E90 320I

[activesteering]

Are the N43 engine with GDI fitted to e90 320i(LCI) prone to frequent ignition coil, injector failures? Would appreciate if someone with firsthand experience can shed light on this. Thanks in advance.

Cheers

[GTAm]

Google is everyone's friend - there's are lots of discussions on BMW engines. Just google.

[activesteering]

There are many threads about these issues on forums but I would like to know how bad these can get in local conditions such as quality of fuel. Thanks fo the reply anywas mate..

[VVTi]

Considering the quality of our fuel is really bad, I would run a mile. Forum member RangeRover had a E90 320i, but he unloaded it first chance he got... it was costing him his retirement funds with regular deposits to Milroy and Prestige...

His valvetronic packed up, injectors got fouled, changed the COPs also if I can remember, his oil level sensor packed up, etc etc etc .... the cost at Prestige for all the repairs amounted to close to 2 mil. YOu can PM him and ask him.

Why do you think most of us, including yours truly unloaded our BMWs?

Basically the newer BMWs, after the E46 are not built well, IMHO. The bullet proof reliability of the E30 and E36 are just part of history now.

I think of the newer BMWs as that made for the newer SuperStar generation.. all the frills, with none of the thrills...

Edited December 6, 2013 by VVTi

[activesteering]

Thanks for the valuable info. N43 engine apparently seems to be one of the problamatic BMW engines. Is the 320D N47 less problamatic than the petrol engine in questiont in your opinion?

[VVTi]

Thanks for the valuable info. N43 engine apparently seems to be one of the problamatic BMW engines. Is the 320D N47 less problamatic than the petrol engine in questiont in your opinion?

Swing by Prestige and see the amount of 520Ds languishing there... the Tar juice that they sell as diesel here treats Euro diesels with contempt...

Edited December 6, 2013 by VVTi

[rangerover]

If you want to go BMW stick to the e46/39 or older. As vvti mentioned, the amount of issues I had with the e90 over my previous e46 is incomparable.

On the n43 diesel engine, there is a timing chain issue on models built before 2011 June. I am also informed that the placement of the timing chain on these engine makes access extremely difficult. Do some research on this

The e30/36/46/39 are cars you should start off with if u r first time BMW owner buying a used car.

[Devinda_Z]

Swing by Prestige and see the amount of 520Ds languishing there... the Tar juice that they sell as diesel here treats Euro diesels with contempt...

unless you run an old non crdi oil burner

[activesteering]

If you want to go BMW stick to the e46/39 or older. As vvti mentioned, the amount of issues I had with the e90 over my previous e46 is incomparable.

On the n43 diesel engine, there is a timing chain issue on models built before 2011 June. I am also informed that the placement of the timing chain on these engine makes access extremely difficult. Do some research on this

The e30/36/46/39 are cars you should start off with if u r first time BMW owner buying a used car.

Mostly reported problems on the 2 liter petrol engines include ignition coil and injector failures. How many kms did ur e90 had on the clock and also could you name a few of the costly issue that you had with the 320i? Was it an LCI e90 you had and is there a difference in the grey imports and the ones brought down by the agents available out there in terms of engine and powertrain?

As far as 320Ds, newer diesels for that matter are concerned, agents claim that DPFs are removed on their imports to cope with the substandard fuel available in Colombo.

Cheers

[MadMMX]

They seriously said the DPF's are removed ? That was news - coil packs do go after some miles - but not really too expensive - 10-20 pounds at the most. The N47 diesel has some real horror stories for the post 2011 ones on the net and there are some 520d's here as well that have busted engines (e60's) as I've heard. Personally been using the E46 n42 engine for over 7 years now - had a few niggles - valve seats leaking at 70K - but nothing major - need to change the oil seals on the top of the engine and gasket cover once in a while - but really if you do your preventive maintenance on time the car looks after you. The n42 doesn't have the direct injection and have done things like changing the pcv valve..etc at home. Really its all to do with your sourcing good parts - contacts in UK are your real friend

RangeRover - didn't realize that you had such a lot of issues with the e90 - was this after the big prestige overhaul ? Was it really that bad ?

