BMW 1 Series hatchback (2004-2011) | owner reviews: MPG, Problems & Reliability

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Had this car just over a year, had 54000 miles on, came from owning Alfa's and to be honest I hate it. It's boring inside, has a bad seating position, the front windows won't drop in the cold weather, a battery can cost around £200/300 and is hard to fit yourself, if the battery is not above 75% the clock and trip meter resets, it creaks a lot behind dash, there's hard ride on some roads, it doesn't feel that powerful really for 177hp, and there's an intermittent clutch judder. You're really paying for the badge. The good points are that it's good on fuel round town and looks nice.

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This car has been an unmitigated disaster. Bought with less than 18,000 miles at a cost of close on £9,000 it actually came with a chequered history, having jumped teeth on its timing chain and having had the cylinder head bolts removed but replaced (one can only assume for a blown gasket) - unknown to us and conveniently not mentioned by the franchised BMW dealer. Since then it has had a persistent, unidentified fault causing over 140 breakdowns and limp - home episodes. It has had 12 inconclusive diagnostic reports (£700's worth); new engine wiring harness; new throttle; new timing chain components; new VANOS cam adjusters; crank and cam shaft sensors; plugs; ignition coils; reconditioned fuel injectors and a reconditioned cylinder head - and every imaginable mechanical test, for oil pressure, fuel pressure, exhaust back pressure, engine vacuum - all to no avail as it still goes into limp mode five minutes after start up. What is left to test? Only the Primary Control Module or perhaps the fuel pump. In addition to the purchase cost and normal maintenance we have spent over £3,500 on exorbitant BMW parts. BMW for their part could not have been more unhelpful. They refuse to discuss technical issues and their franchised dealer will not even tell me genuine part numbers over the phone. I have heard such reports over and over again from others who have owned one and know that similar mechanical Issues with later versions of these cars have not improved. I know a man who has had timing issues with a new version with less than 4,000 miles on the clock. These cars are by far the worst either I or my wife have owned in 80 years of combined, regular motoring. Based on such information would you seriously look at a 116i? If possible I would not give this car even one star. They are so complex, unreliable and exorbitantly costly to repair that they are actually not fit for purpose.

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I hated it and sold it after 5 months of ownership. Never again, I found it overrated. I didn't like the handling, the traction light permanently flashing when I took corners and chewed through tyres. It's geared for motorway driving and isn't great round town. I found it Boring to drive, it had a poor driving position and poor visibility. Also, a drive shaft failed, the exhaust snapped, timing chain was noisy and it needed replacement bushes and wishbones in 5 months of ownership! Before you buy research more than I did.

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Great car to drive, solid feeling and fun. Only recently have begun to get some problems but the car never missed a beat for 9 years. Very happy.

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I love my car it's amazing, quite possibly the best car I have owned and prefer it to my Audi A4 of the same year (soft top). As a woman this car is quite manly but I feel protected and confident in it! Love it.

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Bought the car second hand from bmw dealer with nothing wrong, about 6000 miles later the problems started, first the dpf started playing up so had that replaced and when i got the car back it had started with a slight noise in the enjin which i aksed about and they said it is the timing chain that needs replacing. Funny how a car with 73000 miles on the clock had that problem. I took it to 3 independant mechanics to confirm and all of them said it is a fault on bmw's side which they wont acknowledge. I tried with bmw to have it fixed, but they only offered me £250 against the £3000 repairs cost. I decided to trade the car in and buy a new car and settled for Hyundai i30 which is by far much better than what bmw is. Hyundai even offer a 5 year warranty against bmw only offering 3 years and they dont cover everything Hyundai covers. Yes I miss the driving experience of bmw, but at least now I have a car which is more reliable in my eyes. Until bmw acknowledge the timjng chain fault and pay their dues to all ex bmw drivers who were forced to sell the car due to the errors, Iwont even think of supporting them.

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I love this car, but beware there are some very untrustworthy car dealerships out there. I bought my BMW 1 Series recently, the car handles very well in the wet and dry. I would go as far as to say it sticks to the road but on snow it is useless, but I knew I would have a problem with this as it is a rear wheel drive but let's face it - how long does it snow for in England each year? The car is built and designed very well. The things I love the most are the 163bhp, the economy and the look of the car. The thing I dislike is the fuel tank is a very small 51 litres.

