[JingChai]

My 2011 328i just hit 80k today! I got it back in 2015 with 39k miles.

So far the eccentric shaft sensor, oil pan housing gasket, oil pan gasket, transmission shifter seal, front brake rotors, and serpentine belt tensioner have been replace.

The valve cover gasket, VANOS solenoid, and water pump are still original.

Now that the car is 10 years old and with 80k miles, should I be aware of anything else that might need attention going forward?

[JonOhh]

If you get a code for the vanos, replace solenoids asap. It seems you are aware of the potential for the water pump to let go, though it could last another 50k... you just don't know.

I'd inspect the front suspension thrust arms, and see how the big (front) bushing on each side is doing. I'd also replace the expansion tank hose, especially since I imagine you had to disturb it to remove the fan to do the serpentine service... a few have had this hose last beyond 200k, but after the expansion tank hose on our 2016 m235i exploded the other day and drained all of the coolant from the system, I'm a bit more cautious.

Once you get past 100k, be on the lookout for a vibration from underneath the car on the interstate- that would likely be the center support bearing and flex discs.

None of the stuff, except maybe the water pump, needs to be done if there are no symptoms at all, but those are some things to look out for as the miles add up.

Enjoy every mile, and don't worry at all about the miles adding up. I got my 06 with 78k about a year ago and am already at 103k... apart from doing preventative maintenance and replacing a few little things here and there, it's been solid.

[Efthreeoh]

The engine designation for your 2011 328i is "N52" in case you didn't know. It's helpful to know that for the following discussion....

Did you DIY these repairs, or have a dealership/independent repair shop diagnose and make the repairs for you? The reason I ask is because those are common issues with the N52, but not at such a low mileage between 40,000 and 80,000 miles. If the eccentric shaft sensor (ESS) was replaced, then the valve cover gasket WAS replaced; it is impossible to replace the ESS without replacing the valve cover gasket because the valve cover needs to be removed to replace the ESS. No mechanic would reuse the valve cover gasket (set). The ESS resides inside the valve box under the valve cover and the ESS electrical connector protrudes through the top of the valve cover and has a circular seal itself that is in the valve cover. The ESS seal gets replaced as standard practice during a valve cover gasket.

While the oil pan gasket failure is probably more age related than mileage related, reviewing my maintenance notes, the oil pan on my N52 began to seep at 205,000 miles (i.e. a small "wet" area at the right rear of the engine block) about 7 years after the car was built. I retorqued the pan bolts at that time and kept an eye on it. . However, by 10 years and 293,000 the oil pan leak was bad enough to justify the work to replace the oil pan gasket. So if you recently had the pan gasket replaced, 10 years makes some sense. [Note, retorquing pan bolts to attempt to cure a gasket leak is common practice with cars that use steel oil pan bolts, however the N52 uses on-time-use (stretch to yield) aluminum pan bolts, so it really is not the best practice to try and retorque the N52 aluminum pan bolts since there is risk of snapping them off].

You state the "front rotors" were replaced. Does that mean just the brake rotors, or were all of the components of the front brakes replaced (i.e. brake pads and sensor). Replacing only rotors makes no sense.

You've not mentioned the oil change interval you use, nor change of either the engine air filter and cabin air filter, and no mention of spark plugs. The engine airfilter should have been changed at 45,000 miles. The cabin airfilter should have been replaced at least once in 80,000 miles. The 2011 model year calls for spark plug replacement at 60,000 miles (2006 - 2009 N52 engines use a 100,000-mile spark plug interval).

VANOS solenoids. Some of us practice a "clean and swap" routine for the VANOS solenoids. The Bentley service manual says to clean and swap the VANOS solenoids as test to see if the trouble code "follows" the solenoid position, or stays put. That means the two (2) VANOS solenoids manage control the intake and exhaust camshafts, so if the code follows the solenoid position (from the exhaust side to the intake side) the solenoid is defective. So that means the solenoids for the exhaust and intake sides are the same part; check realoem.com and it confirms the parts are the same. So it was suggested by someone back in 2011 to keep the solenoids from "running-in" at their positions, to clean and swap the solenoids periodically; 50,000 miles was arbitrarily chosen as the interval.

