hmm im at 80k miles on my 35i... 8 years of ownership already... Some points... Oil leaks are common... oilfilter housing gaskets, valvecover, oil pan gasket, main seals... i have done them all... also dct pan seal can leak... but if someone has already done those things or at least some of them then not so bad.... with valvecover i suggest to replace the whole cover as it can also crack and/or have pcv issues with the built in valve in addition to the gasket... Index 12 injectors are expensive but seem to be reliable... They have been out for a long time and many cars have them already fitted... a thing to check when buying.... waterpump is a thing that can fail aswell... its electric.. so the motor can fail or it can develop cracks in its plastic housing... had to replace mine due to cracks and coolant leak because of that... Adaptive suspension front shocks are known to start leaking aswell... costly to buy replacements... basically only bmw makes them... though the price has come down over the years... many replace them with aftermarket suspension like i did... KW V3 is great improvement for these cars... Havent really seen a full roof harness replacements... Usually people fix it...Its a well known spot where those wires fail... roof system bends those wires back and forth at its hinge point and eventually they fail... replace these parts of the wiring with new ones and you should be good... Also something i have done on mine... indy BMW shop did the work and the cost was actually cheaper than i first thought... other things this roof system needs in maintenance are salmon relays ( just pop new ones in) and rear lid coupling locks microswitches... have those on the shelf... been too lazy to replace them... Other than that... seat base heating has been replaced twice... steering wheel retrimmed... got new seat leather from a donor seat i bought and renewed my seat that way... new alternator, ignition coils, boost solenoids, vacuum lines... have replaced both wing mirror adjustment motors.. and their self dimming mirror glass... motors corrode on the inside and the grease also dries up and they wont move anymore... selfdimming wont totally clear and leaves a brown tint on the glass.. Ofcourse you can replace them with regular glass and delete the option if you think they are pointless and not worth the money... motors you can find used as they are the same in many other more common bmw-s... Rear boot lid softclose has wires in the bootlid over time fail and your softclose will actuate between open and close in infinite loop... fix is to resolder the wires... few hours of DIY max... But the positives are... car itself, its just nice.. N54 is very tunable for not that much money... add intakes, chargepipe, intercooler, downpipes and a tune and youll add almost 50% more of power to the original 300hp... when turbos fail replace them with better ones and youll be at 560hp or more... Or you could go crazy with a single turbo swap and make it fly... DCT is also great and can be improved with a xhp software tune that shapens up the shifts and also increases the pressure on the clutches to hold more power.... All in all it is an enhusiast car... perfect for a person who likes to mod and tincker for more power and better handling and doesnt fear to get his hands dirty once in a while for some DIY... IBut if you are a person who likes to go to the dealer or repair shop for everyrhing... then it will cost you alot of money to maintain... best thing with n54 is the community and forums... everything is well documented and you will always find a forum thread or a DIY guide for the issue you are having... and if not just ask and people will help you...
I have just bought a Z4 E39 30i this week and this is exactly the sort of info I have been looking for. Is there a particular forum you would recommend? Also, the car has 100k on it, is there any preventative maintenance or parts replacement that I should consider immediately? I will be changing the transmission oil, filter and mechatronic sleeves asap. Many thanks.
My 2009 Z4 e89 35i (n54) has 154,000 miles and still runs great! Has only needed a valve cover, replaced the original index 5 injectors with index 12s because one was leaking gas. Just regular maintenance, new brakes and shocks n struts. I’ve done all of the maintenance myself since I bought it in 2016.
I got lucky--found a 10-year-old 2014 Z4 M-series 6-speed with 6240 total miles. And a bonus--it came with its original tires (I did change them quickly).
I found it to be somewhat costly, but not so much looking at the milage and the "rough use". Reliability has been good. I have a 2011 35is. Now 243.000km (150.000mi). Mostly vacation / mountain trips (Alps / Pyrenees) / round the house summer evening trips. Replaced: Injectors. Valve cover gasket. Oilpan gasket. Oilfilter housing cover. Coils (2x, last time proactive). Roof end switch. O2 sensor. Front shocks. Windwiper waterpump. Radiator (stone, so not BMW issue). Uses 1 liter of oil every 15.000 - 20.000km (was 30.000km new). Another oilthermostat (opens at 85C/185F) instead of round 100C Wagner Competition Evo 2. Way better and faster cooling. More power AND cooler. Engine tuning: 412hp / 629nm It eats tyres rather quick as well. Going to keep it forever :)
103k on 23i. Have fixed..knocking noise rear suspension, leaking tail lights, cycling boot, bowed cam cover oil leak. Failed ebrake motors. 3 times broken wires in roof. One loose connector for roof. Drivers window stuck down, loose connector in door. Key switch failed which led to foot brake switch and abs unit fail, that was a nightmare!
