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Thread: Are 335's as Unreliable as They Seem?

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Mar 2016
    Location
    Bozeman, MT, US
    Posts
    11
    My Cars
    2006 BMW E90 330xi

    Are 335's as Unreliable as They Seem?

    Hey everyone,

    I've owned a 2006 330xi sedan for almost a year, I bought it with 84k miles and it currently has 97.5k, and it has been fantastic reliability-wise.

    However, my brother is interested in my car, and I've also been wondering about a 335xi (300+ hp and tq. sounds very tempting) but I'm concerned that it may be just a nightmare to own one, especially since I would likely be getting one with over 80k. I've been reading up as much as I can on them and feel like I am pretty aware of common issues (HPFP, turbos, etc) but overall are they insanely risky to own? I am not even considering anything that hasn't had the HPFP replaced (and turbos if its an N54 engine), but even with those taken care of is it still going to be much less reliable than my 330?

    Side note, where I'm at in MT gets 80 inches of snow per year, so AWD is definitely a must. I also do quite a lot of highway driving (avg about 16-18k miles per year), so would that help make things a bit easier on the car?

    All opinions appreciated, thanks everyone!

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Aug 2009
    Location
    Madison, GA, USA
    Posts
    392
    My Cars
    BMW E92 335 Coupe
    I owned an E46 for nearly seven years and it cost me $110/month to keep it running, maintenance, tires and set of Style 197's and replace broken bits. I've only owned my E92 for six months but it's cost me the same to replace broken rubber and plastic items. The only mechanical part was an ignition coil in the first month which I did myself.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    May 2004
    Location
    Florida Panhandle/ Ohio
    Posts
    7,318
    My Cars
    14 JGC/13 E88 128i
    The car was reliable for 5 1/2 years 48K miles. Then some repeatable items came up meaning the oil filter housing gasket, walnut blasting the intake valves, water pump and tstat (no failure just on years/ condition).
    Since the teething issues I experienced in late 2013 to early 2014 nothing since. I expect nothing much to happen outside of routine maintenance.
    Currently have 76K miles on my ride and I bought it new went to Munich Euro Delivery and picked it up. I was going to get a 235 but my E93 provides all the protection I need for items in the car vs a soft top and it is quiet and powerful.
    If you look for a car look for these types of items to have been done or a newer 335 model which will always have life cycle impulse (LCI) BMW speak for updates. The N55 single turbo engine seems slightly more reliable than the N54 twin turbo however my twin turbo has been totally reliable outside what I mentioned...
    BMWCCA 149159

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Mar 2016
    Location
    Bozeman, MT, US
    Posts
    11
    My Cars
    2006 BMW E90 330xi
    That's good to hear. What mileage are you at?

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Mar 2016
    Location
    Bozeman, MT, US
    Posts
    11
    My Cars
    2006 BMW E90 330xi
    Yeah water pump and thermostat are another one, those had actually just been done on my 330 just before i bought it. Yeah I'm definitely being picky about which ones I'm looking at. I'd love a post-LCI with the n55 but they're a bit harder to find in my price range. Also, does the oil cooler make a big difference in longevity of the turbos/engine in general? Its my understanding that only 335's with the sport package and a build date after sometime in 2008 have an oil cooler, so I've been avoiding all 2007 335's but I'm not sure if that's necessary or not?

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Feb 2017
    Location
    Boise, ID
    Posts
    48
    My Cars
    2008 E61 535xi Touring
    Like most forums, I think the majority of people posting are there because of mods and/or maintenance issues, so I think the frequency of problems gets a bit overblown compared to the number of owners that don't have those same, or as many, problems.
    That being said, the dealership maintenance history on mine included HPFP (twice), turbo wastegates, and VANOS issues before I bought it a few weeks ago with 134k on it, which was ~17k a year, and mostly highway judging by the maintenance locations outside Sacramento.
    I've since done walnut blasting (definitely needed it) and transmission fluid. The old tranny fluid came out pitch black. New fluid is transparent/translucent yellowish. Big difference in shifting now.
    Last edited by MysticRob; 03-06-2017 at 06:10 PM.