Cheers,

[rangerover]

They seriously said the DPF's are removed ? That was news - coil packs do go after some miles - but not really too expensive - 10-20 pounds at the most. The N47 diesel has some real horror stories for the post 2011 ones on the net and there are some 520d's here as well that have busted engines (e60's) as I've heard. Personally been using the E46 n42 engine for over 7 years now - had a few niggles - valve seats leaking at 70K - but nothing major - need to change the oil seals on the top of the engine and gasket cover once in a while - but really if you do your preventive maintenance on time the car looks after you. The n42 doesn't have the direct injection and have done things like changing the pcv valve..etc at home. Really its all to do with your sourcing good parts - contacts in UK are your real friend

RangeRover - didn't realize that you had such a lot of issues with the e90 - was this after the big prestige overhaul ? Was it really that bad ?

Cheers,

Yes. After the engine overhaul (mind you at 34,000 KM) the valvetronic motor packed up (twice) requiring me having to tow the car from home / work to prestige. The steering column also needed replacement because it developed an annoying creak. As much as I loved the brand, it came to a point I just had to sell it off and say never again.

Another important point to note is that, in the e90 the interior paint is prone to peel quite easily due to some environmentally friendly paint used by BMW.

[GTAm]

Yes. After the engine overhaul (mind you at 34,000 KM) the valvetronic motor packed up (twice) requiring me having to tow the car from home / work to prestige. The steering column also needed replacement because it developed an annoying creak. As much as I loved the brand, it came to a point I just had to sell it off and say never again.

Another important point to note is that, in the e90 the interior paint is prone to peel quite easily due to some environmentally friendly paint used by BMW.

Scary. So all E90 320d that came in droves are subject to these faults? Or is it a few cars here and there?

[rangerover]

Scary. So all E90 320d that came in droves are subject to these faults? Or is it a few cars here and there?

Mine was a 320i, not a diesel. But the diesels built prior to 2011 Mar or so has a notorious timing chain issue that can seize engines at mileages as low as 20,000.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BMW_N47#Timing_chain_problems

The timing chain is place behind the block, resulting in it being difficult to access without hoist lifting the block. Very costly to even inspect the condition of the timing chain as preventive maintenance.

[VVTi]

...and this is why Gentlemen, RR and I are driving Japs now... along with my E39 that developed a severe rust issue that needed Prestige to strip it to its bare bones, RR's E90 shared work bays...

We would report on each other's cars whenever we went there to look at the progress.

It was enough for me to be put off the brand for a while.

[zebra]

I was considering a 5 seires when I finally come back to the Island but after reading the posts hmmm

[Ruslan]

...and this is why Gentlemen, RR and I are driving Japs now... along with my E39 that developed a severe rust issue that needed Prestige to strip it to its bare bones, RR's E90 shared work bays...

We would report on each other's cars whenever we went there to look at the progress.

It was enough for me to be put off the brand for a while.

Haiyoo.. At one time..was considering a e46 facelifted 318i, i guess i''ll pass now.. Didnt know that petrols giving this much trouble..

[rangerover]

Haiyoo.. At one time..was considering a e46 facelifted 318i, i guess i''ll pass now.. Didnt know that petrols giving this much trouble..

I used a e46 facelift 320d for about 2 years without any major issue. As MadMMX mentioned, parts for e46's can be sourced cheap and are less complicated than the newer variants. But a good condition car is a needle in a hay sack.. given the age of the model.

Also, keep in mind that, you will be buying a car that would be at a stage in its life-cycle that it would need constant maintenance / replacement of parts. And for a euro (Especially BMW's) this is very bad news. I would suggest a pre-facelift e46 with a M series engine if you really want one

[Magnum]

...and this is why Gentlemen, RR and I are driving Japs now... along with my E39 that developed a severe rust issue that needed Prestige to strip it to its bare bones, RR's E90 shared work bays...

We would report on each other's cars whenever we went there to look at the progress.

It was enough for me to be put off the brand for a while.

I thought he sold the E90

[activesteering]

Asto the DPFs, I first asked the agents and then Milroy who said the diesles come with DPFs removed in agent imports. Apparently they are doing this in consultation with the factory to prevent DPF failures.

In RRs case I beilieve it was N46, the successor of N42 he had on his e90 which also does not have direct injection. I was under the impression that only direct injection gasolines have been having so many issues but apparently MPIs arent less problamatic too. Japanese MPI engines on the other hand are very reliable.

Wonder what engine they have on agent imported e90 LCIs considering quality of our gasoline because there is the option to select either N46 or N43 from factory.

