BMW 3 Series Coupe (2006 – 2012) Review

• September 2006
• July 2008
• November 2009
• January 2010
• January 2011
• July 2011
• July 2014

01-01-0001:

So far, one complaint of poor paint quality.

Possible autobox software problem on 335i autos. Specifically, "When in manual the default position is always 2nd gear which suggests it is the same in drive. Then when accelerating from low revs the car stutters and jerks, again as if it is trying to find 1st gear." Further report of judder from automatic transmission on a 320i.

Check PAS fluid level regularly. Steering rack may leak fluid unnoticed out of end seal and into track rod end gaiter. Seems to be a Europe-wide shortage of parts to correct this.

19" bling wheels prone to cracking from shocks from poor road surfaces, speed humps and potholes.

Turbo failures of 320d engines starting to be reported November 2007.

Problem with 2.0 litre petrol engines. Two crankshaft sensors corrode and need replacing and ECU requires a 'V29' software upgrade.

ESP warning light can indicate Fault Code "Boost Pressure Sensor G201". This is embedded inside Teves Mk 60 ABS systems and requires replacement of ABS control unit/pump. Seems to be age-related, occurring mainly in 3 - 5 year old cars. Does not necessarily lead to an MoT failure. If car has been BMW maintained, BWW will usually meet 100% of replacement cost. If not BMW will still help towards £1,600 cost of replacement. The fault may be rectified by a BMW ABS repair kit at a cost of £144.68 + Vat. The total cost of the repair including the replacement ABS pump,clearing the computer code and a brake fluid change + labour is about £346 +vat .The BMW repair code reference is 34516. Bosch ABS systems do not have the Teves problem.

There were some issues of lag between changes with the DCT (that replaced the 6 speed auto from July 2008), but these were rapidly resolved with a software upgrade. The DCT is programmable by the driver, and this can take a bit of getting used to.

Problem with new 335i single turbo engine introduced January 2010 not resolved by 21-7-2010. Some cars arrived at UK dealers and could not be delivered.

Frameless side windows rattle. A product called Carbaflo is recommended on forums to reduce this, but doesn't eliminate it.

If the car has Bluetooth and the owner has their Mobile phone synched to the car then if the car is not locked / all electrics shut down the car will keep trying to search for the phone and drain the battery.

22-01-2011:

Repeated coil and injector problems on 4-cylinder petrol engines from 2007.

07-03-2011:

Coil and injector problems reported on 6-cylinder petrol engines from 2007 as well.

30-07-2011:

BMW replacing faulty injectors, though not all cars are fitted with the same type.

20-01-2012:

Cracked cylinder liner reported on 2007 320 Si 4-cylinder engine. Waiting for replacement from July 2011 to January 2012. Car obviously off the road all that time.

03-02-2012:

Significant numbers of high pressure fuel pump failures on 330i and 335i in the USA. See link: www.n54tech.com/forums/showthread.php?t=14650 BMW initially "blamed" "ethanol" or "poor quality" gasoline in the U.S. for these failures. In fact, BMW HPFP failures are well documented in Germany (even with their "superior quality" gasoline), Australia, Asia, South Africa, etc. Some of these countries have never used ethanol in any of their gasoline..... HPFP Part Numbers 1. 13-51-7-537-320 2. 13-51-7-585-655 3. 13-51-7-592-881 4. 13-51-7-596-123 5. 13-51-7-594-943 6. 13-51-7-613-933 7. XX-XX-X-XXX-402 8. 13-51-7-616-170 9. 13-51-7-616-446.

11-02-2012:

Timing chain failures becoming increasingly common on N47 2.0 litre diesel engines subject to extended oil change regimes. Can occur from about 5 years old and from about 90k miles. From 50k miles onwards, best to change the oil every 10k miles maximum.

12-04-2012:

Cold weather fault can develop with 'Active Steering'. There is a dealer TSB on this and it should be attended to during routine service. Otherwise, the cost is a stiff £1,750 + VAT for a new steering column, though BMW is aware and had been known to do the decent thing on 4 year old cars, even those serviced independently.

04-05-2012:

Catalogue of problems reported with used 2009 320i M Sport coupe between 38,000 and 42,000 miles: In the cold spell during the Winter the car broke an ignition coil, which was fixed under warranty at the supplying dealer. Shortly after, a warning on the instrument panel illuminated. The light was a picture of the engine with a line through it that was the reduced power indicator. Turned out that the ignition coil failure had caused a misfire that spiked the catalytic converter. The repair was made under warranty. Soon after, the warning came on again. The dealer stripped the engine, replaced the timing chain and replaced the fuel injector seals, which they observed to be leaking slightly. Again the repair was made under warranty. Two weeks later the same warning light came on again. The car was booked in for a product quality recall on the ignition coils. The next time it was driven the light came on again.

09-05-2012:

Seems to be a continued problem with 2nd generation N55 135i/335i models. Engine warning light coming on, car breaking down. Engine running rough and going into limp mode. Diagnostic told the techs to replace a fuel injection valve. Unfortunately, the same problem exists so they're back to troubleshooting with BMW NA with no end in sight. ECU reprogramming to fix the problem reduces low down torque and engine response. 9 weeks later, no better. Dealer has no answer apart from offer of a performance kit or £1,600 compensation. An American report states: "while the engine itself has so far proven reliable, there have been the occasional problems with the ECU cutting power to the motor. There have also been reports of oil coolers inadequately cooling the engine if the 335i is driven very aggressively in a track environment. The installation of an aftermarket oil cooler solves this problem." The N54 sequential twin turbo engine was replaced by the N55 single turbo engine with the same power but emitting less CO2 in late 2010.

