[Rosseau]

I'm 62 but this is my first BMW, and you hear all kinds of good/bad things about the brand, no less the M240i/B58, which is only been on the street a little over two years. But we have decades of experience here, so looking to tap into that for those who have the time:

I know BMWs can be expensive to fix, but how have they held up historically under normal usage? In the old days with American cars, a lot depended on the day of the week the car was built!

Big change is from N55 to B58. The latter is modular engine, so I assume they have a vested interest in improving it. Not surprised it was voted one of Car&Driver's 10BEST engines last year. Any significant issues come up?

If you take away the performance aspects of the M235/M240i, (let's call the interior "functional"), the MSRP is high as heck, although I got a nice deal based on timing and pure luck. However, I expect to get something more for my $50k+ than if I bought a lightly-optioned Lincoln MKZ (based on the Ford Fusion) with 400HP for the same money?

Got 3.k on it, 75% highway, and plan first oil change at 5k, unless everyone thinks I'm crazy.

Any thoughts on the brand and model are always appreciated. Thanks!

[MarkDemma]

My biggest worry / hope is that they have the vanos system bulletproof by now. I've heard that you have to remove the engine to repair.

[Rosseau]

Yes, I heard the same thing and posted as such. Even under warranty, not a pleasant proposition.

[ScottAndrew]

You’ll probably find your 240 doing as much with “335” bhp as Ford does with 400!

Cars these days are so automated in manufacture that the old day-of-the-week lottery is a thing of the past.

Small data point but in the UK the last big survey done by an established publication found the 2 series to be the most reliable in its class, and one of the most reliable in general. This is notable given that BMW is not a brand that usually covers itself in reliability glory.

As for VANOS and Valvetronic... my second BMW had the first generation VANOS and was trouble free for 8 years before I sold it. My fourth had the very first generation Valvetronic with VANOS incorporated, and that is still trouble free after 16 years. Regular and frequent oil changes certainly help.

[XutvJet]

Originally Posted by Rosseau

I'm 62 but this is my first BMW, and you hear all kinds of good/bad things about the brand, no less the M240i/B58, which is only been on the street a little over two years. But we have decades of experience here, so looking to tap into that for those who have the time:

I know BMWs can be expensive to fix, but how have they held up historically under normal usage? In the old days with American cars, a lot depended on the day of the week the car was built!

Big change is from N55 to B58. The latter is modular engine, so I assume they have a vested interest in improving it. Not surprised it was voted one of Car&Driver's 10BEST engines last year. Any significant issues come up?

If you take away the performance aspects of the M235/M240i, (let's call the interior "functional"), the MSRP is high as heck, although I got a nice deal based on timing and pure luck. However, I expect to get something more for my $50k+ than if I bought a lightly-optioned Lincoln MKZ (based on the Ford Fusion) with 400HP for the same money?

Got 3.k on it, 75% highway, and plan first oil change at 5k, unless everyone thinks I'm crazy.

Any thoughts on the brand and model are always appreciated. Thanks!

The long term reliability of the B58 is still not fully known as the motor has only been on the market since 2015. For the short block, it's probably going to be just as reliable as the much simpler N55 (which was on the best engine list for numerous years). The strength and reliability of the short blocks (even with a bit more power than stock) have really never been an issue with N55 or N54 for that matter. The B58 shouldn't be any different.

What really sets the B58 a part from the N55 though are all the additional systems related to its air/liquid intercooling and the fact that the timing chain and VANOs system are on the back side of the motor. Given BMW's long term reliability history of its cooling systems and rear mounted timing chains, the costs to repair will be substantially more than that of the N55. If you only plan on keeping the car 6 or less years, you'll probably escape any major costs. After that, it's a crap shoot just as it is with any BMW. The costs to replace the block, the cylinder, or turbo assembly are laughable and rival exotics. Where BMW gets it's pricing for these parts is hilarious.

As for the cost vs what you get, put your M240 on a lift next to a MKZ and you'll quickly see what you're getting for the money. Granted you're paying for the badge, nearly everything on the BMW is more robust and higher quality. Take note of the plastics and the feel of the materials, the thickness of the sheet metal, the way the doors close and open, the thickness of the paint, etc. That's what you're paying for. The Ford may get you more tech for the money, but that's about it. Those 400hp in the MKZ would also be left in the dust to the M240's "335hp" which is more like 380hp and a ton more usable power and a far better transmission.

As for oil changes, I change my oil every 5K miles. BMW covers the annual/10K change and then I do one in between. I did a used oil analysis and found that the oil and N55 was holding up very well except that the oil (BMW LL 0W-30) was starting to fall out its viscosity range and would probably out of spec by ~7,000 miles. I drive fairly hard and have slightly more power than stock. No track driving though. I always let the oil warm up fully (about 10 minutes at least) before ripping on it too.