RR, would be helpful if you could say the chain of events that led to an engine overhaul of your 320i at such low milage. Was your car a UK import or a Japanese import?

Cheers

[rangerover]

Asto the DPFs, I first asked the agents and then Milroy who said the diesles come with DPFs removed in agent imports. Apparently they are doing this in consultation with the factory to prevent DPF failures.

In RRs case I beilieve it was N46, the successor of N42 he had on his e90 which also does not have direct injection. I was under the impression that only direct injection gasolines have been having so many issues but apparently MPIs arent less problamatic too. Japanese MPI engines on the other hand are very reliable.

Wonder what engine they have on agent imported e90 LCIs considering quality of our gasoline because there is the option to select either N46 or N43 from factory.

RR, would be helpful if you could say the chain of events that led to an engine overhaul of your 320i at such low milage. Was your car a UK import or a Japanese import?

Cheers

The car was imported brand new by the agents and purchased by me as an "approved" used car from the agents mind you. I owned the car for 58 weeks exactly, and it was in for repairs for over 16 weeks (I kid you not). Which is about 28% of the time. Started from the first week of ownership.

Chain of events are many, but a few would be, dying on me at the crescat basement car park (Where no tow truck can reach) TWICE due to a valvetronic motor issue. I had to use my other vehicle to tow it out of the basement and off "high security zone" to the edge of Nawam mawatha (The furthest point where a tow truck can reach). Once it happened at around 7.45 pm and when I called the agents, they said they cannot do anything about it since they are having an office party!!!$%@. Thankfully I was able to negotiate with the building management to leave the car overnight and found my own towing truck service to send the car to the agents.

The steering column got stuck once resulting in the push start function not working. This was at home thankfully. The agents sent me a tow truck 8 hours later. The list goes on

In summary, I decided to call it quits and get rid of the car after getting all the repairs done.

[VVTi]

I was considering a 5 seires when I finally come back to the Island but after reading the posts hmmm

Ask Bugatti and RR about how bad the rust issue was...

[The Don]

This has made horrific reading, considering I've just bought myself an E92, with the M57 engine, which I don't think as problamatic as the petrols.

I have been considering getting a E46 face lift for use at home in Sri Lanka but this has caused a rethink.

VVTI would you believe that Merceds Benz offers a life time corrosion warranty in the UK subject to an anual check though I don't know how enforceable it is

The ironic thing is I have been complaining about the GM block Alfa engine issues, but none of them are as serious as the ones experienced by Bugatti and most can be dealt with via preventative maintenance....

And isn't it facinating that the Japanese still seem to have better component build qualty and better engineering in terms of reliability....... Maybe I should have bought an Lexus IS....

[MadMMX]

I guess its really so so - my brother and I have been using a pair of E46 318i facelifts (N42 engines) - I've had mine close to 8 years now and bro's is close to 5 years. Really not had any major issues and the pleasure derived from driving them has led to the dropping of the japs with the exception of a uk imported civic hybrid. The name of the game is preventive maintenance and keeping a few extra bits like a spare coilpack ..etc and doing your services (which is actually only once a year )

Really by the amount of trouble that RR had with the E90 it looks to have been a real lemon though I have friends who are pretty happy with their E90's. Both petrols & diesels.

[Supra_Natural]

This has made horrific reading, considering I've just bought myself an E92, with the M57 engine, which I don't think as problamatic as the petrols.

I have been considering getting a E46 face lift for use at home in Sri Lanka but this has caused a rethink.

VVTI would you believe that Merceds Benz offers a life time corrosion warranty in the UK subject to an anual check though I don't know how enforceable it is

The ironic thing is I have been complaining about the GM block Alfa engine issues, but none of them are as serious as the ones experienced by Bugatti and most can be dealt with via preventative maintenance....

And isn't it facinating that the Japanese still seem to have better component build qualty and better engineering in terms of reliability....... Maybe I should have bought an Lexus IS....

Got an E92? Nice, is it a 330d? I have a feeling the reliability record of those things in the UK is quite different to what is being experienced here in SL. Perhaps climate also plays a part.

[GTAm]

Got an E92? Nice, is it a 330d? I have a feeling the reliability record of those things in the UK is quite different to what is being experienced here in SL. Perhaps climate also plays a part.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/motoring/news/9815860/German-cars-lose-out-in-reliability-survey.html

Edited December 14, 2013 by GTAm