Deferred maintenance

[10"]

Originally Posted by rowsdower

It's not silly, it's pragmatic. The time you spend replacing the pump is also lost, just like the time lost on the side of the road waiting for AAA. The difference is you know for sure you're losing that time but the person who does not replace their pump may not need to, and may not ever waste any time at a mechanic. And I get your point about the unpredictability of it - it may fail at an inopportune time. But I would argue that if your life is such that you are commonly in time-sensitive situations, you should not be driving a 5-10 year old German car. When I absolutely need to be somewhere, I take my brand new Toyota. The 1er is my reasonably reliable, probably gets me there, fun car.

My point is that it isn't a wear item with x number of miles or a measurement you can take to determine its life. The 60-80k figure is mostly a guess, but there are many pumps that fail far lower and many that don't fail, even on cars well over 100k. They fail between zero miles and never, and it's not as though there is a more robust alternative that you can install. You're installing the same flawed design, with the same high rate/erratic interval of failure. You will always be concerned about this if you are the type who gets concerned about this.

I would also point out that there are few threads on here about 128i failure. I don't know how similar the designs and operating parameters are but the threads that do pop up are almost always 135i drivers.

Huh? Are you really equating time spent at a mechanic doing preventative maintenance as time spent on the side of the road waiting for AAA?

Do you feel a wellness checkup at the doctor that lasts 2 hours is the same as 2 hours in an ambulance screaming in pain?

No they aren't equivalent. Ever...

This isn't paranoia. This is practicality. Fortunately most 1er owners can easily do a quick search and find hundreds and hundreds of water pump failures documented here under 75k miles...

[________]

Originally Posted by 10"

Huh? Are you really equating time spent at a mechanic doing preventative maintenance as time spent on the side of the road waiting for AAA?

Do you feel a wellness checkup at the doctor that lasts 2 hours is the same as 2 hours in an ambulance screaming in pain?

No they aren't equivalent. Ever...

This isn't paranoia. This is practicality. Fortunately most 1er owners can easily do a quick search and find hundreds and hundreds of water pump failures documented here under 75k miles...

This is true.

Had I known, for example, that my pump would give out now, I probably would've bought it in the summer and replaced it myself.

Now that's so cold I'm scheduled for Monday at the dealer and will pay labour and a bit more for the parts. What can you do.

I guess we all live in denial because this pump is the worst thing they've done, and they know it (mechanical pumps on new cars).

[PA135ii]

Originally Posted by rowsdower

It’s not silly, it’s pragmatic. The time you spend replacing the pump is also lost, just like the time lost on the side of the road waiting for AAA. The difference is you know for sure you’re losing that time but the person who does not replace their pump may not need to, and may not ever waste any time at a mechanic. And I get your point about the unpredictability of it - it may fail at an inopportune time. But I would argue that if your life is such that you are commonly in time-sensitive situations, you should not be driving a 5-10 year old German car. When I absolutely need to be somewhere, I take my brand new Toyota. The 1er is my reasonably reliable, probably gets me there, fun car.

My point is that it isn’t a wear item with x number of miles or a measurement you can take to determine its life. The 60-80k figure is mostly a guess, but there are many pumps that fail far lower and many that don’t fail, even on cars well over 100k. They fail between zero miles and never, and it’s not as though there is a more robust alternative that you can install. You’re installing the same flawed design, with the same high rate/erratic interval of failure. You will always be concerned about this if you are the type who gets concerned about this.

I would also point out that there are few threads on here about 128i failure. I don’t know how similar the designs and operating parameters are but the threads that do pop up are almost always 135i drivers.

My WP failed at 72K and I would expect it to fail again between 130K - 140K.
I just would not feel comfortable driving the car past that mileage on the same WP. I'm currently at 127K and my car is in the shop for other crap.
Yellow engine light and 'service engine soon" lights came on the other day.
This car is becoming a maintenance nightmare. But I love my 135i, the thrill of punching it on the highway is intoxicating.

[rowsdower]

Agree to disagree, I guess.

Now watch - my water pump will fail next week!