[USA-RET]

Mine is coming up on it's 2 year anniversary. Zero issues, not a hitch or hiccup, Dinan Stage 1 tune. Car has been flawless.

Debating on keeping it long term (since it is perfect for us), but I am in the position to be able to buy a new car as factory warranties expire. At least I have a couple of years to make up my mind. I am not worried that the car will remain trouble free beyond the warranty, hence my conundrum.

W/ all the accolades given the 2 series, I'd not worry too much about its long term reliability.

[duluthtwo]

My 240 is almost 2 years old, 9000 miles, ZERO problems. Huge smile everytime i hit the start button. I'm a very young 71 and i lived thru the muscle car era. Had the hottest cars of that time and the 240 would crush any of them.

[Denk]

The B58 is a strong engine with it's closed deck design. I have confidence in it especially in stock form. Time will tell if it has any flaws.

[XutvJet]

Originally Posted by Denk

The B58 is a strong engine with it's closed deck design. I have confidence in it especially in stock form. Time will tell if it has any flaws.

The N54 and N55 were open deck and can handle a ton more power than stock. The turbo BMW short blocks have never been an issue plus the "special" N55 in the M235 comes with the same forged crank as the M2, oil squirters, and the and same bearings and rods as used in the M2 and the S55 in M3/M4. These are all robust shortblocks.

[Rosseau]

I did not expect "fanboy" comments, and did not get them. Thanks for the technical observations to back things up.

With our age and low mileage per year, the only way for us to justify the purchase is keep the car for a minimum of 10 years, at which point it will have about 56k on it. That is "our" plan, and we're finding it difficult to stay out of the car, but winter will impact our mileage.

The N55 engine in my brother's 2013 "M" 335x and this car's B58 are just so sweet, even at lower revs. And I've done so many 3k oil changes on lesser cars, there should be an environmental clean-up site named in my honor.

So we have no problem driving two hours to Dublin (OH) for the first change at Midwest Auto Group. This place is like a Disneyland of exotics and actually worth a visit if you're in the area.

Once again, thanks for the comments. I really didn't know what you people would say about the brand or the engines.

[ScottAndrew]

Originally Posted by Rosseau

The N55 engine in my brother's 2013 "M" 335x and this car's B58 are just so sweet, even at lower revs. And I've done so many 3k oil changes on lesser cars, there should be an environmental clean-up site named in my honor.

That's what I did with my last motor. 5-7k oil changes (less than half the usual condition-based estimates) and everything inside is squeaky clean. Too many cheapskate owners and junkyard mechanics castigating the car for its fragility when they don't maintain it. Over 10 years, keep the wheelarches clean, don't let the alloys get too filthy, let it warm up and cool down properly, and it'll run fine.

[Joe240]

Since everyone else has hit all of the positive points about the car and the engine, I won’t mention them here. What I will mention is the few bad experiences I’ve had and take these with a grain of salt as they seem to be rare instances.

At around 900 miles, I had the car on a lift doing a DP and exhaust. Saw oil on the return line for the turbo and brought it into the dealership. They swapped the entire turbo assembly under warranty. An oil leak that I never noticed because these was no oil pressure drop, no weird engine noises from the turbo, no power issues. It drove like normal so assuming it was a minor thing. BMW probably just wanted to swap it out for safety reasons because of a possible oil starved turbo.

What I believe to be caused from the above problem is this next issue. The day I picked up the car from the turbo repair, I thought I heard a weird noise from the engine that wasn’t there before. I looked for rubbing hoses on the radiator fan but couldn’t see much. Turns out I was correct though. Doing a WOT pull merging off the autobahn onto a side highway, I looked in my rear view mirror and saw a plume of white smoke. Fearing a blown head gasket, I pulled off to the side and called roadside assistance. Turns out the dump mechanic didn’t secure all of the coolant lines after the turbo swap and it was rubbing the radiator fan. Also found out that he broke a clip for the O2 sensor and decided “ayyyy i’ll Just zip tie it back on to secure it instead of replacing the lower assembly.” They fixed the coolant line within 2 days and then took 6 months to find, order, and replace that broken lower assembly for the clip. However, I found later that he broke the clip itself during this change and hit clued (or whatever it was) the clip to the lower assembly so it would appear “fixed properly.” Learned here that the BMW mechanics in Germany are just as shady as some side mechanics here in the states. Always check your mechanic work if possible.

Back in the US I heard a clicking noise front driver side while turning. Usually means bad wheel bearing, right? Take it in, service bulletin says it needs a spacer for microscopic rubbing on the hub assembly. Fixed the clicking noise, but every now and then, I here a little, singular “click” now when I put in reverse and back into a parking spot. Wasn’t there before the spacer was installed and like I said it’s not every time, so I haven’t bothered to take it in.

