[murellus]

This evening heading into the city I had the unfortunate experience of my 08 335xi breaking down...terrific, anywhere, here's how the story goes, and maybe someone can explain what's broken before BMW tells me.

I was crawling in traffic in first, and then finally nearing the last 1/3rd of the tunnel it started to clear up and I shift into second, when the clutch pedal become stuck in...after stepping on it a couple times to see if it would come free I had to reach down and pull it up with my hand, but when it came up the gear didn't engage anyway, at which point I had to pull over into the construction lane (only one lane was open at the time).

I turned off the car and tried to turn it back on but the car did not acknowledge that the clutch was depressed...when I did depress the clutch it felt like something was stopping from going all the way in, but was going pretty far in anyway...finally after a few more times of pumping the clutch fairly hard the car did start. But, the gears would not engage properly, and to shift into each gear required substantially more force than normal and was notchier than normal. Either way, when trying to get the car moving again it was very difficult to get the car moving and eventually we were pushed out by a truck that the port authority had for disabled vehicles in the tunnel.

After pushing us to a side street outside of the tunnel we were waiting for the tow truck to come when I decided to fiddle with the car a little more. The clutch travel felt very mushy with uneven resistance throughout the travel, and the gearshift was much more difficult to shift in and was very notchy. When getting the car moving it felt as though the clutch was pulsing and felt as though something was broken off and stuck inside the transmission.

This car has never been driven really hard (ie...launched or had excessive clutch slippage during driving), and this definitely is not a worn clutch, so I'm not sure what's wrong here...if anyone knows what this could be, that'd be great. And if anyone was in the tunnel and part of the traffic jam that ensued I apologize.

[Neurorad]

Oh man, that sux.

First thing I thought of was the floor mat getting in the way, and causing your clutch damage.

I'm hoping just a new clutch.

Covered under warranty?

Hope the bumper is OK.

[Jet335i]

oh man what a terrible place for bad luck...sounds like more than your average number of threads of 07 and 08 builds crapping out.

[undecided]

After mine died after 3300 miles.

[achien]

sounds like the hydraulics broke...

[TwinTurboXI]

wow, i am very sorry to hear about your car. Mine is a 08 335xi as well. I have felt the sticky clutch pedal before. Actually, it happens a few times a day but my fix is normally to just pull the floor mat back alittle bit. Ill keep my fingers crossed and hope it continues to be the floor mat and nothing major like yours. keep us updated on what the dealer says, and good luck

[alan93rsa]

If the hydraulic system has a leak this can happen. I had a similar issue on a 993. I ended up replacing both units for the clutch. After that it was fine.

[siriusinvestor]

Wow if the 08s are still breaking down, I wonder what will happen to the X6 X35is, since they have the same engine as the 335i, fuel pump anyone? It would be ironic to see a brand new $60,000 SUV broken down on the side of the road.

[cooldude]

that's the reason many people who are concerned more about reliability switch to japanese cars.
it doesn't mean bmw make bad cars, they pump most out of their engines and other equipment which makes them vulnerable.

[ALPINE6SPD]

Originally Posted by siriusinvestor

Wow if the 08s are still breaking down, I wonder what will happen to the X6 X35is, since they have the same engine as the 335i, fuel pump anyone? It would be ironic to see a brand new $60,000 SUV broken down on the side of the road.

Um he has a stick and the X6 only comes in automatic. What the hell are you talking about?

[ALPINE6SPD]

Originally Posted by murellus

This evening heading into the city I had the unfortunate experience of my 08 335xi breaking down...terrific, anywhere, here's how the story goes, and maybe someone can explain what's broken before BMW tells me.

I was crawling in traffic in first, and then finally nearing the last 1/3rd of the tunnel it started to clear up and I shift into second, when the clutch pedal become stuck in...after stepping on it a couple times to see if it would come free I had to reach down and pull it up with my hand, but when it came up the gear didn't engage anyway, at which point I had to pull over into the construction lane (only one lane was open at the time).

I turned off the car and tried to turn it back on but the car did not acknowledge that the clutch was depressed...when I did depress the clutch it felt like something was stopping from going all the way in, but was going pretty far in anyway...finally after a few more times of pumping the clutch fairly hard the car did start. But, the gears would not engage properly, and to shift into each gear required substantially more force than normal and was notchier than normal. Either way, when trying to get the car moving again it was very difficult to get the car moving and eventually we were pushed out by a truck that the port authority had for disabled vehicles in the tunnel.

After pushing us to a side street outside of the tunnel we were waiting for the tow truck to come when I decided to fiddle with the car a little more. The clutch travel felt very mushy with uneven resistance throughout the travel, and the gearshift was much more difficult to shift in and was very notchy. When getting the car moving it felt as though the clutch was pulsing and felt as though something was broken off and stuck inside the transmission.

This car has never been driven really hard (ie...launched or had excessive clutch slippage during driving), and this definitely is not a worn clutch, so I'm not sure what's wrong here...if anyone knows what this could be, that'd be great. And if anyone was in the tunnel and part of the traffic jam that ensued I apologize.

Soory to hear tham man as it really sux to brak down espically in the damn HOLLAND tunnel which is a traffic nightmare. Just one question how do you its DEFINITELY not a clutch? It could have been a bad clutch from the beginning that just ended up failing. It is a mechanical piece after all and could be broken.