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I'd had a Golf TDI for 8 years and loved it but it got old and wasn't worth repairing in the end so I had to bite the bullet and get another car. I wanted another strong reliable car to serve me well in the long run so I looked at many makes, styles and options hoping to find a better car than my beloved mark 4 VW Golf as I hoped things had advanced more since my reliable, safe Golf's design, how wrong could I have been?! I had £10k to spend and I ended up buying a BMW 116d from a main dealer. Cannot fault the garage salesman or servicing people or mechanics optimism and attention to detail that I've experienced from them in my local BMW garage. You really get a first rate personal service when you enter into the world of BMW. It's the car I don't like. The day I test drove it was a gorgeous sunny and dry day so the car drove like a dream on the roads. Infact I test drove it twice. The day the car was delivered to me was a different story, icy with freezing fog. I had to go out as soon as the car was delivered to me and I was excited to get in it now being mine. My first journey that day took me along country roads and then onto the M25. It seemed good to drive such well made car even if I felt the seat wasn't adjustable in the same way the Golf had been. It was a much stiffer seat and the headrest made my head feel jack-knifed in. I'm also quite tall but I couldn't adjust properly to see over the dashboard without letting my thighs be squashed uncomfortably by the steering wheel (it took months for me to find some compromise here). I thought all these niggles were down to me settling in to the new car. But it is just bad design. Yes I do expect a car to be more advanced with each few years and this car disappointed me on so many levels that first day. It slid around like I was driving on marbles when I reached the M25. So I slowed down to 50mph as I thought maybe the road had oil on it but all the other traffic zoomed past me. I felt unstable and frightened by the way the car handled. It was icy and the warning bell was alarming me of ice so I thought possibly it was that just that I wasn't used to diving this new car. But as I accelerated it started to skid again and snake along the road. I felt really vulnerable and annoyed this car wasn't a patch on my old trusty Golf. I gave this car a 6-12 month life with me as I couldn't put up with this. I told BMW how I felt and they did lots of checks in their workshop they listened to me with an open mind and completely supported my queries about the performance but their tests couldn't see a thing wrong with the car which was so frustrating for me. I'd asked around and met no-one else with the same worries as me until recently. This lady said she'd had the same bad experiences as me. It's undrivable if any snow on the road. It's vile if it's raining. It's a pig if it's frosty or icy. Any grit or oil on the road totally throws it off too or uneven tarmac. I tried different tyres and resent being told I should buy winter tyres to stop this by the BMW service department...... Yes, this car looks pretty (if it's on your drive) and yes, it's economical. But it's a game of roulette in the UK with our unpredictable weather. So on a daily basis you don't know if you will get out of the car the other end in one piece or not. I hated it and couldn't wait to get rid of it. Even my daughter's Micra handled 10 times better! Beware of this model! Wish I'd been warned.

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I live in the country but commute daily into the city for work - the car itself is a decent drive with a stiff suspension (may be due to run flats?) and i do find level of road noise I hear high but I agree that mpg is not what manufacturers would have you believe, I too do about 50mpg. I also have problems driving in snow with this car. Rear space is limited - not many car seats will fit in the back and allow front passengers to sit comfortably - but my biggest complaint of this car is the spec - not even a single cup holder and the side storage isnt wide enough to hold coke bottles, etc... aux port is a nice touch but awkwardly placed - find the whole dashboard design a bit strange and not very well thought out but unfortunately for me I wasnt thinking of this when I bought it. Also i feel that for a BMW things like hands free boot opening, bluetooth, mp3 should be part of the standard spec but maybe due to my having moved here from the states where these things are pretty standard in cars I expect a bit much? The radio in my car is rubbish - the volume doesnt go very loud and I have a massive problem trying to tune it in which when i called the garage to see if there was something i wasnt doing right they said its due to my living in the country which i find an unacceptable answer in this day and age of digital tuning/stations, etc... that and the fact that out of all the people i know living in my area its only those of us with a 1 series that have problems with finding stations!!! another massive issue for me was the value for money - very unhappy when i realised that my new car didn't come with mats (had to pay extra just before driving from showroom) and that the run flat tyres needed replacing 20 000 miles in and at a pretty high cost. i might check out the newer model but i wouldnt buy this version again

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NEVER EVER LET ME DOWN

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No issues at all

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Never once since I bought the car has it let me down.

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.

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no issues to date

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So far no problems

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Reliable but occasionally-once a year-refuses to start.No expert can explain problem

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Fuel pump failure once. Nothing else has gone wrong

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first class

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Clutch judder at 4K miles - took BMW agents six months before agreeing to replace under warrenty. Only clutch replaced - not flywheel. 5K miles after clutch judder has returned !

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The best I have ever owned. Don't have to worry during adverse weather conditions.

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Unreliable electrics and some are too susceptible to water ingress

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I have had no serious mechanical or electrical failures since owning the car.

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No problems

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Fantastic, the car is as silent cold, as it is warm.

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problem with turbo had to be rebuilt otherwise good.

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Never failed

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No reliability issues

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First class - in 7 years only the wiper /washer motors have failed

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No problems at all

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No problems at all

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.

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It has only failed to start once due to a drained battery

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only issue was hydro unit failed which is a known fault.

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Occasional issue where radio display does not turn on even though the radio does. Issue with the automatic wipers which caused them to stop and not turn on again until the engine was reset. Parking sensor uint failure.

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No problems.

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No issues

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Ok, so far.

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No major problems

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Since owning the car a new clutch has been required and therr have been paint issues.

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So far no problems.

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Only issue has been frozen drivers window in cold weather resulted in auto close losing its setting. Required to go to dealer for reset. This is a design problem on these frameless door cars.