As mentioned, take all of this with a grain of salt. 2 were mechanical issues with the car, both covered under warranty, and 1 was a mechanic issue (easily fixed with an ethical mechanic who knows what he’s doing).

Regardless of the issues I’ve had, I look forward to driving my m240xi every single day. Picked it up from the dealer September 26th 2016 and sitting at 22500 miles at the moment. I have only done the 2 annual oil changes on the car through BMW, but I plan to start the 5k interval once the maintenance plan runs out. I have no worries about the car getting me from point A to B every day, or even on road trips (leaving this morning to drive 8 hours to Crossville, TN).

[Ron Jeffries]

My 2018 M240i xDrive has 10,853 on it, according to Connected. It has been trouble-free except that the alarm kept going off and they replaced some high tech sensor in the passenger door. It's a sweet little car and I plan to keep it. Of course that's not a promise. It's the latest in a bunch of BMWs with a few Mercedes, Porsches, Audis and stuff thrown in there. BMWs are my favorites, though I do sometimes with I still had the 928. If I had it, I bet I wouldn't be glad.

[TajoMan]

I had couple of small, random issues.

Sometimes (3~4 times so far in 1.5 year) the Nav screen does not turn on when the car started. If that happens, audio doesn't work as well.
I have to turn off the car and wait for 5~10 minutes to let the car completely off.
Start the car after that, everything works fine. It's just so weird.

Also, passenger side underseat woofer didn't play bass sound couple of times. It happened only twice about a year ago and not happening again since.

When I did 'in between' oil change, the mechanic noticed oil smear on front diff.
I don't see any oil drops on my garage floor, so I don't worry about it now. I will just make sure that's checked from dealer before my warranty runs out.

Non of these were serious problem.

Other then that, the car is trouble free so far. I hope it keeps that way.

[stevenvillatoro]

Overall, the 2 Series is BMW's most reliable model. The owner-reported survey database from TrueDelta may be useful. Past reliability threads on this forum are very reassuring, and should be searched.

[B58togo]

17 months and 26,000 miles; JB4 since 1200 miles. Haven’t even had any misfires on the original Bosch plugs, although I do plan on swapping to the 2 step colder NGKs in the next month or two, especially since I’m going to flash it.

Had the low coolant warning at ~19,000 and added around 20 oz 50/50 mix.

Love this car.

[XutvJet]

Originally Posted by stevenvillatoro

Overall, the 2 Series is BMW's most reliable model. The owner-reported survey database from TrueDelta may be useful. Past reliability threads on this forum are very reassuring, and should be searched.

What is noteworthy though is that the reliability is going from great to ok as time goes on. It would be silly to expect that these German cars will be as reliable a Honda. My M235 is closing in on 3 years and 30K miles and the only issue I had was a CEL which was addressed with a DME reflash. With that said, I fully expect to start spending $1,000-2,000/yr on average on maintenance/repairs once she's out of warranty. Sensors, oil gaskets and cooling system components will likely be the more major issues.

[stevenvillatoro]

Originally Posted by XutvJet

What is noteworthy though is that the reliability is going from great to ok as time goes on.

One of us is interpreting the info wrong, I think. Maybe me?

[Rosseau]

I know nothing about cars, and mechanics scare the s*** out of me. Years ago, went to "high end" Lexus type dealer for trans fluid change, and mechanic didn't replace the plug properly. AT fluid trail from dealer and all over my garage. Been ripped off so many times, can't remember them all.

Wife and I never enjoyed a car more though, so not going to worry. Will make the drive to dealer MAG in Dublin (OH) for everything.

Thanks for the input. Again, only thing I know is roofing, so let it fly if there is a problem. I can't lie: other than "Master" manufacturer-certified contractors, roofers are even scarier. And the certified guys are expensive as heck.

[B58togo]

Originally Posted by stevenvillatoro

One of us is interpreting the info wrong, I think. Maybe me?

I read it as they’re becoming more reliable. And it’s early, so I’m still sober.

[RotorOver]

I've had the car 2 years now and about 28k miles. Two issues- MAP sensor went bad at 15k and at 20k the exhaust flap was making lots of noise. The actuator was found to be seized along with the associated fixing bow broken. This flapper valve issue is a fairly common occurrence with various models. Both problems were repaired under warranty.

After having the low coolant light come on at 11k, I now get ahead of it and have added fluid 4 times since owning the car. That is also a common thing with this engine, and apparently normal according to BMW. I guess we'll see on that one!

[Rosseau]

Only got 3.5k, but will get the correct coolant at BMW when I do my 2nd oil change. This doesn't seem like a car you go to Auto Zone for stuff. Even the windshield wiper fluid has to be special (I think).

Helos off ships - glad you're in one piece.