Free N54 recall check: was the fuel pump already fixed?
Enter your VIN. In seconds we check whether it likely has the N54 3.0L twin-turbo six, list NHTSA's recalls for your model and year, and show what BMW's fuel-pump and injector campaigns mean for your car.
Original illustration, not to scale; positions are approximate. Source badges are explained in Weak parts.
No NHTSA safety recall for the N54 fuel pump or injectors. BMW used an emissions recall (10E-A02) and warranty extensions, now expired for nearly all cars. Recalls to check by VIN (certain cars): 13V-044 · 17V-676 · 19V-579 · 17V-067 · airbag 16V-071 / 20V-017. Check your VIN at NHTSA
Recall details & sources
Covers 135i · 335i · 335is · 1M · 535i · 740i · X6 35i · Z4 35i/35is (8 models; most 2011+ 135i/335i/535i/X6 are N55: see the N55 page). Non-turbo 3.0L (328i, 528i, X3/X5 30i)? See the N52 page.
~25k mi
Half of the 205 high-pressure fuel pump failures that N54 owners reported to NHTSA with a mileage came before about 25,000 miles. Reported cases, not your car's odds; many cars have had the pump replaced. COMPUTED FROM NHTSA DATA
See the chart ↓No NHTSA safety recall for the N54 fuel pump or injectors (emissions recall 10E-A02 and extensions instead, now expired for nearly all cars). Check 13V-044, 17V-676, 19V-579, 17V-067 and the airbag recalls by VIN (each covers certain cars). Recall repairs are free at BMW dealers. OFFICIAL
Check your VIN for all recalls ↑Sums of range midpoints COMPUTED. Worst case, not an expected cost.
See the cost table ↓1,203
VIN-confirmed N54 owner complaints filed with NHTSA NHTSA DATA
- 87% filed within 10 years of the model year; 37 since 2023
- Complaint file dated Oct 19, 2026; costs checked Oct 20, 2026
- Key sources listed in the footer
N54 recalls, campaigns and expired extensions
The N54's two famous problems, the high-pressure fuel pump and the injectors, were handled by BMW outside the NHTSA safety-recall system. That's why a recall lookup alone can miss them. Here's what exists and what it means today.
Emissions recall: high-pressure fuel pump
BMW's voluntary EPA/CARB recall of about 130,000 MY2007–2010 twin-turbo cars (335i; 135i, 535i, X6 xDrive35i; 2009–2010 Z4 sDrive35i): pump replacement and/or a software update, based on each car's history (about 40,000 expected to need a pump). Not in NHTSA's safety-recall database. BMW press release, Oct 26, 2010. OFFICIAL
Fuel pump coverage extension (expired)
Pump coverage extended to 10 years / 120,000 miles for listed MY2007–2010 E60/E61 535i, E90/E92/E93 335i, E82/E88 135i, 2009–2010 Z4 sDrive35i and X6 xDrive35i, with an improved pump (13 51 7 613 933). Every listed car is now past 10 years, so the extension has run out ESTIMATE. A BMW dealer can look up bulletin SI B13 03 09 by number. OFFICIAL
Injector coverage extension (expired)
Injector coverage extended to 10 years / 120,000 miles from the in-service date for certain MY2010 cars (by production date), the 2010–2011 Z4 sDrive35i and 2011–2012 740i/740Li built through June 20, 2012. These windows have passed for nearly every car ESTIMATE. BMW bulletin (NHTSA copy). OFFICIAL
Coolant pump settlement (expired)
Class-action settlement for the N54/N55 electric coolant pump: coverage extended to 7 years / 84,000 miles, plus a one-year window after May 5, 2022. Those windows have passed ESTIMATE. BMW bulletin (NHTSA copy). OFFICIAL
Recalls listed for N54 models (certain cars)
13V-044 battery cable / fuse box (certain 2008–2012 1 Series, 2007–2011 3 Series, 2009–2011 Z4, by build date) · 17V-676 and 19V-579 blower wiring, fire risk · 17V-067 rear driveshaft CV joint (certain 2011–2012 135i and 1M, 2011 335i, 335is and Z4 sDrive35i, 2012 740i/Li) · 16V-746 in-tank fuel pump (X6 xDrive35i, certain years) · 12V-126 battery cable, 5 Series (2004–2010) · driver-airbag inflator recalls such as 16V-071 and 20V-017. OFFICIAL
Recall repairs are free at BMW dealers. NHTSA lists recalls by model, and each covers certain cars only, so a model-level list can't tell you whether your car is affected or already fixed: check your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls or ask a BMW dealer. Vehicle counts are from NHTSA's recall records.
Built on NHTSA government data, plus clearly labeled shop and owner sources
We took every NHTSA owner complaint whose VIN decodes to a car on the N54 fitment list (model, year and 3.0L engine size) and analyzed the free text and the mileage-at-failure field.
