E46 320d reliability

[Solo Man]

Is the E46 2l diesels really that unreliable? Would like to hear from owners/previous owners of these vehicles what they have to say from actual experience. What problems with turbos in particular and if at what mileage. Am contemplating buying a E46 320d (2002 manual facelift with 200k on the clock) Yes, i know the 330d is a better buy and would rather buy that if you have one in good condition for R70k - must be manual

 

[gpgold]

Hey there.

Here is my 2 cents.

I own a 2002 320d manual and can honestly say the car has given more problems than any other car I have owned (bmw or other) I have only used the best motor oils and have done all the preventative maintenance procedures usually associated with this vehicle. That being said, the car is fun to drive and very economical.

I plan on trading mine in this year and getting a bakkie as it will prove more useful for work. If I do ever buy a bmw again, particularly a diesel one, it will have to be a new one or at least one still under MP.

Good luck:thumbs:

 

[msm]

A slightly neglected 330d for R70k (cosmetically neglected, not mechanically) might still be a better buy. Over time you could spend some money sorting out the cosmetics and still be better off than a 320d. Just my 2c, off course.

 

[Dopi]

I own a 2001 320d prefaclift, and had no problems except had to change the lower control arm bushes(Problem on all e46's). Before I bought mine I did alot of reseach and decided to go for the prefacilft as they have shown to be much more reliable. Big problems with the early facelifted 320d's were the turbo and swirl flaps. the turbo problem were mostly fixed on the later models 2004 and 2005. My advice would be to rather buy a prefacelift or if you can get a good deal definately a 330d.
My 320d has got 250 000km and still going strong but I am looking to sell it to buy a e46 330d, I want more power.
If you go for a facelifted 320d or 330d rember to take it in so thet they can remove the swirl flaps, if it gets broken the engine will swallow it and you will have a huge bill.:thumbs:

Here are some 330d for sale, I myself am looking for a 2004 onwards 150kw version but the 135kw (2000-2003) are just as nice.
http://cars.brick7.co.za/bmw/3-series/333524.html
http://www.junkmail.co.za/motoring/...boksburg/bmw-330d-e46-sport-pack-f-l-22735285
http://www.junkmail.co.za/motoring/bmw/gauteng/johannesburg/immaculate-cars-21691078

 

[Solo Man]

Guys, thanks for the replies. Would really like to hear from all the E46 320d owners on the forum to find out if the 2l diesel is a bad engine or not. At first when considering buying diesel one tend to be scared from hearing all the horror stories about turbos, injectors, diesel pumps, swirl flaps, etc., but upon investigating the matter or rather taking the plunge and experiencing the cars for yourself you find that the percentage of affected cars is not that high. I have two 3l diesels (E39/X5 both 2003 models) in my garage and i must honestly say that they have given me very little problems apart from the normal maintenance/servicing/wear and tear items. I did have to replace the turbo on the E39 but that was preventative as the turbo never blew but was making a whisteling sound due to a small piece that had broken off the exhaust vane, but it did not affect the performance at all. Did remove the swirl flaps the day i bought it.

 

[msm]

While there are exceptions to each engine, the 3.0d engines have been proven to be much more reliable than the 2.0d. When buying new, the 2.0d are obviously much cheaper and makes economic sense. However, when buying 2nd hand there's now such marginal price differences between them, that you'd rather go for the 3.0d engines. Also, when it comes time to sell, the E46 320d unfortunately does not have the best reputation and you may struggle to get rid of it or get a good price.

 

[speeddemon]

I owned a 2004 320D sportspack steptronic and what a joy it was to drive :thumbs:
The only thing that packed up was the turbo but that was because of my wife driving everywhere and then just switched the car off without letting it idle for a minute or two...luckily for me it was still on motorplan and it got replaced and never given me any problems after that as well.
The only reason i sold/traded it was because I was afraid that the wife might bugger the new turbo up as well even though I explained to her how it worked:fishwack: and the other reason is I came across my baby that I got now 330 sportspack:thumbs:
So all in all it gets a:thumbs: from me

 

[Solo Man]

I have a theory why the turbos originally packed up and that is that the oil seperator was initially very seldom replaced and that they got congested and starved the turbos from getting lubed. Off course, there could be other factors contributing to the problem but my common sense tells me that a turbo that is lubricated sufficiently should not become a problem. So shoot me if i am completely misguided/misinformed:flyfun:!

 

[ntuthuko]

Read spy 007s post here http://www.bmwfanatics.co.za/showthread.php?tid=30468

 

[Spy007]

My opinion. From experience and a R30 k bill. Do not do it. Rather take that money to the casino and gamble it out there. you will have better odds.

If you however do decide to do it. Be careful.

I just think if you had it from KM1 yes then do it. But with high millage on it is a HUGE risk.

Unless you are a mechanic and can do the repairs yourself.

There are High millage 320d' s here but some guys have had them from low millage and looked after them. You have know idea on how the car was driven and even then if you do replace something , like the turbo, there is still no guarantee.

I replaced mine brand new and it lasted 16 000km. Yes I could have replaced it again as it carried a factory guarantee, but i did not have a nother 5k to have the job done. I did not have a nother car to use while repair was done.

If it is just for work and back yes it is possible to negate the risk but I think it is still a no no.

I will buy one again but it will be out of the box or still under MP. and you can get those for around 140k.