[mapezzul]

By the sounds of it it could be your fuel pump, they cause all sorts of problems and their plague even can affect the clutch.(J/K)

Seriously though how many people above were talking about the fuel pump, it is insane. BMWs quality is not that bad, people on the net tend to gripe about issues more than anything that is just how it goes. I bet if you surveyed 10k people only 2 or 3 would have the fuel pump issue, and BMW does not even make the fuel pump!

Back to the OP:
It could be the following: Clutch, pressure plate, a bearing, a hydraulic line, a hydraulic cylinder/valve or the attachment point for the pedal.
Your center will diagnose it and all will be well. Glad to hear you made it out ok though, being in the tunnel sucks enough let alone breaking down while in there.

Best of luck!

[ALPINE6SPD]

Originally Posted by mapezzul

By the sounds of it it could be your fuel pump, they cause all sorts of problems and their plague even can affect the clutch.(J/K)

Seriously though how many people above were talking about the fuel pump, it is insane. BMWs quality is not that bad, people on the net tend to gripe about issues more than anything that is just how it goes. I bet if you surveyed 10k people only 2 or 3 would have the fuel pump issue, and BMW does not even make the fuel pump!


Best of luck!

+1000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000
the only time you hear about anything is ehen something BAD happens. Why would someone put up a post to say guess what my fuel pump didnt break. There are a ton of cars out there that have never had an issue. Of all of the cars I have sold with 3.0l tt engine a toal of 2 have had a new fuel pump. I have sold well over 80 cars with the motor and only 2 issues. Also like the abover poster said BMW does NOT even make the part. People really got to get over this fuel pump thing let it go already.

[John 070]

Sorry to hear about the mishap...wonder if it's in any way related to xi? I was ready to read about a fuel issue but obviously it's something else.

I once got backed up nearly 2 hours inbound at the Lincoln Tunnel and was concerned about the same thing as the car was getting rough. Then I had a bouncing sensation which at the time I thought was the car bucking. I found out it wasn't because I got the same sensation backed up in another car. It must be the roadway vibrating due to the heavy traffic in both directions.

[Design1314]

Dude you the one that caused all the traffics!!!!! hope your cars fine now...

[DSXMachina]

That is my nightmare scenario. Holland Tunnel. Rush hour. One lane open and I'm blocking it. Wake up screaming.
Unfortunately your mix of symptoms do not point to a definite cause. I'm thinking the throw out bearing was hanging up on the transmission input shaft, or you've lost a spring in the clutch disc which is binding up the works. But that still doesn't explain why the engine wouldn't start when you tried. Would it crank but not catch? Or not even crank as if the clutch pedal were not down to the floor? With a hydraulic system like we have no matter what happens to the clutch the pedal should still go to the floor. You would not believe how much the force exerted by your leg is multiplied by the hydraulics and the clutch fork.

[dimisa1977]

Originally Posted by Jet335i

oh man what a terrible place for bad luck...sounds like more than your average number of threads of 07 and 08 builds crapping out.

ohhh man, sorry to hear. at least you can say you broke down under water!

[siriusinvestor]

Originally Posted by ALPINE6SPD

+1000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000
the only time you hear about anything is ehen something BAD happens. Why would someone put up a post to say guess what my fuel pump didnt break. There are a ton of cars out there that have never had an issue. Of all of the cars I have sold with 3.0l tt engine a toal of 2 have had a new fuel pump. I have sold well over 80 cars with the motor and only 2 issues. Also like the abover poster said BMW does NOT even make the part. People really got to get over this fuel pump thing let it go already.

Wow what crawled up your ass this morning? Chill out.



I'm not knocking on the TT engine, its a great engine, when my warranty runs out on my E90 next year, I will be picking up the X6 35i and am praying that the fuel pump issues are solved.

[galahad05]

.

[Michael Schott]

Originally Posted by cars4lyfe

this is unacceptable. You're going to tell me a $15k honda fit can be solid and reliable but not a $50k bmw?????? Yah ok some of you will say "oh but you bought a bmw cause it's sporty."

You tell me how "sporty" it is when your car is disabled in the tunnel and your car sits in the shop for the next 30 days. I actually don't own a bmw anymore I just post here cause this forum is the shit imo.

I need reliability before anything else. I need to know that I can take my car from point A to point B 99% of the time. The problems that I see w/ the new 3 shouldn't happen until the car has had 150,000+ miles at least. I'm not an expert but these are my opinions as a consumer. When I spend tens of thousands of my hard-earned money, I expect the damn car to work reliably-if you don't you are sick in the head and obviously your daddy bought you your car.

It's sad but whenever I see the roundel, I see it as a symbol for shit quality these days. Quite the opposite for the "H" (Honda) symbol, to me, it stands for QUALITY.

First of all published reports place BMW pretty high in reliability. I suggest you pay attention to these reports rather than anecdotal reports on a focused website. Second if your first need is reliability than buy a Honda or Toyota or better yet a Lexus. They make good, reliable, dull, boring cars.

Last, even a Honda Fit will have issues once in a while. I don't peruse any Fit Forums but I guarantee if there is one there will be threads like this one.

Oh by the way the last Accord I owned (2000 model) blew it's auto tranny at 50,000 miles costing me $2K.

Thanks, Mike.

[E90330iS]

+1 reason to get Auto?

[335rocket]

you dude, dont post on this website if your gonna knock BMW. Most of us here are here because we share in our enjoyment of owning a bimmer not to say how much of a piece of shit they are. Most of us have had very little problems. Just because you had issues with your car doesnt mean their pieces of shit