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Feb 2017
    Location
    Boise, ID
    Posts
    48
    My Cars
    2008 E61 535xi Touring
    Quote Originally Posted by fun2drive View Post
    The N55 single turbo engine seems slightly more reliable than the N54 twin turbo however my twin turbo has been totally reliable outside what I mentioned...
    As far as N54 versus N55 reliabilty, I wonder if this isn't simply due to the newer platform not having as many years and/or miles logged on it, hence the decreased comparative failure rate. Once the years tick by and the miles add up, I wonder if the issues won't be more comparable.

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Dec 2016
    Location
    Gonzales Louisiana usa
    Posts
    108
    My Cars
    2008 335i convertible,
    2008 335 I convertible stick. 116,000 miles abs light is on right now think it's the abs pump,water pump,oil filter gasket oil cap leak,battery,clutch,just replaced the top trim pieces that cover the hinges both sides retaining clips were broken.thats all that I can think of at the moment.i am the second owner but it was purchased from a close family friend who gave me the rundown and receipts for work done.thought I would add this for the record let's face it I am sure these model cars are driven pretty hard ,it's hard not to they run so well

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Jan 2016
    Location
    Ca
    Posts
    6,981
    My Cars
    2001 525it
    aside from the occasional injectors, turbos and the oil leaks, electric water pump and carbon build up in the intake ports there great

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Jul 2012
    Location
    Salem, NH
    Posts
    5
    My Cars
    e92 335i Xdrive
    I've had my 09 N54 335i xdrive manual for about 8 months and it hasnt had any major issues. I did bring it in for a pretty costly service, however I hit every major maint. item on the list because it was either time, or hadnt been done. it had the turbos and wastegates replaced at 71k as well as the hpfp. I bought it with 89k and its currently sitting at 97k because I do a fair bit of driving.

    the recent work I did was hpfp, fuel filter, rear diff, front diff, trans fluid, oil change, oil filter housing gasket, oil filter to oil cooler gasket, water pump, hoses, tstat, brake fluid, power steering fluid, power steering reservoir, plugs, coils, walnut blast. they inspected my valve cover and said it was still good to go, and inspected a lot of other items plus did a bunch of recoding (battery, coilpacks etcetc.)

    the car runs and drives fantastic now, and I know I'm still fairly new to the car, but it feels like it will be good to go for a long time to come. I say if you're looking, just make sure it has a good service history and know whats coming. if you buy kind of blind like I did (kinda stupid, but its worked out so far haha) then just make sure the service history gets pulled by a dealership or good shop and try to bang out anything it needs and it should be good to you

  11. #11
    Join Date
    Mar 2016
    Location
    Bozeman, MT, US
    Posts
    11
    My Cars
    2006 BMW E90 330xi
    Was your new HPFP going out after less than 30k miles, or did you just replace it as a preventative measure?

  12. #12
    Join Date
    Jul 2012
    Location
    Salem, NH
    Posts
    5
    My Cars
    e92 335i Xdrive
    Quote Originally Posted by dakotap80 View Post
    Was your new HPFP going out after less than 30k miles, or did you just replace it as a preventative measure?
    sorry for the late reply, I dont get on here much.. we did it just as a preventative, from the warranty items that were done before I owned it my car seemed to be averaging one every so often, but from 71k-98k it was fine, so I did it just as a preventative while they were already in there.

  13. #13
    Join Date
    Jul 2008
    Location
    San Jose, CA
    Posts
    117
    My Cars
    '11 335is vert, '01 Z3M
    I have a 335is. I purchased it at 10,500 miles. I now have 39,000 with zero issues.

    As as some have said, the problems do get magnified on these forums because those that don't have problems don't regularly post to say so.

    just my $0.02 ��

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