Tag: common problems

BMW i3 Problems to Expect

Posted on by

BMW i3 was designed from the ground up to be one of the more unique vehicles on the road, but how reliable is it?

SimpleCarGuy here and in today’s video I want to talk about some common problems you can expect on the BMW i3. We’ll discuss the difference between BEV and REX reliability, best years to buy, what to look for when buying yours and how to avoid some of these issues if you already own one.

Content:

Quirky:

Remember, this isn’t a regular EV, hybrid or a gas car. It has bespoke parts made for the i3 shared only with the i8 in most cases. Overall, it’s one of the most reliable EVs on the market, but every car has its issues; especially, experimental one like the i3.

Before I talk specifics, let me explain how the video is structured. We’ll talk about the most common issues first and then the not as common, but still, something to pay attention to. Specifically, we will discuss Mechanical, Electronic, Cosmetic and REX Specific issues. You can use chapters to jump around if you like.

BEV:

  1. 12v Battery

The most common problem across the BMW i3 range has to be the 12v battery. Judging from how many people have complained and how many forum posts you can find on this, the battery will pre-maturely fail about every 3 years and it’s not unusual to see people with only 50,000 miles on their 3rd battery. It’s recommended replacing it before it gives out. A failing battery will leave you stranded needing a flatbed as the car won’t turn on. Interestingly, the 95 and 120 ah cars have a different part number for the 12v battery and seem to be a little more reliable, but still affected.

  • Motor Mount Failure

Another very common issue is the weak motor mounts that can fail abruptly causing the car to vibrate and make lots of noise in the back. This can happen on cars even under 50,000 miles and usually more so on cars that were driven hard or on bad roads. Snapped off bolts on the motor mount are not unusual either. BMW has since replaced the plastic motor mounts, upgraded the bolts to metal ones and reprogrammed the cars to have less initial torque during the repair campaign  and on all newer cars. If this recall has not been done on your car, it’s a good idea to get it checked out.

  • Strut Mounts, Bearings, Dust Covers)

Common across the range are also a few suspension issues. Most common one being the dust covers on the front dampers. This isn’t critical or dangerous, but water and dirt will prematurely wear out your dampers resulting in an unstable ride and more expensive repair. The dried-out rubber can also get into the bump stops causing an annoying squeak. Failing strut bearings are also a common failure point and require the upper strut mounts to be replaced.

  • AC Compressor – No Cold Air (all years)

Bigger problems can be caused by a failed AC compressor. This may not be as common as the first 3 items, but it gets expensive. VERY EXPENSIVE. If you happen to be one of the very unlucky ones where the AC compressor completely fails, it can cause the cooling fan to implode sending shrapnel through the High Voltage battery pack cooling loop. Yes, on this car, the compressor runs both the HVAC as well as the cooling of the HV battery, so the repair can be over $8k+ i as the battery has to be removed from the vehicle and cooling lines replaced. This seems to be more common on 2017 or older i3s, but has happened on newer ones as well. It’s recommended to get your HVAC system checked out as soon as you hear any clicky or metallic noise from the AC Compressor. Replacing JUST the compressor can be a cheaper $3000 job.

  • Washer Fluid Pump Leak

A much cheaper issue that has come up on many BMW i3s is the leaky windshield washer pump. I’ve had this happen on mine and I just used some epoxy to fix the leak. My simple fix has lasted a few months now but, of course, you can simply replace the entire pump for only around $20. To prevent this, make sure to not get any debris into the washer fluid tank and clean out the clogged washer jets if they are not performing as expected.

Electronics:

Switching over to the electronics, other than the 12v battery we talked about earlier, there are a few other common issues to watch out for.

  • Failed driver heated seat

One of the most annoying ones in colder climates is the heated seats going out. A lot of people use their heated seats much more than in regular cars to gain some range in the winter so sometimes the elements in the seat get damaged and cause a short circuit or the thermometer goes bad causing the seats to overheat and shut off.

  • Flickering LEDs on the center panel (especially AC) Blurry/Faulty Reversing Camera

A few common but rather minor issues have to do with the LEDs going out in the climate control panel where it starts to flicker or completely burns out and faulty reversing camera where it becomes a little blurry.

  • Charge Port Door Solenoid

The charge port door solenoid can also fail and cause the charge door not to open. It usually starts with a grinding noise during operation. I had a hard time opening the charge door in the snow on my car and had to re-adjust it a little bit as well. In some cases, the solenoid does not fail but the door has to be recalibrated.

