BMW 3 Series saloon (2005-2011) | owner reviews: MPG, Problems & Reliability

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I bought this E90 320D with just 69k miles on the clock (verified) and with full BMW Service History, so I thought that I was getting a good car, and being a newer model than my previous E46, I thought that I would at least be getting the same quality, comfort and reliability as the E46, and perhaps even some improvements but how wrong I was, especially in relation to its reliability. First of all, after just four months of ownership and 2000 miles, the car developed a sudden severe vibration through the clutch pedal and a judder, this was diagnosed as being caused by a worn dual mass flywheel which required replacing along with a new clutch. A quick search on the internet revealed lots of owners experiencing exactly the same issues and at a similar mileage on both the 3 and 1 series diesels. The repair cost, at a local independent specialist was £1050 using LUK parts. I gave it the benefit of the doubt and thought that its problems couldn't get any worse and with just 71k on the clock I would get several more years' use out of the car, however BMW's poor build quality hadn't finished haunting me yet or emptying my Bank account Just two months after having the DMF replaced, the front and rear heater vents began blowing out tiny white flakes which looked like talcum powder and smeared in the same way, at first I thought it was just something which had been blown in from outside, and so I had the pollen filter replaced, however it steadily got worse until the point where turning the heater fan on resulted in being sandblasted by a snowstorm of white flakes from every vent, which not only covered any occupants but also the entire car interior. Again, a quick Google Search found many pages of results with 3 and 1 series owners having exactly the same complaint, which was traced to being caused by a faulty batch of Denso manufactured Air Conditioning Evaporators fitted to some 2006 and 2007 built cars. BMW were well aware of this problem in 2007 and even raised a Service Bulletin to make their dealers aware of it (SI B 64 12 07) however BMW have chosen not to recall the affected cars and the dealers didn't routinely address the issue and replace the faulty part whilst they were under warranty, unless it was brought to their attention as a fault by the customer. The white powder flakes are "white rust" or aluminium oxide caused by severe surface corrosion of the faulty evaporators, Googling Aluminium Oxide shows it as being pretty nasty stuff and not something that you would want yourself or your family exposed to within the relatively sealed, confined space of a car interior especially when the fan essentially blasts you in the face with it. There is also the question of the corrosion eventually holing the evaporator and releasing the gas into the atmosphere. However despite these concerns being voiced, no goodwill has been extended and the dealers and BMW just don't want to know. Replacing an Evaporator is a huge job and costs around £1700, and its obvious from the Service Bulletin that BMW were well aware of the faulty part in 2007 and whilst age related problems and normal wear in tear is one thing, it could be reasonably deemed that with the fault the Evaporator was essentially not fit for purpose at the point it was taken from their stores and fitted to the car at the factory, and I really don't see why I should be £1700 out of pocket as a result of poor quality goods supplied by BMW's supply chain. BMW should really play a fair game with its customers and replace these parts out of goodwill where they are found to be from the faulty batch and have failed in respect of the details on the bulletin, regardless of the age of the car or better still issue a recall to the owners of all affected models. You really don't expect a luxury German car to blast you and your passengers with potentially noxious white powder from its internal components every time the heater or air conditioning is used. There are many other negatives to the car, including the ride quality which on run flat tyres is awful and can only be described as like bouncing along with square wheels fitted, and there is no option to store a spare either if traditional tyres are fitted, unless you want to use up boot space which in itself is in very short supply, the day to day fuel economy is around 15% worse than the earlier E46 on the same journeys, and the car sits far to low to the floor, which not only makes you feel every bump in the road but feels like you are riding in a go-cart, the low ride also makes getting in and exiting the car difficult for those with mobility problems or older drivers & passengers. There is also the absence of a coolant temperature gauge on the dashboard, which just looks like evidence of petty cost cutting to me, but it's absence isn't just cosmetic, its actually a problem considering the Coolant and EGR thermostats both seem to also be another weak spot on this model and seem to be reported to fail a lot, and yes those are two other components that i've had to replace. However these points pale into insignificance when you have taken into consideration the two major problems which i've highlighted above and which have happened on a car with just over 70k miles on it and both of these failures seem to be appear often enough on the various owners' forums enough to be, in my opinion, classed as "worryingly frequent". Would I recommend this car to a friend?. In all honesty I wouldn't wish this car on my worst enemy let alone a friend or the wider car buying public!, and so I award it with the accolade of being the worst car i've ever owned (including the £300 wreck I owned as a 17 year old). I'm not alone in having problems either, one other website lists the E90 as having 64 dated reported faults since 2011, which makes it their second worse car on record! - Enough said.

