E70 Diesel Pre-Purchase Tips
 

Hey Everyone,

Been searching a long time now for an E70 diesel and finally found a few local to me that i'm keeping my eyes on. Test drove one of them so far and really enjoyed it but need to know what are some things to look for and things to stay away from.

I've had many BMW's in my past, some diesel trucks, so i'm very capable and willing to wrench on and do repairs/maintenance.

My preferences are 2010-1012, black interior, STOCK, PNW cars (no rust), sub 150k miles. However, how many miles are too many before I should really start to worry about injectors, emissions crap, and turbos failing? I plan to delete and tune once the maintenance is caught up and or emissions components start to fail.

Transmissions seem to be solid on these AFAIK, anything I should know about?
Transfer case issues?
Seen some issues on timing chain failure?

Appreciate any input.

Thanks,

The x-drive some models have plastic gear that tends to wear out and then the front axle will stop engaging. The actuator motor is pricy but kits to repair are not. Worst case scenario the TC blows chunks. I found a decent used one for $500 with a year warranty. Install was not difficult at all on the 328xi and I don't think the e83 will be much different.

All the 2007+ gas powered I think used the likely to die electric water pump but I don't know about the diesel. If that fails get a lifetime warranty one and do the thermostat at the same time because only the N62 alternator bracket is worse.

Every aspect of the emissions system seems to have a typical lifetime of less than 80kmiles. At 70k half on my emissions system had been replaced under warranty. By 110kmiles everything but the DPF has been replaced under the 120k/10yr warranty. I’ve budgeted $3000 to do it again before I reach 200k miles.

Engine wise: thermostat, glow plugs, all vac lines related to turbo & emissions likely to fail every 100k. I also needed a new harmonic damper and a MAF not long after 100kmiles.

All my interior control buttons are shedding their black coating, every single piece of wood trim cracked/crazed before 77kmiles, hvac blower failed at 90k, seat airbag sensor failed at 70k ($1000 fix), tailgate latch just failed, rear view camera dying, pass seat functions are a bit flakey & it’s not the switches.

Front control arms (upper and lower) and tie rods worn out at 85kmiles.

These are generally very unreliable compared to Mercedes and any Japanese brand. For ten years a was a Ford guy and even those were much more reliable.

But I don’t mind paying as I like the way these drive and tow.

You already got a good run down above. The basic 3L diesel engine dates a long way back and seems to rarely fail. However, there is everything else.... I am just going through my 35d now and all of the above happened to some degree or other. I am now on the fourth EGR cooler. #1 cracked, #2 the return spring broke, #3 seems to have suffered the internal coolant leak problem (all Hella/Behr units). Just replaced all the vacuum hoses and actuators, makes a vast difference in responsiveness. I cleaned the intake manifold while it was off, caked thick with soot and oil. The MAP failed earlier this year. My current active SCR tank has been good for several years but it is also the fourth one. Harmonics damper also fails around 100k I think.

Thermostats fail every 50k or so...... The DPF needs to be cleaned somewhere between 130k and 150k. I am just trying to sort out if my NOx sensors are still any good. Anecdotal evidence suggests they are good for up to 140k on average. The tension struts on the front suspension fail every 50k or so. The front upper A-arms look way undersized to me and when they fail the car is a pig to drive.

Just returned from a 100 mile round trip into NoVa and these things are incredibly comfy and rumble along very satisfyingly when all is well. Beginning of the year I towed a small enclosed trailer while in Europe, moving some stuff into storage, several 50 mile trips. It tows like a champ.

This is easily the worst car I ever owned for repairs. Even the E53 did not nearly have this many "events" (though the torque converter failing at 93k was a bit miserable....).

So, yeah, breath in deeply before taking the plunge. And even if it seems ridiculous, probably budget 5k in parts to be replaced at 100k and get it over with in one go. Thermostat is easy to check in hidden menu and should be replaced on failure as it affects the glow plugs and GPU.


EDIT: In addition, my shifter stopped working correctly (I figured out what is wrong, easy fix, but still...) and my door seals are all four falling apart.



Enjoy the hunt! :-)

Definitely this.

Over budget for repairs and hopefully under spend. Ours is at 167000 miles now and needs a transmission or rebuild. Lack of maintenance took it's toll I'm guessing by PO's as it was on original fluid.

Ours has no issues currently (no codes thrown), beyond the trans (huge I know), and in the ~30,000 miles we've owned it here's our list.

NOX sensors front and rear (bought newer part number good used units)
Glow plugs and control module
Rebuild active SCR tank
Complete front suspension
Water pump and thermostat
Belts
Firewall partitions (replace these ASAP after purchase, will kill injectors)
Transfer case and Diff fluids

So far we've spent ~$2000 in upkeep. The trans will cost us another ~$1200 and I'll put it in myself. If you are paying someone, these numbers would be astronomically higher. At least 3x. So factor that in.

lol, this is exactly why I took a long break from dailying a BMW and went with a newer warrantied F30.

Sounds like a lot of you had some really bad and expensive experiences with these rigs. Doing my best at this point to find as low mileage as possible e70 and will definitely keep an eye out for maintenance records. Most of the ones I have come across so far are on their original owner dealer serviced.

