Has Anyone had Fewer Failures in 20 Years?

[Black Magic]

I bought my '97 M3 in Dec '96 and it now has 75,000 miles. This car has been phenomenally reliable. My failures in 20 years are: reverse light switch, HK amplifier and passenger seat belt electrical connection. I also replaced the rear upper shock mounts that split but I consider those wear items and not failures. Who else can claim that kind of reliability and quality?

[jayjaya29]

Wow thats amazing. Looks as fresh as the day she rolled off the showroom floor too!

[kevinwilly]

By 250k miles, the only things I've replaced are: shocks and struts (wear items), RTABs (wear items), LCABs, cooling system (all wear items), the sunroof motor went bad, a window regulator busted, the steering column lock got stuck, the final stage unit went bad (blower motor would randomly cut out for a bit), aux fan seized on me.

I think those are the only things that have actually broken. All ball joints, tie rods, and wheel bearings were original. I still have it, but I built up another car to drive and parted this one out. It's just a shell now. I lived up north for a while and there was some rust. And it had been hit several times in parking lots so several body panels were beat up. It was worth more dead than alive, sadly.

But yeah- SUPER reliable car. No major failures of any kind.

[shogun]

I bought my M3 abt 7 years ago with 32kmiles, now abt 55 kmiles. Usual wear items like front shocks (leaking), oil cooler line leaking, headliner came down and re-made it DIY, glovebox cover push button broke, sound absorbing material above the trans came down, t-stat and housing replaced, tires of course, alternator I repaired as 1 rectifier diode went bad (repaired DIY), voltage regulator, exhaust hanger, 1 foglight broke (stone chip), pass seat occupancy mat broken, some old hoses in engine bay replaced etc, nothing special.

recall items: fixed free of charge: AIR BAGS:SIDE/WINDOW recall/defect on 1998 BMW M3 Build Years/Makes/Models: 1997 - 1999 BMW M3 UNits affected: 16749 Recall Number: 99V063001, reprogramming
Voluntary Emissions Recall Campaign No. 99E-A01= UPDATED Crankshaft Position/RPM Sensor BMW part# 12 14 1 709 616 + BMW e36 e39 z3 Adapter Wire for Updated Position Sensor should be 12514592703.

For that age of the car very reliable

[deboM3]

I think things in general wear more with mileage, not necessarily time.

At over 300k (I've owned the car for about 250k) I have done a lot of maintenance, and have a hand full of tow truck photos in the gallery. I'm not complaining, though. It's just not a honda in terms of reliability.

Bang for buck so to speak, I have been very happy with the balance of maintanence reliability and performance.

[RRSperry]

Brake light switch, reverse switch, 1 tail light bulb, headliner, two door handle gaskets, in 22 years, 77k miles.

that is not to say I haven't changed a lot of parts. Just that those were failures.

Absolutely nothing that was mission critical.

[Black Magic]

Brake light switch, reverse switch, 1 tail light bulb, headliner, two door handle gaskets, in 22 years, 77k miles.

that is not to say I haven't changed a lot of parts. Just that those were failures.

Absolutely nothing that was mission critical.

Very similar to my experiences. I also did a headliner. What's involved in changing out the door handle gaskets? Mine are cracking and deteriorating now.

[LockDots]

Very similar to my experiences. I also did a headliner. What's involved in changing out the door handle gaskets? Mine are cracking and deteriorating now.

Super easy. Toughest part is finding the metal latch that locks/unlocks the tabs of the gasket/trim. You have to go through a small hole in the side of the door, about level with the handle itself. You need something like a hook or paint can opener to pull it back closed. If I remember correctly you push it towards the front of the car to unlock it.

[RRSperry]

Just watch the YouTube videos about 10 times. Lol

[BimmerBreaker]

I've had more failures than that in a week on some of my cars...

[CGumina]

The only real "failures" I've had with my car in 6 years and 20k miles is the fact that my starter is just starting to hang up, and I have an intermittent "ABS/ASC" lights pop up on the dash from time to time. Parked it until I can find the time/motivation to yank it and replace/rebuild it.

Beyond that, I haven't had to put a wrench to it for anything besides wear items or maintenance. I've done tires, brakes, and fluids, nothing more.

[propcar]

It's been a fantastic 11 years of ownership.

The car has never left me stranded and really at 195k miles I think I have on it, it runs fantastic!

[scooper]

I think the e36s are very reliable up to about 85-90k miles. Then the cooling system needs to be replaced and the suspension bits should be replaced. So you're just about to hit that red zone. At 100-120k your heater core (if you don't live in the West or down South) will need replacing. At 120-140k your headliner will start to come un-done... So you have a lot of fun projects to look forward to! And how you drive affects how often your suspension bits needs to be replaced and how often you service your trans will determine how long it will last too. But agreed. Solid and very fun driving car!

[propcar]

I think the e36s are very reliable up to about 85-90k miles. Then the cooling system needs to be replaced and the suspension bits should be replaced. So you're just about to hit that red zone. At 100-120k your heater core (if you don't live in the West or down South) will need replacing. At 120-140k your headliner will start to come un-done... So you have a lot of fun projects to look forward to! And how you drive affects how often your suspension bits needs to be replaced and how often you service your trans will determine how long it will last too. But agreed. Solid and very fun driving car!

My heater core is original 195k...

Agreed on cooling system though. Also my started was showing signs of lazyness at like 160k or so, but it probably would have kept working for a bit.