[zx10guy]

Plus doing what you can for a planned repair job is always better than an unexpected one.

I can tell you I was holding my breath this past summer when I made an approximately 500 mile drive to the track. The roads I had to take weren't exactly through the most urban areas. Imagine breaking down in that situation.

[Happy Jose]

Most of this thread is sludge! If the engine get a synthetic oil change at least once a year, there won't be any sludge under the valve covers or any place else. We aren't living in the 1920s when that was a possibility.

As far as other stuff is concerned, you don't fix it until it breaks. The car will start giving you plenty of clues when the water pump is about to go. Worn shocks and struts give plenty of warning when they need replacing. Actually, the quality of these items are very good and can last a very long time even the life of the car.

Checking the coolant can be done by eye or test strips. Modern coolants also last a long time. A pen light and poking your head under the fender will reveal how much brake pad is left. I have Hawk Ceramic pads which I'll get at least 70K.

The pen light will also reveal if the OFHG is leaking. I'd say it's 100% for sure that'll leak at some point, but it isn't a big deal being a drip-drip kind of leak.

There is one or two biggies to worry about. The first is a pan gasket leak. The subframe has to be removed to fix it. If you have the DCT, you might also have leaks, a very serious problem. The car needs to go up on a lift and the covers taken off to see what's going on.

The serious problems with BMW will be of the esoteric kind and expensive to repair. They won't be easily detectable, but a scanner or a PPI would be a very good idea. In any case, these cars just aren't for people with short money or empty wallets. They'll put you in the poor house.

[NorthernDancer]

If I were looking at buying a 1 series, maintenance records (even the owners hand written ones) would be hugely important (especially for 135's) Also, its easy to look at date code on tires and underneath the valve cover oil fill cap. I might ask to see the cabin filter. Air filter too difficult to check quickly. If I didn't know these cars, I would try and bring along someone who does. And, depending upon the answers I get from owner, I would want a PPI.

[JimD]

If you review the sticky on the coolant pump you will see that most of the failures and almost all the early, less than 100K miles, failures are 135s, not 128s. The OP comments in post #459 that the turbo motors seem to fail around 60K and the non-turbo over 100K miles.

So I would not, and have not, spent the money for a coolant pump replacement on my 128i. It just went over 80K. I might around 100K miles. But my other observation is that it seems to be highly variable. The president of your local BMWCCA chapter had to have his replaced but it happened when he had about 135K miles on the car. The rate in the sticky is never above 20% of the cars for any model year. The 2008 and 2009 models have to be well up into the supposed "danger range" by now. I may just run it until it breaks or shows obvious signs it is going to. I don't have multiple vehicles any more so it will be a hassle if I get stranded but I have AAA and can just rent a car while it is repaired if I have to. It would save some money to just buy the parts and replace it (probably at least $1000) but if the chance of having to spend the "big bucks" remains something like 1 in 5, it is probably better to take my chances.

[JimVonBaden]

Originally Posted by JimD

If you review the sticky on the coolant pump you will see that most of the failures and almost all the early, less than 100K miles, failures are 135s, not 128s. The OP comments in post #459 that the turbo motors seem to fail around 60K and the non-turbo over 100K miles.

So I would not, and have not, spent the money for a coolant pump replacement on my 128i. It just went over 80K. I might around 100K miles. But my other observation is that it seems to be highly variable. The president of your local BMWCCA chapter had to have his replaced but it happened when he had about 135K miles on the car. The rate in the sticky is never above 20% of the cars for any model year. The 2008 and 2009 models have to be well up into the supposed "danger range" by now. I may just run it until it breaks or shows obvious signs it is going to. I don't have multiple vehicles any more so it will be a hassle if I get stranded but I have AAA and can just rent a car while it is repaired if I have to. It would save some money to just buy the parts and replace it (probably at least $1000) but if the chance of having to spend the "big bucks" remains something like 1 in 5, it is probably better to take my chances.

Agreed. I have 88K miles on mine, original pump. I am not overly worried about it. I can do it myself, and the cost for an aftermarket pump is under $300. I only put about 5K miles a year on it, so I am not worried at all.