  • Airbags

On a more serious note, there was a problem with the internal components of the airbag that were not properly assembled by BMW. This resulted in the airbag deployment in a low-speed collision on 2014 and 2015 models. Similarly, the passenger restraint system on the same year cars had a tendency to show a warning even when the passenger was buckled in.

  1. KLE Failure (PCB Issue)

While this next one is not very common, it is also serious and surprisingly only occurs on 2018 and newer models. There have been a few reports of a failed KLE and EME modules due to bad solder joints. KLE module is responsible for charging your vehicle and EME is the Electric Motor controller that if fails shuts down high voltage to the motor and stopping the car in its tracks. If there are any signs of sudden loss of power on your BMW i3, the dealer will replace these at no cost.

Cosmetic Exterior

  1. Cheap materials used:

BMW i3 also has a few issues with the quality of the materials that have been used. A lot of these were advertised as eco-friendly and good for the environment and it’s mostly true, but it also means some of these materials don’t last as long as we would expect from BMW.

I have personally noticed poor quality interior on my car as it wears out very quickly. Granted, mine was neglected and abused, but looking online for used interior parts showed very similar wear and tear at only 50,000 miles. The Deka fabric appears to stain easily as well, even with water.

Other have also pointed out that the antenna deteriorates in hot climates as well as the rubber trim along the top edge of the windshield becoming crumbly or sticky. Door seals have a very similar issue. Whether it’s the design of the car or the quality of the seal, it wears out much sooner than any other BMW I have owned and others have reported the same, even stating that water has been collecting in the lower CRP frame due to poor insulation.

The door handles are also of a strange design and not often used on BMWs, so they get a little loose and wobbly over time. Last noticeable cheap material is used on the eDrive badge in the back. It can start to peel in hot weather.

  1. Roof delamination.

A more serious issue on the outside has to be the carbon fiber roof. Those that park their car outside in very hot climates will start seeing bubbling and peeling appear after about 4-5 years. This is a known issue with other carbon fiber roof like on the M3 and M4 and the best solution to protect the clear coat and the roof panel itself is to get it vinyl wrapped.

REX:

Fuel Related Issues

  1. Fuel Door

Lastly let’s talk about Range Extender specific problems. Of course, with addition of a scooter engine in the rear, there is more complexity and more problems to expect.

Luckily, not of them are very serious and the most common one is the fuel door that gets stuck and will not open unless you use the emergency release under the hood. This happens almost entirely because of a failed fuel tank pressure sensor and the reason this sensor fails is because owners are trying to add just a little more fuel after the pump stops. So, DO NOT OVERFILL your gas tanks and allow the pump to auto-stop. Fuel pump relay is another issue on the REx and can cause the AUX unit not to start and light up a Check Engine Light.

As with other gas engines, you have to do proper maintenance or risk things like misfires on one of the cylinders. In addition to maintenance, you must use high quality premium fuel as it can sit there unused weeks at a time. Most importantly, change your oil once a year if you use your Range Extender if you don’t want the cam shaft bearings to start wearing out and fail.

Before I finish up this video, there are a couple of things I wanted to mention that aren’t really problems, but good to know. If you notice, BMW i3 runs on some very skinny tires. Great for rolling resistance, terrible for wear and tear. These tires wear out in as little as 10k miles if you are an aggressive driver. Worse is that they are unique to this vehicle so are hard to find, can be expensive and with a choice of 1. 20 inch wheels look the best, but are the biggest offender and tend to go out taking out the wheel on bad pot holes.

The second none problem-problem is that the 3g cell network has been turned off in US and thus on the early cars you no longer have real time traffic, remote starts or app access. This is a huge blow for fairly new cars.

Which car do I recommend?

For that reason and many other, I would recommend a 2017 or newer BMW i3 with the Range Extender. These do not have any big real issues and offer a great range with larger batteries and 4g network support. In 2018 you also get a facelift and a more sporty i3s model. Older models are still a great buy and a lot of times a bargain as most issues have been fixed under warranty or through recalls. I have been really enjoying my BMW i3 and I would recommend it to anyone looking for a quirky, fun and unique car that is no longer in production. Now that you know more about the reliability, you would be amazed how many hidden features this car has, make sure to watch that video by clicking here. Thanks for watching and I’ll see you in the next one!

