2006 e90? 330i info wanted please.
Discussion
Evening, i'm thinking of buying a 330i auto saloon in the very near future but need some answers.
I have had E36 and E46 cars for years and know them pretty much inside out, but the E90 is new to me.
What are the weak spots?
Does it have the electric water pump and injector problems of some later cars?
Is the 6sp auto box problematic?
Any other electrical gremlins at all?
How does it feel compared to the E46 330?
Cheers in advance.
Daz.
I have had E36 and E46 cars for years and know them pretty much inside out, but the E90 is new to me.
What are the weak spots?
Does it have the electric water pump and injector problems of some later cars?
Is the 6sp auto box problematic?
Any other electrical gremlins at all?
How does it feel compared to the E46 330?
Cheers in advance.
Daz.
I had a 2006 E90 330i auto for 4 years and it was completely faultless for me. The electric water pump will fail at some stage(although mine didn't). Some say change the auto gearbox oil although I've had the ZF6 auto in 3 Bmw's and never changed it.
The N52 engine is lovely and silky smooth and they are a really good all round car. I also had a 2006 E90 330d for 6 years so I'm a big fan of the E90 3 series.
The N52 engine is lovely and silky smooth and they are a really good all round car. I also had a 2006 E90 330d for 6 years so I'm a big fan of the E90 3 series.
Obison said:
Evening, i'm thinking of buying a 330i auto saloon in the very near future but need some answers.
I have had E36 and E46 cars for years and know them pretty much inside out, but the E90 is new to me.
What are the weak spots?
Does it have the electric water pump and injector problems of some later cars?
Is the 6sp auto box problematic?
Any other electrical gremlins at all?
How does it feel compared to the E46 330?
Cheers in advance.
Daz.
Was 2006 the transition between N52 and N53?I have had E36 and E46 cars for years and know them pretty much inside out, but the E90 is new to me.
What are the weak spots?
Does it have the electric water pump and injector problems of some later cars?
Is the 6sp auto box problematic?
Any other electrical gremlins at all?
How does it feel compared to the E46 330?
Cheers in advance.
Daz.
Both have electric waterpumps - expensive to replace.
Both are a bit leaky (N52 especially) - sump pan gasket, valve cover gasket and oil filter housing gasket
N53 has injector issues.
When on song, the N52 is certainly a v nice engine (have one in my E91 and also Z4) but definitely seems more niggly than the earlier M54 in the E46.
Autobox seems decent to me. From what I can make out if you want to change the fluid you need to take the bottom off.
E90 definitely feels (and imo looks) a lot more modern than the E46. Nice touches like the cooled cup holder under the arm rest, aux input for the stereo. Xenons worthwhile having.
I ran an E90 330 (06 plate, pre-LCI) for three years.
It was a much better built car than the E46 I ran before it. Both were bought at seven years old and 60-odd thousand miles. I had far fewer issues with the E90; the VANOS actuators failed and the fuel tank vent pipe had split (common fault on early cars because the vent pipe runs through the chassis, rubs and splits). Other than that it was nothing more than consumables.
The auto box was fine. It did all I asked of it and I was happy with it until I had a 330d loaner with the new ZF8.
I really liked the car; it was an OK size, didn’t feel too big to park of drive down a country road, was pretty comfy, brisk, made a lovely noise, Ok on fuel etc.
It was a much better built car than the E46 I ran before it. Both were bought at seven years old and 60-odd thousand miles. I had far fewer issues with the E90; the VANOS actuators failed and the fuel tank vent pipe had split (common fault on early cars because the vent pipe runs through the chassis, rubs and splits). Other than that it was nothing more than consumables.
The auto box was fine. It did all I asked of it and I was happy with it until I had a 330d loaner with the new ZF8.
I really liked the car; it was an OK size, didn’t feel too big to park of drive down a country road, was pretty comfy, brisk, made a lovely noise, Ok on fuel etc.
One thing to consider with the ZF6 'box is the filters are still pretty clean at 150k miles.
I have taken two apart, as have others.
I would drop the oil out of the pan, the remove the oil cooler and with a garden pressure pump, put in around 15-20 litres of oil, you will see if go from black to clear, you have at that point flushed it properly.
