[Brennan]

Hey, first post here. Am Looking at buying an E90 320d, currently sitting on 99k, i was just wondering what the common problems/weaknesses are with the 320d engine, are the turbos made of cheese etc.

Should a high miler be considered or is it best walking away?

[urfankhaliq]

Hi, cant help with common problems etc but as far as high mileage is concerned, if its looked after and has fsh then its not a problem. My car has over 100k miles but drives like a dream!

[Boyd1963]

Originally Posted by AZZ

Hey, first post here. Am Looking at buying an E90 320d, currently sitting on 99k, i was just wondering what the common problems/weaknesses are with the 320d engine, are the turbos made of cheese etc.

Should a high miler be considered or is it best walking away?

My mates turbo went at 65k miles and I've seen quite a few reports on here of turbos failing.

[mowflow]

As above, been a few reports on here of turbos going between 65k - 100k miles. Also quite a few people seem to complain about low mpg which usually turns out to be faulty egr thermostats and/or glow plugs and there's also been a few who have suffered a fault with the DTC unit although BMW seem to have worked out a cheap fix for this (£140ish rather than £1400ish).

[Tippo]

It would be interesting to see how many turbo failures ocurred in non-remapped cars tbh.

[Giff]

A remap will have no effect on the turbo.

[Boyd1963]

Originally Posted by Tippo

It would be interesting to see how many turbo failures ocurred in non-remapped cars tbh.

My mates was definitely not re-mapped and he never thrashed it and always made sure that it was serviced by BMW when necessary.

[chris_s1]

From what I've read on here, it seems the people that suffer the most problems (or maybe just do the most complaining) are low mileage cars with no mods or remaps.

Every post about a problem seems to start "My cars only done 12k miles in 3 years and xyz has failed".

Most people like myself that pile 30k a year on remapped car never seem to have any problems......

Ok that's a gross generalization, but thats the way it seems to me...........

[LexS]

It seems with these cars if a problem is going to happen it'll happen early on in its life cycle. A turbo is no different from any other component on the car and has a finite life span, generally speaking 70k isn't unreasonable but quality varies as does maintenance.

And just to clarify, a remap will affect turbo lifespan. But as most of us don't use full throttle all the time, the affect is very marginal.

[Tippo]

Just thought I would spice up a debate as such, not planning to remap mine but I do now have the extended warranty in place for any future issues like the turbo going pear shaped even though I have not remapped.

[mowflow]

Think about the number of members on this site with a 320d then look at the number that have had turbos go. I believe it's a very small percentage.

[Dr Dave]

But then that's only a small percentage of cars....in real life 320d turbo failure must be a very common problem

[Giff]

Originally Posted by LexS

And just to clarify, a remap will affect turbo lifespan. But as most of us don't use full throttle all the time, the affect is very marginal.

Explain why or its just more bullshit. And you mean effect.

[Brennan]

ok haha im not wanting to start an argument, im just after some advice on the e90s. Im coming from a 70k mile Astra Sport Hatch H and im worried that the problems may start on that, im expecting a bit better quality components in a bmw though

[jonsteele]

Siezed turbo actuator arms are the only common fault I've heard of. Mine happened at about 45k.

My car has had a list of faults as long as your arm, but I suspect its a Fri afternoon car and not typical. Latest one was a broken wire due to the wiring harness rubbing on body work above the NSR wheel arch - result was my headlamp auto levelers developing a life of their own!

[mowflow]

Originally Posted by Dr Dave

But then that's only a small percentage of cars....in real life 320d turbo failure must be a very common problem

I don't understand how you've worked that out? If you take the number of 320d's on here as being a representation of the total number of 320's in the country then it would still be roughly the same percentage of overall cars that suffer a failure surely. 1 car in 100 is the same as 10 cars in 1000 (not saying these are the actual figures). It's like when they survey 100 people as a focus group.

[LexS]

Originally Posted by Giff

Explain why or its just more bullshit. And you mean effect.

Your right I do mean effect, was a long day yesterday.

The reason why. Increased power generates higher exhaust gas temperatures, which in turn increases turbine temperature which degrades the bearings in the core faster than an engine generating less total output.

The reason for the minimal change in lifespan is because unless on track your not generally loading up the engine enough to create the higher temps at a regular occurance.

So sorry, but you simply can't say that asking a component to operate beyond its intended safety factor will not have an effect on lifespan

[jinjur]

From experience and from speaking to about 98% of the turbo companies in the uk :P

The turbo (mitsubishi TF035) in the early E90 320d's is completely dog pish

Thats all I can go on

Ours was a high mileage remapped car and make no mistake, I ragged the fucking donkey out of it all of the time.

But still...i was pissed when the turbo went but glad when i fixed it myself.

highs and lows.




J

[Brennan]

Originally Posted by jinjur

The turbo (mitsubishi TF035) in the early E90 320d's is completely dog pish

im looking at an 06 model, will it have the mitsubishi turbo?

[LexS]

How much did you pick up a replacement turbo for with gaskets etc?

[Giff]

Originally Posted by LexS

Your right I do mean effect, was a long day yesterday.

The reason why. Increased power generates higher exhaust gas temperatures, which in turn increases turbine temperature which degrades the bearings in the core faster than an engine generating less total output.

The reason for the minimal change in lifespan is because unless on track your not generally loading up the engine enough to create the higher temps at a regular occurance.

So sorry, but you simply can't say that asking a component to operate beyond its intended safety factor will not have an effect on lifespan

Richening the mixture results in a lower EGT..

[jinjur]

Originally Posted by LexS

How much did you pick up a replacement turbo for with gaskets etc?

I think it was 400 second hand, 50k miles.....gaskets were a tenner at Bee Emmm....

J