[Closed] BMW's are they normally reliable?

In reality it sound like the cooling fan has broken, and you have a knocking noise.

CC could be anything really

and all the rest are consumables - cars use tyres and brakes! if you don't like that don't own one but they are pretty important to them functioning.

you will find all vehicles will develop faults - my philosophy is if it is simple enough and not too cheap to fix its not worth getting upset about - better to be in a car I know the history with recently replaced parts than an unknown "new" car

No more than any other car.

Marketings good though, and according to the other thread its "build quality" is good which means its a nice place to sit while waiting on the rac......because apparently build quality doesnt equate to reliability,

Front discs at 22k miles!
The front discs on my Ibiza were changed at 119k miles and 240k miles!
The rears don't last as long as they tend to corrode, but I still get about 60k miles out of them.

Do you do a lot of town driving?

We use them at work and whist not a very nice vehicle, imho, they do seem fairly reliable. Given how harsh they can be driven at times, from stone cold to going flat out they do Ok. I'd certainly not expect disc to be worn unless you ignored the pads needing changed which at about 20k is feasible.

I suspect your disks and pads didn't really need replacing at that point. I got my SMax nearly new and used the dealer for servicing for the first few years. Right from the first service they were giving me warnings about brake wear. I ignored them and kept an eye on them myself. I ultimately got about 4 years out of the rears and 5 - 6 years and 80k miles out of the fronts.

Anyway your accelerated tyre wear and brake wear and your knocking is probably more related to your fruity driving, and brake wear is not a reliability issue anyway. If your knocking turns out to be bush related (usually is) then that could also contribute to your tyre wear.

Some seem to go through rear tyres sooner than expected, particularly around the inner circumference
One bonnet catch (of two) went on a new (at the time) 63-plate. It did hold the bonnet closed but the sensor decided that it wasn't closed; the constant "ding-ding" couldn't be ignored
Apart from that no other issues

Mines currently sat outside my house with a completely seized engine after 42k with a bill of £14k to fix it. In fairness not a 320d but after bmw's total lack of interest in the issue, I won't be having another

Do the indicators still function ?

That's all we'd like to know 😆

I had a 120d which was fine up until it reached 4 years old. Then the whole ABS / ESP module packed up. BMW quoted £900 to replace and offered no contribution despite being a common failure and full dealer service history.

Took it to specialist who did repair using BMW's own reconditioned part (it happens that often) for £200. Traded it in after that.

Torquey rwd car going through rear tyres shouldn't be a surprise if you've got a heavy foot. Pads wouldn't be strange at that mileage but discs would. Did you inspect them when they came off?

Bikebouy - on mine they were an optional extra, not that it mattered as its done the grand total of 225 miles in the time I've had it so I wouldn't have used them anyway!

Pads and discs are not uncommon if you've been driving it hard - the tc uses the brakes to stop it sliding about which increases the wear rate significantly

Oooo £14k for 225 miles? Bargain! Sounds like supercar/exotica rates not dull but worthy German tackle... You sure you didn't buy a Pagani by mistake? 🙂

V10 engines cost that much to put right unfortunately. Especially when they've grenaded themselves like mine has.

That 14k is a reconditioned short block too. Any guesses on how much a set of 10 rods and Pistons from bmw is....?

The old 'discs/pads' trick is a classic main dealer chestnut. Did you ask to see the old ones after they fitted replacements?

Chances are there was nothing wrong with them.

BMW dealers change the pads and discs well before they are worn. The last time the wife took her 120d in for service it was the same story. I'd only just taken the winter wheels off it and checked the pads and discs. The discs had very little wear on them. The pads at least 6mm so not worn either so dealers told where to go.

Tyres and brakes are consumables, not too surprised you need tyres at 14k, but quite surprised you would need new pads and discs at that mileage, suspect you've been 'had' with regard to the brakes.

the cooling fan is a known problem, I had exactly the same with my 1.5 year old 1 series ,guessing it has the same cooling fan as yours, but presumably as its under 3 years old they did it under warranty, so no cost to you?

My 1 series has also needed a new turbo wastegate actuator, covered by warranty, but still a pain in the backside taking it to the dealer etc.

I have a 5 series but the fan went at 90K.

Still has original disc and pads which need replacing as the discs are getting wear lol

Unlucky?

I had a Mondeo bullet proof. 2nd Mondeo was fault after fault.

Could be bad luck but also question garages who replace parts when not needed.

Sounds like you've been ripped on pads and discs. Fan a known issue. We have 2 BMW's both been perfect... So far.

This makes interesting reading. I'm not totally convinced by the methodology but... it makes you think 🙂
http://www.reliabilityindex.com/top-100

In contrast, my nearly 2 year old M135i has needed nothing except its first service in 17k miles.

God knows what you're doing to need new discs, pads and tyres in that mileage.

The roof motor and pump mechanism failed on my wife's 3 series convertible at around 70k miles. The bill was £1900 but as it had been maintained at BMW they supplied the parts FOC but it still cost over £900 to put right.

My 318d tourer has had new track rod ends at just over 50k miles and is now need some lower suspension arm bushes replacing at 70k. Both the above have accelerated tyre wear on the front.

The convertible has now gone but I still have the tourer and would buy another one. Regularly get over 600 miles to a tank of fuel and even when pushing it through the Welsh hills this week returned over 49mpg.

In contrast, my nearly 2 year old M135i has needed nothing except its first service in 17k miles.