Yep. For the first 3 years ours was great with minimal downtime. And then the trans went 02/20. Tried fruitlessly to save it, now waiting for the time to buy and install a low-mineage trans. Fortunately we learned the key to BMW ownership long ago. Own 5 of them. 2 of them will be 100% roadworthy at any one time. :)

In retrospect, I was considering another 5th gen Cummins truck so I can stomach the cost of maintenance on a sub 10k E70 but I want to avoid as much garage time as possible... so, with that said. What mileage would you guys absolutely not even bother to consider? And I totally understand that maintenance plays a huge role in component failure but it seems like a lot of parts just generally fail at a standard mileage.

140k on mine. Fluid changes, brakes, tires.


Some stuff under warranty early on, otherwise fine.


Now, my 2010 (same E70 X5d) was lemoned due to emissions crap.


Just feels like they figured out a lot of it over time. But thats n=1. I certainly have read ALL the issues over the last 10 years here and on bimmerfest. (FWIW, ordered a 2009 and refused delivery, so Ive been looking at them since then... ;) )

Feels like BMW designed these to be reliable within the warranty or typical 3-4 year lease period. After that it feels like it was design to break down so its a cash cow for parts and dealer service operations. Twice in the last 5 years I’ve taken it in for the dealer to get a diagnosis and I got back a repair estimate above $5000. No, I didn’t blindly say yes. I always check these myself and find the dealer is right about 60% of the time. I fix something’s myself and have a trusted independent do stuff when I’m too busy/lazy.

Well, if you are willing to pay and occasionally have it laid up for a few days, it’s a good sporty utility vehicle.

Two weeks after the MAF failed I’ve got another CEL. Glow plug controller has failed. Another $300 in parts (and $350 labor of you can’t do it yourself). I’m on track to pass $2000 in repairs this year. But it’s still less than depreciation on a brand new X5.

GPU at getbmwparts.com is about $120. Takes about 1.5hrs for a shade tree mechanic to do the swap at a leisurely pace. Replacing GPU can be done w/o removing the intake manifold. You will need good gloves and a large bucket of soap afterwards. Check the operating temperature of the engine to assure the thermostat hasn’t failed as that is one cause of gpu failure.

Been there, done that.... :-)

Leisurely: that’s me to a T, otherwise it’s no fun. If I’m in a rush, I pay a great local Indy.

Thanks very much for the thoughtful advice. I am going to follow your prescription exactly. But I think I’ll go for the Beru gpu for $40 less.


Thermo: was bad at 85kmiles. New one maintains 87C, and I see 99 when towing up steep hills in the summer. X5 always seems to run better after a long two (better mileage and noticeably more peppy). My Indy mechanic says it’s the best

FWIW my X5 has failures so often I keep a code reader in the vehicle. Same thing for my e60 and the E39 before. Last reliable BMW I had was an e34, and that was less reliable than my e28 and ditto all the way back to my E3’s and 2002’s, which were incredibly reliable and cheap to maintain.

All my wife’s Merc’s over the last 35 years have been 5x better. At this rate even Porsche and Jaguars will be more reliable than BMW.

At the time the car was in Portugal in an underground garage and I had few tools at hand. To do the swap of the GPU I brought out some long 1/4" extensions and a set of magnetic sockets as well as a slim bar style flash light. There is a lot going on underneath the manifold and w/o a lamp impossible to see.

There is a good video on you-tube showing the GPU swap. The maker correctly stressed that you need a longish screwdriver or other tool to pry out the connectors first, then unscrew the two 6mm nuts. IIRC, the GPU comes out sliding it towards the back and then up.

Taking the manifold off obviously makes it much easier but introduces a risk of something tumbling into the intake ports. I finally did take the manifold off last summer (for the vac lines & actuators) and it was missing the rear of the small washers with the rubber piece attached (probably lost when dealer replaced 6 plugs and GPU under warranty/recall?). I was feeling quite uncertain, until I checked with a borescope, that it had not fallen in to the port.

Also beware, if you are somewhat OCD with your cars, once you take the IM off you get into a long process of "might as well while in there".... :}

The support from this community is a major reason I’m able to tolerate they constant repairs these great SAV’s need.

I will watch the UT video and I have thin screw drivers up to 18” long. I’m still debating if I should replace the GP’s at the same time (1.5 hours becomes 4 hours at my leisurely pace).

Little update... *FWIW Content*

Test drove another one today that was a 2013 with only 40K miles and all I can say is wow. Felt exactly like the 2011 I drove with 160K miles. In fact, the 2011 with much higher mileage was much cleaner than the newer one with less miles. I'm super tempted to go back and make an offer.

Will continue to keep this thread updated.

Note: the emissions warranty on some very expensive items is 10 years or 120k miles, whichever comes first. This includes the headed SCR tank, the nox sensors, and a few other things. For that reason, I’d buy the 2013 with lower miles.

First time i ever owned a bimmer and got a 2011 35d summer of 2016. Did the diesel emissions deletes ayear or so in, set me back $3000 but I saw it as preventative maintenance. Car runs so amazing though. I just spent $1700 in repairs at 135k mi when valve cover gasket deteriorated and pressurized the crack case putting oil into my turbos and intercooler. Control arms are going bad, they're next.

Seems like almost everything is expensive to repair on a bimmer.

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