How common is the 320d turbo failure? I have a 2001 and am a little concerned its eventually going to cost me a bob or two, Is it avoidable, and what exactly is the cost implication.
If a new turbo is fitted do they suffer the same fate?
I've never heard of a turbo failing on any BMW engine. Which surprises me a little!
I have! My father-in-law had an E39 1999 530d which needed a turbo change. It was covered under warranty.
Turbochargers are amazingly long lived. They can really only suffer from bad oil, ie not changed frequently enough.
There's a place in Texas that rebuilds them and if they get your old one they can tell you by looking at it what you did wrong and why it failed.
Quite common. When they fail you can grab the impeller and wiggle it up and down a lot. Sometimes the impellers hit the housing and jam up. Also when they go they fill the inlet side with oil and smoke like mad, so if you replace it yourself you will need to drain all the oil from the intercooler etc, otherwise when you restart it and rev it, it will uncontrollably rev it's nuts off and potentially cause other damage. You will also need to leave it somewhere to burn off the oil in the exhaust as driving it on the road is not advisable. This could take quite a while.
Cost wise, you are looking at a new turbo and labour. I don't know if the new turbo is modified, but I would imagine it is by now.
Worn bearings. Keep in mind the turbo gets HOT and if you don't use synthetic (which resists cooking more than dino juice) then it's probably a good idea to NOT shut the engine off after running at high speed. The oil stuck in the turbo cooks and with dono juice this is a bad idea.
The turbos fail even when using fully synthetic oil.
You're kidding. Why? Granted it's the "other" German car but I got 285K miles on my first turbo, replaced it with a used one and have put 150k+ miles on it and it's still good.
Is it possible that BMW doesn't water-cool its turbos? And provide after-run cooling? Like "yet an other" German car? ;-)
/daytripper '00 s4 6spd, original turbos
Mine is neither.
Hi All, (first ever post)
E46 320d turbo failure much more common than BMW would like to admit. They now claim that cars post 2003 are not affected.
Many other manufacturers use the same (-ish) Garrett GT17 49V unit on their cars without nearly the same failure rate. None are water cooled.
When mine went, there was no smoke at all. The only symptom was no boost pressure during acceleration.
When replacing the turbo, the exhaust and catalytic converter needed replacing too. Had this not been under warranty, the bill would have been close to £2,000. Also, the ECU needs to be updated with a different map after a replacement turbo. Strangely, BMW do not recommend an oil + filter change after a turbo failure. I think that an oil + filter change is rather fundamental after such an event.
I think that the problem is with both the extended drain for the oil service and, (IMHO), the use of Castrol oils which BMW and Audi are paid to endorse, and owners / drivers not knowing or bothering with the end of journey cool down where the engine should be left to tick over for at least 30 seconds before switching the engine off, longer if the drive was fast and of any significant length. Also, the engine should not be revved high (loaded or unloaded) until the oil has warmed. NEVER rev any turbo engine then turn off the ignition straight away.
Best regards
David
you may find the link below of interest, the bottom of the thread showing the crankcase breather, could this be the problem?
you may find the link below of interest, the bottom of the thread showing the crankcase breather, could this be the problem?
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