Discussion
Currently own an E46 330d manual Touring.
The only problem I am having is with rust. Having a patch on the rear arch about an inch and a half bubbling. Found the first bubble on the front wheel arch when cleaning it this morning.
I am interested in the 330i Touring variant with the manual. Having a look on Parkers facts/figures the 2007-2008 272 power quotes 38 mpg, compared to 31 mpg combined for the earlier models.
Is there really that much in terms of mpg gain between the later model? I would be interested in upgrading if the mpg is 30+. I mostly drive on country roads and town currently with an odd motorway run.
Any advise from owners would be great, will be avoiding the diesels due to the dpf.
The only problem I am having is with rust. Having a patch on the rear arch about an inch and a half bubbling. Found the first bubble on the front wheel arch when cleaning it this morning.
I am interested in the 330i Touring variant with the manual. Having a look on Parkers facts/figures the 2007-2008 272 power quotes 38 mpg, compared to 31 mpg combined for the earlier models.
Is there really that much in terms of mpg gain between the later model? I would be interested in upgrading if the mpg is 30+. I mostly drive on country roads and town currently with an odd motorway run.
Any advise from owners would be great, will be avoiding the diesels due to the dpf.
bmwmike said:
That's the n53 engine so beware coilpacks and injectors. That's said once fixed they are a good engine and I'm pretty please with mine.
MPG probably mid 30's doable on a run.
this is spot on. Check that coilpacks, injectors and fuel pumps are done and it should be good. I had an e92 330i manual with the n53 and loved it. Very economical for what it was.MPG probably mid 30's doable on a run.
Mine's an earlier N52. I've seen 34mpg with 3 adults, a child, a full boot and roof box on, at a steady 80 cruise. That's the best it's ever seen.
M-way runs of any length typically see low 30s, but generally in an urban commute environment it returns mid-20s.
To me it was worth the potential hassle of the Efficient Dynamics stuff on the later N53 engine, to potetnially save a few mpg. 5yrs and 50k and mine's wanted nothing of note.
M-way runs of any length typically see low 30s, but generally in an urban commute environment it returns mid-20s.
To me it was worth the potential hassle of the Efficient Dynamics stuff on the later N53 engine, to potetnially save a few mpg. 5yrs and 50k and mine's wanted nothing of note.
I believe some of the improved mpg on the N53 comes from the stratified or lean burn that having direct injection allows. To do this they have an extra NOx reducing cat and NOx sensors (these are really O2 sensors with extra internal cats to release O2 from NOx), if the NOx sensor or NOx cat have failed the car will not go into stratified burn. The error that turns up an obd interface is 'NOx cat ageing' or a sensor failure. AFAIK this will not stop the car from working normally though I've seen some suggestions that it can cause running issues, however it will mean you do not get the lower fuel usage at cruise.
My 530i has the NOx cat message and I get low 30's mpg at motorway cruise speeds, being really gentle on an A road at 55-60mph I've seen 37-39mpg, but nothing like the claimed 47mpg extra urban. Given the cost of just the sensor never mind a cat and the mileage I do I've not bothered as it would take years to get the money back even if I got an extra 5mpg. The coils, injectors & HPFP were sorted by previous owners and it has done over 100K now and runs very nicely - famous last words.
Of course there is always this approach-
https://bimmerprofs.com/noxem-129/
My 530i has the NOx cat message and I get low 30's mpg at motorway cruise speeds, being really gentle on an A road at 55-60mph I've seen 37-39mpg, but nothing like the claimed 47mpg extra urban. Given the cost of just the sensor never mind a cat and the mileage I do I've not bothered as it would take years to get the money back even if I got an extra 5mpg. The coils, injectors & HPFP were sorted by previous owners and it has done over 100K now and runs very nicely - famous last words.
Of course there is always this approach-
https://bimmerprofs.com/noxem-129/
We deliberately went for the N52 M-Sport version, ours is a 2006. Manuals are very tough to track down so we eventually compromised and got an auto.
It is a very effective car, particularly with the auto box. Decently quick when it needs to be, and not intimidating for the missus. The engine only really properly comes alive aurally when you kick down or use sport mode. A reasonable steer, and does the comfy, cosseting thing quite well too. People say that the suspension is too hard but we've never found it an issue even with run flats.
