What is the average life of a 128i engine

[Gray_Panther]

TBH, you have one of the most popular engines manufactured by BMW. The same engine used on hundreds of thousands of 1, 3 and 5 series. Your main concern, knowing that you live in Toronto, will be the road salt eating away at the body over the years. Metal is metal and the body will begin to corrode. The engine is protected with the plastic underbody and the engine will last much longer than the body. Maintenance is paramount, so making sure there are no oil leaks and keeping the engine tuned up should present no significant issues.

If you want some real world issues, head over to the N52/51 engine sub forums for the 1 and 3 series and write down how many engine issues people have on the first three pages. Then do the same on the N54/55 subforums and you will notice a significant increase between the two.

As for personal experience, my family had a 528i and we still have an X3 with the n52 engines....120k and 89k respectively with no engine issues at all.

[lowbudgethero]

No, obviously not, but bmw has been producing inline sixes for a long time, assuming that they have, at the very least, the same longevity targets as previous models you can guess how long they can last. This was never a truly scientific discussion to begin with. Most newer cars from what I've seen with high miles has everything fall apart around the drive train, I'd be willing to bet you'd start getting sick of sinking money into a depreciated car before you have to replace the motor.

[JimD]

One of my daughters is driving a Corolla with over 240K miles. The other daughter got a new RAV4 and we have her old Jeep with over 180K as a spare. Neither has had significant engine work. Both got regular oil changes. My other vehicle is a SUV with over 110K miles. None of these vehicles need oil added between changes.

The only unusual thing about the n52 is the silicon aluminum block with no iron cylinder liners. Porsche has been using that design for a long time but they aren't known as high mileage sort of vehicles.

Reasonable expectation these days is for the engine to last indefinitely with proper maintenance.

[Billup]

No mods, basic maintenance service, and the engine will last as long as you stay proactive. From what I can tell, the motor itself is built very well and has done me well as a commuter car.

I'm about to turn 114,000 mi. and drive a pretty good mix of highway and city, and take it on a lot of trips back home from NC to MI.

10/10, would drive over and over again. In fact, I will happily in about 4 hours.

[Suhb]

I'm at 72k miles. The only thing that needed "fixing" so far is the oil filter housing gasket. Everything else has been maintenance.

[Wakka]

Originally Posted by Suhb

I'm at 72k miles. The only thing that needed "fixing" so far is the oil filter housing gasket. Everything else has been maintenance.

im at 65k and i need to do that. did you do it yourself or did you have a shop do it?

Trying to decide if it is worth the attempt at the DIY. its only a 20$ gasket.

[NIB]

gee! I just bought a used 2009 BMW 128i non iDRIVE Convertible noticed that mine fairly used bought 2009 128i BMW non iDRIVE convertible shows the SOS sign, with consequent loss of the Bluetooth function and audible which was working before. The radio works and CD works. Can this failure effect the performance of the Engine. This condition has been on for days now, even with offing and restarting the Engine. Mine car shakes with resonance at low speed and increases with the speed. It was checked and was told the engine is fine only the Oil level sensor needs to be changed. really afraid that mine engine will not last. Can any body advice

[ulrichd]

Here is my schedule. It has served me well on my 09 128 as well my previous two MINIs.

[Xyloft]

Originally Posted by NIB

gee! I just bought a used 2009 BMW 128i non iDRIVE Convertible noticed that mine fairly used bought 2009 128i BMW non iDRIVE convertible shows the SOS sign, with consequent loss of the Bluetooth function and audible which was working before. The radio works and CD works. Can this failure effect the performance of the Engine. This condition has been on for days now, even with offing and restarting the Engine. Mine car shakes with resonance at low speed and increases with the speed. It was checked and was told the engine is fine only the Oil level sensor needs to be changed. really afraid that mine engine will not last. Can any body advice

how many miles? the radio won't impact the engine's performance.

The vibration is not normal though. it could be misfiring cylinders, unbalanced tires or alignment or about 50 other things.

[brocklanders]

I've had BMW's for the past 12 yrs six cars and a motorcycle. Every one of them has had valve cover leaks, except my current one because it only has 18k miles. There were problems with the ones with some milage and it was expensive but in my experience BMW makes bullet proof engines, it's just everything thats bolted on to them thats the problem.

[IEDEI]

Originally Posted by Pkaia524

I'm at 160,000 miles on a N51. Zero engine troubles. 90% hwy miles.