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As its only 20 months old nothing has gone wrong with it. Starts every day with no faults at all.

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car has been reliable until recently when steering lock malfunctioned costing nearly Ł900.

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As a long standing BMW owner I know reliability is well proven

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No issues at all in 53,000

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1 minor problem - fixed with a ECU sofware update

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Reliability has been first class, the car has never let me down or stranded.

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So far, perfect.

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Best car i have ever owned

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The car made metallic noises driving over bumps - weld had either come away or never been done on the a pillar. After countless attempts and 1000's of miles in courtesy cars, finally after 12mths it was accurately diagnosed re-welded and resolved, but in doing so suffered broken windscreen and scuffed bumper requiring full bumper respray. This and poor service really blighted ownership. Shame because after replacing the jarring, tram lining runflats, it almost lives up to the hype!!!

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Overall very good

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Best car for miles traveled, get 750+ miles per tank with 1/2 hour london driving min every day and motorway driving north edge of legal speed, still doing 50+mpg Did 20,000 miles in 7 months, 1 service, tyres still legal and once needed small top up of water, otherwise started first time every time and not a single issue (except vandilism)

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Quality product that is very satisfying to drive and economical to fuel and tax/insure

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Good package, slightly disappointing performance, excellent handling & road holding.

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A very reliable, well built, car with lots of "umph" when you need it. Well finished inside and out. Fairly economical to run considering the power. Good roadhandling. As it's rear wheel drive, it is tricky to control in snow/ice conditions. However advantages outweigh the disadvantages.

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Very good in most areas but run flat tyres spoil the ride, petrol engine too expensive to run and no performance benefit compared with diesel, useless on snow.

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Too many faults - may be before its time with unproven technology (stop/start) and poor ignition coil supply

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Generally good. Kick down on automatic can be sluggish. Seat/pedalssteering wheel relationship adjustment poor.

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Good on everyday drive, solidly built, instructions are easy to reach. However really really bad when there is snow even a few mm snow bmw can lose it tail easily.

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Love it, definitely going to go for the same brand again, i've owned two cars, both have been 3 series bmw's and have had no major complaints

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Good to drive but not to look at. Run flat tyres

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Superb car to drive, fantastic quality and reliability, amazingly low running cost, way ahead of the audit a4 or merc c class as an all round package, hard to beat.

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German cars are not what they are "claimed" to be... Polo, a4, a6 & 320d...ALL Of them have gone wrong! (in saying that, so have my 2 suzuki's & vectra)

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Good car let down by poor ride quality over rough roads and just wont go in the snow

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Cheap to run, quite fast, handling not bad althought upset by bumps on braking. poor in snow Good buy at the price the company paid - too expensive for what it is retail

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Great to drive. Had serious problems when steering column had to be replaced ! Car out of warranty and price to fix came to over £1100 ! When questioned, bmw came back with 'goodwill' gesture but still concerned why steering column failure when car was low mileage for year, always fully serviced by bmw main dealer and never driven hard. Also had a number of windscreen washer issues with bottle filter becoming blocked if non-bmw washer fluid used. This is design fault with filter but bmw still charge a fortune to resolve issue!

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Fantastic car. In 60,000 miles i have never had a problem with it. Handling is excellent, fuel economy is good with impressive performance. Would certainly get another one.

