Which parts fail
Components named in complaints (fuel pump, injectors, fuel tank, hybrid and EV propulsion).
Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2008 BMW 335xi owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
The contact owns a 2008 BMW 335xi. The contact stated while her son was driving at various speeds, the engine was misfiring and making an abnormal loud knocking sound. No further information was provided. The driver pulled to the side of the road. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic, where it was diagnosed that the fuel injectors had failed and needed to be replaced. The contact related the failure to BMW Campaign Number: SIB130120. An unknown dealer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that the vehicle was not covered. The contact was referred to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact was unsure whether the manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was unknown.
My car hasn't start up for 2 years now. 1st it started with a dead starter, then alternator, then the radiator and water pump bursted, and as i was standing outside of my car the passenger air bag deploys while the car was off and key out of the ignition. Luckily no one was in my car but now my car doesn't and wont crank or turnover, it makes a buzzing noise for a split second when i hit the start/stop button and thats all. I'm getting full voltage to it. Every time i run my scanner, i get different codes every time, i bought a 2nd scanner (carly) to compare and both threw out different codes every time but the main ones was the starter and pcv code; which i got 3 different starters put in, all new and the code was still ahowing. Ive spent more time researching and more money buying parts to fix my car then what I bought the car for which was $6k. …
My car is experiencing the infamous hpfp failure. The code thrown is p2aaf (fuel pump plausability) and p29f2 (high-pressure fuel system, fuel pressure). When starting the car, the engine shakes, rumbles and almost dies, erratic idle...I have to rev up the engine for a few minutes to keep idle stable. The check engine light and ses light comes on. It has reduced power, I can not accelerate quickly any more. I see people behind me move over everytime I go from a stop. I took the car to BMW recently and they found $8,800 worth of repair cost on the vehicle. I was told the hpfp needs to be replaced but it is out of warranty since the car is 10 years old and past 120,000 miles. They would not replace it for free. I was also told that the pump was replaced a few times before. I think I am the second owner of the car. I purchased it in 2/2013. …
Tl* the contact owns a 2008 BMW 335xi. The contact stated while starting the vehicle, the vehicle starter slowly. The contact stated no warning light was illuminated. The contact stated while inspecting under the hood, he noticed a fuel leak into the spark plugs. The contact called local dealer orange county BMW located at 101 maher ln, harriman, ny 10926, [phone] and were made aware of the failure. The vehicle had not been diagnosed nor repaired as of yet. Upon investigation, the contact associated the failure with manufacturer recall 10ea02, however the VIN was not included. The manufacturer had been informed of failure. The failure mileage was 102,000.
Tl* the contact owns a 2008 BMW 335xi. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the engine misfired and failed to respond when the accelerator pedal was depressed. The vehicle was taken to casey BMW located at (12861 jefferson ave. Newport news. Va) who diagnosed that the fuel injectors were defective and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but no assistance was offered. The failure mileage was 120,000.
Car randomly lost power and went into limp mode. Heavy stuttering with check engine light. Occurred while merging on the highway and resulted in near collision. Car had 75K miles at the time, now has 76K. Car drives fine, but when pressing accelerator passed 50% car begins to stutter and go into limp mode. No check engine light or issues until this happens. Check engine codes read, multiple cylinder misfire. All symptoms point to hpfp.
I feel this situation warrants your immediate review for a possible forced recall. My 2008 BMW 335xi began having sporadic problems in September 2009. Because of my distance to a dealership and long time between problems I did not take the car to a dealership immediately. By December the problems became more severe and frequent. The engine warning light would become illuminated, the engine would have substantially lower power and the car would stall without warning. I had first taken the car to a BMW dealership for repair on jan 2, 2009 and then again to a BMW service center 3 more times. In all 4 cases the service department claimed to have made a software adjustment and said the problem was fixed. In all 4 cases the problem was not fixed. …
I own a 2008 BMW 335xi. The fuel system seems to have problem. I was driving on freeway, and the engine looses power suddenly on the freeway, the RPM drops, and I have to press the gas pedal hard to get to a comfortable speed of 60mph, the car still doesn't drive at full regular power. I first complained 4 months ago, they said it's nothing. I complained again a month afterwards. The dealer said there's a high pressure fuel pump recall and kept the car with them for 1 week. 3 months afterwards, this week, I experienced the same power loss again on a smaller scale. I didn't pay much attention, I took the car to dealer for regular service, the dealer said it has a recall again for the same fuel system issue - high pressure fuel pump loss of pressure. My car is still with the dealer, I don't know if and when they could fix it. I don't see a second recall on this issue yet. …
April 14, 2014 our car went in for service. May 7, 2014 it was returned for a 'reduced power,service engine soon'light. At that time, the fuel pump was replaced and covered under a recall. In July the light came on again and the battery was dead. We replaced the battery. In late August, the warning light appeared again. September 8,2014 the car went into the garage. At this time we were told it was most likely the turbo, est repairs at $5500.00. At this time the car had 83985 miles on it(the turbo was under an "extended" warranty until 82,000). I contacted BMW and ask for an extension on the warranty since we were less than 2,000 miles over. They agreed to pay for the part, but not the labor which is 2600.00. While I appreciate their effort, it is not enough. …
I write requesting that my vehicle 2008 BMW 335xi VIN number [redacted] be tagged/listed as needing the revised sib 13 01 20 -emissions recall campaign 10e-a02 issued by BMW on 01/17/2020. This revised 2020 BMW internal amended recall instructions require replacement of all original fuel injectors. It amends what was being done since the original recall sib 13 14 20 from the year 2011 which required only individual failing injectors be replaced. Back in 2011, the BMW service center that worked on my car, replaced two (2) failing injectors and removed the car from the recall list prematurely. That was wrong because fuel injectors are ?individual? Pieces of equipment, and my car needs six (6) of them. In the year 2013, BMW replaced three (3) fuel injectors in a different bank under warranty. Making it that was still one more original injector left (injector number #5) in the car. …
Fuel System complaints in other 335xi years
Frequently asked questions
How common are fuel system problems on the 2008 BMW 335xi?
NHTSA has 29 complaints about the fuel & propulsion system of the 2008 BMW 335xi, 47% of the model year's 62 complaints. The component named most often is delivery › fuel pump (2 mentions).
Is there a recall for 2008 BMW 335xi fuel system problems?
No. NHTSA lists no fuel & propulsion system recall for the 2008 BMW 335xi, though it has 3 recalls for other components. If the problem is widespread, a repair may still be covered by an extended warranty or a manufacturer service bulletin — ask a dealer.
At what mileage do 2008 BMW 335xi fuel system problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 36,000 miles, and 20% before 25,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 0 crashes, 1 fire and 0 injuries to fuel & propulsion system problems on this model year. If you notice symptoms, have the car checked before driving further.
Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) — owner complaints through October 20, 2026, recalls and defect investigations; fuel economy from the EPA. Complaints are unverified reports and are not proof of a defect. How we rate model years.