[TubbyJim]

2 injectors gone now.....another £865....

[Chris_11]

it's a little weird with these injectors. Are you sure those are the ones causing problems. From what i understand the last set of injectors are pretty good. Now i do not know if this solves the problem or not but really it's weird that they keep failing.
Maybe the coils are going rong. BMW changed the bosch coils with delphi and they look pretty diffrent but no recall with these new ones.
@Jimmy. Watch out for that oil cap. If you take the care from the dealer and it is runnig la crap again the oil cap doesen't seal properly and the engine is pulling fake aer and it causes to run like crap.

[TubbyJim]

right....that's all 4 coils AND all 4 injectors replaced now. It was running superbly on an 'energetic' drive I had last night, and I tried an economy run to work today...44.1MPG from 40 minutes of snaking country roads and some traffic, that's superb!

However theres always gonna be that nagging doubt!

I asked BMW how long the warranty on the parts is and they told me 2 years, which seems awfully long but i'm not complaining. However on the back of the invoice they gave me it was they are warranteed for 3000miles or 3 months, so i'm a bit confused. Can anyone here shine a light on that? Though I'll be contacting the dealer anyway for clarification!

[TubbyJim]

That's just over 2 weeks now and its still driving well, engine is 'pokey' and the MPG is still brilliant. Its still pretty shaky when starting up, car will occasionally judder noticeably when sitting idleing, even after its been left running for a bit. It also still has the 'diesel-esque' ticking noise when sat still, but again that seems to disappear as soon as it gets moving and then the noise is pretty good for a 4 cylinder.

Hoping you guys with similar issues have managed to get it sorted too.

[richdeaville]

First time poster, long time reader.

E91 320i 2009, 68k, full main dealer service history.

On Tuesday driving along when the engine died, everything else fine, just no engine.
Get it carried into main dealer, they have had a look apparently the timing chain tensioner has broken causing all types of problems and now I'm looking at an engine rebuild.
Apparently BMW UK are reviewing the possibility of some 'good will'.
Does anybody have any experience of this and any ideas of what is a 'reasonable' amount to pay?

Very stressed and highly annoyed, this is the first major problem with the car and it is getting close to writing it off.
Going to get a phone call from the main dealer tomorrow and hopefully somebody can give me a steer.

Cheers

[PeKKeR]

Hello (again)

Bought my BMW 2.0i 2008 E92 used (10k miles) from UK in 2009.
During the first year all coils and injectors failed so BMW changed them under warranty (6 visits to the garage in a year)- typical 320i issue.

Now 6 years later 1 injector died -- cant complain really - its been running smooth all this time considering all the problems the others members had..
Garage said its best practice to change ALL FOUR injectors when one of them fails...i said go ahead, and then they told me its EUR200+VAT each and i nearly fainted (just came back from holidays, a bit broke). So we only changed one of them and it cost total of EUR320 with Labour , programming and VAT. Car running smooth again.. but the possible imminent failure of the other 3 injector is sitting warmly in the back of my mind...

Now i'm in the look for 3 more injectors and i want to get them as cheap as possible...anyone got any part numbers and pricing for these injectors ? maybe written on an invoice somewhere?

would appreciate your help...

[TubbyJim]

not sure of the parts numbers sorry. changing all 4 sounds like the right thing to do. I had 2 go, costing £650. then only 2 months later the other 2 went and (long story why) I went to dealers who were £850! my car was 7 years old when it needed the replacements.


as an aside, my gearstick continues to 'wobble' albeit not half as badly as it wobbled when my injectors had failed. The car runs fine and MPG is great. Does anyone have any idea why the 320i gearsticks often seem to wobble.....?

it also has the much-discussed diesel-sounding 'clicky clicky clicky' noise when idling, again does anyone know why this is / if it can be sorted?

I've read all 51 pages of this thread but there doesn't seem to be a solution so i'm not hopeful it's fixable!

[PeKKeR]

Originally Posted by TubbyJim

not sure of the parts numbers sorry. changing all 4 sounds like the right thing to do. I had 2 go, costing £650. then only 2 months later the other 2 went and (long story why) I went to dealers who were £850! my car was 7 years old when it needed the replacements.


as an aside, my gearstick continues to 'wobble' albeit not half as badly as it wobbled when my injectors had failed. The car runs fine and MPG is great. Does anyone have any idea why the 320i gearsticks often seem to wobble.....?

it also has the much-discussed diesel-sounding 'clicky clicky clicky' noise when idling, again does anyone know why this is / if it can be sorted?

I've read all 51 pages of this thread but there doesn't seem to be a solution so i'm not hopeful it's fixable!

damn looks like i wil end up changing all of them..but hopefully 2016..

i reckon the gearstick wobble and click noise are standard in all the 320i 2008+ ive been into...nothing wrong with your car...
my friend with the E46 6-cyl always takes the piss about the sound of my 320i and sais it sounds like a diesel or a mazda :P But ive got +25bhp so he can eat my dust any time :P

[Chris_11]

Yes, the wooble gear stick is normal, allso the click click sound is normal to, that is the fuel pump.
I have a question for you guys. When you start the engine for the first time in a day does you engine shake a bit till the rev drop?