I own a Z4 E89 2.0 2012 with 127000 KM. I bought the car 2 months ago and I have been using it for 2000 km. I'm going to the mechanic next week because: 1. I can't turn my wipers on because they don't spray water. I think there is a problem with the water pump. Also, the system that throws water onto the left headlamp does not close back. 2. When I turn on the AC, there is a metallic clanking sound and it is very annoying. I don't know what caused this. 3. The clutch engages too high, there is a slight loss of power and a slight whistling sound is heard when shifting from 1st to 2nd gear. I think mechanic needs to change the clutch lining. I think this will cost me hellish. 4. Recently, a whistling sound started coming from the brakes. I think the brake pads will need to be replaced as well. Problems I solved myself in these two months: 1. The headlamp failed and I was able to replace it myself very easily. 2. Replacing the keypad. Especially the rooftop bottoms were worn out when I bought them and I ordered the bottoms from China and replaced them. Before I bought the car, they told me that only the first owner can drive a BMW wherever the owner wants, and that BMW would drive subsequent owners to a mechanic then. :)
I feel the pain man, It's a defiantly nice car, but it always feels like a gamble to buy one, it's like Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, and today is a gift if the car is running good)))
N20 engine trash, only lasting 100000 to 150000 miles? Not at all. The timing chain issue is something that can be fixed (and actually was fixed by BMW on new post 2012 models). Time to update your info.
It wasn’t fixed, BMW ISSUED A RECALL (this is official source) static.nhtsa.gov/odi/tsbs/2021/MC-10204534-9999.pdf which is not the same, it effects all the cars from 2011-2015 which is covers the e89 year of manufacture. Also i’m not referring to the cars that been fixed, if you can confirm that the issue was fixed, go ahead and buy it, otherwise it’s only covers the cars within 7years or 70000miles. And we are not in the range. Before posting a comment make sure to do a research, and check the official source.
@@MakhnovetsHe is correct that BMW fixed the timing chain at the production line but he's wrong about the date. The issue was fixed in 2015. However your assertion that the N20 is trash and only lasts 70,000 miles is ridiculous. The N20 is a phenomenonaly good engine, and frankly buying one 2nd hand the timing chain issue is one thing that needs to be checked and sorted, but compared to other similar engines it fares quite well (not that there are many - the N20 is theoretically capable of 1000HP, and nobody has come close to getting it there. the highest anyone has made it so far is 500HP. That is insane for a 4 cylinder engine). No, it's not a 90HP Toyota engine. Stock it puts out up to 260HP. And yes it can go higher than 70,000 miles. Right now on carsales (Australia) there's 69 BMWs for sale with an N20 engine with over 200,000 kms on the clock. One is over 300,000. I have a 328i from 2013. We don't have a complete history for it, some services are missing. It will cost a bit to make sure the car stays in good condition, but the engine is the least of my worries. I pay the mechanics and they look after it. It's not like Mercedes or Subaru where the car will shit itself because it didn't like the deodorant the mechanic was wearing.
@@Krezo200 It's theoretically capable of 1000HP, but nobody has actually taken it close, partly because at about 6-700HP you have to change the transmission. Pretty much above 500HP is uncharted territory, but that also means that down below 500HP it is a comparably reliable engine.
@@adifferentangle7064 well i can only hope i got one of the reliable ones, because i havent seen so many engine failures with another bmw engine, at least of the ones that interest me (m52,m54,n52,n54,n55,b58)
hmm im at 80k miles on my 35i... 8 years of ownership already...
Some points... Oil leaks are common... oilfilter housing gaskets, valvecover, oil pan gasket, main seals... i have done them all... also dct pan seal can leak... but if someone has already done those things or at least some of them then not so bad.... with valvecover i suggest to replace the whole cover as it can also crack and/or have pcv issues with the built in valve in addition to the gasket...