The biggest issue that we've had is that it covers miles so easily, that tyre wear can sneak up on you, and since they wear out the inner edges the wear isn't glaringly obvious.
Swallows bikes, tows boats, looks good on the drive, when I've got round to cleaning it. What's not to like?
Actually now I think about it the M sport wheels are easily kerbed, the paint is a bit soft, and we only seem to average 27mpg.
It is a very effective car, particularly with the auto box. Decently quick when it needs to be, and not intimidating for the missus. The engine only really properly comes alive aurally when you kick down or use sport mode. A reasonable steer, and does the comfy, cosseting thing quite well too. People say that the suspension is too hard but we've never found it an issue even with run flats.
The biggest issue that we've had is that it covers miles so easily, that tyre wear can sneak up on you, and since they wear out the inner edges the wear isn't glaringly obvious.
Swallows bikes, tows boats, looks good on the drive, when I've got round to cleaning it. What's not to like?
Actually now I think about it the M sport wheels are easily kerbed, the paint is a bit soft, and we only seem to average 27mpg.
Yeah, both the N52 and N53 are great engines and good on fuel.
The N52 is pretty bullet proof without the direct injection hassles, coil pack issues and coking up. They also sound quite a bit nicer. But it's a couple of mpg worse allegedly.
My 330i E90 N52 manual would do about 34mpg on an 80 leptons cruise. It averaged 32mpg all in over six years, half urban (London). Absolutely zero problems too. Not bad at all
The N52 is pretty bullet proof without the direct injection hassles, coil pack issues and coking up. They also sound quite a bit nicer. But it's a couple of mpg worse allegedly.
My 330i E90 N52 manual would do about 34mpg on an 80 leptons cruise. It averaged 32mpg all in over six years, half urban (London). Absolutely zero problems too. Not bad at all
I changed from an E46 330d to an E90 330i recently. The biggest difficulty I had was finding one I actually wanted to buy. When I started looking, based on a quick skim it seemed like there were plenty out there, but once I started narrowing it down to ones I wanted (manual gearbox, Xenon headlights, sport suspension, everything else flexible - which I didn't think was especially picky) the numbers dwindled rapidly. In the end I saw something like 5 cars that were suitable. Plenty of autos, few manuals. Those manuals that were SEs, virtually none of them with sport suspension. Those that were M Sports, pretty much all with halogen headlights.
Seemed to be even worse when it came to tourings, since there's fewer of them out there to start with. But hopefully you'll get luckier than I did.
In the end I did find one, a manual N53 330i saloon, but it's been a bit of a mixed bag.
In reliability terms, not super great... an engine fault appeared literally on day 2, with an engine light and an idle like a washing machine with a brick in it. After some back and forth and arguing the selling dealer paid for a panoply of new engine parts to fix it - clearly I paid way too much initially, but maybe it's good value now?! - and that did help, but it's still not quite perfect. Idles cleanly and revs out fine, but it sometimes hesitates between 1500-200 RPM at light throttle when cold. More £££ to come, I'm sure, only this time with me paying. I don't expect a car to cost nothing, especially not a second-hand one, but this is still a bit disappointing. And from reading around it seems like I'm not the only N53 owner with this sort of problem, and if anything I got lucky. Just seems to be a flaky engine
On the plus side, the economy seems good at its best, and what I'd expect at its worst (best 35mpg, worst 20mpg - haven't done enough driving in it yet to get good averages). The car tax is low, same as my 330d and lower than the N52. And the engine has all the bits that were good about my 330d, only it manages to do all of them that bit better: revs cleanly, with a low-inertia feel; feels about the same at any RPM, low or high; has a nice edge to the engine noise once it gets going; has no qualms about reaching the rev limiter.
But being a non-turbo petrol, once above 2000rpm or so it picks up instantly the moment the pedal is pushed; the better power curve means it generally accelerates a lot more rapidly than the 330d ever did, and keeps going right to the end; and as it gets towards the redline there's a very satisfying sharp, hard, noisy edge to the engine note. Not the bitter end, but a nice sweet one. I never got bored of the way the 330d would rev and I'm doubtful I'll get bored of this either.
