[gremlyng]

I bought a 320d E90 about 6 months ago - It's a 2011 (built on the 27/5/2011)

I have the N47T engine - I'm trying to work out if the chain and tensioner issues are something I need to be concerned about.

The car has done 51K and sounds fine to me, but I stumbbled across this thread and have since had to change my underwear a few times!

Any insight or advice would be very much appreciated.

[CH14SE_E]

Originally Posted by gremlyng

I bought a 320d E90 about 6 months ago - It's a 2011 (built on the 27/5/2011)

I have the N47T engine - I'm trying to work out if the chain and tensioner issues are something I need to be concerned about.

The car has done 51K and sounds fine to me, but I stumbbled across this thread and have since had to change my underwear a few times!

Any insight or advice would be very much appreciated.

It's not certain that it'll happen to you, but it's definitely the effected engine. It's never been updated enough to guarantee that it won't fail. The problem exists all over the timing gear so some people have tensioners fail, others have chains snapping... Mine failed on the sprockets that turn the cam shafts. They literally wore down to smooth discs!

If you're at risk, you'll hear it when you start the car from cold. It's a fucking loud rattle until the oil gets to it after a few seconds. If it's not blatantly obvious then you should be safe.

[bishbosh]

A 2011 engine won't suffer worn sprockets as that issue was rectified in engines built from 2009 onwards!

There have been several changes made to the design of the tensioners from 2011 onwards, mainly to address noise.

Bmw did a quality enhancement last year where they replaced the top chain in situ, you might want to check if the previous owner had this work carried out.

Not many people have chain issues (in relation to the number of new engines in use) and you will tend to read horror stories on the Internet. If you are concerned you could take out a mondial driveline warranty.

[CH14SE_E]

Originally Posted by bishbosh

A 2011 engine won't suffer worn sprockets as that issue was rectified in engines built from 2009 onwards!...

My E91 is a 2011 mate. And the sprockets wore down to discs as mentioned above. The quality enhancement was revoked in March 2016 so they're no longer honouring the recall and even before that, BMW refused to take responsibility for my engine failure, even though they've been aware of the problem 4 - 5 years before mine was even built!

I also had a WarrantyWise warranty, who wriggled their way out of paying.

The best thing to do is to be informed of the early signs. Sell it before it gets worse or change the timing kit before it takes your valves etc.. with it.

[richk84]

Originally Posted by bishbosh

A 2011 engine won't suffer worn sprockets as that issue was rectified in engines built from 2009 onwards!

There have been several changes made to the design of the tensioners from 2011 onwards, mainly to address noise.

Bmw did a quality enhancement last year where they replaced the top chain in situ, you might want to check if the previous owner had this work carried out.

Not many people have chain issues (in relation to the number of new engines in use) and you will tend to read horror stories on the Internet. If you are concerned you could take out a mondial driveline warranty.

+1

If you are worried get the BMW mondial warranty for peace of mind. Don't bother with any other ones as they simply aren't worth it.