E90 320I

[Ruslan]

[rangerover]

S

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

Surprised to the see mitsubishi in the least reliable list!

[Magnum]

S

Surprised to the see mitsubishi in the least reliable list!

the reliability ranking varies by company, in US Lexus is the most reliable brand

[Supra_Natural]

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

Interesting survey, yet again the "german bulletproof" myth is busted looks like. And the advice for those seeking reliability is just as it always has been evidently: buy a Toyota or a Honda.

[activesteering]

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.

RR, care to explain what led to an engine overhaulin the first place? What did Prestige have to say about the vehicle bought under their certified pre owned scheme having to undergo an engine overhaul at such low milage and the repetitive valvetronics failures and other troubles it started giving after their overhaul?

How much did the engine overhaul you are talking about cost at agents?

[activesteering]

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.

Asto the E90 petrols you are referring to, have any of them experienced issues with Fuel pumps, ignition coils and injectors with local fuel? Those high pressure fuel pumps and peizoelectric injectors you find in N43 GDI engines(on E90 LCIs) are said to be expensive to replace.

[GTAm]

S

Surprised to the see mitsubishi in the least reliable list!

This is engine reliability/failure/repair cost only. Which basically the heart of the car. If it's overall reliability the rankings could change. Also there are lots of surveys like the JD Power which are "Customer Satisfaction" ratings. That's only part reliability a large % comes from things like how the dealer treats you for example. Skoda used to score very high in the UK as the dealerships in the pre-VW era were set up as small scale family businesses that tend to forge warmer relationships with customers. German brands have excellent customer service standards and are known to have replaced faulty engines gearboxes at the factory's cost sometimes even after the expiration of warranty. This kind of thing obviously could mask the actual reliability of a vehicle.

[GTAm]

Interesting survey, yet again the "german bulletproof" myth is busted looks like. And the advice for those seeking reliability is just as it always has been evidently: buy a Toyota or a Honda.

The myth is created by excellent after sales service and customer care. Also the "feel" you get with almost any German car is of "solidity" and "well put togetherness". The damped door handles and soft touch plastics in the interior add to that "high quality" feel.

Yes no doubt that the Japanese build the most reliable cars in the world. Added to this they have the best customer care in the so called developed markets. Lexus is the benchmark for customer service on both sides of the Atlantic. And every other manufacturer aspires to get close.

Considering my own ownership experience, my ranking is French<German<Italian<Japanese

The most reliable car I've owned is a Mazda Familia TDi. Replaced only brake pads and an AC cooler in four years of ownership. The most unreliable was a Peugeot 206 1.9D. Timing belt used to "jump" out on a very regular basis and the agents could never figure it out and at only 15k miles the engine went bust!

[The Don]

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.

Ha ha you know me too well. It is a 330D with the M57 engine. I wanted the older more proven engine rather than the newer N57 engine. The face lift E46s don't seem to have much problems at all in the UK climate though the E90 petrols seem to suffer a bit according to a mechanic, some requiring rebuilds at supposedly low miles. Then again if a car does not have full service history mileage is not verifiable even over here.

[The Don]

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

I think the results make interesting reading, but does not tell the full story.

First and foremost you note that Mercedes Benz as always does very well in the reliability ratings. This has somewhat been their Forte and they are quite cheap to get an extended warranty for considering what they cost.

Second issue is, both BMW and the VW/Audit group seem to have had issues with their petrol engines from what I hear, and they have both introduced high pressure fuel injection systems. I wonder if the quality of British fuel is an issue, as a couple of years ago something similar to what happened in SL happened in the UK as well leading to mass failure of oxygen sensors.

Also as GTam points out what it does not say is how relevant dealerships deal with these issues. And ultimately what matters is your complete ownership experience and its not merely down to success failure factors.

And as Supra said whats valid in the UK does not necessarily apply elsewhere. I think GTAm came accross a design flaw in PSA engines (believe it or not a friend of mine experienced a similar issue) the dealerships are generally good and parts and labour are fairly reasonably priced so people still buy them

[fuzzo]

just saw 2 of these have come on the market at very decent prices... quite loaded too...

but after reading this thread...ill just skip those ads

[Watchman]

A friend who has an e90 has a small issue. There's a slight ticking sound from the alternator. It almost sounds like the litte fan like part inside the casing rubbing against something. Now the catch. It doesnt always make this sound.

1. When idling in Nutreal (with no Aircon) there's no sound.

2. When you switch on the Aircon you get the sound.

3. When you shift to Drive, you get the sound.

My guess is that it could be a worn out bearing which causes the armature to pull forward and rub against something. But I'm baffled by the fact that it's triggered by the AC and/or shifting to D, especially since the Aircon and the transmission are not directly related.

edit:

It's a YOM 2007 E90 320I (if it makes a difference)

Edited March 3, 2014 by Watchman

[The Don]

A friend who has an e90 has a small issue. There's a slight ticking sound from the alternator. It almost sounds like the litte fan like part inside the casing rubbing against something. Now the catch. It doesnt always make this sound.

1. When idling in Nutreal (with no Aircon) there's no sound.

2. When you switch on the Aircon you get the sound.

3. When you shift to Drive, you get the sound.

My guess is that it could be a worn out bearing which causes the armature to pull forward and rub against something. But I'm baffled by the fact that it's triggered by the AC and/or shifting to D, especially since the Aircon and the transmission are not directly related.

edit:

It's a YOM 2007 E90 320I (if it makes a difference)

Watchman, as soon as the AC is turned on the engine idle goes up to compensate for the extra load, but also to counter the demand for more electricity coming from the blower motor, fans, compressor etc, so it could be this what is causing the noise to come up.

So basically anything over 800rpm you can hear the noise properly? As in does it also come when you rev the engine while in neutral?

[Watchman]

Watchman, as soon as the AC is turned on the engine idle goes up to compensate for the extra load, but also to counter the demand for more electricity coming from the blower motor, fans, compressor etc, so it could be this what is causing the noise to come up.

So basically anything over 800rpm you can hear the noise properly? As in does it also come when you rev the engine while in neutral?

That was my exact train of thought. Though the noise is present when the AC is on in neutral, it is just as (or even more) loud with the AC off and the gear in Drive.

When you rev the engine, it died down a bit as I recall.

It's definitely coming from the alternator, just that I don't see how the alternator is affected by the transmission/gear. Does BMW have any high load electrical component that's related to the transmission?

[The Don]

That was my exact train of thought. Though the noise is present when the AC is on in neutral, it is just as (or even more) loud with the AC off and the gear in Drive.

When you rev the engine, it died down a bit as I recall.

It's definitely coming from the alternator, just that I don't see how the alternator is affected by the transmission/gear. Does BMW have any high load electrical component that's related to the transmission?

Well the engine load goes up when the car is in to gear. To stabilize the rpm the ECU will instruct the engine to advance (you know to stop the car rolling back and slowly lurch forward)...

Maybe get the alternator serviced if it can be taken apart? Also a used part sourced from the usual sources might be quite cheap compared to the specialists charges for inspection and repair....

Read this thread. Sounds useful

http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=614030

They say its the pulley on the alternator

The OEM manufacturer is INA and the OE number is "12317560483".

Edited March 4, 2014 by The Don