[Efthreeoh]

Originally Posted by hassmaschine

I can (and have) altered the codes so they trigger a MIL. It is dumb that BMW didnt do that by default.

I think they couldn't because it wouldn't be OBD2 compliant. There isn't an equivalent OBD2 trouble code for BMWs WP slow speed etc. codes. A flashing yellow coolant light or flashing yellow temp light would be appropriate IMO.

[delmarco]

Originally Posted by lukasB

The question of this thread is clear and simple "What to look for at 100,000k miles" your answer is "sell the car and buy a new one". If you are one of them then why the f** are u even here? This is a forum for people who want to work on their cars not sell them

Dude did you even read anything I wrote above?

Read it again. I never said, nor would I ever say, get a new car because your 100k BMW E90 is too old or dated.

I was offering advice based on my own past experiences with owning, DIY'ing, modding and even selling/buying my own previous BMW 3 series over the last 14 years of my life.

"What to look for?" can be analyzed a variety of ways. I figured he would get lots of replies concerning "making your car faster" mods or bigger rims, M3 replica bumpers, or get a drop or your usually Fast and Furious short cut mods. I however took it upon myself to offer up advice regarding living with 100k BMW E90. It is can be rewarding and has glory attached to it but it is not pretty or easy and with the E90 it can be expensive.


It is just my opinion that the OP can ignore or think about but at least he will understand the caveats that come with ownership past 100k.

I'm just keeping it 100.

[madskillzE90]

Originally Posted by ryan stewart

So replacing my starter that luckily died at home has me thinking about dedicating some time to some preventative maintenance. It used to be BMW had a prescription for stuff like that but it looks like they have gotten rid of the rigid schedules and went to a "replace when broken" model. Id gladly drop a grand or two into the car too early if it means never having to sit on the side of a road on a rainy day waiting for a tow truck when I have places to be.

So the starter was something Ive seen mentioned on forums seems to die at 100k according to some members. Mine died at 100,138. What else should I be looking at, based on your experiences, to replace that might be getting close to a high failure rate at 100K.

Did the belts/tensioner/idler already. Was going to do coolant hoses but parts guy said they dont fail catastrophically like they used to so held off. Starter, MAF, air pump, battery and ignition coils have all been done too. I have the oil level sensor and gasket ready for the next oil change. Plastic valve cover remains but I replaced all of the seals on it when doing the valve cover gasket.

2008 328 wagon, n52k, automatic. Southern car, garaged.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Water pump
Thermostat
Coolant temp sensor
Radiator, inspect your cooling fan and shroud
Go through all of your bushings and gaskets check for damage and replace
Flush coolant, Brake fluid, Power steering fluid, Oil, transmission
Check your brake lines for leaks
Take a look at your oil pan gasket I'm sure it is leaking they all do sadly
Break sensors, speed sensors
O2 sensors
If you have not swapped out your rotors id also suggest doing so

I am very much a preventative maintenance type of person.
You will not see me on the side of the road lol and if you do I typically have the tools are fluids to get myself home.

[BravoJohny33]

Originally Posted by madskillzE90

-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Water pump
Thermostat
Coolant temp sensor
Radiator, inspect your cooling fan and shroud
Go through all of your bushings and gaskets check for damage and replace
Flush coolant, Brake fluid, Power steering fluid, Oil, transmission
Check your brake lines for leaks
Take a look at your oil pan gasket I'm sure it is leaking they all do sadly
Break sensors, speed sensors
O2 sensors
If you have not swapped out your rotors id also suggest doing so

I am very much a preventative maintenance type of person.
You will not see me on the side of the road lol and if you do I typically have the tools are fluids to get myself home.

There is this thing called AAA. It will save you a ton of money instead of replacing working water pumps.

[hassmaschine]

Originally Posted by Efthreeoh

I think they couldn't because it wouldn't be OBD2 compliant. There isn't an equivalent OBD2 trouble code for BMWs WP slow speed etc. codes. A flashing yellow coolant light or flashing yellow temp light would be appropriate IMO.