Mostly first-decade data. 87.4% of these complaints were filed within 10 years of the car's model year, and only 37 were filed in 2023 or later. The cars are now 10–19 years old, so the data says more about how N54s failed when newer than about what fails today. Many cars have had the fuel pump and injectors replaced already. COMPUTED FROM NHTSA DATA
Source: NHTSA's bulk complaint file (FLAT_CMPL, dated Oct 19, 2026), VIN-decoded with NHTSA vPIC. Counts come from keyword matches in owners' free-text complaints. They are self-reported, unverified and not adjusted for how many cars were sold. Leaks (oil filter housing, valve cover) are rarely filed as safety complaints, so they're under-counted here. See Method.
Pump complaints cluster in the original-pump years. The fuel pump appears in 17.7–20.4% of N54 complaints for each model year 2007–2010, compared with 6.7% for model year 2011 (3 of 45: fewer reports, not zero), in NHTSA's bulk complaint file, VIN-checked to the N54. That fits BMW's 2010 improved pump but doesn't tell you about any one car. COMPUTED FROM NHTSA DATA
The 7 N54 parts owners and shops most often report failing
Tap a card or a numbered dot on the diagram at the top of the page. Every figure has a badge for where it comes from: OFFICIAL (NHTSA or BMW documents), SHOP/RETAILER (retailer listings, published shop quotes and shop articles), FORUM/BLOG (owner forums, enthusiast blogs and quote sites that collect owner reports: real reports, but unverified), ESTIMATE (our estimate where no good public number exists) or COMPUTED FROM NHTSA DATA (our analysis of NHTSA's public complaint data). A figure with several sources shows the weakest one. Totals and ratios are simple arithmetic on these figures.
Buying a used N54? Was it already fixed?
Most N54s are now 10–19 years old, and many of the big items were fixed under BMW campaigns or by previous owners. Ask the seller for records and ask any BMW dealer to print the service history for the VIN.
- Open recalls: none outstandingPaste the VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls and ask a BMW dealer. Pay special attention to airbag recalls. OFFICIAL
- High-pressure fuel pump: which pump is fitted?Ask a dealer whether the car had the 10E-A02 campaign or an SI B13 03 09 pump replacement, and for the installed part number (13 51 7 613 933 or a later number). On the test drive, watch for long cranking on a hot restart and reduced-power warnings. OFFICIAL
- Injectors: index 11 or higher?BMW's bulletin says index 11+ injectors can't be used in the same engine as index 10 or lower. Ask for injector receipts, or have a shop read the index on each injector (it's marked next to 7585261). Rough cold starts, misfire codes or a fuel smell are warning signs. OFFICIAL
- Software updates done?The 10E-A02 campaign included DME software for many cars, and BMW issued misfire-related software bulletins. A dealer can see whether updates were applied. OFFICIAL
- Turbos and wastegatesListen for a wastegate rattle on a cold start and when lifting off. Ask whether the turbos were replaced and when. Blue smoke or high oil use needs a diagnosis before purchase. FORUM/BLOG
- Water pump and thermostatLook for receipts. The settlement program that covered N54 pumps has ended, so an original pump past ~70k miles is a likely near-term cost. COMPUTED FROM NHTSA DATA
- Oil leaks: filter housing, valve coverLook for oil at the front of the engine, on the belt and on the exhaust side. A leaking filter housing gasket is cheap to fix and worth fixing before the belt is damaged. FORUM/BLOG
- Tuned or modified?Ask directly and look for aftermarket boost controllers or a flashed engine computer. Owner sources say tuning adds load on the pump, injectors and turbos, and some modifications aren't emissions-legal in every state. FORUM/BLOG
A checklist is not an inspection. Have a qualified BMW technician do a pre-purchase inspection before you buy.
What it costs: fix early vs. after failure
Repair-cost ranges for each part, using the midpoint of each range. Where a quote site gives both, "fix early" is its independent-shop range and "if it fails" is its dealer range, because a breakdown often ends at a dealer. That pairing is our modelling choice ESTIMATE. The "if it fails" column is a reported range for repair bills, not a prediction for your car.
| # | Part / system | Reported failure range | Fix early | If it fails | Ratio |
|---|
Essentials = water pump + thermostat, plugs and coils, and the oil filter housing gasket + belt: the items with a planned-replacement case. The fuel pump, injectors and turbos are "check, don't replace preventively" items, so they're only in the full list. Failures overlap, so the "if every part fails" sum overstates real exposure. Prices vary by region and shop; get a written quote before any work.
Why trust this? Our method in 60 seconds
1 · Government data, filtered by VIN
We took NHTSA's bulk complaint file (FLAT_CMPL, dated Oct 19, 2026), decoded each complaint's VIN with NHTSA vPIC, and kept complaints whose model, year and 3.0L engine size match the N54 fitment list in the FAQ: 1,203 complaints, 951 of them with a usable mileage. Part counts come from keyword matches in the complaint text; the mileage chart uses the mileage-at-failure field.