[TubbyJim]

Thanks guys, nice to have a bit of peace of mind! My last few cars have been 2L petrols and this one is much pokier and gets a good 1/3rd better MPG so i'll happily live with the clicking noise. I've been driving it round country roads in the highlands this weekend and its been fantastic

Chris since getting mine completely fixed it'll start on a morning at 1100RPM, before dropping to about 600 after maybe 20 seconds, where it'll occasionally have a tiny judder/shake but pretty much stay at 600. I'm not entirely clued up but I am pretty sure this is a normal healthy thing for any car to do when starting for the first time for the day

[Chris_11]

Thanks Jim, just wanna make sure everything is ok. Indeed it is not a bad engine, the gas mileage is great and for a 2.0 non turbo it pulls pretty good.

[320iSwede]

Hi all,

New to the thread and I have a nice 320i, E91 with N43. Has been running like a dream for 160.000 km. I have owned it since 9.000 km.

I ran in to some issues with high emissions for some month ago and had NOX-sensor replaced without improvement. The cat was also replaced without any improvement. After some investigation they said that the timing chain was worn out and caused the cams to be out of timing.

The chain was replaced and the emissions was OK. Great

All this has been done by BMW in Sweden for a lot of money and BMW has taken some cost on goodwill.

But the story isn't over. The engine vibrates much more now after the change. First I thought that the balance shafts was wrong positioned but they are not affected by the timing chain change if I am correct informed.

I have spent a lot of time to see if something interfears when the enging moves but all seems OK.

Than I took a slow motion movie of the crank pulley when the car is on idle. I can not understand how the pulley can move like this, and I can not understand how the center bolt can rotate unevenly like it does in the movie. It should be ridgid fixated to the crank shaft.
The center bolt and the pulley was removed when the chain was changed but I don't understand how the parts could have been damaged.

Please see this link:

[danblackburn1993]

My 320i has had engine problems, 2008, 60k miles,

Orignially started with p122f powertrain fault coming up on diagnostic reader, checked ignition coil packs all ok and also spark plugs. mechanic reset faults, told to go away and drive the car until the engine fault light comes up again. Now im getting nox sensor. Car feels underpowered and noticed its only idleing around 720 rpm when im sure it was around 900rpm previous to the fault.
got it booked in at garage next week for another diagnostics test, been told if it is the NOX sensor that needs replacing it will be around 350 for the part not including labour costs and reprograming for the new sensor.

symptoms of this is the car feels like it has lost power, fuel consumption has gone up aswell, engine judders letting clutch out setting off.

has anyone else had any problems like this on the 320i?

a friend of mine said that the 2008s had a recall for the injectors or something or are well known for these kind of problems? rang bmw up local to me and was told my car has no outstanding recalls on it

Cheers Dan

[Chris_11]

Guys i repeat and i insist because it is such a stupid problem that i can't believe it is making so many problems on this engine and 99% of mechanics do not have a clue.
Check the damn oil cap, it seems the seal is not glued to the cap or it is a bad glue that doesen't hold the seal well and in time it fals and air is being sucked behind the seal. I pulled the seal of the cap and i saw oil behind it. I could not believe i found oil in there.
It is very possible if you change the cap the problem to persist. First of i advise you to check if that seal can be removed easely from the cap. If it comes out then that is the source of 1000000 problems. I put two seals on the oil cap and although it was a little hard to put it back on, the difference is huuuuuuge, Lots of torque and engine runs unbelieveably smooth and sounds superb.
If you want to see how this engine acts if that damn oil cap is not sealing well... with the engine running, slowly open the cap and make just a little gap and you will see the engine starts juddering and running like a bag of spanners.
I have a theory... i things the injectors are going down because of the little missfires caused by this stupid cap but i am not sure about that yet. I can't believe an oil cap can cause so many problems that even the dealers do not have a clue how to fix them.

[dan_mrt]

Originally Posted by Chris_11

Guys i repeat and i insist because it is such a stupid problem that i can't believe it is making so many problems on this engine and 99% of mechanics do not have a clue.
Check the damn oil cap, it seems the seal is not glued to the cap or it is a bad glue that doesen't hold the seal well and in time it fals and air is being sucked behind the seal. I pulled the seal of the cap and i saw oil behind it. I could not believe i found oil in there.
It is very possible if you change the cap the problem to persist. First of i advise you to check if that seal can be removed easely from the cap. If it comes out then that is the source of 1000000 problems. I put two seals on the oil cap and although it was a little hard to put it back on, the difference is huuuuuuge, Lots of torque and engine runs unbelieveably smooth and sounds superb.
If you want to see how this engine acts if that damn oil cap is not sealing well... with the engine running, slowly open the cap and make just a little gap and you will see the engine starts juddering and running like a bag of spanners.
I have a theory... i things the injectors are going down because of the little missfires caused by this stupid cap but i am not sure about that yet. I can't believe an oil cap can cause so many problems that even the dealers do not have a clue how to fix them.