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Thoroughly enjoyed owning it

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Great residuals. Great economy. Will still be going strong a long time after a focus has fallen to pieces and the prices are not dissimilar. Whole life carbon footprint very low. Fantastic to drive and quick when needed. Overall mpg of 54 on whole trip to south of france and back for two week holiday! Rear drive so drives like a real car should! You have to drive one to know!

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A very potent mix of performance (0-60 in 8 seconds) and low co2 (109g/km) make this a car with very, very few real competitors.

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Very practical, ride surprisingly good and well put together.

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.

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Excellent and reliable with enough sportiness and performance to make it interesting and desirable. Very poor in snow and ice though.

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Very good but horrified how badly it fairs in the snow and ice. Really enjoy how well it drives generally.

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Brilliant it is the 5th bmw that i have owned in succession after being disappointed in the downward opiral of merc quality

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Great car,still makes you look back when you walk away, comfort, economy bmw reputation and handling.

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An excellent car spoiled by run-flat tyres and fuel consumption far in excess of manufactures figures.

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Very nicely styled car with very good performance. very good range of safety features.

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Bmw keeps secret information about the manufacturing process that is essential for the repair of its products, so that repairers outside the bmw network operate in ignorance. This has cost me a great deal of money, and bmw has contributed nothing. Their whole operation is designed to force customers to use their franchises at inflated prices and dubious quality.

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3 years old this month, 27000 miles and only £124 spent on servicing so far!!! Brilliant handling, well put together and has never let me down yet.

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I love it! It is fairly frugal yet still outperforms many cars on the road. It is very comfortable & one could travel many miles without fatigue. It looks lovely too.

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Only had it a few weeks but it's great so far. My old car was a quite similar model and i was pleased with that.

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Been a fantasic car and given the age still looks as good as new and feels like new. Usual wear and tear issues have arisen from seized rear calipers to issues with the suspension bushes.

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When I bought the car the alloy wheel was cracked. A BMW dealer told me there was a nail in the tyre and charged me to replace it. Only after another tyre change did I take it to an independent tyre fitter who found the problem in 10 minutes. BMW dealer was clearly lying and BMW Customer Care refused to refund any of the money despite 10 months of trying. Very shoddy all round.

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Only a minor problem of a loose connector.

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Difficult to tell as yet. Only owned for 6 weeks, but know of a few potential issues.

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Everything seems to work well, had a problem with traction control and was repaired under warranty.

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Not had it long enough to reliably be able to comment on it, had it less than 6 months.

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92000 miles - no problems. Run-flat tyres need replacing quite frequently

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The dash had an electrical fault which cost to fix, and a central locking fault appear, but after a search online was a simple fuse repair by myself.

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In nearly 6 years, it has never broken down or failed to start. The only problem arose when I filled it with petrol instead of diesel just after I got it!

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Apart from consumables (Tyres, fuel, oil etc) regular servicing is the only thing this car has cost me & has never failed to start or broken down

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Bought used and so far had no problems in 14 months driving

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Faultless

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Has never let me down and no mecanical problems ever. ( 4th BMW I've owned and they are all the same )

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Generally happy but have had a couple of "issues"

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never had to replace anything other than tyres and brake pads

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Occasional minor issue - e.g. steering lock problem

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One fault shortly after purchase. ABS control unit failed. Replaced by Bavarian BMW Belfast as goodwill gesture and dealer paid for labour.

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.

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It makes long journeys, particularly motorways, much more relaxing than in a lower class of vehicle. The engine is powerful and quiet, the autobox is superb, the seats comfortable, the climate control is so comforting, the xenon lights give rise to positive comments from passengers, and the sound system does not require a hearing aid. I have averaged 43 mpg over 24,000 miles, and insurance is £200 a year. Additionally, i know that if an incident manifests, i have superb brakes and stability systems. To sum up, this is the only car i have owned that i do not wish to change after five years, mainly because i would be jealous of the person that i sold it to (who would get a bargain, full of luxury).

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Overated!

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Very practical and very tough wearing, run flat tyres can be very loud on some road conditions will be changing to non runflat tyres soon.