25-05-2012:

Complaint of problem with boot lock mechanism of 2011 3-Series E90.

10-07-2012:

Numerous problems with a high spec January 2008 320i Touring over 30,000 miles include: failed water pump & thermostat (£650), failed coils - twice within the first 3 years, faulty emission sensor warning lights and poor DAB reception.

13-07-2012:

Report of August 2009 320d Business model needing complete suspension rebuolt at 2 years old and more recently needing I-Drive replacing. Low miles of 20,560 in 35 months. 16" runflat tyre life: rears 17,500 miles; fronts still okay at 20,560 miles.

13-07-2012:

At 35 months and 43,252 miles an E92 325i coupe developed a fault. Engine management light suddenly came on warning of a fault plus reduced power but this disappeared when the engine was switched off and restarted. Happened twice the same day and taken to dealer the next day. Reader also thought that it had sometimes seemed to start as if it was partially flooded. Dealer replaced plugs, coils and injectors under the original warranty. Several weeks later, by then out of 3 year warranty, the problem continued intermittently every two or three weeks so car returned it to the dealer at 44,134 miles. Dealer diagnostics indicated need for a replacement high pressure fuel pump which had to be done under the new extended insured warranty but reader lost the £250 excess under that warranty.

13-10-2012:

Total engine failure of 47k mile 2007/57 (5 year old) engine in 320d coupe. Needed new crankshaft, bearings and timing chain assembly. Probably due to insufficiently frequent oil and filter changes.

04-10-2013:

Diary of an ABS/ESP module repair that resulted in a saving of £1,700: On a 2007 E92 BMW 325 coupe the ABS warning light came on. The ABS system has a speed sensor at each wheel and the main unit, which has three parts. The metal manifold with the brake pipe to each wheel and the servo, the electronic control unit ECU and a Motor/pump. BMW can supply a new ECU for £940 inch vat or the whole unit with the three parts for £1850 incl vat. It takes about 1 hour to remove the unit and 2 hours to fit the new whole unit and bleed the brakes, which is a two man job - thus the labor cost will be around £300 + some brake fluid - total cost £2170. Another option is to send the ABS unit to a specialist repairer as recommended by Honest John (http://www.ecutesting.com or http://www.bba-reman.com) who will charge between £250 and £500 to repair the unit (if it can be repaired - not always possible) and post it back. This will take from 4 days to a week but save a lot of money. Since the car cannot be moved with no ABS/ESP module it's best to find a Mobile Mechanic or AutoElectrician to remove the old unit at your house, then re-fit it when it comes back (http://www.yell.com). Postage cost £25 including £500 insurance. Reader who tried this got a text at 9.02 the following morning from the repairer to say that the unit had arrived safely and they would test it and let him know if they could repair it and the cost. This turned out to be £195 + postage back + vat = £250. Then autoelectrcian charged him £200 for 3 hours labour so the total cost was:- Unit repair £250, postage £25, Labour £175, brake fluid £20, Total: £470. The saving was £1,700.

10-12-2013:

4 year old BMW E92 320i coupe failed MoT on emissions at just 20k miles due to fault with timing chain. Suspect culprit to be longlife oil changes.

01-01-2014:

Problem of cracked wheels with rim sizes of 18" or more on cars 5 years old or more continues, with tyres losing pressure and the only solution a replacement set of wheels.

13-01-2014:

335i DCTs can develop a small oil leak from a transmission oil seal. Small, inexpensive part, but a big expensive job removing the engine/transmission to replace it.

07-05-2014:

Big bills reported on 60k mile 6 year old E92 335i coupe. Firstly the well known high pressure fuel pump, fuel system, injectors and sensors (a recall in the USA). Now suffering from failed turbo actuators and failed turbo bearings, total cost £3,500.

04-11-2014:

Cracked rear alloys reported on 2009 BMW 320d Touring (presumed to be 18"). Good time to remind all E90 - E93 BMW 3-Series owners with 18" or 19" wheels to get them checked for cracks. Could save your life.

07-02-2015:

Failed electrics on 2010 E92 coupe. Put down to failure of a junction box under the glovebox, possible die to water ingress due to blocked vent well drains. £800 bill.

18-04-2015:

Another complaint of total power failure, this in an E92 BMW 335i coupe: "At an illegal speed the engine appeared to cut out, and multiple fault messages showed. Green Flag got me back to dealer who identified an electrical short between main cable and junction box terminal. Junction box and cable replaced (expensively). Yesterday on a single carriageway, overtaking a lorry, the same thing. Engine stopped, but ignition still on. Whilst phoning Green Flag I tried starting and car behaved properly. Message said that I could continue my journey at moderate speeds. The sensation when the fault occurred was that the auto transmission had jumped out of gear. Maybe the engine had switched off to prevent it lunching itself. The whole point of 300+ bhp is to be able overtake safely. And I no longer feel safe. See 28-2-2015.

20-08-2015:

Despite repeatedly winning 'Engine of the Year' awards, the 3.0 litre N55 '335i' engine has been subject of a manufacturer recall.

25-10-2015:

On an E92 335i coupe (see 18-4-2015), auto box 'banging' out of gear and the engine stopping under hard acceleration, particularly when overtaking eventually solved by replacing both the turbo boost pressure sensor and the turbo boost pressure regulator.

09-11-2018:

Report of misfire in engine of 2007 BMW E92 325i Coupe at 70,000 miles. Cured by replacing all six coil packs.