N54 engine - interesting SIB

[X5 Meister]

Hopefully will not apply to anyone here. SIB 125506

[JCL]

No such luck. I have an E60 with the N54, built Sept 07. I had three of the symptoms listed (starting with the extended cranking time) for a few days, and didn't take it to the dealer until the SES light latched and remained on.

Dealer diagnosed high pressure fuel pump, it was fixed by the next day, and it hasn't recurred. They got me in to the shop on an hour's notice, which I appreciated, but they had no loaners on that short notice, so they procured a rental Lumina for me. Could have been worse.

I see in the SIB that BMWNA has extended the warranty on this pump to 10 years. I should call and see if BMW of Canada is doing the same.

Reading through the very detailed diagnostic procedure, it reinforces in my mind that nobody will be restoring these vehicles ten or more years out, and independent shops really have an uphill battle to be able to keep current and hope to be able to offer repairs on engines with this level of complexity.

[Fraser]

Originally Posted by JCL

Reading through the very detailed diagnostic procedure, it reinforces in my mind that nobody will be restoring these vehicles ten or more years out, and independent shops really have an uphill battle to be able to keep current and hope to be able to offer repairs on engines with this level of complexity.

You're dead right. Increasingly, these are the sort of vehicles that you take to a dealer to be fixed, or you take them no-where. Not just BMWs, all high-end stuff.

[X5 Meister]

I'd go even farther than that. These are vehicles that you take to a dealer to be fixed UNDER WARRANTY and when the warranty is gone it's time to get rid of the car, pronto.

Originally Posted by Fraser

You're dead right. Increasingly, these are the sort of vehicles that you take to a dealer to be fixed, or you take them no-where. Not just BMWs, all high-end stuff.

[Fraser]

Originally Posted by X5 Meister

I'd go even farther than that. These are vehicles that you take to a dealer to be fixed UNDER WARRANTY and when the warranty is gone it's time to get rid of the car, pronto.

Unfortunately, you're probably right. And I mentioned high-end vehicles but these is so much high-tech stuff migrating down to mid-price cars that this is not just a problem relating to the BMWs, Audis and MBs of the world. The other day I was driving a friend's new Citroen C4 diesel, a car that costs about a quarter of an new E70 in Australia, and it had more bibs and bobs than my 2005 3.0d.

[X5 Meister]

Yep, just look at the Prius recall. If someone would have told me it had any kind of sophisticated braking system (relatively speaking of course) I would have laughed in their face.

Originally Posted by Fraser

Unfortunately, you're probably right. And I mentioned high-end vehicles but these is so much high-tech stuff migrating down to mid-price cars that this is not just a problem relating to the BMWs, Audis and MBs of the world. The other day I was driving a friend's new Citroen C4 diesel, a car that costs about a quarter of an new E70 in Australia, and it had more bibs and bobs than my 2005 3.0d.

[JCL]

Originally Posted by X5 Meister

I'd go even farther than that. These are vehicles that you take to a dealer to be fixed UNDER WARRANTY and when the warranty is gone it's time to get rid of the car, pronto.

That has been my ownership strategy for my last four BMWs. The E46 we kept a little longer, because, well, it was an E46. We don't have extended warranties from BMW here in Canada, so it is a (maximum) four year cycle for me.

I do appreciate the work BMW is putting into designing in recyclability from the beginning. Good thing, as these cars are going to need to be recycled sooner rather than later.

What amazes me is that at the same time this is going on, people are debating changing transmission fluid so as to get 500,000 from the automatic boxes, and changing oil two, three, or more times as often as the engine was designed for.

[Fraser]

Originally Posted by JCL

That has been my ownership strategy for my last four BMWs. The E46 we kept a little longer, because, well, it was an E46.

I sometimes wish we had kept our E46 but when we moved from the city to country, the roads around here just didn't suit it. In retrospect, I should have got the local engineering shop to weld on some engine sump and gearbox protection (perhaps a couple of old BBQ plates) and then add a diff skid plate. Meanwhile I could have worked out the smallest wheels that would fit over the brakes (16s, I presume) and then hunted down the tallest tyre that wouldn't foul anything ... but I didn't, we bought an X5. When I hear of people getting 400,00km+ out of their E46s, I cry...

[Quicksilver]

Considering the price of new rides, I guess some folks
are hedging their bets.

Originally Posted by JCL

What amazes me is that at the same time this is going on, people are debating changing transmission fluid so as to get 500,000 from the automatic boxes, and changing oil two, three, or more times as often as the engine was designed for.

[JCL]

Given the complexity of the electronic systems, they aren't hedging strategies as much as they are faint-hope clauses.

MS supports their operating systems for seven years. Consider that BMW typically has a multi-year development cycle, followed by a seven year model run. People buy that product part way through its life (ie, 5 years from initial design) and then hope to run it for 10 years, which makes 15 years from inception. That is twice what MS can manage, and they are in the computer business.

Then people complain because BMW can't find a way to keep updating their 15 year old navigation system.