I've also replaced my alternator 3 times, but that's not BMW's fault. One was install error, one was just a bad refurb. Also, coolant expansion tanks are super cheap and crack even if they've been replaced. Cheap Berh coolant expansion tank.

[Black Magic]

I think the e36s are very reliable up to about 85-90k miles. Then the cooling system needs to be replaced and the suspension bits should be replaced. So you're just about to hit that red zone. At 100-120k your heater core (if you don't live in the West or down South) will need replacing. At 120-140k your headliner will start to come un-done... So you have a lot of fun projects to look forward to! And how you drive affects how often your suspension bits needs to be replaced and how often you service your trans will determine how long it will last too. But agreed. Solid and very fun driving car!

I'm guessing that you are referencing my OP post. In a separate thread I've discussed how I recently completed a cooling system major overhaul. I replaced every coolant hose along with a new Z3 OEM radiator, multiple vacuum hoses as well as the crankcase ventilation valve, while I had the manifold off. I did this because I was getting uneasy about 20 year old coolant hoses (and radiator) that might strand me. None of these items failed however. Many years ago I had preventively changed out the plastic coolant pump, plastic thermostat housing and thermostat. I still have the original expansion tank because I can observe it for cracks and also because of what Propcar says - that the new tanks crack readily. I can vouch for that as I put a new Behr tank in my E39 and it cracked just after 1 year. AutohausAZ was willing to take it back even though it was out of warranty.

[TostitoBandito]

Only real "failures" I've had have been the diff needing to be replaced courtesy of backed out ring gear bolts, and the common plastic neck crack on the stock radiator. All the other work I've done on the car has been for wear items and voluntary upgrades/hardening like replacing the suspension and so forth. Car has around 145K miles on it, and is tracked on occasion.

As for cosmetics, the interior is perfect aside from a lot of normal wear on the driver's seat (had to glue a tear in the outer bolster recently). No issues with the headliner, and I recently replaced the original floormats (which were disintegrating) with new BMW M mats. The exterior has assorted rock chips (hooray gravel traps) that I'm in the process of touching up and polishing, and of course all the rubber is in various stages of disintegration if it hasn't been replaced. I need to do the vent window seals and the little rubber gasket at the top of the rocker panel on the driver's side, and the plastic trim at the base of the windshield is starting to look pretty rough too.

[BMWManiac]

Failures that left me stranded were all due to my fault being boosted with the exception my alternator died at over 100k miles. Other than that...I finally yanked the bulb for the SRS light because I have replaced multiple seat tensioners and Im just done with it. Had ABS light come on due to a bad part near brake booster? Wear and tear parts replaced.

[shogun]

What's involved in changing out the door handle gaskets? Mine are cracking and deteriorating now.

Door handle gaskets I have on available stock. See E34 classifieds section, the thread includes also the DIY instructions.

[crqflier]

Very similar to my experiences. I also did a headliner. What's involved in changing out the door handle gaskets? Mine are cracking and deteriorating now.

last half minute of this video is the best explanation I've ever found. part is maybe $10 at the dealer. I modified a paint can opener - perfect size.

https://youtu.be/GVWhdrQS_zA


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[BMWManiac]

I used a paint can opener...didn't need to modify. Open the flap on the door, shine a flash and look for a locking lever that has a flat spot, kind of looks like a "L" Take your paint can opener and push it. you will feel it slide. The gasket/trim can now be removed. Install new one, hold it in place, flip the paint can opener around so it becomes a hook, and now pull the lever towards you to lock it back in...done

[shogun]

Did anyone else have problems with the alternator? My first one only lasted less than 40kmiles, new (used one) is now in abt. 15kmiles in and still works. In my case I found out defective alternator rectifier diode, same happened on a friends E36.
Is that a general problem with the compact alternators like in our E36, or just bad luck? The alternator in my 11/88 E32 750 is now 29 years old, abt. 150kmiles, and all what I had to change was the voltage regulator. But on the E32 the alternator is not the compact version, much larger than on E36.

[pbonsalb]

If you drive only a few thousand miles per year, you should experience fewer failures than someone who drives 2 or 3 or 4 times as much. Like others have noted, the OP's car has not really even been driven enough to get to the point where the failures start. Report back in another 20 years. It is probably a very nice example of one of these cars, though. Low mileage long term owner cars are rare.

[Reprisal]

I've had my 95 M3 since around 2004, going from 128k to 255k.

The only time it has ever stranded me outright is when the fuel pump took a shit.

I've replaced/upgraded much of the car over the years, but as far as things that simply 'went bad'... Brake Light Switch, Drivers Door Handle, wheel bearing here and there, leaky PS lines, lost a diff, replaced both front calipers... can't think of much else.

Generally speaking though, if you do proper preventative maintenance on these cars, they will go for a long time.

[E46M3Dakar]

My '95 M3 has been one family owned and I have found it very reliable. The only thing I have experienced in 85k miles that you could claim are not regular maintenance are:

Vanos Replaced @ 66,965 miles
02 Sensor @ 65,918 miles
E-Brake Shoes @ 63,176 miles
Reverse Light Switch @ 49,872 miles

That being said, I replace anything before it is known to have issues on this car, like the coolant system. I have also modified the car and it has low miles but has been on the track a bit.

If you are curious to see its full service records feel free to click here.

[LockDots]

I got you all beat. Not a single failure my entire ownership.

Oh, I also got back into an E36 last year and rebuilt the entire suspension system when I got it, so my results may be a little biased