[tranquility]

Originally Posted by QUiKSR20

Drive better? Yes, More reliable? NO.... And the K20 is a monster engine and has more advanced tech on it than mine and your BMW.. K20's are amazing engines.

I never said the Bimmer was more reliable...in fact, the opposite. The N54 is an amazing engine also, it's just that some of the components are unreliable and freaking expensive to replace.

Anyway, what advanced tech are you talking about re the K20? Vtec?

[QUiKSR20]

Originally Posted by tranquility

I never said the Bimmer was more reliable...in fact, the opposite. The N54 is an amazing engine also, it's just that some of the components are unreliable and freaking expensive to replace.

Anyway, what advanced tech are you talking about re the K20? Vtec?

I know you didn't I didn't mean to quote you directly more off other posts previous from others.. K20 has variable cam profile plus variable cam timing which im sure the N54 / N55 / N20 does not have atleast not the cam profile.

Like ive said.. They have the design down pat why is it so hard to nail reliability? Hyundai has it nailed.

[Cory S]

To me, there's a difference between unreliable, and being left stranded... BMW's very rarely leave you STRANDED......

I MIGHT see ONE BMW every 2 years on the side of the road.......if that....

[techie182]

Damn I just rode on my friends 97 528i m sport with 278k miles...........
He said he never had issue with that car.
NA > Turbo on reliabilities.
So do they make NA vehicles anymore? Everything I see is turbo, biturbo, or twin turbos.

[-BEASTMW-]

Originally Posted by Cory S

To me, there's a difference between unreliable, and being left stranded... BMW's very rarely leave you STRANDED......

I MIGHT see ONE BMW every 2 years on the side of the road.......if that....

I guess I can agree with this. My old M5 never left me stranded. Mainly sensors, rubber and plastic parts... annoying stuff that you don't even worry about with most Japanese cars frankly.

Originally Posted by techie182

NA > Turbo on reliabilities.
So do they make NA vehicles anymore? Everything I see is turbo, biturbo, or twin turbos.

Not a single one (in the U.S. at least). It's sad.

[Cory S]

Originally Posted by islandbimmer

I see more broken down late model BMW's than any other brand on the side of the road or on a flat bed heading to the dealer. No other brand comes close. Part of the problem is the electronic water pump, leaves the driver stranded, happened to my wife. Her car 07 335 has been in the shop more than on the road this year oil leaks everywhere. First the OFHG
was leaking, had walnut blasting done at the same time . two weeks later the VCG leak, and new plugs , one month later oil pan gasket, two weeks later both turbos and I'm sure next week the main rear seal will leak. And she says it is still using oil Oh and the check engine light shows up and they don't know why. Her next car will be a Tesla no more combustion engine problems.

Your wife is driving THEE worst example year/model BMW ever.... It's is an almost 10 year old problematic rig.

[tranquility]

Originally Posted by Cory S

To me, there's a difference between unreliable, and being left stranded... BMW's very rarely leave you STRANDED......

I MIGHT see ONE BMW every 2 years on the side of the road.......if that....

That's true, but that's also an extremely low std LOL.

[Zyal8r]

Read somewhere a few years ago that the most flat bedded cars in the USA were VWs, Volvos and Mercedes. My neighbor had two out of three and he did need the flatbed twice. Never saw a BMW stranded on a highway tho.

[IndotagSwizz]

when did the amount of cars we see on the side of the road become the official standard for automotive reliability????.... BMWs are not reliable this isn't news, they are awesome cars but not reliable

[Fast4d]

we wont take our x5 4.8 on long trips. never out of so cal.

cooling system parts, pumps and plastic piece seem to break. all the major pieces have been replaced but now we have this oil cooler to block seal $5 that can leak a quart every mile (according to someone it happened to). may not leave us stranded but we will be stuck waiting for repairs. plus I rather do the work than get taken for $$$$$

inline 6 BMWs....no problem. vegas, norcal, yellowstone, etc

never had issue with 3 series. cooling system gets replaced at 100k for peace of mind though.

[David70]

Originally Posted by IndotagSwizz

when did the amount of cars we see on the side of the road become the official standard for automotive reliability????....

Agree, pretty weak "study". I guess if you drive through small towns in the middle of nowhere you will find that pickups are the real problem (don't consider how many people have them).

[924er]

What those women were saying was completely true. A BMW is more expensive to maintain than a Mazda, scion, Honda etc That's a no BRAINER.