There were several other ways they could have triggered a warning that would have been OBD2 compliant - I mean, we have a freakin' LCD on the dash. How about "waterpump is drawing too much power, maybe check it out..".

[Efthreeoh]

Originally Posted by hassmaschine

There were several other ways they could have triggered a warning that would have been OBD2 compliant - I mean, we have a freakin' LCD on the dash. How about "waterpump is drawing too much power, maybe check it out..".

Totally agree. The info center between the gauges has an icon for a loose gas cap for God's sake (and it's not in the '06 owners manual), they could have made a WP icon of some sort. But again, those icons are standardized by the (International) Society of Automotive Engineers - SAE. It may be they couldn't, on the non-iDrive cars, just come up with a new icon for the water pump. They should do something. Belt-driven pumps usually come with a weep hole to let coolant leak out when the seal goes bad, so you can smell coolant before the pump completely goes tits up.

[madskillzE90]

lol @ BravoJohny33 AAA

[Welcome to NBA Jam]

Is delmarco actually e46mango?

[nerovega]

The work is so difficult to deal with on the e90 argument is just dumb. Every car has stuff that is harder and easier than other brands. If you don't DIY then I kinda see the point that you might as well trade in for a new car once you get into the 100-150K range. That's when things like water pump, VCG, and oil pan gaskets are needing to be changed and those are very expensive jobs if you take it to someone. BMW maintenance is crazy high compared to other brands. I mean they don't say BMW is the most expensive brand to maintain for nothing. But that ONLY applies to people that never do their own work. And I still doubt you would save money buying new, just headache.

If you DIY like most people on this forum then almost any job on an e90 is affordable and way cheaper then buying a new car and having a $500 or more payment a month.

That is my take. I know some ppl will never have the knowledge or have friends/family to work on their own cars for them, so the cost to maintain for them is much much much much higher than guys like us that do our own work.

Oh and any bulb change can be done without removing tires or lifting the car. Its quite easy actually.

[BravoJohny33]

Originally Posted by nerovega

The work is so difficult to deal with on the e90 argument is just dumb. Every car has stuff that is harder and easier than other brands. If you don't DIY then I kinda see the point that you might as well trade in for a new car once you get into the 100-150K range. That's when things like water pump, VCG, and oil pan gaskets are needing to be changed and those are very expensive jobs if you take it to someone. BMW maintenance is crazy high compared to other brands. I mean they don't say BMW is the most expensive brand to maintain for nothing. But that ONLY applies to people that never do their own work. And I still doubt you would save money buying new, just headache.

If you DIY like most people on this forum then almost any job on an e90 is affordable and way cheaper then buying a new car and having a $500 or more payment a month.

That is my take. I know some ppl will never have the knowledge or have friends/family to work on their own cars for them, so the cost to maintain for them is much much much much higher than guys like us that do our own work.

Oh and any bulb change can be done without removing tires or lifting the car. Its quite easy actually.

Ah see Im going with what the Bentley manual says. Also, I tried to change it without doing it the right way. Its not easy.

[nerovega]

I did remove the front half of the wheel well liner but after that was off, it was all visible. I have the sport suspension and 19" wheels and had enough room to get to all the bulbs. Just turned the wheel all the way. It can be done for sure without removing the wheel, just more tedious.

[Efthreeoh]

Originally Posted by BravoJohny33

I switched to the Yokahama Advans as well last year from the michliens sports at Costco because I was only getting about 21k a set of them. That is crazy you got 49k out of those Yokahama's. They must have been pretty bald. I like mine but think they are louder. Aren't the contential DWS supposed to be quiet tires? How do they compare to the Yokahama for you?

Its crazy I got those Advans installed for less than 500 and the michlien sports were around 700 installed.