You can buy 20 litres on eBay for £72 delivered.
The difference is pretty amazing.
I have taken two apart, as have others.
I would drop the oil out of the pan, the remove the oil cooler and with a garden pressure pump, put in around 15-20 litres of oil, you will see if go from black to clear, you have at that point flushed it properly.
You can buy 20 litres on eBay for £72 delivered.
The difference is pretty amazing.
SlowV6 said:
Calling Mr Tidy. Your thread has arrived...
Thanks - here I am! 
I think the facelift on the E9* 3 series was in early 2007, so any 330i before that will be a pre-facelift with the N52 engine. You can tell as the N52 is quoted as 258bhp, whereas the facelift with the N53 engine is quoted as 272bhp and is a band or two lower for road tax. But I read somewhere that the pre-facelifts have a chilled cup-holder under the arm-rest which the facelifts don't have - if that matters!
While the N52 does have the electric water pump and can suffer oil leaks from the cam-cover the later N53 also has an electric water pump, and can also suffer from injector and High Pressure Fuel Pump issues. Plus the N53 seems to be prone to getting a coked-up induction manifold - I think it may be related to the N53 being a Direct Injection engine. Some say it doesn't sound as good as the N52 either. From what I have read I believe both can suffer from failed coil-packs, but a coil isn't that dear.
I bought an 06 plate E91 325i (smaller N52) in 2018 that had done 132K miles - and at 135K the electric water pump died.
But at that mileage it may have been it's 2nd one! Earlier this year I replaced it with an E90 330i (manual) on 107K miles and it still runs really well. I suspect it may have had a water pump, but I don't know - I'll wait and see given that they tend to cost £250+ before fitting. 
In the last 5 years I've also had 2 E86 BMW Z4s with the N52 engine. My 1st got to 60K miles and 9 years before the water pump died - sadly my Indy bought that one from BMW so it cost just over £500! But many places sell the Pierburg water pump (which is what BMW fitted) much cheaper than that. I think it usually comes as a kit with a gasket and new fitting bolts, which are crucial as everything bolted to the block on the N52 is fitted with single-use aluminium bolts to prevent issues from differential expansion rates given the material used for the block.
Anyway, that's probably enough drivel from me - in simple terms I think the N52 is a great engine, especially in 3 litre form. The water pump thing doesn't put me off when you get a straight 6 that loves to chase the 7,000rpm red-line - it's a price I'm happy to pay!
Before I bought my E91 325i I had an E46 325ti for 3 years - the Compact was much more "darty" to drive, but way less refined - which may be a good thing or not, depending on your POV. But like all E46s mine was getting crusty!
Edited by Mr Tidy on Tuesday 8th October 00:30
My 330 was still on the original water pump when I sold it at 97k.
Is this a more recent issue? I only ask because I don’t remember it being mentioned when I was researching the E90. The vent pipe came up as did a recall for sticky door handles.
The pre direct injection engines do sound nicer, especially at tick over where the later cars can sound a bit diesel like.
Is this a more recent issue? I only ask because I don’t remember it being mentioned when I was researching the E90. The vent pipe came up as did a recall for sticky door handles.
The pre direct injection engines do sound nicer, especially at tick over where the later cars can sound a bit diesel like.
Thanks for the input guys, much appreciated, i think I'm happy to go for one, theres one near me for sale at the moment, i can ask the seller if the pumps been done and budget accordingly.
The oil leaks I'm used to as the m52 and m54 can have the same issues.
I'll let you know how i get on.
Cheers,
Daz.
The oil leaks I'm used to as the m52 and m54 can have the same issues.
I'll let you know how i get on.
Cheers,
Daz.
Mr Tidy said:
I think the facelift on the E9* 3 series was in early 2007, so any 330i before that will be a pre-facelift with the N52 engine. You can tell as the N52 is quoted as 258bhp, whereas the facelift with the N53 engine is quoted as 272bhp and is a band or two lower for road tax. But I read somewhere that the pre-facelifts have a chilled cup-holder under the arm-rest which the facelifts don't have - if that matters!
It does! Quite a cool (no pun intended) feature. Not sure why they removed it on the facelift models. (Admittedly never used it but tbf it it's my wife's car and we've not done any long road trips in it).Court_S said:
My 330 was still on the original water pump when I sold it at 97k.
