shocking news after service...
 

I just took my 2005 E53 3.0D with 74,000km for servicing and the official stealer told me that one of the spark plug (injector?) units had to be replaced and would cost me USD 600. He actually advised me to have all 6 replaced in anticipation of failure of the other 5. Is this for real? Is something like this normal after only 74,000km? Please advise I really feel desperate right now.

Thanks!

Replace just the faulty unit.Following the dealer's logic you have to replace everything,the whole vehicle eventually.

:rofl:

Think I would take it else where especially if he did infact call it a spark plug.

If the dealer actually called it a spark plug, then run away very quickly, because your diesel doesn't have spark plugs. If he called it an injector, then fine. If he called it a glow plug, then that is different again.

It seems early (in terms of mileage) but injectors can fail. There should be a diagnostic code that leads the dealer to conclude that an injector needs replacement, either because it is leaking, or because the spray pattern is not correct.

The price is high. You can get another quote for the job to decide if you want to the dealer to do it, or an independent garage that is familiar with BMWs.

Some things that cause a bad injector could cause the same problem in other injectors. It goes back to the codes, though.

Another poster with a 3.0d could comment on how common injector failures are at five years.

Good luck.

Fuel injector issues after 5 years or 80,000 kms not common at all.Its common ,thought,for the Common Rail fuel pressure sensor to fail.
As the guys are saying,you have to determine exactly what you are being quoted for?Glow plug or fuel injector?Error code that was diagnosed would also be useful.
If its fuel injectors ,then you can just replace them individually.If its glow plugs,then we here at the dealer always replace all 6.:)
Lets us know when you have more information.

you probably need a coilpack. get one from bavauto

Diesel engines are 'Compression Ignition' engines and have no ignition circuitry, coilpacks or sparkplugs. The heat in the compressed induction charge air when the piston reaches top dead centre is above the spontaneous combustion temperature of the diesel fuel and hence no other ignition system being needed. It's what causes the characteristic diesel knock.

Glowplugs are only used for a few seconds to provide enough heat initially when the air temperature is below 5C. Once running, a diesel engine is normally only stopped by cutting off the fuel supply, or on much older industrial engines by keeping the valved open to prevent compression.

$600 for a glowplug is way over the top! Glow plugs are about $25 each.

Injectors are about $200 each, cheaper if you have a remanufactured one, but only by about $40.

Thought it was 3.0 v6

Hey,come on,not a V6 thing,please.:rofl:

Thank you all for your very helpful comments! The part about calling it a spark plug is my bad.
I don't actually have the error code but on the receipt it is marked that injector #4 is not working within specs. It also mentions that the glow plugs need to be replaced. He service guy told me that changing 1 injector would set me back $600 and he recommended that I change all 6 because the problem would spread to the remaining 5??? Is this like a contagious disease?
Anyways I appreciate all the help on this.

What you saying is that if it was a 3.0 V6 Diesel ,then it may need a coilpack..
Yep.....that makes sense.:rofl:

Come on people,BMW doesn't have V6 engines petrol nor diesel.

I was taking the pi** :bustingup:bustingup
Think most of us know that Bmw dont do a V6 ,with the exception of jst2878!:D

Any clues as to what might be going on?

I would go to another dealer because this one is incorrectly advising you to replace all 6 injectors!
This also puts doubts on their analysis that you need glow plugs!
Like I said in my previous post,if you have one or more faulty glow plugs,then you will need to swap all 6,because the fault could spread to any that you havent replaced.
With regards to injectors,you will only need to just replace the faulty one.:)

Thanks for this info. What about labor? Does replacing one injector and 6 glow plugs involve a lot of work?

You have a diesel. It doesn't have spark plugs. You may have a faulty injector but to have five other soon-to-be faulty injectors is highly unlikely at just 74,000km.

Dealer time for replacing those parts ,is:-

GLow plugs (all)...1,50 hours
Injectors (all)......2,60 hours

So if you are going to do it yourself or even an indy,then expect it to take a lot longer!!!

So,quite a lot of work involved and time consuming.Dealer time for removing 1 or 6 injectors is the same!

Thanks powers1, very helpful info indeed!
Scheduled an appointment to replace the injector in about two weeks time. Dealer told me that I should be able to drive normally until then, is that correct? Could I be in for some nasty surprise like totaling the engine if I drive with one malfunctioning injector?

I don't mean to be under-educated about this, if he is using Diesel from the same gas station consistantly; could the fuel be dirty? I filled up a car a few year back at the same time the station was filling their tanks and I guess I got a lot of dirt in my tank. That same day, car would not start. It felt as though it was ging to tear itself appart. Long story short - dirty fuel rails. Mechanic said NEVER fill up when you see a fuel truck filling gas station's tanks.

Give him the benefit of the doubt guys :bustingup its egg nog season, he is probalbly had a few too many and just had a brain fart. Almost 2800 posts, I'm sure it was just a momentary lapse.

Merry Christmas

Not likely, because the problem is with one injector, not all of them.

The fuel filters would catch it before the injectors anyway.

I have the same superstition about not filling up at a station that is getting a delivery, particularly at stations I don't know. All gas pumps have filters, but stations that want to save a few $$ take the filter cartridges out of the cannisters. One station manager told me once that they had to take them out, they were getting plugged up all the time. He didn't understand that he was just transferring the problem to his customers. If you are using a reputable station, the filters should be installed, and it doesn't matter if they are getting a fuel delivery at the same time.

Prism,Car will be ok to drive with 1 faulty injector ,for a few weeks,it just wont be performing properly.Its up to you to judge if its performing good enough for you to drive it around.:)

Seems to be ok, there is just a bit more vibration from the engine and a stronger smell from the exhaust.

Its still a valid point!Bad gas at a petrol station is a realistic thing,but as a member here already pointed out,any dirt would be caught by the cars fuel filter(s),so wouldnt get to the engine.But would still block your filters and you would get decreased performance.
However,water content in the diesel is unfortunately also more common than it should be at the filling stations,and this the filters cant stop it from going straight to the engine and doing damage to injectors ,not all at once.....

If you are getting vibration from the engine,the fuel injector is definitely in bad condition and the strong smell from the exhaust seems to be unburnt fuel,so your injector seems to be spraying too much fuel and at the wrong cycle.
I would avoid driving it until you get it fixed.

:iagree: Anything that has to do with the engine not working properly should be addressed or not used until fixed.

Ooops, so what you are saying is that there is greater risk of damage with a working injector that has a problem with its spray pattern than one that does not function at all?
To quote from my dealer (translation from French): Injector number 4 spray pattern outside of tolerance levels.
Could you tell me what type of damage I risk if I continue to ride it until I service it in two weeks time?