So that's good. But objectively it's still kind of bad overall, so far. I like it, but I don't know what I should actually think. Ask me again in a year's time. So, OK, this is useless advice. But thanks for listening... even if you ignored me. I just wanted to rant. And I've done it, and I feel better now.
Seemed to be even worse when it came to tourings, since there's fewer of them out there to start with. But hopefully you'll get luckier than I did.
In the end I did find one, a manual N53 330i saloon, but it's been a bit of a mixed bag.
In reliability terms, not super great... an engine fault appeared literally on day 2, with an engine light and an idle like a washing machine with a brick in it. After some back and forth and arguing the selling dealer paid for a panoply of new engine parts to fix it - clearly I paid way too much initially, but maybe it's good value now?! - and that did help, but it's still not quite perfect. Idles cleanly and revs out fine, but it sometimes hesitates between 1500-200 RPM at light throttle when cold. More £££ to come, I'm sure, only this time with me paying. I don't expect a car to cost nothing, especially not a second-hand one, but this is still a bit disappointing. And from reading around it seems like I'm not the only N53 owner with this sort of problem, and if anything I got lucky. Just seems to be a flaky engine
On the plus side, the economy seems good at its best, and what I'd expect at its worst (best 35mpg, worst 20mpg - haven't done enough driving in it yet to get good averages). The car tax is low, same as my 330d and lower than the N52. And the engine has all the bits that were good about my 330d, only it manages to do all of them that bit better: revs cleanly, with a low-inertia feel; feels about the same at any RPM, low or high; has a nice edge to the engine noise once it gets going; has no qualms about reaching the rev limiter.
But being a non-turbo petrol, once above 2000rpm or so it picks up instantly the moment the pedal is pushed; the better power curve means it generally accelerates a lot more rapidly than the 330d ever did, and keeps going right to the end; and as it gets towards the redline there's a very satisfying sharp, hard, noisy edge to the engine note. Not the bitter end, but a nice sweet one. I never got bored of the way the 330d would rev and I'm doubtful I'll get bored of this either.
So that's good. But objectively it's still kind of bad overall, so far. I like it, but I don't know what I should actually think. Ask me again in a year's time. So, OK, this is useless advice. But thanks for listening... even if you ignored me. I just wanted to rant. And I've done it, and I feel better now.
Edited by to3m on Tuesday 23 January 01:02
to3m said:
The biggest difficulty I had was finding one I actually wanted to buy.
Off topic so OP can ignore I have that problem everytime I look for a car, it is almost like people that like driving the cars we do are really rare.
I was looking for a small, proper 4x4, petrol, automatic with 0-60 < 12 seconds without stupid car tax last weekend. The idea was to get something my wife could use as an everyday (she only drives autos) and I could maybe do some green laning in.
There are some older models, freelander and Rav4, but the only recentish model is a Grand Vitara 2.4, the prices are reasonable and they have pretty good road manners too apparently. They also have light and numb controls, non-adjustable steering wheel and the auto is not very good, still possibly worth a try as there is nothing else, I'll just have to wait until there is one for sale locally to see if I can reach the pedals and wheel at the same time.
I had an E92 325i with the 3.0 N53 engine.
It would achieve 38-42 mpg on a run. I normally averaged about 37mpg on the trip over a tank, which was more like 35mpg when calculated. I do mostly long journeys.
The N53 i had didn't develop any issues, though it did occasionally have a very slightly rough idle when cold, but that went away quickly. I did experience a slight hesitation at lower revs on several occasions, but nothing major.
It's a nice smooth engine and likes to rev all the way round to 7k rpm, but it always left me feeling a bit cold. It didn't make much of an impression and really lacked character. It's not a bad engine, don't get me wrong, but it's not a great engine.
And at idle it sounds like there's someone under the bonnet with a tambourine thanks to the high pressure injectors (i think?).
I sold the E92 and after a while tried to get hold of an E91 330i manual with the N52 engine, but failed miserably. I wasn't even that picky about spec! I prefer SE suspension but like the M-sport seats. I missed out on a 325i SE with the 2.5 N52, sports seats and a manual box.
