A little advice needed regarding e92 330i

[Meerkat90]

Hi all

I’m a recent owner of a lovely 2011 330i

I’m really pleased with the car, I purchased it from a bmw main dealer in August but am having a few issues mainly regarding bmw

It started with when we first went to look at the car, we told them the a/c didn’t feel too cold so asked to have this investigated upon agreeing to purchase the car,

When we picked up the car we were assured the a/c had been looked at and was all working great

When we had got halfway home (2 hour drive) we put the a/c on to be greeted with hot air.

When we took the car into my local bmw we were advised that the a/c literally didn’t have a single drop of gas, and also that the front bumper was loose on the underside!!

Then last around 3 weeks ago I got into the car to be greeted with a engine management light and a misfire in cylinders 1 and 3, turnt the engine off and back on and it went away but now when I start the car it’s very juddery for the first few minutes

Upon further investigation by a mechanic friend it turns out according to the service book the car is running on the original spark plugs and original air filter, despite the dealer telling me the car had a great full service history

My concern is I get the feeling the car hasn’t been maintained and checked as bmw should have, I have had to put a litre of oil in it in under 2000 miles of owning it along the other problems,

So now I’m questioning my options, I hear I could possibly give the car back but I really do love the but I’m questioning if the option to hand back is the best due to issues so early on,

I appreciate the car has a year warranty with bmw but what happens after that year if problems are arising due incompetence on BMW’s behalf

Sorry for the rant just after some advice, the car is booked in to get the juddering investigated but it’s a 2 week wait

Thanks in advance

[bmwmike]

N53 engine, is probably injectors playing up. Tell them to replace all six along with plugs and coilpacks and it'll be right as rain. Good job you've a warranty.

Mr Tidy will be along shortly to tell you about his n52 engined car.

Edit loose front bumper and not as described sounds a bit dodgy though

[Mr Tidy]

bmwmike said:

N53 engine, is probably injectors playing up. Tell them to replace all six along with plugs and coilpacks and it'll be right as rain. Good job you've a warranty.

Mr Tidy will be along shortly to tell you about his n52 engined car.

Edit loose front bumper and not as described sounds a bit dodgy though

Well I'd hate to disappoint bmwmike, so here I am!

My E91 325i with full main agent history had new spark plugs for the 1st time at 61,397 miles so I doubt that is the issue.

The best bet for the OP would be to find someone with a code reader - it could be injectors, coil packs, coking up or the High Pressure Fuel Pump.

What mileage has it done and what has been replaced to date?

BTW I wouldn't be too happy about a loose front bumper either.

[Meerkat90]

Thanks for the replies guys,

The car has only done 39,000 miles and is on a 2011 plate, my local dealer said the plugs should have been changed in 2015 but there’s no evidence of any work, my concern there is have I been Mis sold the car with them telling me it has a full service history

I also don’t see how it has gone through this spectacular 100 or so point check before being sold and passed it with a loose front bumper, no air on gas and me needing to put a litre of oil in so soon

It’s abit of a bummer because I paid the premium to buy the car from bmw but can’t help feel disappointed

There’s no evidence in my paper work of any work other than the odd health check etc

It’s a shame because I really do like the car, it looks great and is to the spec I wanted, the 330i seems to be a pretty hard car to find

It would be great if they replaced plugs coil packs etc on the warranty but I can’t see them changing it all, they seem pretty tight fisted but I’ll have the conversation with them

Thanks again for the replies

Edited by Meerkat90 on Tuesday 16th October 16:59

[bmwmike]

You bought this AUC approved used BMW from BMW - right?

In which case you have twelve month warranty.

In any case if you're within six months the fault is asumed to be present when you bought it.

So either way, give it back to them and tell them to fix it.

Being an n53 it will likely turn out to be pre index 11 injectors and the fix will be all injectors and plugs and possibly coilpacks replaced. They need to get their "master tech" on the case and diagnose the fault themselves though. I'm just telling you how it'll likely play out.

[Meerkat90]

Thanks for the replies mike

Fingers crossed that’s how it all works out!!!

I’ll have to wait and see what the outcome is from the car going into them, thanks for the help and advice tho

Also what’s your thoughts on the loose bumper situation, they tried to tell me they will send me another bolt out but I’m far from a mechanic, so ideally I want them to sort this but I can imagine them saying it’s my problem/not coverd by warranty

Thanks again

[bmwmike]

Get them to fix the bumper too.

Also get them to complete the service history.

Or push for a second year warranty in lieu of the full bmw service history they claimed the car had...

[Meerkat90]

Hi guys a quick update.

I’ve just picked the car up from bmw for them to tell me that the car needs 6 new injectors and a nitrogen oxide sensor

My next question now is do I need to delve deeper into this??

Do I need to know what’s causing it to need new injectors and do I need to get anything alongside the injectors replaced?

I’ve also asked them to look into what needs repairing regarding the front bumper and their going to look into this tomorrow when the car gets the injectors replaced

Also could the injectors effect the mpg??

Thanks the help it’s much appreciated

[Badgerboy]

Meerkat90 said:

Hi guys a quick update.

I’ve just picked the car up from bmw for them to tell me that the car needs 6 new injectors and a nitrogen oxide sensor

My next question now is do I need to delve deeper into this??

Do I need to know what’s causing it to need new injectors and do I need to get anything alongside the injectors replaced?

I’ve also asked them to look into what needs repairing regarding the front bumper and their going to look into this tomorrow when the car gets the injectors replaced

Also could the injectors effect the mpg??

Thanks the help it’s much appreciated

The injectors are known for failing, so nothing sinister there.

When the fail they tend to overfuel, which quickly kills the nox sensor. Without your box system running perfectly, the car will never enter stratified mode (Runs lean) which gives you the good mpg values on a long run.

Swapping out the injectors and nox is pretty standard, and probably about 3ks worth of parts. I had mine done under warranty too.

[Meerkat90]

Thanks for the reply,

Wow £3k worth!! I’m glad it’s gone now then lol

I’m assuming that this has no relation to the hpfp??
Also would it make any odds to the performance, it seems to pull plenty as it is!!

I’m really hoping this it sorted as I really am over the moon with the car!! After looking around i can’t seem to find another 330i in with red leather for the money!!

It seems the 330i m sport is a pretty rare car?? Maybe due to the 335i??

Thanks again

[bmwmike]

Congrats, a good outcome. Enjoy the car.

[Mr Tidy]

Meerkat90 said:

Thanks for the reply,

Wow £3k worth!! I’m glad it’s gone now then lol

I’m assuming that this has no relation to the hpfp??
Also would it make any odds to the performance, it seems to pull plenty as it is!!

I’m really hoping this it sorted as I really am over the moon with the car!! After looking around i can’t seem to find another 330i in with red leather for the money!!

It seems the 330i m sport is a pretty rare car?? Maybe due to the 335i??

Thanks again

Result.

The HPFP is an unrelated issue AFAIK.

The 330i may be rare because of the 335i, but more likely because most E9* 3 Series seem to be diesels!

Just enjoy your N/A straight 6 petrol BMW while we still can!

[to3m]

I didn't notice performance on mine being any different overall after the injectors were replaced - the symptoms only seemed to be present at low revs, where there's not much to be found at the best of times. At 3000+rpm the car felt about the same before and after.

Edited by to3m on Tuesday 30th October 10:30