God knows what you're doing to need new discs, pads and tyres in that mileage.

for balance - My also nearly 2 year old m135i has needed two new rear tyres, a new cooling fan, a new turbo wastegate actuator, and a software update on the idrive thing in 18k miles.

I'm convinced the disc, pads and sensors are a con.

As I say it was serviced routinely, and not one thing was noted as part worn, yet 5k miles later apparently the discs are shot and the pads have gone.

When I asked why I wasn't advised that the pads had nearly gone at the service, they then had the cheek to say that's why they had to replace the sensors as they were faulty and hadn't picked up the wear. Ah ok, so that then implies they don't do a visual check of disc and pads at service! What exactly do you get for your £450 service bill !!??

As I say none of this matters to me as the lease company picks up the bill. However it puts me right off owning a BMW privately

And now I have a car with a fault over the Christmas period when we are going to be travelling to see relatives etc. More annoying than anything that the cruise won't work, hopefully not a safety thing, all the cruise does work the brakes...

it's on a service plan that someone else is paying for. Of course they are going to milk it.
Don't worry you aren't paying for it and have got new brakes all round. What's not to like?

Someone has to pay for the Christmas party. FunkyDunc, thank you and a merry Christmas from all the staff at BMW

I've had 2 and found them reliable. Current one is on 40k miles and had 4 tyres at 29k and oil service at just under 25k.

Had a M3 CSL for 3 years & though a superb car Jeez every time it went in is was Oh sir can we have this kindney of yours ... in the end I told them, after having it inspected by a local specialist what I wanted doing & No more, this was done to keep the service books all correct & the car under extended warranty, but they will lift your leg if possible.

Sold it for a tidy sum more than I paid but recently they have doubled in value, would I have another BMW hmmm possible but a lot of other cars out there with probably better after sales service and running costs.

As already pointed out No BMW's aren't partlicularly reliable. German cars haven't ben very reliable for years.

[url= http://www.reliabilityindex.com/manufacturer ]BMW Reliability[/url]

But there are a few things to note about the brakes. Higher performance cars tend to go through brakes pads quicker. Stronger brakes = greater forces on the discs and softer pads. In the same way that performance pads wear out faster on bikes. BMW replace pads at 50% - just in time for the sensors to wear through so you have to replace those too. Bit of a poor design if you ask me.

Tyres wear fast depending on how you drive, plus what the tyres are made of. 14k for the rears sounds pretty good. My mini used to go through Yoko's in under 5k - but it cornered like a blue bottle!

I would have said if you want reliable buy Japanese. But my Civic hasn't been amazing, so I'm wondering if it's just old people comparing it to their previous Rovers?!

But there are a few things to note about the brakes. Higher performance cars tend to go through brakes

It's a 320d.

Were have you learned BMW replace pads at 50%?

X3, 55 plate, put 90,000 miles on it after buying it a few years ago wth 65,000 on it.

It never missed a beat until it developed a short that ran the battery down every 2 days. Got shot of it but to be fair, it was reliable right up to then .

Of course you need to factor in the roads that folk drive on.....lots of city roads with road humps, harsh acceleration and braking and excessive speed over speed humps will soon do for tracking, track rod ends, lower ball joints, suspension bushings etc etc etc......locally normal driving round our way can knacker control arm bushes within a couple of years and snaps Ford Fiesta front springs like they're going out of fashion.... That and all the crappy pot holes/sunken drains....
But if you're Beemers being given motorway miles and rural open Scottish Roads it's going to wear the components a lot less unless it's being driven like a WRC or touring car.

touring car.

It is a touring car, well that's what BMW call it.

To be fair journey is quite abrasive. 40 mile commute a day starting on a crappy knackered country lane, followed by nasty speed bumps, followed by a few miles of lovely country roads up hill & down dale 🙂

Thing is though I've had far less expensive cars that have coped with it.

Oh and on the list, I forgot to mention the headlight unit that had to be replaced at the same time as the fan as it was full of condensation!

😆
Yeah GT and Touring cars......I think manufacturers these days make them for continental roads not our crappy UK roads.......what you need is bigger wheels...think fatty but in car build 😆

Automatic?

We have a 2 year old 320i and have had no problems with it at all, other than a puncture.
I've also been running a 120d company car since May, again with no problems.

Tempting fate here, but had several company BMWs with no faults at all. Certainly didn't have any premature brake disc or pad wear.

We've got 2 320d tourers, both on c 170000, no major problems.

All but one of your items are consumables and if you only got 14k out the tyres I'm not surprised at the rest

Not so sure the dealer has been ripping you off. I'd have thought the leasing company would be asking some pretty searching questions about whether they actually needed replacement. Sounds like you've been ragging it tbh.

By contrast I've got a 16 month 320d with 60k on the clock. Rear tyres were replaced at x3 the mileage you got (45k) and there's still 4mm on the fronts. Our company has dozens of 320's and I've not heard anyone complaining about reliability. I've also had 3 other Beamers over the years (petrol and diesel) and I honestly can't remember anything of note other than service items and the odd minor fault. Certainly more reliable than the dozens of other cars I've owned and driven.

for balance - My also nearly 2 year old m135i has needed two new rear tyres, a new cooling fan, a new turbo wastegate actuator, and a software update on the idrive thing in 18k miles.

Oooh I can beat that. 4 new tyres in 16k miles (ahem), cracked sump (apparently spontaneous) so bottom part of the engine replaced, and replaced cooling fan, ECU upgrade (the known 'fan issue' on the M135i) Fortunately all except the tyres was done on warranty. The dealership were quite nice about it, and I got a 235i courtesy car 8)

I love the thing.