In the end i switched to looking at a 130i. The M-sports are supposed to be a harsh ride so when an SE popped up for sensible money i snapped it up. It's very low on spec (cloth seats, no bodykit, business audio, etc), but that's ok. It makes a good sleeper as it looks like a 116i SE!
The 3.0 N52 is so much better than the N53 i had in the 325i. How much of that is down to tuning i don't know as the 325i has a detuned engine but the same capacity as the N53 3.0 in the later 330i.
The N52 sounds better and makes a lovely masculine roar at about 4k and sounds brilliant all the way round to 7k. It pulls really hard and is in a different league of performance compared to the 325i.
The idle sounds much nicer too.
MPG-wise the best i've seen is an 80 mile trip where i got it up to 39mpg, but that's not sustainable. In normal driving it's 33-35mpg when not using the performance. On another 80 mile trip where i was using the performance, overtaking, enjoying the noise, i saw an average of 28mpg, so i'm expecting it to do around 30-33 average. So roughly 3-5 mpg difference between the N53 and N52 in my experience.
HTH
It would achieve 38-42 mpg on a run. I normally averaged about 37mpg on the trip over a tank, which was more like 35mpg when calculated. I do mostly long journeys.
The N53 i had didn't develop any issues, though it did occasionally have a very slightly rough idle when cold, but that went away quickly. I did experience a slight hesitation at lower revs on several occasions, but nothing major.
It's a nice smooth engine and likes to rev all the way round to 7k rpm, but it always left me feeling a bit cold. It didn't make much of an impression and really lacked character. It's not a bad engine, don't get me wrong, but it's not a great engine.
And at idle it sounds like there's someone under the bonnet with a tambourine thanks to the high pressure injectors (i think?).
I sold the E92 and after a while tried to get hold of an E91 330i manual with the N52 engine, but failed miserably. I wasn't even that picky about spec! I prefer SE suspension but like the M-sport seats. I missed out on a 325i SE with the 2.5 N52, sports seats and a manual box.
In the end i switched to looking at a 130i. The M-sports are supposed to be a harsh ride so when an SE popped up for sensible money i snapped it up. It's very low on spec (cloth seats, no bodykit, business audio, etc), but that's ok. It makes a good sleeper as it looks like a 116i SE!
The 3.0 N52 is so much better than the N53 i had in the 325i. How much of that is down to tuning i don't know as the 325i has a detuned engine but the same capacity as the N53 3.0 in the later 330i.
The N52 sounds better and makes a lovely masculine roar at about 4k and sounds brilliant all the way round to 7k. It pulls really hard and is in a different league of performance compared to the 325i.
The idle sounds much nicer too.
MPG-wise the best i've seen is an 80 mile trip where i got it up to 39mpg, but that's not sustainable. In normal driving it's 33-35mpg when not using the performance. On another 80 mile trip where i was using the performance, overtaking, enjoying the noise, i saw an average of 28mpg, so i'm expecting it to do around 30-33 average. So roughly 3-5 mpg difference between the N53 and N52 in my experience.
HTH
Good point about the idle, which I forgot to mention. It's really the oddest thing, and sounds like nothing else I've heard. I hadn't thought of a tambourine - from inside the car it's sounded to me more like chirping crickets. And from the outside, more like somebody operating a pneumatic drill in a nearby street.
Funny, my n53 doesn't sound like a pneumatic drill in the next street. Maybe something wrong with yours 
They do sound like crickets inside a biscuit tin at idle but a lot of cars with direct injection do these days.
The n53 often gets compared to a diesel at idle but if you actually put one next to a diesel it's not really comparible, they are not THAT agricultural.
Agree on them feeling a bit soul-lacking but not sure why. Mine is joined to an auto (zf8) so perhaps that's something to do with it.
Main thing to look out for IMO is the injectors and if index 11 *should* be OK. The HPFP is same as n54 and n55 afaik. The coil packs are cheap enough.
Mechanical bits are comparible to n52 the block and chain etc are all the same.
They do sound like crickets inside a biscuit tin at idle but a lot of cars with direct injection do these days.
The n53 often gets compared to a diesel at idle but if you actually put one next to a diesel it's not really comparible, they are not THAT agricultural.
Agree on them feeling a bit soul-lacking but not sure why. Mine is joined to an auto (zf8) so perhaps that's something to do with it.
