NOT a CPO.


Or does the fact that there is an SIB only exist to show the tech's how to address the issue when it comes into the garage, with the full cost exposure going to the customer?

thanks

[M.a.r.k.u.s]

How are you not under factory warranty? Your car is within the 4 years and 50k miles. The factory warranty is tied to the car not the owner.

[divisionbell77]

Originally Posted by M.a.r.k.u.s

How are you not under factory warranty? Your car is within the 4 years and 50k miles. The factory warranty is tied to the car not the owner.

2011's are falling off warranty already.

[GB-335xiCoupe]

Originally Posted by Unklejoe

It would probably never happen. This only seems to apply to N55s produced before Jan 2011, so the numbers probably wouldn't be high enough to make a blip on their radar. I was unlucky enough to get one made in October.

Even worse yet is that in 2012, the N55 went to a completely new fuel pump design. So I am willing to bet that the "HPEP" pump is the newest revision we will ever see. They obviously have up.

But then again, maybe they will issue a recall for the VANOS considering it is such a small number of cars (and this IS a safety concern after all).

But I would rather not wait to see lol. Hallelujah.


It's a shame. I love everything about this car. If it weren't for this VANOS problem and the HPFP, it would be considered an extremely reliable platform if you ask me.

This recall is in the works now!

[lakeman]

Originally Posted by lakeman

New to the site. Great information. Have my 2011 E70 N55 at dealership for possible Vanos failure. 1/2 engine warning light. 56k miles. Just out of warranty. Will it be the Vanos bolts? Swapped solenoids, replaced and swapped with a new solenoid, code stays the same. Making rattling noises and sputtering acceleration. Some weird throaty exhaust. SA has warned me to brace for the worse. Will post as I get word. Thanks again for all of the great info on this site.

Just picked up X5 from dealership. Both Vanos sprockets replaced, oil pan and suspension removed and re-installed, alignment. Oil and filter changed. Not sure if bolts came loose, broke off, or neither. No charge except for the oil change. Thanks to all of you for the excellent information regarding this obvious inherent problem.

[Mr. Vapor]

Originally Posted by Mr. Vapor

Add me to the list.....

2011 N55 335i.


popped up code ND55 and have an appt next thursday to bring her in to the stealership.

I'm at 41,000 miles and will show up armed with the SIB that relates to this.

Question to those that have gone through this already:

Because its an SIB, does that mean that i should expect BMW to cover the costs due to the known issue? i bought the car second hand, so i am not the original owner and i it is NOT a CPO.


Or does the fact that there is an SIB only exist to show the tech's how to address the issue when it comes into the garage, with the full cost exposure going to the customer?

thanks

Update:

Car is currently at the dealer. my SA just informed me that the "VANOS adjustment units" are the cause of the issue and will be replaced (under warranty)

I told him i want to know if any bolt heads were sheared, and if so, where all of them recovered.

the car also is exhibiting a long crank at engine start. I told him i suspected it was due to a failing HPFP. My SA informed me that the Tech thinks the long crank could be related to the VANOS issue.

either way, i'll keep you posted.

[lakeman]

NY Times, 4-10-2014. BMW recalls 156,000 US cars for vanos problems.

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/11/au...ines.html?_r=0

BTW, my x5 small check engine light is on...just got it back from dealer for a month long vanos system replacement. Nothing on the computer says anything is wrong. Good grief!