Index 12 injectors are expensive but seem to be reliable... They have been out for a long time and many cars have them already fitted... a thing to check when buying....
waterpump is a thing that can fail aswell... its electric.. so the motor can fail or it can develop cracks in its plastic housing... had to replace mine due to cracks and coolant leak because of that...
Adaptive suspension front shocks are known to start leaking aswell... costly to buy replacements... basically only bmw makes them... though the price has come down over the years... many replace them with aftermarket suspension like i did... KW V3 is great improvement for these cars...
Havent really seen a full roof harness replacements... Usually people fix it...Its a well known spot where those wires fail... roof system bends those wires back and forth at its hinge point and eventually they fail... replace these parts of the wiring with new ones and you should be good... Also something i have done on mine... indy BMW shop did the work and the cost was actually cheaper than i first thought... other things this roof system needs in maintenance are salmon relays ( just pop new ones in) and rear lid coupling locks microswitches... have those on the shelf... been too lazy to replace them...
Other than that... seat base heating has been replaced twice... steering wheel retrimmed... got new seat leather from a donor seat i bought and renewed my seat that way... new alternator, ignition coils, boost solenoids, vacuum lines...
have replaced both wing mirror adjustment motors.. and their self dimming mirror glass... motors corrode on the inside and the grease also dries up and they wont move anymore... selfdimming wont totally clear and leaves a brown tint on the glass.. Ofcourse you can replace them with regular glass and delete the option if you think they are pointless and not worth the money... motors you can find used as they are the same in many other more common bmw-s...
Rear boot lid softclose has wires in the bootlid over time fail and your softclose will actuate between open and close in infinite loop... fix is to resolder the wires... few hours of DIY max...
But the positives are... car itself, its just nice.. N54 is very tunable for not that much money... add intakes, chargepipe, intercooler, downpipes and a tune and youll add almost 50% more of power to the original 300hp... when turbos fail replace them with better ones and youll be at 560hp or more... Or you could go crazy with a single turbo swap and make it fly... DCT is also great and can be improved with a xhp software tune that shapens up the shifts and also increases the pressure on the clutches to hold more power....
All in all it is an enhusiast car... perfect for a person who likes to mod and tincker for more power and better handling and doesnt fear to get his hands dirty once in a while for some DIY... IBut if you are a person who likes to go to the dealer or repair shop for everyrhing... then it will cost you alot of money to maintain... best thing with n54 is the community and forums... everything is well documented and you will always find a forum thread or a DIY guide for the issue you are having... and if not just ask and people will help you...
I have just bought a Z4 E39 30i this week and this is exactly the sort of info I have been looking for. Is there a particular forum you would recommend? Also, the car has 100k on it, is there any preventative maintenance or parts replacement that I should consider immediately? I will be changing the transmission oil, filter and mechatronic sleeves asap. Many thanks.
My 2009 Z4 e89 35i (n54) has 154,000 miles and still runs great! Has only needed a valve cover, replaced the original index 5 injectors with index 12s because one was leaking gas. Just regular maintenance, new brakes and shocks n struts. I’ve done all of the maintenance myself since I bought it in 2016.
Pretty nice! The big savings is to do it yourself, that’s why i keep buying BMW))
I got lucky--found a 10-year-old 2014 Z4 M-series 6-speed with 6240 total miles. And a bonus--it came with its original tires (I did change them quickly).
4:19 you did not fix it, just bandaided it. for a real fix you need to replace the wires from the microswitch to the CTM.
I found it to be somewhat costly, but not so much looking at the milage and the "rough use".
Reliability has been good.
I have a 2011 35is.
Now 243.000km (150.000mi). Mostly vacation / mountain trips (Alps / Pyrenees) / round the house summer evening trips.
Replaced:
Injectors. Valve cover gasket. Oilpan gasket. Oilfilter housing cover. Coils (2x, last time proactive).
Roof end switch. O2 sensor. Front shocks. Windwiper waterpump.
Radiator (stone, so not BMW issue).
Uses 1 liter of oil every 15.000 - 20.000km (was 30.000km new).
Another oilthermostat (opens at 85C/185F) instead of round 100C
Wagner Competition Evo 2. Way better and faster cooling. More power AND cooler.
Engine tuning: 412hp / 629nm
It eats tyres rather quick as well.
Going to keep it forever :)
103k on 23i. Have fixed..knocking noise rear suspension, leaking tail lights, cycling boot, bowed cam cover oil leak. Failed ebrake motors. 3 times broken wires in roof. One loose connector for roof. Drivers window stuck down, loose connector in door. Key switch failed which led to foot brake switch and abs unit fail, that was a nightmare!