BMW N54 Problems to Expect – Reliability Report

Posted on by

So, you’re looking at a BMW with the N54 engine but you’ve heard that this may not be the most reliable engine in the BMW line up. Hi guys and welcome back to the SimpleCarGuy channel. Today, we will talk about the history, common problems, issues solved over time, how reliable the engine is 15 years later as well as my personal experience.

The reason I’m making this video is because I owned a BMW 335i e92 with the N54 engine for about 4 years from 2013 to 2017 and I wanted to catch myself up and see how the reliability has been since I sold my car! This is also part of a small series where I’m looking into engines I own or have owned and creating reliability reports like this video. BMW N55 video is coming up soon, so subscribe to see it and hit that like button to support the channel!

History/Background:

BMW N54 is one of the best straight six engines every made by BMW for a few very good reasons. Not only was it the first mass produced BMW turbocharged engine, but it also came with a forged crankshaft and connecting rods leaving HUGE tuning potential. Even though the stock engine made 302 HP, it’s not very difficult to get it up to 500hp or even much, much more. So, how can this reward winning engine [show which awards] have issues? Well, while the actual engine has had some amazing innovations and engineering, a lot of the accessories and  auxiliary components are not as well designed. Of course, when looking at a used BMW with the N54 engine, it doesn’t help that a lot of them have been tuned and driven hard! [HUGE tuning potential and people love it, but also abuse it] So, let’s take a look at some common problems you can expect on a BMW N54 engine

Common Issues:

Even though there were 3 different power figures for this engine, mechanically its basically the same engine. I’ll go over the difference between the standard N54B30 and the N54B30TO that was used in the 1 Series M Coupe and Z4 sDrive35is.

N54B30

  1. HPFP

Let’s start with the stand N54B30 engine. The biggest and most common issue that has haunted the BMW N54 engine since the start is the HPFP going bad and preventing the engine from starting, sometimes stuttering, misfiring or running well in general. It was such a big issue that BMW has extended the warranty on these to 10 years and 120,000 miles in the United States. The good part here is that most of the cars have already had the pump replaced with a revised version while under warranty.

  • Water Pump

Another big common problem on the N54 engine is the electric water pump that uses some plastic parts. These fail unexpectedly and usually at the worst time! I’ve had 2 OEM water pumps fail on me when I had the car. I got the yellow triangle saying that the engine is running hot and within 2 minutes a red triangle with a message saying to drive moderately and to shut off the engine as it has overheating. Unlike the HPFP, there is no extended warranty or anything like that and unfortunately, the pump is very difficult to get to. I paid around a $1000 each time it failed in Chicago. The pump is about $400 and labor is at least that much again.

  • Fuel Injectors leaking, Ignition Coils

These engines also suffer from leaky injectors. BMW N54 uses direct injection and these must be very precise for the engine to run correctly. Unfortunately, when they start leaking which  can cause many different problems including hard to start engine once warmed up, rough idle and misfires as well as terrible fuel economy among other issues. Of course, some of these symptoms can be caused by a bad spark plug or coil and I would definitely recommend replacing those before touching the injectors as each injector is about $250.

  • Turbochargers/wastegate rattle – people upgrade them for more power

Next issue that’s common on many BMW engines including the N54 is the wastegate rattle. Early on, this isn’t a huge issue as it mostly just makes a rattling noise on start up, it gets worse and worse over time. Eventually, the wastegate flapper starts leaking boost and causing performance issues. If not taken care of at this stage, the ECU will try to compensate for the lack of boost potentially overheating and destroying the turbocharger and maybe even the engine if metal gets into the intake. In addition to the wastegate rattle issue, turbo seals can fail and cause smoke out of the exhaust. These issues are more common on tuned or hard driven cars. Small piece of advice here is to not punch it hard until the engine is fully warmed up and to let the engine idle for a little while after driving hard before shutting off the car. [explain why let it idle][Aftermarket upgrades are very popular.]

  • Leaks become more common once getting closer to 100k

If you have watched my BMW N20 engine video [link it], this will sound very familiar. There are a few oil leaks to watch out for and the most common one is the valve cover oil leak. Usually, the plastic valve cover will crack and start leaking. Sometimes the gasket goes bad as well and the entire cover should be replaced. It’s important to get this done quickly as it would be leaking on the exhaust manifold, turbos and the O2 sensors. The oil filter housing gasket is also prone to leaking and should be replaced ASAP as it will leak oil onto the serpentine belt and can cause all kinds of problems. Oil pan leaks are less common, but possible.

