Oslo

No MB diesels delivered since beginning of February.

FRANKFURT (AFX) - A faulty Robert Bosch GmbH diesel fuel injection pump purchased by vehicle manufacturers including Bayerische Motoren Werke AG, DaimlerChrysler AG's Mercedes unit, Volkswagen AG's Audi and the Toyota Motor Corp could cause engine damage, industry sources told dpa-AFX News Agency.

These sources said the faulty part has been produced since December.

A BMW spokesman confirmed the receipt of faulty parts for six cylinder engines manufactured at its Dingolfing plant. He declined to name the supplier or describe the faulty part.

But he said production at the Dingolfing plant will be shut down for 3 days -- which means 3,600 vehicles will not be built -- due to the supplier problem.

"The pipeline has to be refilled first," the spokesman said, while declining to comment on whether and how lost output will be compensated.

A spokesman for the Mercedes unit also confirmed the receipt of faulty parts, without providing further details, while a Toyota spokesman said the company does not believe it received any faulty parts. "So far we have no problems," he said.

A Bosch spokesman declined to comment on the matter.

alfred.kueppers@afxnews.com

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Mercedes, BMW hit by faulty diesel injection pumps

German car makers DaimlerChrysler and BMW continued to be plagued by problems related to faulty diesel injection pumps produced by Robert Bosch on Wednesday, with DaimlerChrysler saying it was halting production not only in Germany, but also in Spain.

A DaimlerChrysler spokesman said that production at its Spanish plant in Victoria, where it makes its Vito van, had been at a standstill since January 27.

Production at the group's Mercedes factory in Sindelfingen, would also be shut down next Monday and Tuesday as a result of the problem, which affects fuel pumps made in December and January.

A spokesman for Bosch, the world's leading maker of car parts, said the company was confident that it had solved the problem and would be able to resume supplies by Thursday.

Mercedes' main rival, luxury car maker BMW, also said it would have close its factory in Dingolfing, which was to have been shut down anyway for the carneval holiday next week for an additional three days.

And BMW said it would recall around 21,500 cars affected by the fuel pump problem.

Audi, a unit of Volkswagen, also said it was suffering from bottlenecks.

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Bosch fuel-pump fiasco shuts top automakers

February 3, 2005

Frankfurt, Germany - German automakers DaimlerChrysler and BMW continue to be plagued by problems related to faulty diesel injection pumps produced by Robert Bosch.

Only fuel pumps assembled in December and January were affected.

DaimlerChrysler said it was halting production not only in Germany but also in Spain where the Vito van plant has been idling since January 27

Mercedes' factory in Sindelfingen, Germany, will shut down next Monday and Tuesday
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The Mercedes factory in Sindelfingen, Germany, will shut down next Monday and Tuesday as a result of the problem.

A spokesman for Bosch, the world's leading maker of car parts, said the company was confident the problem was solved and supplies would resume by Thursday.

BMW said it would have to close its factory in Dingolfing for an additional three days next week on top of a shutdown to accommodate a local carnival holiday next week.

The company will recall about 21 500 cars affected by the fuel-pump problem.

Audi, a unit of VW, is also having bottlenecks. - AFP

Fastbuck

Time to sell my Bosch shares!

Oslo

Another article is talking about a 2-digit million EUR claim......

cdiken

"Just in time" delivery has been all the rage in manufacturing. It's great, until one part shuts assembly down, because there is no inventory.

I bought a 2004 Chevy truck last summer, it was amazing to look at all the stickers. Every part on the truck, bumpers, seats, intercooler, were made with 4 days of eachother. (Judging by little white stickers which say what day the part was built on).

KB

glojo

I've read all the doom and gloom threads about 'de-contenting' but building cars without fuel pumps is taking this issue to the extreme!

Hopefully this is only a short term proplem that only effected a small numer of '05' manufactured vehicles

Regards,
John

SAguirre

I dropped my car off at the dealer yesterday and when I pulled into the enclosed 3-lane drop-off area I pulled up next to a W211 CDI. As soon as I got out of my car I could smell diesel! Apparently, the diesel pump on this car had failed in a spectacular way and it stunk! I wonder if this pump is part of this problem.

Steve

glojo

Hi Steve,
I would have thought that if it were a major defect that caused a catastrophic failure of the fuel pump then there would have been immediate recalls. Mercedes-Benz would want those vehicles off the road so quick.

It sounds like a technician has disconnected a fuel line and let the diesel seep\ooze\pour out?

Apart from the horrible smell it will not do a tarmac car park much good. Plus it is very slippery and difficult to remove.

John

BudC

Steve,

I think that the problem with the injection pump has to do with it not working, not that it leaks. From what I know, there is nothing about the problem that is dangerous.

Apparently, CDI's have had odor problems long before Bosch got bad parts from a supplier.

SAguirre

Apparently, the car had just pulled in (under its own power) to the dealer just before me. The car had fewer than 500 miles on it!!! There was a large puddle of diesel under the car that was getting bigger. The tech. had not even seen the car yet.

Apparently the dealer has sealed the tile floor in the service lanes and has some sort of special machine and cleaner for it. I was there on Monday when it happened. I went o pickup my car yesterday (but they had a last minute problem with the Tele-Aid and the car is not ready) and the smell along with any evidence of the spill was GONE! I was impressed.

To switch subjects for a bit. They were going to upgrade my telephone so that it would not need to be removed and re-inserted into the cradle if the phone was left in the car when turned off. Apparently, that was repaired and is working correctly. However, the dealer decided to check if the Tele-Aid was also working (since when it was activated with the phone in the cradle it also made the phone act up) but it was dead to the world and was not receiving a signal. They have been working to figure out what the problem for hours now.

Also, they will price out exactly how much it will be to retrofit an electric rear-window shade. My W124 had one and I loved it, I have the aftermarket one, but I sometimes want to lower it (which I can do from the front). I will post what the result of that is since it had been discussed before.

Steve

glojo

Hi Steve,
Apologies for my misunderstanding your post. The age of the vehicle fits the criteria, but I believe Marcos had a problem with a very slight fuel seepage which was due to Mercedes-Benz poor choice of clips that were fitted to the fuel lines.

I hope the car that you saw did not have a major leakage because diesel fuel on roads is a motor cyclist biggest nightmare. (apart from Harleys and 'choppers' which never get to go fast around any type of bend, or corner ) Do you have round-abouts in the US? (I cannot recall seeing any)

Good luck with your other problems,
John

SAguirre

Colorado has tons of round-abouts. They are murder when it gets icy, but they are otherwise very efficient in low traffic intersections.

Steve