I made an oil change and inverted the seal of the cap.cleaned the oil and put the cap back.Miracle.The car never runned that good.Full torque full power,no hesitation.

[Bethnalboy]

As an owner of a 2008 320i E91 with the N43 engine, I've kept a close eye on the goings on in this thread.

For those of you who might be put off from buying a 320i I may offer some solace. My car is approaching 150k MILES. I bought it second hand over 4 years ago with 100k on the clock. Got a good price but knew it was a bit of a risk.

Over my 50k miles I have replaced 4 sparks and coils (actually they were replaced twice, one as part of a recall and once by my indy who assumed the sparks and coils were due for replacing), resealed the vacuum pump (yes it can be done) new ventilation fan (it had been squeaking before it failed) and... that's it. (well except for the usual break pads etc).

It drives like a dream (feed it on V power and use injector cleaner every now and then), pulls strong up to 7000rpm and has never let me down. After years of diesel driving, this engine is a responsive peach.

So while I sympathise with the problems many have had, remember not all N43 engines are crap and they will reward you with a smile as you hit almost 100mph in 3rd - the B road overtaking gear of the gods. And not a turbo charger in sight!

[Mr HG]

I posted at the top of page saying I had just had all 4 coils done and EML had come on, the new code was no big surprise, NOx sensor. and i've avoided coming back to this thread coz quite frankly it was depressing me

I've basically been nursing my car on the very few occasions i've driven it since this was diagnosed

August was full of spending money(birthdays,weddings etc) in september I got all new brake discs and pads, last week I was going to get NOx done but got a puncture, £213 for a tyre, finally had it booked to be done today but when my indie(and also a mate) phoned me and said it was around £360(high200s + VAT) I decided to hang off and look online for the part.

So basically i'm no further forward with the EML but the car still runs very good considering and because i've had time to clean/polish and tidy up alot of cosmetics it's looking f*&$£ing fantastic

I've got over worrying about it now and love my car, just can't wait to get a new NOx now, hopefully within a week as i've found a £100 saving online for a brand new genuine BMW NOx

[N43B20A]

Cheers, guys!

I was a happy owner of a 318i until the problems started to appear. Last year the EML light turned on and after diagnosis it turned out to be "catalytic converter sulphurised" along with "Vanos exhaust and NOX sensor". It dissappeared after being deleted, and after a tough ride on the highway it haven't came back until a few weeks ago. It's still intermitent.

The diagnosis revealed:
2A99 Camshaft Sensor
2A87 Vanos Exhaust
30E0 NOX sensor

Also the car seems weak and has a rough idle when the EML light is on.

On top of this problem, it also leaks some oil.

The car has 38k miles on the clock and it's a 2008 production. The coils were changed two years ago under the recall, but not the spark plugs.

Hopefully tomorrow I get an appointment for an in depth check.
I am pretty dissapointed that at 38k miles, a BMW engine has this kind of problems...

All the best!

[Mr HG]

You have my sympathies 'nclsamy' as does everyone who thought they were buying reliability that notoriety suggests and have done or now face the problems in this thread.

Although my (2005) A4 S line was getting old and tired and would still have got rid, I do sometimes wonder if i'd have bought a newer one if I had known these problems with BMW, i'd certainly have held out for a 320d rather than my 320i.

I love hard top verts and I never thought i'd own a decent E93 and now I do,it's only that fact that's keeping me BMW minded, I think if i'd bought E90/91/92 instead of sticking with Audi i'd be a very unhappy man

I also take solace in the good news stories and while it might be painful in the pocket i'm convinced i'll get it sorted in the end.

I bought a genuine wind deflector last night with carry case for £125, BMW price is £389 , see!, good news

[N43B20A]

Mr. HG, please get back to us with updates after you change the NOX sensor.

Also, did you update the firmware?

[Mr HG]

Got my NOx sensor fitted today, got it on e.bay for £223 that was including PP from Hamburg and my guy took £40 for fitting it.

I've only driven it approx 10 miles, 5 or 6 letting it warm up and the last few back I drove it quite hard.

I know it's not far but the difference is very noticeable , considering my car wasn't running all that bad to begin with compared to some of the descriptions i've read here and elsewhere. It seems to be responding exactly how i want when I want and there is a clear change in the way the MPG needle is behaving.

The codes were cleared but I have not done any firmware update

Fingers crossed

[N43B20A]

Thanks for updates! Good luck and hopefully your car is well for a long time!

Last week I made the regular oil & filter changes and also cleaned and inter-changed the Vanos solenoids.

Now I just came home from an indy and this time the diagnosis revealed just the Exhaust VANOS error, without the Camshaft or NOX Sensor error. Even though I switched the Vanos solenoids, the error is still on the Exhaust one.

He said that the VANOS error is because of timing chain faults and I should change the chain, chain tensioner and guide rail. He didn't check the chain or the chain guide.

What I am afraid of is actually throwing money at the car without solving the problems...

Yes, a slight rattle noise is present.

What are other symptoms of a failing timing chain? The car seems extremely weak lately...