Is this a more recent issue? I only ask because I don’t remember it being mentioned when I was researching the E90. The vent pipe came up as did a recall for sticky door handles.
The pre direct injection engines do sound nicer, especially at tick over where the later cars can sound a bit diesel like.
From what I've read, the waterpump failures can occur at mileage as low as 60k but there are people out there with >100k miles and no issues.Is this a more recent issue? I only ask because I don’t remember it being mentioned when I was researching the E90. The vent pipe came up as did a recall for sticky door handles.
The pre direct injection engines do sound nicer, especially at tick over where the later cars can sound a bit diesel like.
As mentioned, the issue is the lack of temp gauge. First indication of an issue can be a warning light and the car going into limp mode.
Also worth mentioning the lack of dipstick. Can be frustrating.
Obison said:
Thanks for the input guys, much appreciated, i think I'm happy to go for one, theres one near me for sale at the moment, i can ask the seller if the pumps been done and budget accordingly.
The oil leaks I'm used to as the m52 and m54 can have the same issues.
I'll let you know how i get on.
Cheers,
Daz.
Good luck. The oil leaks I'm used to as the m52 and m54 can have the same issues.
I'll let you know how i get on.
Cheers,
Daz.
Note for the sump pan gasket, the subframe needs to come out = ££ labour (unless you can do it yourself).
Can'y beat a BMW straight six, have had an M20, M50, M52 and most recently the M54 and N52.
Vee said:
The fuel breather pipes eventually leak when the tank is full.
It is pain to sort out and pretty expensive.
I just got into a routine of filling it up to three quarters full after I realised mine was leaking in the 330d. I never found out whether it leaked on the 330i though because I'd learned from the experience with the 330d. It is pain to sort out and pretty expensive.
One thing that did annoy me with the 330d with the normal headlights was that if you used the auto lights you will get through bulbs pretty quickly, and I changed three of them and it was a bit of a fiddly job to do. So again on the 330i I just switched the auto lights off.
Xenons are the way forward if you can find one with them for sure.
Mr Tidy said:
I think the facelift on the E9* 3 series was in early 2007
September 2008 was the saloon/touring facelift. All 08 plates are pre-facelift, whilst most 58 plates are facelift. Some early 58 plate cars can be either. Note that the facelift didn't coincide with the engine changes, as the N53 replaced the N52 from September 2007.I have a rebuilt E36 328 and been tooling around in my mum's E90 330D this week. It's a 2006 car with 120k miles and I have really been enjoying it.
The auto 'box is a bit slow and you need to bin the run flats as they make the back end a little jittery. But a very likeable car. And it quite likes to oversteer at will...
The auto 'box is a bit slow and you need to bin the run flats as they make the back end a little jittery. But a very likeable car. And it quite likes to oversteer at will...
SidewaysSi said:
I have a rebuilt E36 328 and been tooling around in my mum's E90 330D this week. It's a 2006 car with 120k miles and I have really been enjoying it.
The auto 'box is a bit slow and you need to bin the run flats as they make the back end a little jittery. But a very likeable car. And it quite likes to oversteer at will...
I really liked the E90 330d when I had it and I liked it even more when I had a E90 330i a few years later. A brilliant all round car the 330d is and I preferred it overall to the 330i...and I really didn't expect that if I'm honest. The auto 'box is a bit slow and you need to bin the run flats as they make the back end a little jittery. But a very likeable car. And it quite likes to oversteer at will...
cerb4.5lee said:
SidewaysSi said:
I have a rebuilt E36 328 and been tooling around in my mum's E90 330D this week. It's a 2006 car with 120k miles and I have really been enjoying it.
The auto 'box is a bit slow and you need to bin the run flats as they make the back end a little jittery. But a very likeable car. And it quite likes to oversteer at will...
I really liked the E90 330d when I had it and I liked it even more when I had a E90 330i a few years later. A brilliant all round car the 330d is and I preferred it overall to the 330i...and I really didn't expect that if I'm honest. The auto 'box is a bit slow and you need to bin the run flats as they make the back end a little jittery. But a very likeable car. And it quite likes to oversteer at will...
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