Norman Dog

iTrader: (1)

Anybody had one?
Any common issues?

Been thinking about one for my next car.

Gsi Jay

Not got a 335i but I've got a M135i so if your talking a relatively new 335 then it's the same N55 engine and it's a cracking unit, quite a few lads on the forum running 420 bhp with just a decat and jb4 tuning box, sounds well too, some have issues with waste gate rattle and a few issues springing up with the ZF auto box with whining, reverse mostly, other than that nothing much really.

RS Grant

Bought a 2011 335i (with N55 engine) from Birds Garage and it was the biggest pile of unreliable, frustrating **** I've ever owned... spec was Quaife LSD, Birds B3 Bilstein Suspension & Roll Bars and a Hartge Map, so it should have been as epic as the cockney arsehole at Birds told me it would be.

Issues I had during the time I owned it:

- Gearbox didn't have a clue what it was doing, sticking in gears, hunting for gears, slow sluggish gear changes (even in sport mode).
- Dashboard rattled and creaked, so I stuffed old socks between dash/windscreen.
- Driveshaft/CV exploded during an overtake.
- Plastic Charge Pipe cracked.
- Numerous 'Engine Fault. Reduced Power' messages on iDrive.
- Sometimes under WOT it would drive like an N/A engine until it changed up a gear.

...got rid within a year and cannot describe how happy I was to see it driving out of my life for ever.


Cheers,
Grant

Gsi Jay

Sounds like a right nightmare that mate, was it the ZF 8 speed auto you had, can't say i've seen any of the problems you describe with mine, it's a brilliant box in auto or manual, not far behind a dual clutch in the way it performs. The issues with engine faults, sluggish performance and possibly the cracked charge pipe point to the Hartge map maybe being to blame, bet you couldn't wait to get rid.

scoobyross

I had the 135i (N54 engine) shares the same engine up to 2008 i believe. Had it tuned up to 400BHP and was nice and quick.

Had it for a year and had the fuel pump replaced (common problem), also had the injectors/plugs/coils replaced due to an idling error. (this was all done before the tune).

If your gonna tune it, get the Cobb Accessport, you can do it on your drive without fiddling about with the ECU/Wires and you can custom map with ease.

Other common problems include wastegate rattles, chargepipes breaking and turbos needing replacing.

My advice get one with under 60000 miles on the clock and put a BMW warranty on it. Cost you less then £400 and it is all covered with just a £50 excess. That is what i did.

scoobyross

Also the N54 is preferred to most on the BMW forums. (earlier models).

Jimpreza

I had a 2009 335i and didn't get on with it at all. I didn't have it for long but both the rear alloys had cracks (common problem). I changed to an E92 M3 and I wish so much I'd just done this in the first place as it's awesome.

RS Grant

Yeah, a total nightmare.. both car and garage I bought from.. I will never re-visit either after my experience!!

The car wasn't the newer 8-spd auto, which I've driven and actually quite like. My 335i had the older 6-spd auto... in fact, the same 6-spd auto that my dad has in his 635d but lacking the 'sport' button that his has which sharpens the gear changes right up. Only option was to slide the gearstick over into 'sport' which meant it held the gear longer but still had the slow slurred gearchanges. Horrible, horrible gearbox in what was sold to me 'as close to an M3 Touring as you can get'.

Re: the performance etc, the Hartge map is something that Birds Garage charge something insane like £2000 to supply/fit... giving a quoted 362bhp, apparently. The charge pipe is something which fails on these cars as standard, which I only discovered after some Google'ing when it broke.


Cheers,
Grant

Fury RS

I presently own a late manual 2006 E92 335i (N54) with a small remap circa 355bhp, bought it nearly 2 yrs ago with 69k mls (73.5k at present). Water pump can be an issue, mine was replaced just prior to my purchase. HP Fuel pump can be another problem also injectors and coils etc as said previous. The very common problem can be waste gate rattle which is a big job replacing the turbos to rectify it. Unfortunately my car developed a slight rattle August just gone, I took out a 2yr warranty with Warranty Direct when I first bought the car so contacted them and they agreed to pay 75% of the cost which in total was £2845 at an Indy, 2 banks of new Turbo's/wastegates from BMW, oil pipes, gaskets and fluids etc and all is well.
Yesterday an engine light popped up, garage diagnosed as 2 Lambda sensors faulty, back in garage next week, £160 each before finding out which 2 of the 4 are faulty plus fitting.
I have owned 3 Evo's, Grale, Focus MK 1 RS, Sapph Cossy etc in the last 10 yrs so quite raw cars, this car seems a lot more useable and comfortable/refined with some nice toys, a nice place to be. The car goes very well and is very quick with no lag and is very lively when the DTC is switched off.
I do enjoy driving this car even (do miss the rawness sometimes) though it has cost me some unwanted monies.
If you go for one after some of these horror stories on this thread try to find one with some or all of these issues sorted and I would recommend a warranty of some kind.
Hope this helps and good luck if you go for one...

stevebt

iTrader: (8)

I dont know if the offer will still be there but on the Hotdeals website they had a link to the new 4 wheel drive 535 for £30k. I was tempted to get one as I could do with a new car.

InTurbo

iTrader: (3)

How did you find the Birds Suspension package? I nearly brought this for my e92.

ditchmyster

iTrader: (7)

Sounds to me like nothing much has changed with BMW's in the last few years.

Bloody Munch Wonga.

chocolate_o_brian

iTrader: (22)

One bit of advice - buy a warranty. Mine coughed up nearly £3,000 with two sizeable claims. These aren't cheap cars to fix if they do go wrong.

Unfortunately due to breaking up with my long term Mrs, my mapped E92 330d will be up for sale in the new year. Great, great car but expensive luxury on one wage.

RS Grant

To be fair, the car sat well and handled well on the Bilstein Suspension... although it creaked a little over poor surfaces, according to Gordon (sales guy who has knows everything) that is normal for their Bilstein suspension packages.

I was also impressed with the Quaife differential, it made a MASSIVE difference to the driveability of the car over other *35i which I have driven... in the unlikely event I bought another *35i then it'd be one of my first modifications.


Cheers,
Grant

Suresh

I owned a fully loaded 2012 E91 335i (N55 engine) for 3 years / 45,000 miles. I've had two classic Scoobs and a Forester Turbo S and the Beemer Touring was the best car I'd ever had. Totally reliable, quick and a lovely engine note too. Saddle brown leather interior was top quality with no squeaks, rattles or signs of wear. Harmon Kardon sounds were also ace. Got rid owing to unwanted attention from serious criminals. :-(

Apart from desirability as a getaway car, only downside was compromised cornering stability - better than a bog standard and understeery Scoob but no match for the replacement 220i coupé, which is sublime 😎

LSherratt

iTrader: (1)

Almost everytime I read about someone owning a BMW touring they always say how fantastic it is. Is it just something about owning a touring? You wouldn't believe how tempted I am but the particular model that I want is like rocking horse poo. 2002-2004 E39 BMW 540i M-Sport touring.... I'd sell my current Saab 95 Aero estate if the right one came up for sale, eventually!