  • Chargepipe

The next common issue on these engines is the chargepipe that cracks over time. BMW used a plastic pipe between the intercooler and the intake manifold which runs under boost a lot of times and of course becomes brittle and eventually fails. I’ve had this fail on my N55 [n55] engine as it uses the same design and replaced it with an aftermarket one that works much better. This is an easy and inexpensive fix to a common problem.

  • Minor items:

There are of course many other little issues with these engines that you may need to take care of over time, such as the starters going bad out of no where [link N20 video] or VANOS solenoids causing loss of power, engine hesitation, rough idle and decreased fuel economy. I have actually made a video on how to test and clean these if you’re interested and they are a decently simple DIY. Carbon build up is another issue that shows up on many lists, but that’s common on most direct injected engine and not BMW or this engine specific.

N54B30TO

As I mentioned earlier, N54B30TO was the more powerful version of the N54 engine making 335HP, but this was achieved mostly by adding a performance power kit tune and some supporting cooling hardware. [list: upgraded fan, radiator hoses, secondary radiator, oil cooler]. So, the engine itself was the same but with just a little more boost. This also means that all problems we have discussed so far are also present on this version of the engine as well.

Best and Worst Years:

Now 15 years after it has been released and after so many problems, should you even be looking at buying one? Luckily, this engine has had somewhat of a cult following lately and is becoming sought after in the tuner’s world. This also means that most people are trying to preserve it and maintain it properly. Additionally, issues like the HPFP and injectors have been resolved from the dealer and mostly done under warranty. Most other issues have been figured out in the aftermarket world with the upgraded turbochargers to get rid of the wastergate rattle and metal chargepipes to prevent boost leaks. One word of advice, avoid getting an already tuned engine if you plan on dailying your ride. [notes on why not]

Personal Experience:

A quick note on my personal experience with the engine. Over the period of 4 years and about 55,000 miles, I had to replace the spark plugs, ignition coils and 2 water pumps and nothing else. In every video I’ve made about the BMW engines I’ve owned, people tell me I just got lucky and that may be true, but it doesn’t hurt to properly take care of these engines as well.

Conclusion:

In conclusion, remember that this is an aging BMW motor that was packed with top-of-the-line technology and most likely driven hard by the last owners, so be ready to spend a little bit of money on maintaining it properly. It’s a wonderful, powerful and still one of the more reliable engines made by BMW with lots of aftermarket support and capability to produce tremendous power! Check out my BMW N20 and N63 engine reliability reports and stay tunes for the N55 video as well. Thank you so much for watching and I’ll see you in the next one!

BMW X5 Problems to Expect – BMW F15

Posted on by

BMW X5 Problems to Expect

Hey guys and welcome back to another video on the SimpleCarGuy channel. Today, we will look into some common problems you can expect on the 3rd generation BMW X5 which is also known as the F15. We’ll discuss the best year AND model to buy if your main concern is reliability and which version to avoid, if any.

In this generation there were a few different versions of the car. There was the BMW 35i that came in RWD as well as AWD configuration and had the same N55 engine. The more powerful version of the X5 was the xDrive50i powered by the N63 engine which is what this car has as well as my BMW 550i, so I’m pretty familiar with this one. The last version was the xDrive 40e with the N20 engine combined with a hybrid system. I don’t know much about the diesels or the X5M, so I will not be talking about those versions here.

Before we continue, don’t forget to hit that like button for YouTube Algorithm and leave a comment letting me know which version you’d want to own.

Now let’s talk about some common issues across the range that are not dependent on the engine. We will get into the engines shortly. Of course, each car is different and even though some of these are common issues, they may never happen to your car, but then again you can easily have multiple issues I talk about here as well, even if you take good care of your car.

The most common issue people have reported is leather cracking on the side of the seat. Just something to look out for as it can cost a decent amount to repair if you’re out of warranty.

Another commonly reported issue is squeaks coming out of the steering column as well as the rattles from the tailgate when driving on rougher terrain and wind blowing through the driver’s door seals at high speeds. The latter one can be fixed with a simple door adjustment, but still something to be aware of.