Now if you don't DIY, asking a professional shop to "clean and swap" the VANOS every 50,000 miles, the tech may be amused by the request and suggest just replacing the solenoids. I followed my 50,000-mile clean and swap practice on my E90 and both VANOS solenoids lasted until 306,000 miles.

The water pump. There are manufacturer "trouble codes" 2E81 and 2E82 that indicate the N52 water pump is degrading and may possibly fail. The water pump has been updated several times. My original 2006 pump died at 149,521 miles. The replacement has lasted 245,500 miles so far and has yet to throw a trouble code.

Apologies for the long post, but if you are interested in keeping your car for a lot more years and miles, then I suggest investing in a BMW scan tool and learn how to use it. The coding subfourm has all the information needed to learn about the many different scan tools available and how to use them.

[JingChai]

I actually have a N51 instead of the N52 as the car was sold in California.

These repairs were done at an independent shop that specializes in BMW that I have been going to for the last 5 years.

Thank you for letting me know about the eccentric shaft seal and valve cover gasket. After looking through my receipts it looks like the valve cover gasket set was replaced at 57k miles back in 2017.

Oil pan gasket was replaced with new bolts at 60k miles in 2017.

Front rotors, brake pads, and wear sensor were replaced at 62k miles in 2018.

I use a 7500 miles oil change interval as that was what was on my CBS Display. I'm actually due for an oil change in the next 700 miles.

All of my spark plugs have been changed at 57k miles and coils have been changed as well between 51k miles and 73k miles.

Good to know about the VANOS solenoid cleaning! I'll take a look at that if I do get any codes.

You did mention the water pump revision to me a while back when I called you the "Godfather of the E9X"

My manual transmission fluid was changed at 60k miles back in 2017.

I do have an Autophix 7910 scanner and it has been very helpful to check up on any codes. The last 2 repairs I actually gave the codes to my shop beforehand when I made the appointment online.

Once again, thank you for your through explanation and wisdom as always!

Originally Posted by Efthreeoh

The engine designation for your 2011 328i is "N52" in case you didn't know. It's helpful to know that for the following discussion....

Did you DIY these repairs, or have a dealership/independent repair shop diagnose and make the repairs for you? The reason I ask is because those are common issues with the N52, but not at such a low mileage between 40,000 and 80,000 miles. If the eccentric shaft sensor (ESS) was replaced, then the valve cover gasket WAS replaced; it is impossible to replace the ESS without replacing the valve cover gasket because the valve cover needs to be removed to replace the ESS. No mechanic would reuse the valve cover gasket (set). The ESS resides inside the valve box under the valve cover and the ESS electrical connector protrudes through the top of the valve cover and has a circular seal itself that is in the valve cover. The ESS seal gets replaced as standard practice during a valve cover gasket.

While the oil pan gasket failure is probably more age related than mileage related, reviewing my maintenance notes, the oil pan on my N52 began to seep at 205,000 miles (i.e. a small "wet" area at the right rear of the engine block) about 7 years after the car was built. I retorqued the pan bolts at that time and kept an eye on it. . However, by 10 years and 293,000 the oil pan leak was bad enough to justify the work to replace the oil pan gasket. So if you recently had the pan gasket replaced, 10 years makes some sense. [Note, retorquing pan bolts to attempt to cure a gasket leak is common practice with cars that use steel oil pan bolts, however the N52 uses on-time-use (stretch to yield) aluminum pan bolts, so it really is not the best practice to try and retorque the N52 aluminum pan bolts since there is risk of snapping them off].

You state the "front rotors" were replaced. Does that mean just the brake rotors, or were all of the components of the front brakes replaced (i.e. brake pads and sensor). Replacing only rotors makes no sense.

You've not mentioned the oil change interval you use, nor change of either the engine air filter and cabin air filter, and no mention of spark plugs. The engine airfilter should have been changed at 45,000 miles. The cabin airfilter should have been replaced at least once in 80,000 miles. The 2011 model year calls for spark plug replacement at 60,000 miles (2006 - 2009 N52 engines use a 100,000-mile spark plug interval).

