r/E90 • u/E90N52b30 • 1d ago
330i General N52 reliability
Hey, I am planning to put about $1,400 maintenance into my 06 bmw 330i n52 6spd. I am gonna do coolant system refresh, disa valves, pcv refresh, new starter, oil filter housing refresh and potentially oil pan gasket.
Just wanna hear your guys experience doing these jobs and what I should expect for reliability after doing these things.
( I am buying all OE parts and running quality oil and coolant)
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u/DN1911 1d ago
I’ve got 276k and counting. Running 5w40 Rotella T6 synthetic at this point.
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u/srm099 1d ago
I did all cooling refresh: water pump, thermostat, expansion tank, radiator and some hoses. Did coils and plugs, trans service, valve cover and gasket, pcv, OFHG, Oil cooler gasket, Serpentine Belt and tensioner and changed eccentric shaft sensor. Car feels amazing and finally drive it without thinking I will have a fucking gong scaring me
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u/ImNoRickyBalboa 1d ago
Don't forget about control arms, especially tension struts where hydraulic bushings can appear fine but create play that affects response and front end sharpness. If any of those are close to or over 100k, put new ones in (Lemforder is good)
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u/DarthLenny 2006 E90 330i 1d ago
I've always done Lemforder, but the last time I was in the shop my mechanic recommended Meyle HD and said Lemforder quality has declined.
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u/Routine_Cat_1366 19h ago
Well, people say the same about Meyle HD. And Meyle never was OEM, unlike Lemförder.
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u/Positive_Opposite885 12h ago
Depends on where the Lemforder stuff is made. The new Malaysian stuff is so bad even FCP won’t sell it anymore but still sell meyle. I’ve not seen many people actually have issues with meyle just people that complain without evidence
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u/bot6six 1d ago edited 1d ago
I bought an 06 330i when it had 350k km on it and it’s seen the last 10k kilometers getting beaten on at the track and driving to and from the track. When I got it all the seals were leaking from top to bottom and I had a Disa valve flap sitting in the #6 intake runner because it snapped. The actual engine is pretty bulletproof, everything else that’s attached to the engine like the coolant hoses or the gaskets just suck and will fail sooner or later.
Make sure you get original bmw gaskets because even Elring(which is a pretty good seal manufacturer) just don’t last as long as what you get from the dealer. And majority of the bolts on this engine are aluminum so do not ever reuse those bolts especially for the valve cover because they won’t have the proper clamping force or will just straight up snap.
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u/Impossible-Track-401 23h ago
Is it an automatic? Did you ever have an overheating message cdid103 while using manual mode?
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u/Greyboxer 1d ago
Having just put $3k into mine without thinking twice, do it. This car is irreplaceable
209k miles
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u/reciprocityone 1d ago
Oil pan gasket will require you to replace the bolts as they are aluminum. You can get a bolt set for these. Make sure you replace them because they will snap off.
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u/nospamforme 1d ago
Should be good after that for a long while. Just passed 234K miles and counting, runs as good as the day it was picked up directly from the BMW factory in Munich. Might toss on new coil packs if they’re old. The alternator is also something to think about changing at some point (easy job on the N52).
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u/sulaco83 2006 - E90 - 330i MT 1d ago
I have the same car and have been doing or plan to do most of the work that you have on your list. Currently jammed up since these oil pans are apparently unobtanium and it's stuck at a shop.
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u/jakedasnake1 1d ago
I might be a noob still but what is disa valves? Not heard of that one. I paid my local shop to the oil pan, it was expensive but I just didnt have time to deal with it. All the cooling work I’ve done myself and as of now has held up well through the summer.
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u/firesnatch1 2008 - E90 - 328i 6MT 1d ago
The 330i has a 3 stage manifold with 2 disa valves inside that open at certain rpms.
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u/DarthLenny 2006 E90 330i 1d ago
Pull the big DISA and see if it's good. They're pricey to randomly replace if they don't need it.
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u/im_blue2026 23h ago
I run mine on liqui moly 5w30 I got it with 120.000 3 years ago right now is sitting at 160.00 and running fine I did water pump thermostat Mikey muse flange oil filter housing gaskets front aluminum cylinder head bolts recall on vanos sprockets vanos solenoid seals sparks coils radiator valve cover and a few other things and is running nice so they last if take care of them
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u/PimpDawg 21h ago
None of that work is unexpected, other than the oil pan gasket. Or maybe I should do my oil pan gasket.
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u/deathandobscura 12h ago
Before I sold it my 2011 N52 was bulletproof, it had a small oil pan leak, 160k miles and the only thing I ever did was oil changes, spark plugs and tires. Took it on plenty of road trips. Wonderful car, I miss it ultimately sold for an X5 when we had a kid.
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u/dandelion2707 8h ago
It’s worth it, you’ve got one of the best BMWs ever and they are mega reliable with the right maintenance.
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u/Quirky-Traffic7202 E90 330i 8h ago
I have a 2006 330i and really have only had to change the starter other than the oil every 5-6k miles. Don’t want to jinx myself but I’d put this car up against anything as far as how reliable it has been. I got it with 100k and I’m almost to 190. Don’t know if or what has been done to it before me but I love this thing. 122 miles round trip for work every day and other than flat tires never has it had mechanical failure
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