[Longsmith]

Not sure where this fits in the thread. Maybe all of them.So I really fell in love with this 2008 335i coupe. Flawless in and out. 48 hours after buying it I had catastrophic failures of the turbo. Engine Survived. $6700. Bought a new Valve cover since mine was cracked. $400. New Plugs too. $120 Still vibration and codes under heavy throttle. Lost my key fob (drunk) $400. Now a new battery. $200. I had 23 codes last night. I'm having a mechanic with a very very expensive OBDII scanner reset the battery today. Most of these codes cant be real. I am also now taking sedatives as needed. But... I'm not giving up.




2008 fully loaded 335i coupe. 130,000 miles

[whyzee125]

Originally Posted by Longsmith

Not sure where this fits in the thread. Maybe all of them.So I really fell in love with this 2008 335i coupe. Flawless in and out. 48 hours after buying it I had catastrophic failures of the turbo. Engine Survived. $6700. Bought a new Valve cover since mine was cracked. $400. New Plugs too. $120 Still vibration and codes under heavy throttle. Lost my key fob (drunk) $400. Now a new battery. $200. I had 23 codes last night. I'm having a mechanic with a very very expensive OBDII scanner reset the battery today. Most of these codes cant be real. I am also now taking sedatives as needed. But... I'm not giving up.




2008 fully loaded 335i coupe. 130,000 miles

Lol keep soldering, you'll get it all worked out. If you stop close to $14,700 you could be a lot worse off. Look on the bright side: you'll have a car you love with brand new turbos and everything else sorted! Good luck

[tlow98]

And this is why you don’t buy a cheap 335i.

I'm sorry OP. At some point you will have to decide how far down this rabbit hole you want to go. Sunk costs are sunk for a reason - do your research and decide if you want to walk.

[BravoJohny33]

Originally Posted by Longsmith

Not sure where this fits in the thread. Maybe all of them.So I really fell in love with this 2008 335i coupe. Flawless in and out. 48 hours after buying it I had catastrophic failures of the turbo. Engine Survived. $6700. Bought a new Valve cover since mine was cracked. $400. New Plugs too. $120 Still vibration and codes under heavy throttle. Lost my key fob (drunk) $400. Now a new battery. $200. I had 23 codes last night. I'm having a mechanic with a very very expensive OBDII scanner reset the battery today. Most of these codes cant be real. I am also now taking sedatives as needed. But... I'm not giving up.




2008 fully loaded 335i coupe. 130,000 miles

You don't need a very very expensive scanner to register the battery. You can use free software on your laptop or software on your phone for 20 bucks.

[The0pportunist]

Ouch - i made the same mistake with my first car, bought cheap & ended up replacing the engine.

I'd never own a bmw out of warranty now.

Good luck.

[NightStalker]

been there done that lol

[cheeseforlunch]

Yeah, be careful around cheaper N54s, it can really be hit or miss at this point, even if the history says one owner (for example). That owner could have babied the car, or that owner could have beaten on the car for all of their ownership; you never know.

Pre-Purchase Inspection FTW.

[Gamb1t]

I wonder if it's another one of those problem n54 cars here and was told to sell it to someone else. It's like a 335i revolving door.

[tcphoto]

You've got to wonder what a PPI would have revealed. I owned an E46 for nearly seven years and I lurked here for a time before buying my E92, so I knew what to look for when shopping.

[xjackhunter]

I bought my 08 335i for $5100. I got a ppi and was told the engine is in great shape. I've got maybe another 500 in it for suspension parts but otherwise have had no issues. I guess it really can be hit or miss with these cars....

[TemjinX2]

for $6700 you could've done a single turbo conversion on had 600whp+ lol.

I would suggest looking through the common problems thread in the N54 sub forum and replace all the common maintence items.

I would also recommend buying one of those kcan obd cables so you can pull your own error codes.

[weehe126]

Wtf did I just read. Did you buy the car for $6,700 or did replacing the turbos cost you $6,700?