I meticulously maintain my 335i and I'm still having to replace things like injectors, expansion tanks, boost solenoids, water pump, and I just replaced my rear wheel bearing plus the axle because it as seized and wouldn't come apart.

Mind you my car only has 50k miles

BMW is fun but not cheap or reliable. That's the point

[SakhirM4]

Have made many coast-to-coast trips in my BMWs and I never thought once about "hope I get there and back because of my car". The 18 BMWs that I have owned since 1977 have never given me any reason to doubt their reliability or road worthiness. After reading this thread, I guess I have just been lucky.

Am I a fanboi or a badge whore? Probably, but the BMWs that I have owned have given me reason to be.

[QUiKSR20]

Originally Posted by 924er

I meticulously maintain my 335i and I'm still having to replace things like injectors, expansion tanks, boost solenoids, water pump, and I just replaced my rear wheel bearing plus the axle because it as seized and wouldn't come apart.

Mind you my car only has 50k miles

BMW is fun but not cheap or reliable. That's the point

Thats the point? Do you know how ridiculous it sounds to replace those things on a car with 50k miles? Waterpump? Fuel Injector? Really at 50k miles?

We can love our cars, I love mine but that shit is un-acceptable.... Thats just poor engineering at its finest.. Would you say our water pumps or fuel injector is any diff than a
water pump or fuel injector on any other mass produced car currently made? Its not its the same basic part...

[vase330]

No surprise there. It's an E92, and am gonna go out on a limb and guess it's a 2007-2009 model? Yeah well known already. Had every one of those issues on mine too and that was before I even clocked 20K miles on it. Add replace waste gates and turbos to the list. It was first two years I owned it and all under warranty.

Here is the distinctions this car has:
It's my 5th BMW and only one with this many problems.
Currently 56K miles and trouble free since about 30K miles and 3rd year I owned it.
I'll also say it's bullet proof now but boy what a total pos it was in the first year!
Only other BMW that troubled me was e46 330ci with two failed transmissions.
Owned all last 5 models of the 3 series and love my e92 335 so much I can seem to let it go. would I buy a used one from someone? No. But I believe all the issues are now addressed by BMW.

I will say this, it's a car, and any make can have issues. Look I had a $120K 2014 Range Rover supercharged that land rover had to buy back because of endless problems. Most of them suspension! 22 dealer visits in 6500 miles in the first 10 months of untold stress, I returned the junk to them said I refuse to drive the pos truck, I refuse to have them repair it one more time. I only want my money back or a replacement or I will lemon the damn thing and walk away from the brand forever. but I knew the labs rover reputation going in, too bad that example turned out to be worse than worst imaginations of how bad a car could be.

Now I have a replacement 2015 Range Rover. Not a single reliability issue. It is solid as it can ever get, and it's blissful vehicle to own. Can't even comprehend how they'd have come off the same line. Build quality is way better, it drives way better too and I dare say this is my best vehicle yet. And that is some tall order. It has met and exceeded all my expectations and I look forward to many years of ownership.

I have owned Toyotas too going back to 1991 and my last one sold in 2012. I have never had a single problem with any of them, but let's face it, they are boooring!

All am saying is BMW is ok and while not the most reliable brand, it's specific models and years that have known issues, not all of them. Majority are as reliable as something from your most reliable brand such as Toyota. Don't judge the whole brand based on just your expirience with one of their cars.

[E90joee]

Newer models maybe, drove an f30 328 and feels cheap and harsher ride than me e90

[Em135eye]

My 2006 335d had a slight brake issue but other than that, nothing in 5.5 years but the tracking rods were quite badly corroded.
Nothing in the M135i in two years apart from a recall fuel pump; sorted fine.

Pretty happy with that.

[lens]

Originally Posted by QUiKSR20

I know you didn't I didn't mean to quote you directly more off other posts previous from others.. K20 has variable cam profile plus variable cam timing which im sure the N54 / N55 / N20 does not have atleast not the cam profile.

Like ive said.. They have the design down pat why is it so hard to nail reliability? Hyundai has it nailed.

Yet the K20 is SLOWER and a shit performance engine if you do stock vs stock.

You don't buy BMW's for reliability, nor Audi or Mercedes. Shit will break on them. However, what you do buy it for, is for the performance+luxury options. I mean, you get a car that could do mid 4 second 0-60, and high 12's low 13's 1/4 miles out of the factory, better handling, and much more fun to drive. You drive a german vehicle, and you cannot go back to driving a honda, it's not the same.