My engine maintenance intervals are:
BMW OEM oil/Mann filter - 7,500 miles
Mann air filter - 30,000 miles
Bosch spark plugs - 60,000 miles
Serpentine belt - 60,000 miles
BMW Coolant - 2 yrs and every water pump replacement
Water pump & tstat replacement - 120,000 miles (as preventive maintenance)

i plan on:
replacing upper and lower radiator hoses at next coolant change,
replacing coils at 180,000 mile spark plug change.

120k miles is too long to wait for a Water Pump and T-Stat replacement. By all accounts these parts tend to go around 60k-80k miles so you CAN wait, but their chances of failing dramatically increase after 60k miles according to most people who work on these cars.

the N51/N52 use the exact same part as the N54 and ALSO fail at the same intervals.....have nothing to do with turbos or no turbos.

[Pkaia524]

you should read the water pump poll. Failure is not as common as you think.

[IEDEI]

Originally Posted by Pkaia524

you should read the water pump poll. Failure is not as common as you think.

these N5X engines have been used in a LOT more cars than the 1-series....and in 3-series it is also known as a common failure after 60k miles. If you search the 3-series forums you will find lots of failures....

http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=725313

i'm not saying that a water pump MUST fail....but it is certainly a known part of failure which will leave you stranded on the side of the road; so quite important, IMO.

[Pkaia524]

Now at 193,100 miles. No engine troubles at all since I bought the car at 35K miles. BTW, this water pump now at 73,000 miles and I'm not planning any preventive replacement until I hit 240,000 miles (if I keep the car that long).

Did replace all coils and plugs at 191,000 mile tune up.

[Lucky1]

Originally Posted by Pkaia524

Now at 193,100 miles. No engine troubles at all since I bought the car at 35K miles. BTW, this water pump now at 73,000 miles and I'm not planning any preventive replacement until I hit 240,000 miles (if I keep the car that long).

Did replace all coils and plugs at 191,000 mile tune up.

At 107,000 miles and still on the original water pump with no plans to replace it pre-emptively as I've gathered not everyone ends up having a problem with theirs.

[yankee2]

Originally Posted by five_timer

What is this based on? Do you know of a current BMW that didn't last long? And what level of maintenance is required? Over 20 years and 5 BMWs, mine have required almost nothing but standard oil changes up to 60K miles. There's more to do at 60K, but nothing out of the ordinary. The water pump's the only item to watch after that, if you have the N51/N52.

As a general principal, the better you take care of anything, the longer it should last, and that must apply to Bimmers as well as anything else. Of course, as far as engine durability is concerned, changing the oil is practically the only thing that matters (there are a few other maintainance items that also matter). Most everything else will affect how well it runs more than how long it lasts.

[desertman123]

Someone on E90Post has 300k I think.

[chris_flies]

167k miles. Going strong! It has 3 track days under its belt, one in extreme heat, one in extreme cold, and one was just perfect. I've got to do a coolant flush, just to make sure everything is in-order, and my alternator's bearings are very noisy, but it charges just fine. If you're looking for a reliable, fun, sporty, German coupé, look no further...unless you have money, and the capacity to buy turbos for a 135i, then get one of those instead...

N52, 6-Speed, BTW.

[Esteban]

Originally Posted by desertman123

Someone on E90Post has 300k I think.

That's a lot of miles! That BMW N/A straight six is like the Energizer Bunny, it just keeps going and going and going...

[WDE82]

Originally Posted by Lucky1

At 107,000 miles and still on the original water pump with no plans to replace it pre-emptively as I've gathered not everyone ends up having a problem with theirs.

I think it's a high enough failure rate to warrant replacement at 100,000 miles at the LATEST. Overheating a BMW I6 means head gasket loss and a warped head, or at least that's what it meant on the M54. I'm taking no chances on that when I can absolutely prevent it with a few hours work on a weekend.

[02Pilot]

Originally Posted by WDE82

I think it's a high enough failure rate to warrant replacement at 100,000 miles at the LATEST. Overheating a BMW I6 means head gasket loss and a warped head, or at least that's what it meant on the M54. I'm taking no chances on that when I can absolutely prevent it with a few hours work on a weekend.

Coming out of an E39 525i, I had the same reflexive aversion to any hint of overheating, but conversations with several pro techs changed my thinking as far as the N5x motors. I'm sure it's quite possible to warp the head with prolonged overheating, but it's nowhere near as prone to it as the M54.

That said, I preemptively replaced my water pump and thermostat at 100k on my E82. Failure and overheating is still not a preferred outcome.

[WDE82]

Yeah I'd rather not wait a couple hours for a tow truck on the highway or where ever it does it whether the engine is going to be okay or not.