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Good car but hate runflat tyres. Dsc went after 30 days of being out of warranty. Bmw offered to pay half of the part cost but worked out cheaper to goto local specialist! Bmw main dealers were cowboys.

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Appart from a sensor on the air-con, the car has had perfect reliability, decent performance with excelent economy (45+ mpg), a joy to drive with precice steering & good brakes, the perfect car for me!

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Excellent drive, very easy to di business miles in, downgrading to take advantage of company car tax breaks

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Reliable and a pleasure to drive but uses to much petrol

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It does everything i nee it to do. Has great performance, but only costs £90 a year to tax and returned 48 mpg over the last 6 months.

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Not the most exciting looking compact exec, but a great blend of performance, handling and fuel economy that in my opinion can't be bettered by any other at the price point. Only one niggle in the 3 and bit years of driving it which was fixed promptly under warranty. Bmw smart servicing with intervals every 2 years helps to keep costs down. Rear wheel drive is causing problems in the harsher winters especially where we live, causing me with regret, to switch to another manufacturer.

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Brilliant car unless there is snow, then you have to park it up if you want to keep it in one peace or from blocking traffic because you cant move.

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Great blend of power driver dynamics and eco credentials. Don't drive it in the snow because its useless but the other 95% of the year great if not quite as grippy as the regular 320d se or msport.

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Great sports estate - superb handling & performance. But poor manual seat adjustment. The worst is the runflat tyres are very poor - too extensive , not practical at all (wont stop you getting stranded) , spares unavailable, ruins comfort- good idea, rubbish implementation. Please bmw drop them - your customers are.

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Great car. Super performance and decent mpg.

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Brilliant motorway car Very very quiet at speed All day comfortable Outstanding diesel engine for performance, economy and co2 Only really a 4 seater Rubbish in the snow!

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Absolutely spot on. A true quality product. If bmw could improve the ride quality i would say the perfect car.

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This is the first car i have bought that i have been 100% happy with. Even though i bought it second hand hand everything in it was as good as new and still is. What i really like about it is the comfort of sitting in it combined with the performance/economy that it gives out.

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Great value for money and a pleasure to drive and own.

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318d bmw is a good car but the 320d is the better engine. The thing i love is the quality build, lasts forever and is so easy to drive. I might consider an audi next time but only because they have a 4 wheel drive alternative.....after the snow in scotland a bmw is not a good choice.

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Very good alround car but is let down by poor boot space & ease of loading the boot

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My last 320d was written off by my wife after 4 years trouble free motoring and 76000 miles on the clock...We Didn't hesitate when buying a replacment..it had to be a 320d

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Wonderful drive, performance when needed, economical on diesel, parts and servicing are pricey

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.

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Generally very satisified, its great to drive, but that fault with an injector did put a dampner on its reputation for build quality.

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Good all round quality, with plenty of extras to play with

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Good handling and build. Quite good economy for a 3l (24mpg). Torque is a disappointment (compared to a 120d which only managed 30mpg)

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Uncomfortable seating. hard run flats. soft suspension witeh body roll. good and economical engine. unpractical interior. poor spec with expenisve extras. poor dealer . worst of all: bmw unable to solve problem with clutch judder/ dualmass flywheel.

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Other than regular services and tyes, I have not had to pay for any other repairs. The car still feels like new.

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Not very good. I have had two significant problems in the last 6 months.

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in the 4 years I have owned it, it has only had a new door mirror motor and a new bcu both under warrantee

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I have had no problems with this car

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Nothing to complain about. Only fault was a controller for rear light cluster. Replaced under warranty by main dealer.

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Absolutely no problems so far

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Car is reliable so far, however, the servicing data has been called into question.

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Awesome car, just not particularly comfortable for rear seat passengers and ride is a bit bumpy off the motorways. not much support on front seats either. still very happy with car though.

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Handling and performance excellent, love the car as much as the day i bought it. No problems at all but find variable servicing and cost of servicing disappointing.

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