Bmw Reliability

Okay So I have a 2009 bmw 328i Sulev N51 motor, My Mileage is 124,000 miles and I recently did Oil Change Liqui moly 5w30, Power steering fluid change, Brake fluid change in the last 1000 miles already. Its about to be summer in Los Angeles and its starting to get hot. I haven't done my coolant change and I am worried if I need to before the heat. Any tips on Maintenance before the hot LA summer. Will old coolant destroy my water pump? Thank you

There are many stories of plastic water pumps failing once past 60-65k miles. If one was done in that mileage range, you'd be right at potential failure range for a 2nd pump. But, it's not an absolute of failure in the 60k mileage range, I've heard of others lasting longer. If you've never had to replace it, well, that's good, although me, I'd probably say a pre-emptive replacement might be worthwhile vs. the unexpected getting stuck someplace due to failure. Obviously that would necessitate new coolant. I'm not sure coolant, BMW OE or otherwise, poses much of a problem for the waterpump itself compared to previous-era metal water pumps. I think the failure of the plastic water pumps is related to failure of plastic subcomponents. If you've done multiple coolant flushes on something like a 2-3 yr schedule, as far as the coolant itself, I wouldn't think another 1k miles or so would be much of anything to worry about. But, I'm hardly a coolant expert, although just like a Tide pod, I'm smart enough to know not to ingest it!

As for running an engine out to upper revs, I don't think over 3k is much of a big deal, but it wouldn't be terribly often I'm flooring it to try to hussle to upper revs asap with any regularity. Bouncing the rev limiter constantly flooring it with every single shift tends to be the kind of stuff that gets you literally on the radar and risks drawing infinitely more unwelcome attention from the local constabulary than anyone would ever want!

Old coolant will not damage the cooling system but definitely won't help everything last as long as it could. Coolant has cleaning and lubrication properties, that will wear out over time thus doing a flush is helpful. Ditto on Mgarrison's advise on doing a cooing system overhaul with the mileage may not be a bad idea. Also is you have a automatic make sure your aux cooling fan is working properly. To do this simply turn the a/c on max and watch for the fan to turn on. If it does than you are good to go if not then the fan could be seized up. Also check your fan clutch to make sure it is not leaking or loose. Of course if you have a manual trans then you already have a electric fan and none of this should be a issue.

Thanks mgarrison and charlson, is it good to do a coolant change before a HDPE? I just turned on my AC full blast and the fan in the front of the engine started turning. Is there a coolant that is specific for high stress usage?

You don't have to do a coolant flush before the event. I recommend in our vehicles using BMW coolant only. There are products out there that help with heat transfer in the cooling system One product is called water wetter from RED Line products.

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What Maintenance do you do when its starting to get really hot? I really want to keep my car all the way to 200k miles.

Me, I just make sure everything's working as it should and is in ok shape. Check condition of the coolant hoses, make sure debris etc. isn't blocking the radiator and a/c condensers, test fan clutch, maybe gently spray some water through the rad & a/c condenser as a gentle reverse-flush, and add a bottle of Water Wetter into the coolant like Charlson suggested. If it's in the budget, pre-emptive maintenance of stuff like the water pump at appropriate mileage intervals perhaps beats not doing anything until it fails and finding yourself saying oh-chit-what-do-I-do-now. But, yes, you have to rationalize throwing money at something that hasn't failed by the thought that, hopefully, you're sparing yourself potential problems.

Regular maintenance is the main thing for longevity, which can at least up your odds of not suffering something more disastrous, like the coolant pump failing, not stopping asap, and suffering cylinder-head or engine damage from major overheating. Staying on tops of leaks & bad & worn gaskets helps, the various engines all have their own achilles heels'. Google search with a variable mix of relevant keywords for your specific motor for info on its specific issues and problems that need to be addressed. A decade-on here we're getting into the 120k+ mile ranges on the N51-N52-N54 etc. cars & motors, so even though many issues have been discovered and fleshed-out, unlike E30-E36-E46 M20-M50-M54 where most-to-all of it has, I won't be surprised that more various they-all-do-that kind of stuff yet comes to light.

Is this car is a keeper, recommend replacing the water hoses and coolant overflow reservoir by 150,000 miles. My coolant reservoir ruptured twice; first at 152,000 miles and recently at 259,000 miles. If the cooling fan appears to be running excessively, check the thermostat. Otherwise, periodically check the coolant level especially before a DE.

I replaced all the hoses, water pipes, thermostat and water pump at the 200,000 mile mark as I hope to get 500,000 miles out of it. To avoid the plastic impeller issue on the water pump, I put in a Stewart high flow pump. Pricey but should last much longer than a standard water pump. At a minimum, get a water pump with metal impellers vs. plastic. Those are only a few bucks more.

WOW, thanks guys, I replaced the coolant and my engine had to get rebuilt so the head came off and got new hoses replaced and every gasket even oil pan. Im at 135,000 miles now with two autoX sessions and one track day. I dont baby this car and it sees redline everyday once its fully warmed up, this car still amazes me with the handling and toughness. What suspension bushings did you guys replace around a higher mileage? Also I get 18-19 MPG in the city for a n51 motor, is that normal? Thanks