Hondas you actually have to tune and mod to get those times, and reliability of those engines fly out the window as it's not the same engine anymore. Not to mention 75% of honda owners don't even know how to mod their cars correctly. Fart cans, lots of stickers, you name it, they think they're fast, but even a 320/328i can shit on them.

[QUiKSR20]

Originally Posted by chaungo

You don't buy BMW's for reliability, nor Audi or Mercedes. Shit will break on them. However, what you do buy it for, is for the performance+luxury options. I mean, you get a car that could do mid 4 second 0-60, and high 12's low 13's 1/4 miles out of the factory, better handling, and much more fun to drive. You drive a german vehicle, and you cannot go back to driving a honda, it's not the same.

Ill agree with you on that ^^^

Originally Posted by chaungo

Yet the K20 is SLOWER and a shit performance engine if you do stock vs stock.

Hondas you actually have to tune and mod to get those times, and reliability of those engines fly out the window as it's not the same engine anymore. Not to mention 75% of honda owners don't even know how to mod their cars correctly. Fart cans, lots of stickers, you name it, they think they're fast, but even a 320/328i can shit on them.

You are referring to Hondas like this :



And Im talking about Hondas like this :



You couldnt be more far from wrong on the engine stuff, K's will make 275WHP NA reliably all day... But I get what your saying you are not going to get 0-60 in 4 seconds.. And Hondas are not BMW's we were primarily talking about tech, performance and reliability...

My 2.0liter Turbo Sentra runs 15lbs of boost 12 sec 1/4 all day and its just as reliable as it was when it was stock... I dont break water pumps, fuel injectors etc ever and its 20 years old.

We were talking mostly about power and tech, Trust me I know a BMW is nicer than a Honda but thats no excuse for the problems..

Replace Honda with Mitsubish EVO they are 2.0 Turbo, Newer and do not have these issues and their 2.0t is faster than our 3.0T.

Anyhow I didnt want this to turn into a brand pissing match is just some of the fanboy comments in this thread just show how un-informed some people
are with engines and cars in general.. Go spend a few days at a road course or drag strip maybe SEMA... You would be suprised our BMW's use the same
kinda parts and tech that a ton of current cars use.. Fit / Finish / Handling and design is where they pull away big time, But engine tech is not much diff than the rest.

This thread is pretty much wrapped up we all get it, But in the end we love our cars... Ill give up a little relability even if its " NOT EXCUSABLE " its what we have to deal with.
These cars drive like no other and have soul, Im gonna go out for a cruise now with my son, Its 60 in NJ and sunny.. Hes only 4 but says " Lets take the BMW out

[Alpinapower]

I had the last few years many car types. BMW 3-7 Mercedes E Audi Tdi/Rs - Porsche 11er Ferrari 355 Honda Ford. the best were Honda Civic 2009 Ford Sierra Cosworth BMW E39/34/30 Porsche 964/993. BMW was up to about 2002 very good but the Last years the Quality became worse...my f10 is ok but not the best.

[Wheelwright]

I am having terrible experience with my 2014 M235i. I like the car and how it drives, however my clutch and flywheel required replacement at only 18-thousand km, less than 2 years into the ownership. I was forced to pay $4800 for it. I suspect misadjustment and/or bad parts from the factory.

Before M235i I daily-drove 2 manual transmission cars: first I racked-up more than 120-thousand km on Focus SVT and then 70-thousand km on BMW 128i. Neither of those 2 required a clutch replacement, ever.

Now, I am scared to drive my M235i because I suspect that the root-cause of my clutch problems is still there, which will eventually destroy my newly replaced clutch & flywheel and to make matters ever worse, my gearbox. I am afraid that this BMW POS will financially ruin me.

[tranquility]

Originally Posted by Wheelwright

I am having terrible experience with my 2014 M235i. I like the car and how it drives, however my clutch and flywheel required replacement at only 18-thousand km, less than 2 years into the ownership. I was forced to pay $4800 for it. I suspect misadjustment and/or bad parts from the factory.

Before M235i I daily-drove 2 manual transmission cars: first I racked-up more than 120-thousand km on Focus SVT and then 70-thousand km on BMW 128i. Neither of those 2 required a clutch replacement, ever.

Now, I am scared to drive my M235i because I suspect that the root-cause of my clutch problems is still there, which will eventually destroy my newly replaced clutch & flywheel and to make matters ever worse, my gearbox. I am afraid that this BMW POS will financially ruin me.

Holy crap...I guess their excuse is that it's a 'wear and tear' item?