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NEVER LET ME DOWN

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great except in snow. its a 1 in snow

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It's a BMW .. I've driven various models of BMW over the last 20 years . Always reliable..

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Never had a problem with it. 40,000 miles in, not one fault.

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No problems to date

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The car meets all my requirements.

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Only problems i have had is the fog light hitting a speed bump and cracking. new unit cost Ł20 off Ebay.

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Great driving car, love the fact that it is convertible. Some small niggles that will definately make me consider extending the warranty when it is due.

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.

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Excellent build quality, great handling and more practical than expected. Driving it gives a real feel good factor. Could just do with a little more power

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Good car only real let down is the size of the boot. Otherwise happy with it.

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Brilliant car, great blend of performance and low running costs. feels a expensive car but does have alot of extras as was a managers demo car before we bought it. really impressed with it and would probably by bmw again. only let down is brake calipers have gone rusty already and bmw wont cover them under warranty because it does effect how they perform.

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Previously owned by bmw for use by bmw exec's in the uk it has £17,000 worth of optional factory extras which i love. Downsides: runflat tyres and lack of limited slip diff

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Overall excellant though lacks space in the rear. Great handling & ride, a real drivers car.

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The car could do with more power but, more importantly, the run-flat tyres are awful - they let go without warning, have no grip in the wet/snow and ruin the ride...

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Expensive but worth it. Wished i had had a 3 door for ease of access as i am a tall big framed person. Really good fuel economy and cheap road tax.

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Perfect for me

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Aquality car but economy not as good as expected

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.

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A great well built car

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The car is good in places, average in others and also excels in other areas. Shame the dealers are absolute monkeys with wrenches.

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.

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It's ok.economy not as good as expected but overall it works well. not inspiring but good quality

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Very good car at a resonable price

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Fast comfortable and economic with diesel. Great build quality.

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Have not had the car long enough to judge, but on the whole very satisfied.

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Good, expensive to repair, hard ride, image brand, moderate performance, may buy again but a larger model

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.

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Excellent build quality, performance, and handling. Impressed with fuel consumption, however tyres, replacement parts, and manufacturer services are costly.

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Great handling in the twisty bits, but on the daily m4 run sips diesel like it doesn't like the taste. Superb.

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Love the performance and mpg

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Delightful

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Very dissappointing it should never have been delivered with the body faults that it had and i believe that it should have been exchanged for a completely new car when the faults were pointed out

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Quite pleased

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.

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Good quality, good on fuel, servicing dear, door mirrors poor,road tax cheap,hard to reverse-see mirrors, power impressive.

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Never liked small cars before. The way the 1 series handles and drives if comparable to the larger bmws. a little expensive for what you get, compared to other manufacturers but well worth the extra expense.

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.

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New car and like a lot

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.

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.

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Previous car was a mkv golf gti. The 1er is not quite as practical, almost as fast, has better handling, is more comfortable and goes 50% further on a gallon of fuel. Overall, i think it is great.

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Fab

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Build and drive quality are great with the 1 series, however the "clutch judder" in 1st gear still lets it down even after the a software mangement upgrade! Clear coat finish on the alpine white is very soft (front end looks much older than six months) but thats eco paints for you i suppose! But overall very pleased with the drive and it return a very good avg of 55mpg. Great car bmw but sort the paint quality out!

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Having got to over 200,000 miles in a 6 year old car i am very pleased with how together and tidy it still is. A credit to german design and engineering.

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The car is generally great to drive I had some extra packs added to the car and have been very impressed with the dynamic pack - sports seats are comfy and adjustability excellent, the pack alloys are visually much better than standard se and the m-sport suspension is a joy on norfolk's country lanes. The visibility pack with xenons and adaptive lighting again add to the night driving experience of winding roads to the standard/fixed lights i've had on all my previous cars. The 2.0 litre (1995cc) diesel engine is superb - my first foray into diesel owing to co emission limits being introduced into the company car scheme. The steering is responsive and has good feel too, which when coupled with the engine means my driving style hasn't got near to the mpg figures claimed by the manufacturer - according to the trip computer stats. The only negative from a driving experience has been brought about by the last two cold winters where snow and ice showed an achilles heel for this, the first rear-wheel drive car i've had. A turtle on it's back probably has better traction in those wintery driving conditions! Getting stuck on the level car park at work was a particular highlight, where the only 'slope' is a tarmac gradient to take away the rainwater, which is probably less than the camber on a public road. I commandeered my wife's front wheel drive vauxhall astra, as my plan b to get to/from work in the end.

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A joy to drive, cheap running costs, a bit of luxury.

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Nice, good performance and service at dealer, just propone to punctures

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Great car, always amazed at the economy and love the acceleration and handling.

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Faulty wheel sensor caused the cars electrics and auto gear box to behave erratically.

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Yes Green thumbs up

BMW 1 Series hatchback (2004-2011): owner reviews

“When BMW designed the 1 Series, it decided to leave blandness at the door. Cabin quality is good, the driving position excellent and the range of engines lead the class.”

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