Total engine failure on E90 320d

[fredy5]

Hi

My 155 000 mile BMW 320d automatic has expired with a screeching + knocking noise. Preliminary (brief) bmw technican inspection suspects either bigend bearing or perhaps piston-on-cylinder scraping (swirl flap injestion ???)

There was no obvious blow up, just a gradual rise in a very faint noise a bit like a blowing exhaust. When I pulled over though the noise was more clear and the engine *seemed* to be running of 3 cylinders...

I am obviously pretty cheesed off as the car is fairly new to me and is full bmw service etc.

How common is this?
Are there any known faults that cause such catastrophic failure?
Can you direct me to any other threads of a similar nature?
Should I by french next time ?!!

My last post was about how uncomfortable the seats were, maybe the car heard me

[paulrog]

Sorry to hear your problems

What engine is it ??? (Example N47, M47 etc)

Talk to BMW as this is only 4 years old, but it is high mileage so i'm not sure how successful you'll be, goto an inde specialist for an assesment also.

[RickT]

Have the swirl flaps been inspected to confirm / rule that out ?

[Harry]

Sounds like the car has done you a favour. But as it's a BMW it's a favour for which you could potentially pay in spades.

Sorry to hear about this. The swirl flaps were modified although I don't know if four years takes you back to the older, weaker flaps. If it has FBMWSH I would get onto BMW and politely dig your heels in. It can't hurt and you may be rewarded. 150K for a fully serviced car is a joke - but any car can die at any age. You might just have got a wrong 'un.

Seat comfort and driving position are so fundamental. I expect that whatever the outcome you'll be moving on. I hope that you'll have something serviceable to trade with. All the best with it.

[siraff]

Sorry to hear about this but you have to remember it's still a 150k mile car. That's equivalent to a 12.5 year old car at average mileage or the same as having a Y-reg car with a newer plate. A lot can happen in 150k miles. If you've not long had it there could be underlying issues such as water ingestion which is only now rearing it's head. Of course the swirl flap issue is well known so if that is the issue BMW may consider some kind of goodwill gesture.
Best of luck with it. Probably best to post what the mechanic finds once they've had a look.

[fredy5]

ok cheers for that.

Yes I will let u all know once it has been fixed.... ongoing problem tho: the trader is not very helpful at the moment, thats another saga

Not sure what engine but it was a 58 plate efficient dynamics.

150 K is not high for a modern engine of any make, but especially a german diesel imho.

Oh well, at least I don't have to sit in those unsupportive hammocks any more !!

[smorris_12]

Sorry to hear about this but you have to remember it's still a 150k mile car. That's equivalent to a 12.5 year old car at average mileage.

Afraid the two are nothing alike. The life cycle of the /engines/ in your 2 cars are totally different. Engine life in almost every other area is measured in hours, and 150k miles in 4 years works out at about 3000 hours. In terms of Diesel engines used in generators and the like that would probably be just about coming up to its first service! OK, this one hasn't run solidly but its spent most of its time running under optimal conditions rather than endless pottering to the shops.

Anyway, BMW are just as capable as anyone else in making the reciprocating parts last forever - it's the bloody ancilliaries that seem to give them trouble. Swirl flaps, timing chains (which used to be the main selling point!), etc.

[hooded_claw]

Yes I will let u all know once it has been fixed.... ongoing problem tho: the trader is not very helpful at the moment, thats another saga

Not sure what engine but it was a 58 plate efficient dynamics.

150 K is not high for a modern engine of any make, but especially a german diesel imho.

Sorry to hear about your engine. You say the trader is not very helpful, how long have you had the car exactly?

I agree you would expect a 4 year old BMW engine even with 150k miles on the clock to still have plenty of life in it if it has a decent service history, I guess you've just been unlucky

I had the choice of getting a 57 plate with the same engine as yours with 120k miles on the clock a few months ago, but instead went for a slightly older E90 320d with lower milage (89k) and the older 163bhp engine to avoid the potential DPF failure and timing chain issues of N47 engine model, especially with 120k on the clock.

Cheers

[agh!]

On this age of car swirl flap issues are almost unheard of but that could be down to the cars not being old enough for it to arise.
There are other 150K-200K mile E90 320d on the forum going strong with no issues.
BMW supposedly improved swirl flap design before the E90 went on sale so it could be bad luck of a different kind.

[fredy5]

The trader says he is going to fix the car, but will not give any estimate of time (had it 2 wks approx). Doesn't reply to calls either. I will wait a while longer then think I'll have to go down legal route.

[SJC]

May make sense to speak to a solicitor before authorising repairs. Two weeks is not long and there may be a prospect of 'rejecting' the car.

[siraff]

Sorry to hear about this but you have to remember it's still a 150k mile car. That's equivalent to a 12.5 year old car at average mileage.

Afraid the two are nothing alike. The life cycle of the /engines/ in your 2 cars are totally different. Engine life in almost every other area is measured in hours, and 150k miles in 4 years works out at about 3000 hours. In terms of Diesel engines used in generators and the like that would probably be just about coming up to its first service! OK, this one hasn't run solidly but its spent most of its time running under optimal conditions rather than endless pottering to the shops.

Anyway, BMW are just as capable as anyone else in making the reciprocating parts last forever - it's the bloody ancilliaries that seem to give them trouble. Swirl flaps, timing chains (which used to be the main selling point!), etc.

But you're assuming the car has sat on a motorway all it's life. It could well be that it's not. Infact isn't that pretty much bang on the right age for Police/other service vehicles to be disposed of? What's it's actual history? It could have sat on motorways all it's life and just be a lemon but I think it's much more likely it's either worked hard for it's living or there has been some issue the last owner was keen to drop it with. Diesel generators are a completely different thing altogether.
150k miles on a motorway car isn't much for a BMW but 150k of hard use round the town is more than enough for any car.
Police/similar use could also account for the seats being unsupportive. An officer in full dress is usually quite a bit larger and heavier than a biro salesman in a shirt.

[fredy5]

Fully loaded with leather, and blue, so not a police car. Was owned by a company director.... most likely motorways miles

[afterburner]

Did you get confirmation about exactly what caused it?

[siraff]

There are other uses which would give similar results though. For instance when a guy hit the back of my dads car he was given a 320d as a loan car while his was repaired. Metallic grey, all the bits and leather. Don't most fleet/hire cars have the owner of the company's name on them? I don't know many directors that do that kind of mileage in a car.

[smorris_12]

My previous S-Type did 112k in 4 years and was the sales directors'.

150k miles in 4 years is almost always rep'ing (2nd place goes to commuting.) The country's full of cars with one person in popping to meetings the other side of the country. The number of cars that run huge mileages round town or only in Norfolk[1] must be fairly small by comparison. And they're going to look like they've had a hard time.


[1] Or other counties noted for not having a m'way.

[fredy5]

Did you get confirmation about exactly what caused it?

No, they decided it just sounded too bad to bother stripping