[Longsmith]

When the turbos failed one of them flew to pieces and oil, shrapnel and coolant when sucked all through it. The shrapnel didn't make it into the engine. I cut it off quick. Anyway she has been hauling ass ever since . Till my batter died. Now I got all the DCS, Air bag and restraint codes. But my Throttle is what really blows my mind. It surges between 1000-1300rpm. The pedal has no effect. ill figure out how to upload a video

[catcher22]

Sometimes one single problem can cause a shitload of codes. For example, a simple dying battery can result in a shitload of codes.

[mweisdorfer]

Originally Posted by whyzee125

Lol keep soldering, you'll get it all worked out. If you stop close to $14,700 you could be a lot worse off. Look on the bright side: you'll have a car you love with brand new turbos and everything else sorted! Good luck

Looks like you inherited these problems. Did you have the car checked out by either a BMW dealer or a local European Automotive shop prior to purchase? The $200.00 fee could have saved you these headaches.

The N54 motor & trans are stout. It's all the crap around it that is bothersome, plus oil leaks.

There are little tricks that one can do to prolong the life of an oil pan or valve cover gasket like adding a bead or two of ultra black to the OEM gasket for example.

The N54 is a lot of maintenance. Most of which the first round of maintenance comes between 75 & 125k. So, your story is not unique.

Honestly, an e90 (especially an N54) is really a car that shouldn't be owned by anyone who can't DIY. One exception would be if you have money to burn and can pay a garage to do the work for you.

[Longsmith]

But I also have worked my butt off bought some houses that I renovated myself, own 3 rentals and just made some good money off a flip. Everyone said the N54 was so much more tuner friendly. I did have a PPI and they said I had wearing turbo seals but should be fine for a while. This was an opportunity I saw to eventually upgrade them. I had no way of knowing that one of them would literally explode. $6700 covered a lot of work these guys had to do. I did my own valve cover with Rob Beck PCV parts. Now I'm going to put in Aluminum pipes, Upgraded intercooler, BOVs and the JB4. I also fixed the throttle problem. There's a simple reset procedure.

[mweisdorfer]

Originally Posted by Longsmith

But I also have worked my butt off bought some houses that I renovated myself, own 3 rentals and just made some good money off a flip. Everyone said the N54 was so much more tuner friendly. I did have a PPI and they said I had wearing turbo seals but should be fine for a while. This was an opportunity I saw to eventually upgrade them. I had no way of knowing that one of them would literally explode. $6700 covered a lot of work these guys had to do. I did my own valve cover with Rob Beck PCV parts. Now I'm going to put in Aluminum pipes, Upgraded intercooler, BOVs and the JB4. I also fixed the throttle problem. There's a simple reset procedure.

I wouldn't start tuning it and what not until you have:

1) Fixed or proactively changed all the major oil seals
A) Rear Main Seal
B) Megatronic Seal
C) Valve Cover
D) Oil Pan Gasket
E) Front Crank Seal
F) Oil Filter Housing Gasket

2) New Coils

3) New Spark Plugs

4) Walnut Blast

5) New Index 12 injectors

6) Fixed waste-gate rattle

[Jeff@TopGearSolutions]

What did the $6700 include on the turbo's, seems a bit much.

[ewicky]

My PPI didn't include an oil analysis, which would have been the only realistic way to uncover the pending rod bearing doom my N54 had.

IMO PPI are a waste of time and money for mechanically inclined folks, like most people on these forums. I can inspect my own belts, brakes, etc. Thanks but no thanks.

[dtalanga]

Originally Posted by Longsmith

When the turbos failed one of them flew to pieces and oil, shrapnel and coolant when sucked all through it. The shrapnel didn't make it into the engine. I cut it off quick. Anyway she has been hauling ass ever since . Till my batter died. Now I got all the DCS, Air bag and restraint codes. But my Throttle is what really blows my mind. It surges between 1000-1300rpm. The pedal has no effect. ill figure out how to upload a video

More than likely the throttle body has to have the adaptations reset, try that first. Every module will contain a code for no circuit power when a battery goes flat.