What ever you decide

Good luck.

---

Turbo = R9000 excluding fitment (fitment around R3000)
Injectors = R8000 excluding fitment
Rear diesel Pump R5000 excluding fitment
Clutch = R6000 including fitment

You dont want to know the cost of the front pump.

The main issue is there there is no space so everything on the 320d is a Royal pain to get to.

This is just to give you an idea if things go wrong what to expect to pay to replace.

Mine cost me 30k, aftermarket insurance paid 13k.

Sad thing is I had a perfect 318 A/T station wagon (Gopher :argh payed off. She had 200k on the clock and going strong.

But no, More power. I was a idiot.

 

[L~C~G]

I have a 2001 E46 320d F/L manual currently on 178000kms and I love every thing about the car.

When I got the car I removed the swirl flaps, bypassed the EGR valve and changed out the Crank case breather valve for the vortex type and I have also killed the cats.

So far I have done the Lower control arm bushes. I now need to still do the ball joints and RTABS soon.

I have replaced the crank dampener pulley at around R6500. And it seems like it might be on its way out again but I haven't wanted to ruin my day for the past few days and havent looked at it yet.

My clutch has just been done at R6000

I have replaced the brake master cylinder due to a leak. R2500

My transponder key no longer communicates with the car either.

My turbo has been screaming for over a year and when it goes I will get it replaced under the aftermarket warranty but until it goes I dont see them replacing it.

I have had some costly repairs but luckily not as much as some guys here. Most of the issues I have had are BMW or E46 problems not exclusively 320d issues.

I do find though that every time I come onto this forum and read about the 320d it makes me nervous that I still own one though and that tends to spoil the whole experience.

Every time the cars misses a beat my heart sinks because I know what could possibly be waiting for me if something does break and because of that I would not consider owning anther one when I do eventually part with this one.

 

[Hellas]

2003 320d: Only money item was the turbo. Swopped it myself including a service etc etc all came to under R10k for the exercise.

Then normal items that ALL BMW's have like brakepads and lower control arm bushes. This is small change. Bought a front and rear set of ATE pads for R1100 from Midas.

Car is on 202k km and I service her myself with Castrol Edge 5W40. Filters I buy from agents only.

Removed cat and swirl flaps myself too.

Back to the turbo: If you think that you should be afraid of a diesel BMW because the turbo will crap out on you, go have a look at the newest generation (5 year and YOUNGER) VW diesels and you will see that BMW is a patch compared to the amount of turbo failures that VW's experience as well as the COST of replacing the busted turbos...

 

[Hellas]

I have a theory why the turbos originally packed up and that is that the oil seperator was initially very seldom replaced and that they got congested and starved the turbos from getting lubed. Off course, there could be other factors contributing to the problem but my common sense tells me that a turbo that is lubricated sufficiently should not become a problem. So shoot me if i am completely misguided/misinformed:flyfun:!

This is 100% correct and my main theory on the matter too.

My car was exclusively used for long distance between the Northern Cape and Cape Town in general (Hermanus) and was carefully warmed up and cooled down during trips, but still the turbo went.

Fine print in the BMW Inspection Schedules does include the crank breather valve, but I could not find anything on my service invoices.

Once you replace with the newer generation vortex type, you are set for life.

 

[Spy007]

Think included in the answers should be on what Millage did you buy your BMw Diesel as that has an impact.

If you got it new and looked after it yes sure then lots of KM is no hassel.

I got mine on 164557
forced to sell on 188 940

So lasted 24 000km of which new turbo lasted only 16000 of the 24

 

[osiris]

mmmm after reading this, I would just ditch the idea of buying a 320d altogether, Especially after hearing Spy007 story.

Just get a 2004 + 330d and rid yourself of all these worries, I personally would not buy a car that could be a ticking time bomb, I mean any car you buy could be a lemon but at the end of the day why buy a car that is known to be troublesom, Diesels need to be cooled down and warmed up properly and you will never know how the previous owner took care of the car, so you could land yourself in allot of financial trouble for nothing.

 

[RaptorD]

Going on 10 years now, I have a 2004 320d auto. 260kkm on the clock and still going strong. Control arm bushes go often and replaced injectors once at 180kkm, but since then, each tank of diesel gets a 200ml topup of Sasol 2 stroke oil. I'm ranging between 950km and 1150km per tank town driving. Love this car!

 

[Tyx]

Bought my 2002 320d facelift in 2009 with 185k on the clock. It is currently on 388k. The turbo was replaced on recall at 60k as told by previous owner. Ive never touched the turbo. Not even a clutch replacement. Only major problems I had was the heat exchanger (oil and water mixed in cooling system), vibration damper, EGR that leaked and tensioner pulley bearings. Otherwise normal maintenance items
My turbo started to whistlle slightly recently but I'm sure it would after 330k.
Most reliable car I ever had.

 

[Solo Man]

After all this time it is good to hear of a few good 320d's as my opinion is that i am still not convinced about the reliability of the 2l diesel. I would (and did) buy myself a 3l diesel and feel more relaxed about the car. I am afraid that with the E90's the main problem (it seems) is that they do not have turbo failures as such but that the electronic actuators give problems. They are not repairable which means a new turbo. Am aware of three E90 320d's that have had actuator problems or are having them presently. (Wilkie, Stiaan and another Forumite - cannot remember his name)
Would like to know if more 320d owners have this problem?