2 · Labeled sources
Figures come from BMW service bulletins posted on NHTSA, NHTSA recalls and complaints and BMW's own press releases (OFFICIAL), retailer listings and published shop articles (SHOP/RETAILER), and owner forums, enthusiast blogs and quote sites that collect owner reports (FORUM/BLOG), checked Oct 20, 2026. Our own statistics from NHTSA data are marked COMPUTED FROM NHTSA DATA. Anything we couldn't source is labeled ESTIMATE.
3 · Honest about limits
These are reported ranges, not predictions or failure rates. Complaints are self-reported, most were filed in the cars' first decade, and the 2011+ overlap years mix N54 and N55 cars under the same model names, which we sorted by fitment rules. Costs vary by region and shop. Nothing here guarantees a part won't fail, and none of it replaces an inspection by a qualified BMW technician.
Independence: we don't take money from shops or retailers for placement, and the retailer links on this page are not paid links. If any become paid (affiliate) links, each one will be labeled “Paid link” where it appears. Commissions would never change the numbers. Our recommendations are not influenced by affiliate commissions, and any future paid shop referrals will be disclosed.
N54 FAQ
Which BMWs have the N54 engine?
In the US, the N54 3.0L twin-turbo six is in the 2007–2010 335i/335xi (sedan, coupe and convertible), 2008–2010 135i, 2008–2010 535i/535xi (sedan and wagon, not the 535i Gran Turismo), 2008–2010 X6 xDrive35i, 2009–2016 Z4 sDrive35i, 2011–2016 Z4 sDrive35is, 2011–2013 335is, the 2011 1 Series M Coupe and the 2011–2012 740i/740Li. From model year 2011 the 135i, 335i, 535i and X6 35i switched to the single-turbo N55, so the VIN check marks those cars "possibly N54, most likely N55" and tells you how to confirm.
Was there a recall for the N54 high-pressure fuel pump?
Not an NHTSA safety recall. In October 2010 BMW announced a voluntary EPA/CARB emissions recall (campaign 10E-A02) of about 130,000 model-year 2007–2010 twin-turbo cars to replace the pump and/or update software, and BMW extended pump coverage to 10 years / 120,000 miles for listed MY2007–2010 cars (SI B13 03 09). Those extensions have run out for nearly every car. A BMW dealer can tell you by VIN whether the work was done.
What is the injector "index" and why does it matter?
BMW revised the N54 injector several times. BMW's bulletin SI B13 04 09 says injectors with index 11 or higher have a different calibration and can't be used in the same engine as index 10 or lower, so replacing one old injector can mean replacing several. The index is marked on the injector body. Injectors sold today are usually index 12.
Should I replace the fuel pump or injectors before they fail?
We don't suggest replacing them preventively. Half of the reported pump failures came before about 25,000 miles, many cars already have a replacement pump, and injectors are expensive (about $3,500–$4,500 for a set of six at an independent shop, per one owner-quote site). Check what's fitted, watch for symptoms, and fix them when they fail. The water pump, oil filter housing gasket and coils are the planned-replacement items.
Is this data still relevant for a 15-year-old car?
Partly. 87% of the 1,203 VIN-confirmed N54 complaints were filed within 10 years of the car's model year, and only 37 since 2023, so the data mostly shows how N54s failed when they were newer. Today's buyers mostly need to know what has already been replaced, which is why this page leads with the recall check and the buyer checklist.
How accurate are these repair costs?
They're ranges from published shop quotes and owner-quote sites, each labeled with its source type, or our estimate where no good public figure exists. Where a site gives both, we show its independent-shop range as "fix early" and its dealer range as "if it fails". Prices vary by region and shop. Get a written quote before any work.
Will doing this work keep my engine from failing?
No one can promise that. Replacing known weak parts early can lower your exposure to some expensive failures, but parts can still fail, and other things can go wrong. The "if it fails" numbers are reported ranges for repair bills, not predictions.
Is there an N54 report?
Not yet. Our planned $19 ownership report covers N20 cars only, and its order form turns away other VINs, so please don't try to order it for an N54. Join the N54 list on this page and we'll email you N54 updates, including if an N54 report launches. We take no payment and don't promise a date.
Do you store my VIN?
No. The VIN check runs in your browser and sends the VIN only to NHTSA's public vPIC decoder and recall API; we don't store or log it. (If you open a shared link that contains a VIN, our host, Cloudflare, receives that address as part of the request; the page then removes it from the address bar.) If you join the N54 list after a check, we save only the decoded model (for example "2009 BMW 335i") with your email and the fact that you signed up from the N54 page. We don't sell it, and we delete it on request. See the privacy policy.
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We'll email you when we add or correct something important for the N54: new recalls, changed figures, or an N54 report if we build one. There's no N54 report for sale today, and our $19 report covers N20 cars only.
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