235i In the market

mecheng77 · 11-27-2022, 02:15 PM

Good day I was looking at buying a 335i or 235i, I was wondering if the N55 had the major issues sorted out. I know the 335i had 30M0 and I am wondering if there are years to avoid, I've read about spun bearings and I'm wondering if the 235i would be a more reliable engine with the 30O0 as apparently it had a forged crankshaft and improved fuel pump. The 240i is priced way too high in this market. Thanks

bcwalks2 · 11-30-2022, 05:40 AM

The N55 on the 235i is very reliable. Very few issues with the engines if taken care of. You will want to replace the charge pipe as the OEM plastic one is known to fail, plenty of good aftermarket’s available. Also the coolant explanation hose is another weak point. I have a 2016 with 55k on it (summer car 3rd vehicle) and have a friend with a 2014 with over 90k, no issues for either of us!

msej449 · 11-30-2022, 05:56 AM

Here's the unofficial service/replacement schedule for an M235i N55 for a car that's being used long-term:

This is just based on a trawl across UK and US owner forums and is only meant as a rough guide for a car that's only used on public roads, and not tracked.

You'll see the recommendation to replace the charge pipe before 40K miles (along with a coolant refresh) and to replace the engine oil every 10K miles. The coolant overflow already mentioned seems to be a 60K replacement (along with the water pump and fuel filter). My observation is that BMW now do a more robust charge pipe, which I suspect is fine for public road use, but you may want to go for one of the full metal versions if you plan to mod the engine, or do track work.

The most problematic service item is replacing the ZF8 auto oil at around the 50K-60K mark. BMW simply won't do this and while some people DIY it, many will go to a ZF-approved specialist for the work, as ideally it uses special pump equipment.

Just to emphasise - the M235i is a very reliable car. The above is what you'd do in an ideal world if money's no object and you want to keep the car up to the 80K or more miles. All cars will have a similar ideal service schedule.

The only other complication is if you take out Extended Warranty: I've already had an LSD replaced under this, which has paid for itself many times over. But you may feel that you're paying-out twice over if you take out the warranty and in parallel, do a load of preventive maintenance. For me, the Extended Warranty was an insurance for replacing an engine, fuel injection, auto box or LSD etc., rather than less expensive items. Here in the UK, as long as the car has a full service history with BMW, and is not modded, then you can take out EW at any time - it doesn't have to go back-to-back with the 3-year warranty.

Cos270 · 11-30-2022, 01:13 PM

Another high(er) mileage owner chiming in here. I'm a little over 50K (3rd owner-started at 33k) and have, for the most part, followed the schedule that msej449 has posted. Car has been very reliable during my tenure, and the receipts and documentation I have from the previous owners shows the same. Oil changes have been more frequent than 10K, but everything else has been by the book. I just replaced the original battery this year before winter set in as I will actually need to drive into the office at a regular frequency starting in January, but the battery showed no signs of needing replacement.

Nickies · 11-30-2022, 10:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cos270

Another high(er) mileage owner chiming in here. I'm a little over 50K (3rd owner-started at 33k) and have, for the most part, followed the schedule that msej449 has posted. Car has been very reliable during my tenure, and the receipts and documentation I have from the previous owners shows the same. Oil changes have been more frequent than 10K, but everything else has been by the book. I just replaced the original battery this year before winter set in as I will actually need to drive into the office at a regular frequency starting in January, but the battery showed no signs of needing replacement.

I don't believe this schedule is coming from BMW. A lot of these items don't make sense to be replaced just to waste money at 50K...... water pump, diff service , trans..... charge pipe and so on.

I would stay by what BMW recommends.

bcwalks2 · 12-01-2022, 05:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nickies

I don't believe this schedule is coming from BMW. A lot of these items don't make sense to be replaced just to waste money at 50K...... water pump, diff service , trans..... charge pipe and so on.

I would stay by what BMW recommends.

This has a lot of good PMs to do so you don’t get stranded. The water pumps have been historically poor on BMWs… diff service if a manual is super easy and cheap. The charge pipe is one of the first things that should be done, it’s not if, but when it will blow off and leave you in limp mode.

msej449 · 12-01-2022, 06:09 AM

Perhaps I wasn't being very clear in my post but I was identifying maintenance items that are explicitly not on the BMW Service Schedule: service items which 2 Series owners across US and UK forums had reported as either consistently failing prematurely or just accepted good practice. And things that a long-term owner would consider doing in contrast to BMW's 3-years-from-new warranty horizon.

I'd agree that if you're only going to keep the car for a few years from new, then it's questionable whether the preventive approach is worth it. But like all cars, statistically, some items will be more likely to fail than others as time goes on and the post tries to identify these. And if you're inheriting a car that's out of warranty, then you may be very interested in knowing what the 'leage table' of likely failures will be.

And as I also said, there is a quandry if you go for BMW Extended Warranty - the premium is covering almost all the listed failures and more (engine, gearbox and drivetrain). So the justification for preventive maintenance is only to obviate inconvenient breakdowns and repair time, as opposed to the underlying cost of repair. The exception to this are the cooling hoses which are excluded from EW - implying to me that these must be particularly prone to failure since they aren't prepared to cover them.

jzeiler4 · 12-01-2022, 12:23 PM

Heck on the E46 you had better change EVERY part of the cooling system at 100K but then you are good to go for another 100K.