Main thing to look out for IMO is the injectors and if index 11 *should* be OK. The HPFP is same as n54 and n55 afaik. The coil packs are cheap enough.
Mechanical bits are comparible to n52 the block and chain etc are all the same.
Just my 2 penneth....
I have an E92 with the N53 engine (late 2007 model).
In terms of mpg, I generally get 33mpg 'ish' commuting, and up to 42mpg on a motorway cruise. (all from the computer....sorry!). I get some undiagnosed, odd running issue if I fill the tank right to the top - particularly over the first quarter of the tank - BMW are unable to diagnose and I cannot find anything else about this on the net?????? No related error codes but 'slight' misfiring and stalling at idle. Therefore I never fill to the top, but almost - problem solved......
When inside the car, the idle is hardly noticeable. I like the noise going through the rev range, but it can feel a bit muted. When outside the car, whilst it is idling, it can sound a 'little' odd as others have noted.
Mike
I have an E92 with the N53 engine (late 2007 model).
In terms of mpg, I generally get 33mpg 'ish' commuting, and up to 42mpg on a motorway cruise. (all from the computer....sorry!). I get some undiagnosed, odd running issue if I fill the tank right to the top - particularly over the first quarter of the tank - BMW are unable to diagnose and I cannot find anything else about this on the net?????? No related error codes but 'slight' misfiring and stalling at idle. Therefore I never fill to the top, but almost - problem solved......
When inside the car, the idle is hardly noticeable. I like the noise going through the rev range, but it can feel a bit muted. When outside the car, whilst it is idling, it can sound a 'little' odd as others have noted.
Mike
bmwmike said:
Funny, my n53 doesn't sound like a pneumatic drill in the next street. Maybe something wrong with yours
They do sound like crickets inside a biscuit tin at idle but a lot of cars with direct injection do these days.
The n53 often gets compared to a diesel at idle but if you actually put one next to a diesel it's not really comparible, they are not THAT agricultural.
Agree on them feeling a bit soul-lacking but not sure why. Mine is joined to an auto (zf8) so perhaps that's something to do with it.
Main thing to look out for IMO is the injectors and if index 11 *should* be OK. The HPFP is same as n54 and n55 afaik. The coil packs are cheap enough.
Mechanical bits are comparible to n52 the block and chain etc are all the same.
When I first bought my E91 330i N53, I ran it on regular supermarket fuel that my former car, an E39 520i was quite happy with. I soon found out that the engine started to get a bit lumpy and hiccuppy under idle, and my twin exhaust tips turned very sooty. I then started reading up online about the N53 issues, and after a scheduled service with my local main dealer, who saw fit to chuck a can of BMW's Petrol Additive into the tank for good measure and no explanation as to why, I took the advice issued by Honest John to use Shell V-Power Nitro (or similar) instead.They do sound like crickets inside a biscuit tin at idle but a lot of cars with direct injection do these days.
The n53 often gets compared to a diesel at idle but if you actually put one next to a diesel it's not really comparible, they are not THAT agricultural.
Agree on them feeling a bit soul-lacking but not sure why. Mine is joined to an auto (zf8) so perhaps that's something to do with it.
Main thing to look out for IMO is the injectors and if index 11 *should* be OK. The HPFP is same as n54 and n55 afaik. The coil packs are cheap enough.
Mechanical bits are comparible to n52 the block and chain etc are all the same.
Within a couple of tankfuls, I then noticed the engine had become significantly quieter, and no more hiccups at idle. After I cleaned up the exhaust tailpipes with some fine wire wool, they too remained pristinely clean, with only a light grey dusting after a long trip at motorway speeds. As far as I'm aware, the car is on the same injectors, coil packs and HPFP from new, the first owner having covered only ~8K miles. So, and without wishing to tempt fate, I have become convinced that, coil packs aside, these engines need the highest octane fuel possible with the cleaning additives included to remain trouble free in those areas.
Otherwise, you should regularly add a can of BMW's Fuel additive if you cannot locate a service station with the correct fuel. But beware the price. Some dealers want around £24 a can, but Cotswold BMW Hereford will post out to you for £8 each inc VAT. (Look for eBay item number 263420739589)
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