As I showed, the DWS's were on the car when the alignment was not correct, so they may have prematurely wore out. The DSWs IIRC wore in the rears far faster than the fronts, which has never been the case with the E90. The Advans have lasted the longest. I really like the DWS snow performance, but snow performance is really not a main criteria for me. Based on my needs I need tread wear longevity the most, and ultimate grip second. I go through tire pretty quickly, so I have good memory from set to set. All of the All Season Performance tires have done well compared to each other as far as handling and braking performance. Advans are my 1st choice.

[tlow98]

Originally Posted by Jesda

It's not just the maintenance that makes the E9X disappointing. My E46, in addition to being more reliable, was also a lot more engaging to drive.

What model E46 are you comparing to your E93?

[mecheng77]

Originally Posted by hassmaschine

I can (and have) altered the codes so they trigger a MIL. It is dumb that BMW didnt do that by default.

Can you please explain how you did this. I have
Done basic coding for my car

[hassmaschine]

You can't do it with coding. It's flashing the DME - not the same thing. Coding is like taking existing options and turning them on or off. This is physically altering the values stored in flash memory.

I could probably put up a "reliability" tune or something - basically stock but with the MILs enabled for the pump etc.

[mecheng77]

Originally Posted by hassmaschine

You can't do it with coding. It's flashing the DME - not the same thing. Coding is like taking existing options and turning them on or off. This is physically altering the values stored in flash memory.

I could probably put up a "reliability" tune or something - basically stock but with the MILs enabled for the pump etc.

Sure. Do you flash with the kdcan cable or send out the module?

[DrRobert]

Originally Posted by Jesda

It's not just the maintenance that makes the E9X disappointing. My E46, in addition to being more reliable, was also a lot more engaging to drive.

I had the same initial disappointment when going from my old 2001 330Ci to my current 2011 335i. The stock E46 had much better road feel than stock E90. But modding the suspension resolved that, and between that and a few engine mods the 335i now totally outshines the 330Ci. But it is true that the E46 was a better ride when stock, and I never felt the need to mod it. I got rid of it at 200K miles because lots of little things kept breaking (sunroof, door seals, seats, switches, etc.), but it still ran great.

And BTW not everyone on this forum is a DIYer. I pay other people to do most of the work on my car, and I plan to keep my E90 til 200K too if I can. To each his own.

[delmarco]

Originally Posted by Jesda

It's not just the maintenance that makes the E9X disappointing. My E46, in addition to being more reliable, was also a lot more engaging to drive.

Me explaining myself again! I did not set out to insult anyone but instead I wanted to make it aware what it means to own a BMW over 100,000 miles...

[tlow98]

Originally Posted by delmarco

Me explaining myself again! I did not set out to insult anyone but instead I wanted to make it aware what it means to own a BMW over 100,000 miles...

This video is unavailable?

You're not insulting anyone, but you are mistaking facts for opinions in very strange ways. Compound that with misleading comments and it just makes me wonder what kind of hype beast, click bait you're trying to create.

Why are we now communicating through your video feed?

[robygomez]

Originally Posted by tlow98

I'd do the recommended fluid changes and not worry about the rest. If you're feeling randy, do the coolant pump/thermostat, but other than that there's not enough reliable data out there to wisely use any "extra" money on an e90 328i.

The coolant hoses were done by a member on here that has 300k+ miles recently and he said it was a waste of time.

The N52 is about as good as it gets for German reliability.

Agreed, if you want to be preventive replace coolant pump and thermostat that brakes sooner or later.

[mecheng77]

Originally Posted by tlow98

This video is unavailable?

You're not insulting anyone, but you are mistaking facts for opinions in very strange ways. Compound that with misleading comments and it just makes me wonder what kind of hype beast, click bait you're trying to create.

Why are we now communicating through your video feed?

More views

[hassmaschine]

Originally Posted by mecheng77

Sure. Do you flash with the kdcan cable or send out the module?

you flash with a D-CAN cable, no need to send in a module.