VANOS solenoids. Some of us practice a "clean and swap" routine for the VANOS solenoids. The Bentley service manual says to clean and swap the VANOS solenoids as test to see if the trouble code "follows" the solenoid position, or stays put. That means the two (2) VANOS solenoids manage control the intake and exhaust camshafts, so if the code follows the solenoid position (from the exhaust side to the intake side) the solenoid is defective. So that means the solenoids for the exhaust and intake sides are the same part; check realoem.com and it confirms the parts are the same. So it was suggested by someone back in 2011 to keep the solenoids from "running-in" at their positions, to clean and swap the solenoids periodically; 50,000 miles was arbitrarily chosen as the interval.

Now if you don't DIY, asking a professional shop to "clean and swap" the VANOS every 50,000 miles, the tech may be amused by the request and suggest just replacing the solenoids. I followed my 50,000-mile clean and swap practice on my E90 and both VANOS solenoids lasted until 306,000 miles.

The water pump. There are manufacturer "trouble codes" 2E81 and 2E82 that indicate the N52 water pump is degrading and may possibly fail. The water pump has been updated several times. My original 2006 pump died at 149,521 miles. The replacement has lasted 245,500 miles so far and has yet to throw a trouble code.

Apologies for the long post, but if you are interested in keeping your car for a lot more years and miles, then I suggest investing in a BMW scan tool and learn how to use it. The coding subfourm has all the information needed to learn about the many different scan tools available and how to use them.

[Efthreeoh]

Originally Posted by JingChai

I actually have a N51 instead of the N52 as the car was sold in California.

These repairs were done at an independent shop that specializes in BMW that I have been going to for the last 5 years.

Thank you for letting me know about the eccentric shaft seal and valve cover gasket. After looking through my receipts it looks like the valve cover gasket set was replaced at 57k miles back in 2017.

Oil pan gasket was replaced with new bolts at 60k miles in 2017.

Front rotors, brake pads, and wear sensor were replaced at 62k miles in 2018.

I use a 7500 miles oil change interval as that was what was on my CBS Display. I'm actually due for an oil change in the next 700 miles.

All of my spark plugs have been changed at 57k miles and coils have been changed as well between 51k miles and 73k miles.

Good to know about the VANOS solenoid cleaning! I'll take a look at that if I do get any codes.

You did mention the water pump revision to me a while back when I called you the "Godfather of the E9X"

My manual transmission fluid was changed at 60k miles back in 2017.

I do have an Autophix 7910 scanner and it has been very helpful to check up on any codes. The last 2 repairs I actually gave the codes to my shop beforehand when I made the appointment online.

Once again, thank you for your through explanation and wisdom as always!

So, if you have no records of the engine airfilter being changed, I'd do it now. Same with the cabin airfilter. Just to baseline those two maintenance items. Good that you are going to the same shop over and over, just be cautious about him over selling work to you.

List thing, the brake fluid should be flushed every 24 months based on the manufacture date of the car.

[JingChai]

AC microfilters were changed last time in 2018 at 65k miles.

I been going to the shop for 5 years and never felt oversold. They've always taken pictures of all the work they have done and now even send progress reports and pictures during the appointment as part of the new protocol from new owners. Every single time I go in they do a full inspection and detail the reports.

Brake fluid was last changed at 73k miles in December of 2019.

I would venture to say that I have one of the best maintained 328i that I know of. Everything that needed repair has been repaired and looked after. I should get plenty of miles and years to enjoy!

Originally Posted by Efthreeoh

So, if you have no records of the engine airfilter being changed, I'd do it now. Same with the cabin airfilter. Just to baseline those two maintenance items. Good that you are going to the same shop over and over, just be cautious about him over selling work to you.

List thing, the brake fluid should be flushed every 24 months based on the manufacture date of the car.

[Efthreeoh]

Originally Posted by JingChai

AC microfilters were changed last time in 2018 at 65k miles.

I been going to the shop for 5 years and never felt oversold. They've always taken pictures of all the work they have done and now even send progress reports and pictures during the appointment as part of the new protocol from new owners. Every single time I go in they do a full inspection and detail the reports.

Brake fluid was last changed at 73k miles in December of 2019.

I would venture to say that I have one of the best maintained 328i that I know of. Everything that needed repair has been repaired and looked after. I should get plenty of miles and years to enjoy!

Here's hoping you do.

[Efthreeoh]

Originally Posted by JingChai

AC microfilters were changed last time in 2018 at 65k miles.