11-27-2022, 02:15 PM	#1
mecheng77 Colonel 1006 Rep 2,243 Posts Drives: 2007 328i / 2014 M235i Join Date: Nov 2017 Location: Ontario Canada iTrader: (0) Garage List [0.00] [0.00]	235i In the market Good day I was looking at buying a 335i or 235i, I was wondering if the N55 had the major issues sorted out. I know the 335i had 30M0 and I am wondering if there are years to avoid, I've read about spun bearings and I'm wondering if the 235i would be a more reliable engine with the 30O0 as apparently it had a forged crankshaft and improved fuel pump. The 240i is priced way too high in this market. Thanks
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11-30-2022, 05:40 AM	#2
bcwalks2 First Lieutenant 274 Rep 399 Posts Drives: 2016 M235i & 2018 X3 M40i Join Date: Aug 2020 Location: Illinois iTrader: (0)	The N55 on the 235i is very reliable. Very few issues with the engines if taken care of. You will want to replace the charge pipe as the OEM plastic one is known to fail, plenty of good aftermarket’s available. Also the coolant explanation hose is another weak point. I have a 2016 with 55k on it (summer car 3rd vehicle) and have a friend with a 2014 with over 90k, no issues for either of us!
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11-30-2022, 05:56 AM	#3
msej449 msej449 514 Rep 717 Posts Drives: M235i Convertible +LSD 2016 Join Date: Nov 2013 Location: South Coast UK & Swiss Alps iTrader: (0) Garage List 2023 Peugeot e208 GT [0.00] 2016 BMW M235i Conv ... [0.00]	Here's the unofficial service/replacement schedule for an M235i N55 for a car that's being used long-term: This is just based on a trawl across UK and US owner forums and is only meant as a rough guide for a car that's only used on public roads, and not tracked. You'll see the recommendation to replace the charge pipe before 40K miles (along with a coolant refresh) and to replace the engine oil every 10K miles. The coolant overflow already mentioned seems to be a 60K replacement (along with the water pump and fuel filter). My observation is that BMW now do a more robust charge pipe, which I suspect is fine for public road use, but you may want to go for one of the full metal versions if you plan to mod the engine, or do track work. The most problematic service item is replacing the ZF8 auto oil at around the 50K-60K mark. BMW simply won't do this and while some people DIY it, many will go to a ZF-approved specialist for the work, as ideally it uses special pump equipment. Just to emphasise - the M235i is a very reliable car. The above is what you'd do in an ideal world if money's no object and you want to keep the car up to the 80K or more miles. All cars will have a similar ideal service schedule. The only other complication is if you take out Extended Warranty: I've already had an LSD replaced under this, which has paid for itself many times over. But you may feel that you're paying-out twice over if you take out the warranty and in parallel, do a load of preventive maintenance. For me, the Extended Warranty was an insurance for replacing an engine, fuel injection, auto box or LSD etc., rather than less expensive items. Here in the UK, as long as the car has a full service history with BMW, and is not modded, then you can take out EW at any time - it doesn't have to go back-to-back with the 3-year warranty. __________________ 2016 M235i Convertible Estoril Blue & Oyster 2023 Peugeot e-208 GT (electric) Last edited by msej449; 11-30-2022 at 06:13 AM..
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11-30-2022, 01:13 PM	#4
Cos270 First Lieutenant 609 Rep 372 Posts Drives: 2015 M235i Join Date: Sep 2018 Location: MI iTrader: (0) Garage List 2015 F22 M235i [0.00]	Another high(er) mileage owner chiming in here. I'm a little over 50K (3rd owner-started at 33k) and have, for the most part, followed the schedule that msej449 has posted. Car has been very reliable during my tenure, and the receipts and documentation I have from the previous owners shows the same. Oil changes have been more frequent than 10K, but everything else has been by the book. I just replaced the original battery this year before winter set in as I will actually need to drive into the office at a regular frequency starting in January, but the battery showed no signs of needing replacement.
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12-01-2022, 06:09 AM	#7
msej449 msej449 514 Rep 717 Posts Drives: M235i Convertible +LSD 2016 Join Date: Nov 2013 Location: South Coast UK & Swiss Alps iTrader: (0) Garage List 2023 Peugeot e208 GT [0.00] 2016 BMW M235i Conv ... [0.00]	Perhaps I wasn't being very clear in my post but I was identifying maintenance items that are explicitly not on the BMW Service Schedule: service items which 2 Series owners across US and UK forums had reported as either consistently failing prematurely or just accepted good practice. And things that a long-term owner would consider doing in contrast to BMW's 3-years-from-new warranty horizon. I'd agree that if you're only going to keep the car for a few years from new, then it's questionable whether the preventive approach is worth it. But like all cars, statistically, some items will be more likely to fail than others as time goes on and the post tries to identify these. And if you're inheriting a car that's out of warranty, then you may be very interested in knowing what the 'leage table' of likely failures will be. And as I also said, there is a quandry if you go for BMW Extended Warranty - the premium is covering almost all the listed failures and more (engine, gearbox and drivetrain). So the justification for preventive maintenance is only to obviate inconvenient breakdowns and repair time, as opposed to the underlying cost of repair. The exception to this are the cooling hoses which are excluded from EW - implying to me that these must be particularly prone to failure since they aren't prepared to cover them. __________________ 2016 M235i Convertible Estoril Blue & Oyster 2023 Peugeot e-208 GT (electric) Last edited by msej449; 12-01-2022 at 06:19 AM..
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12-01-2022, 12:23 PM	#8
jzeiler4 Lieutenant 320 Rep 536 Posts Drives: 2021 M240i xDrive vert Join Date: Aug 2020 Location: Hazel Green, AL iTrader: (0)	Heck on the E46 you had better change EVERY part of the cooling system at 100K but then you are good to go for another 100K.
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