[06az330i]

Im sure I am not the only Man to have more then a couple of issues with my E90. Ill tell you now, its a love/hate relationship. Here are a couple of those experiences and a few tips for you if you also come across them.

1- driver side window switch stopped working but would come on and off intermittently...
the fix; I had to chase down a bad wire in the door jam. The switch was fine but due to poor design, water gets into and behind the rubber cover for the wire harness. If you remove the rubber cover and open the harness, you might notice a little bit of corrosion where the male side of the harness breaks off in the female side. You can splice and repair those wires for about 2 bucks from the dealership, but it requires a special crimp. they sell those crimps with about a foot of wire. The dealer ship charged someone like 450 to replace that harness when all you need is a simple splice and crimp.

2- Broken head bolt (N52 Engine) under the air intake behind oil filter housing.
the fix- 5 bucks for an (M9) set of 4 bolts from the dealership- you only need one but they sell the set of 4. You’ll have to loosen the air intake manifold and pull it back. Be careful not to pull to hard as there are some hoses in the back of the Valve cover that are heated and VERY BRITTLE. The Broken bolt is typically very easy to remove and soft. so you can easy it out with relative ease. This job should only take you about 1 hour. I mentioned the M9 bolt so you know how hard to torque it... You should only need to pull the intake back a few inches to get access to that bolt.

3 leaking oil filter housing gasket
the fix- 20 bucks for less for the gasket. I lost 1/10 of one quart of oil. and maybe a little more coolant.. I did this by parking the car the night before and let the fluids settle. if you are careful you can remove the housing by pulling the intake manifold back if you are doing the bolt at the same time, but not needed if you don’t have a broken bolt. The dealer ship or indy shop will tell you that its a 4 hour job... nonsense. its a 1-2 hour job and if you are careful and follow some of the DIY’s you won’t need an oil or coolant change. (again if it sits over night and you’re careful) when you remove the housing I lost very little and was able to bleed the coolant (12 minutes) and be done with that job yourself. Don’t spend 400 at an indy shop or 1000+ at the dealership if you have a little bit of time and few tools. remember to cover your alternator and belts with bags and towels...

4- Seat belt and air bag light in dash.... (so annoying) CC ID 97

the fix- electrical grease..... there is a black wire on top of your battery and it has a resistance issue. the dealer ship will tell you that you need to replace the wire. Nonsense... pull the only black wire apart and spread some (electrical grease) on the ends and place back together. you will have to have someone reset the code but it should fix the issue.... also make sure that wire is seated in is little placement in the top of the battery harness.


These are just a few of my issues that were big and a couple of points that I didn’t see on any DIY’s.

other fixes.

Electric water pump
spark plugs
engine mounts
tranny mounts
shocks and struts + mounts.
upper and lower control arms
sway bar linkage
valve cover seal
halo lights and xenon head lights
paint restoration with orbital polisher.

plus more but I forget now

till next time I have another issue

[rick100]

why don't you get rid of the car, it looks like you have a lemon. Trade it in for something better.

[v6turbo]

How many miles on this car? I have an 06 330i with 78k miles and not experienced any of the problems you mentioned.

[06az330i]

Ive fixed most of the major issues and some of the stuff is just wear and tear. but the interior looks great and I have restored the paint to look great too.. I am happy with it but I have def had my fair share of issues. I wasn’t here to complain about it I just had a few issues that can be resolved easier then one would think. So i wanted to share with others so they might bypass the extra hours looking like I did.

[Delta0311]

Originally Posted by rick100

why don't you get rid of the car, it looks like you have a lemon. Trade it in for something better.

It's not a lemon, these are fairly common issues with a high milage car. Just because it is a BMW does not mean it's indestructible. If it is high milage then the trade in value would be low and maybe the OP does not have the cash on hand for a decent down payment, so he will ride this one out till it does. Unless your swimming in cash I doubt that you trade your car in every time a problem surfaces.

[06az330i]

I have 100250 on it. I also live in AZ so its really hot here and it can really mess up your plastics and hoses.

[Bmr3sn]

Lemon? As stated earlier, those are very common problems with these vehicles.

[paddy335]

Common individually maybe but to get all of them on one car....its a lemon... I would have flicked it long ago

[mike3000fl]

You're a little late to the party but welcome anyhow. Those are common issues. You are going to be really pissed when the rear window regulators go out along with a power door lock actuator. All common issues.

[3s4u2]

06 325i now has 215,889 on it. This car has been an amazingly dependable car

Cam Sensors, Intake / Exhaust Solenoids http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=645198

Starter

Every 50,000:
Coolant
S belt
Trans Fluid change
Brake Fluid
Power Steering Fluid

100,000 then 200,000 tune:
New coils / sparks

Engine mount bolts sheared off engine block after wife ran over small bolder that somehow found her! Had to tap remove and replace mount to engine bolts right side.

Still has the original Water Pump, don't know what to say about that other than maintenance, maintenance and maintenance!

I am beginning to think the 06 325-330 is the most dependable E90 built!

[CSBM5]

Originally Posted by 3s4u2

I am beginning to think the 06 325-330 is the most dependable E90 built!

My wife's E90 330i we ordered and took delivery of almost 8 years ago now has been incredibly reliable. It's got 119k miles now. Very few issues since new. Between warranty expiration and 100k miles, it had one issue -- right front door lock actuator. When spark plugs and valve cover gasket were done at 100k, the oil filter housing gasket was done too (minor leak). The starter was sounding weak at about 105k, and everything else checked out (new battery), so I replaced it. Just last week the left rear door lock actuator died and is fixed now. Overall, this has been an incredibly reliable car the past 8 years, far exceeded my expectations (most reliable car I've owned in almost 40 years of driving). We've always done 7k mile oil changes and switched to Mobil 1 0W40 after warranty period -- cams, inside valve cover, etc, looked almost like new at 100k miles.

My 2011 E90 M3 now has 24k miles on it (in service date is Nov 2010), and it has never had any issue since new...no problems, no warranty claims. Overall, the E90 has been (for me, so far, knock on wood) a very reliable platform.

[Malibu1]

Originally Posted by rick100

why don't you get rid of the car, it looks like you have a lemon. Trade it in for something better.

I have had an E30, E36, E46 and E90. Only the E30 did not have issues.

The cause:
Poor Engineering.
Poor R&D.
Poor Manufacturing.

E30>E36>E46>E90>FXX. I finally figured it out!

[Mardio]

I sold my 06 325 with 89k, very reliable and not one issue besides routine service. I think these cars are hit and miss.