I been going to the shop for 5 years and never felt oversold. They've always taken pictures of all the work they have done and now even send progress reports and pictures during the appointment as part of the new protocol from new owners. Every single time I go in they do a full inspection and detail the reports.

Brake fluid was last changed at 73k miles in December of 2019.

I would venture to say that I have one of the best maintained 328i that I know of. Everything that needed repair has been repaired and looked after. I should get plenty of miles and years to enjoy!

80,000 miles is peanuts for a N52 E90.

[marvinstockman]

Jing,

Just in case you didn't know, most of the items you list should have been covered by BMW's SULEV extended warranty, which runs 15 years and 150K miles.

Most of your future engine related issues should be covered. Your shop should know this.

[213e90n51]

LOL sulev warranty saved my ass many times. Got waterpump. VCG, OFHG, Oil pan gasket. Got some fuel exhaust vacuum line replace. ECs. The block was cleaned and rebuilt. Fuel pump and gas tank. Got a new valve cover to. It changed my oil and coolant because of the rebuild. got new spark plugs.

[JingChai]

Thanks Marvin, back when I got bought the car from a dealership, I bought a 3 year extended warranty (didn't know much about BMW back then and certainly didn't know about the SULEV warranty).

And guess, what all the major repairs like Valve Cover Gasket, Serpentine Belt Tensioner, Eccentric Shaft Sensor, and Shifter Seal happened during the extended warranty and was fully covered. It must've been like fate or something because since the warranty expired back in 2018, there hasn't been any major repairs yet.

But going forward until 2026 or 150k miles, I'll be sure to use the SULEV warranty.

Originally Posted by marvinstockman

Jing,

Just in case you didn't know, most of the items you list should have been covered by BMW's SULEV extended warranty, which runs 15 years and 150K miles.

Most of your future engine related issues should be covered. Your shop should know this.

[solo118]

Originally Posted by 213e90n51

LOL sulev warranty saved my ass many times. Got waterpump. VCG, OFHG, Oil pan gasket. Got some fuel exhaust vacuum line replace. ECs. The block was cleaned and rebuilt. Fuel pump and gas tank. Got a new valve cover to. It changed my oil and coolant because of the rebuild. got new spark plugs.

Water pump is covered??

[213e90n51]

Originally Posted by solo118

Water pump is covered??

Yes it is covered. Got it replaced. and the hoses around it. there is a list of items for sulev and even n52 stuff that can get replaced

[solo118]

Originally Posted by 213e90n51

Yes it is covered. Got it replaced. and the hoses around it. there is a list of items for sulev and even n52 stuff that can get replaced

Awesome. Hope mine doesn't fail, but the N51 warranty is great for peace of mind. The funny thing is not one seller I spoke to knew about it (one even spent 1k replacing the cats)

[213e90n51]

Originally Posted by solo118

Awesome. Hope mine doesn't fail, but the N51 warranty is great for peace of mind. The funny thing is not one seller I spoke to knew about it (one even spent 1k replacing the cats)

i have an exhaust system and i still get warranty repairs

[bluewater328]

Did I miss Oil Filter Housing Gasket on the list?

Don't need to till you see seepage around the edges, but that's a common thing. If you were going to a mechanic, they usually mention or service it hand-in-hand with either the Valve Cover or in our case, the tensioner/belt. But it is one of those very evident ones that sits right in front of you as you open the hood. No decent BMW mechanic would miss it if it needed service.

Suspension and bushings will eventually start to fail/get worn at this point, but that's just "wait till you feel it."

[solo118]

Originally Posted by bluewater328

Did I miss Oil Filter Housing Gasket on the list?
"

OFGH is not on the list, you are on the hook for that one

[Kaydendowdy]

My 2011 328i has also recently reached 80k miles. So far, I've had to replace the spark plugs, valve cover gasket, oil filter housing gasket, and front brakes.

[A321]

Just my two cents.....My 2011 SULEV has 46k miles. CPO from Sterling BMW(KSNA). Driven coast to coast(twice). Only one issue(something stuck/blocking my left side A/C vents from pushing Cold air), going to the stealer today for my yearly oil change and to discuss the lack of cold air. This thing is like driving on a cloud.