Shocks lasted 50k before need replacing. Now on 2nd set Bilsteins.
Engine and gearbox faultless though. 5k oil changes.
@@flybobbie1449its crazy you remember everything, seems like it really hit your pain spot!
@@kenjiloo5620 Mow have non working mirror adjustment both sides and flickering park brake symbol.
Even the wireing in the trunk broke and causing the door to not locking 😅
Convertible top "wire harness" link? Just want to be proactive on this one.
Turbo Failure: One less problem to worry about on my 3.0 N52...
I own a Z4 E89 2.0 2012 with 127000 KM. I bought the car 2 months ago and I have been using it for 2000 km. I'm going to the mechanic next week because:
1. I can't turn my wipers on because they don't spray water. I think there is a problem with the water pump. Also, the system that throws water onto the left headlamp does not close back.
2. When I turn on the AC, there is a metallic clanking sound and it is very annoying. I don't know what caused this.
3. The clutch engages too high, there is a slight loss of power and a slight whistling sound is heard when shifting from 1st to 2nd gear. I think mechanic needs to change the clutch lining. I think this will cost me hellish.
4. Recently, a whistling sound started coming from the brakes. I think the brake pads will need to be replaced as well.
Problems I solved myself in these two months:
1. The headlamp failed and I was able to replace it myself very easily.
2. Replacing the keypad. Especially the rooftop bottoms were worn out when I bought them and I ordered the bottoms from China and replaced them.
Before I bought the car, they told me that only the first owner can drive a BMW wherever the owner wants, and that BMW would drive subsequent owners to a mechanic then. :)
I feel the pain man, It's a defiantly nice car, but it always feels like a gamble to buy one, it's like Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, and today is a gift if the car is running good)))
Where can I buy/source the rooftop control buttons; mine are sticky and the image has disappeared.
Does the roof operate on a hydraulic motor ? If yes do we need to top up or change the oil in the hydraulic motor?
N20 engine trash, only lasting 100000 to 150000 miles? Not at all. The timing chain issue is something that can be fixed (and actually was fixed by BMW on new post 2012 models). Time to update your info.
It wasn’t fixed, BMW ISSUED A RECALL (this is official source) static.nhtsa.gov/odi/tsbs/2021/MC-10204534-9999.pdf which is not the same, it effects all the cars from 2011-2015 which is covers the e89 year of manufacture. Also i’m not referring to the cars that been fixed, if you can confirm that the issue was fixed, go ahead and buy it, otherwise it’s only covers the cars within 7years or 70000miles. And we are not in the range. Before posting a comment make sure to do a research, and check the official source.
@@MakhnovetsHe is correct that BMW fixed the timing chain at the production line but he's wrong about the date.
The issue was fixed in 2015.
However your assertion that the N20 is trash and only lasts 70,000 miles is ridiculous.
The N20 is a phenomenonaly good engine, and frankly buying one 2nd hand the timing chain issue is one thing that needs to be checked and sorted, but compared to other similar engines it fares quite well (not that there are many - the N20 is theoretically capable of 1000HP, and nobody has come close to getting it there. the highest anyone has made it so far is 500HP. That is insane for a 4 cylinder engine).
No, it's not a 90HP Toyota engine.
Stock it puts out up to 260HP.
And yes it can go higher than 70,000 miles.
Right now on carsales (Australia) there's 69 BMWs for sale with an N20 engine with over 200,000 kms on the clock.
One is over 300,000.
I have a 328i from 2013.
We don't have a complete history for it, some services are missing. It will cost a bit to make sure the car stays in good condition, but the engine is the least of my worries.
I pay the mechanics and they look after it.
It's not like Mercedes or Subaru where the car will shit itself because it didn't like the deodorant the mechanic was wearing.
Tell me more good things about the n20, i wanna hear them since i got one in my e89 :D
@@Krezo200 It's theoretically capable of 1000HP, but nobody has actually taken it close, partly because at about 6-700HP you have to change the transmission.
Pretty much above 500HP is uncharted territory, but that also means that down below 500HP it is a comparably reliable engine.
@@adifferentangle7064 well i can only hope i got one of the reliable ones, because i havent seen so many engine failures with another bmw engine, at least of the ones that interest me (m52,m54,n52,n54,n55,b58)