A little less common, but some X5 cars will have water leaking from the drain tubes in the sunroof after a heavy rain or car wash. If you are looking to buy a BMW X5, check the roof liner and the rest of the interior to make sure there is no water damage.

If car has rear air suspension, the bags can develop little pin holes or leak air in other ways as well. Not only will the car sag after sitting for some time, but that also means the compressor will have to work overtime and can fail prematurely. A lot of them come with springs, but if you have the 3rd row seats, there is a chance you have air suspension.

I have also seen a lot of people reporting issues with the car not shutting down on the first press of the start/stop button, this isn’t something you can fix at home and a dealer visit is required.

BMW xDrive35i/sDrive35i (2013-2018) N55:

Now let’s break it down to specific models. We’ll start with the BMW sDrive35i and the xDrive35i that were available from 2013-2018. The difference between the two is that the xDrive version is of course all wheel drive. These cars come with the n55 engine and I’ll start by saying that this will be the most reliable engine you can get in this car. Does this mean you won’t have any issues? Of course not, but luckily BMW had pretty much figured out the N55 engine by 2013 and any issues they had in the early years were mostly solved. Most notably the rod bearing issues that the early n55 engines suffered from have been taken care of. If you’d like to see what kind of damage that can cause, check out my BMW N55 engine rebuild series!

Some issues you CAN expect to have on these N55 engines would be the oil filter housing gasket leak, which in itself isn’t that big of a deal, but if the oil goes onto your serpentine belt, it can cause all kinds of issues. It’s best to replace it as soon as there is any noticeable seepage.

Another issue that seems to be common and not fixed by BMW is the plastic charge pipe that can crack and cause boost issues. It’s a very popular upgrade for anyone with the N55 engine, even if they are not seeking more power or thinking of tuning.

BMW xDrive50i (2013-2018) N63TU:

Next let’s take a look at the xDrive50i with the n63tu engine produced between 2013 and 2018. This is the car we have here and of course the most fun out of the bunch with lots of power to play with. If you Google issues on the N63 engine, you will get a list long enough to make you cry, but luckily, most of those posts are about the original N63 engine which is not what this car has. The X5 has the updated version, the n63TU, which is a very important distinction. Not only does it have 40 more horse power, but it’s also much more reliable and does not suffer from the same issues.

I’ve done a lot of research on this engine as I have the exact same engine in my BMW 550i and all things considered, this is a pretty reliable twin turbo V8. Personally, I have not had any issues with the engine and I’ve only had to replace the ignition coils and spark plugs on mine. The owner of this X5 has also had to replace a couple ignition coils as the engine was misfiring.

Oil consumption is normal if thinner oils are used or not changed as often, but if you see some smoke out of the tail pipes, it could be much worse. This X5 has had its Valve seals replaced at just (See miles) miles. That’s a VERY expensive, over $10k, job from the dealer, that luckily for this owner was done under warranty. If you go with an indy shop, it can cost as much as $5000 to do.

Of course, there are other minor issues that can creep up on this engine, but nothing too excessive. I’ve seen reports of leaking oil pump gaskets, oil pan gaskets and maybe a head gasket leak here and there but nothing engine destructive. I recommend this engine if you like power and luxury all built into one car.

BMW xDrive40e (2015-2018) N20 Hybrid Combo:

The last model we will take a quick look at is the xDrive40e that was available from 2015 to 2018 and is using a hybrid combo system with the n20 engine. This is heaviest of the bunch and the most complex out of the X5s. While it’s using the updated n20 engine, these are known for timing chain and timing chain tensioner issues as well as rod bearing issues. I’m sure this engine is not very stressed with the help of the hybrid system, but it is a very complex vehicle. The only consistent issue I saw people complain about is the issue with charging at home where it fails to initiate randomly.

Conclusion:

While BMW’s X5 is a very fun SUV that provides luxury and sportiness and is overall a great package, just like any other BMW, there are some problems to expect and I hope this video has helped you make a better decision or prepared you for ownership. So, which model should you go with? As far as reliability, I would say the sDrive35i with the n55 engine will most likely give you the least amount of trouble, but the xDrive50i with the n63tu engine is not a bad buy either and a lot more fun to drive. I would avoid the xDrive40e due to complexity and the less reliable N20 engine. The production year difference is pretty much negligible as there were no updates through the production run. That’s about it for this video, thank you for watching, don’t forget to like, comment and subscribe to the channel for a lot more car content and I’ll see you in the next one!