[dmatre]

Don't want to jinx myself, but....
2011 328 E90. Total cost of repairs: 6 coils (1 was bad, pre-emptively changed the other 5).
Replaced shocks (wear & tear) as well as services by the book.
Actually, after owning Nissan, Honda, Acura, Toyota, Mazda, Jeep, Chevy, Mercedes; the BMW is the most reliable/durable car I've had.

[Schmitz]

Originally Posted by Efthreeoh

The engine designation for your 2011 328i is "N52" in case you didn't know. It's helpful to know that for the following discussion....

Did you DIY these repairs, or have a dealership/independent repair shop diagnose and make the repairs for you? The reason I ask is because those are common issues with the N52, but not at such a low mileage between 40,000 and 80,000 miles. If the eccentric shaft sensor (ESS) was replaced, then the valve cover gasket WAS replaced; it is impossible to replace the ESS without replacing the valve cover gasket because the valve cover needs to be removed to replace the ESS. No mechanic would reuse the valve cover gasket (set). The ESS resides inside the valve box under the valve cover and the ESS electrical connector protrudes through the top of the valve cover and has a circular seal itself that is in the valve cover. The ESS seal gets replaced as standard practice during a valve cover gasket.

While the oil pan gasket failure is probably more age related than mileage related, reviewing my maintenance notes, the oil pan on my N52 began to seep at 205,000 miles (i.e. a small "wet" area at the right rear of the engine block) about 7 years after the car was built. I retorqued the pan bolts at that time and kept an eye on it. . However, by 10 years and 293,000 the oil pan leak was bad enough to justify the work to replace the oil pan gasket. So if you recently had the pan gasket replaced, 10 years makes some sense. [Note, retorquing pan bolts to attempt to cure a gasket leak is common practice with cars that use steel oil pan bolts, however the N52 uses on-time-use (stretch to yield) aluminum pan bolts, so it really is not the best practice to try and retorque the N52 aluminum pan bolts since there is risk of snapping them off].

You state the "front rotors" were replaced. Does that mean just the brake rotors, or were all of the components of the front brakes replaced (i.e. brake pads and sensor). Replacing only rotors makes no sense.

You've not mentioned the oil change interval you use, nor change of either the engine air filter and cabin air filter, and no mention of spark plugs. The engine airfilter should have been changed at 45,000 miles. The cabin airfilter should have been replaced at least once in 80,000 miles. The 2011 model year calls for spark plug replacement at 60,000 miles (2006 - 2009 N52 engines use a 100,000-mile spark plug interval).

VANOS solenoids. Some of us practice a "clean and swap" routine for the VANOS solenoids. The Bentley service manual says to clean and swap the VANOS solenoids as test to see if the trouble code "follows" the solenoid position, or stays put. That means the two (2) VANOS solenoids manage control the intake and exhaust camshafts, so if the code follows the solenoid position (from the exhaust side to the intake side) the solenoid is defective. So that means the solenoids for the exhaust and intake sides are the same part; check realoem.com and it confirms the parts are the same. So it was suggested by someone back in 2011 to keep the solenoids from "running-in" at their positions, to clean and swap the solenoids periodically; 50,000 miles was arbitrarily chosen as the interval.

Now if you don't DIY, asking a professional shop to "clean and swap" the VANOS every 50,000 miles, the tech may be amused by the request and suggest just replacing the solenoids. I followed my 50,000-mile clean and swap practice on my E90 and both VANOS solenoids lasted until 306,000 miles.

The water pump. There are manufacturer "trouble codes" 2E81 and 2E82 that indicate the N52 water pump is degrading and may possibly fail. The water pump has been updated several times. My original 2006 pump died at 149,521 miles. The replacement has lasted 245,500 miles so far and has yet to throw a trouble code.

Apologies for the long post, but if you are interested in keeping your car for a lot more years and miles, then I suggest investing in a BMW scan tool and learn how to use it. The coding subfourm has all the information needed to learn about the many different scan tools available and how to use them.

Dude, your posts are always super detailed and helpful. Thank you.

[mainbearing]

You can look up the items in the warranty booklet. The items vary a little by model year as far as I recalled.
https://www.bmwusa.com/explore/bmw-v...nty-books.html

The valve cover gasket ("Cylinder Head Cover Gasket Set") is covered, but not sure I saw oil pan gasket written anywhere. It is strange the VCG is covered but not OFHG or the oil pan gasket.