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      10-10-2020, 03:57 PM   #1
razman
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G80 Anticipated Reliability?

I was at my mechanic today having my wife's Mini serviced for a check engine light (damn car is a money pit) when I asked him about what he thought about the reliability of BMWs generally and specifically M3s. He said unless I'm looking to just lease one that I should stay away. When I pressed him specifically on the M3 his response was even more emphatic: "stay the hell away from any BMW that has a twin turbo." He added that they were ticking time bombs around 60k miles.

What are people's expectations as to the reliability of the G80? Is this a car you feel comfortable buying (not leasing) and using as a daily driver for years to come (i.e., running up past 100k+ miles)? Given that the last M3 was a twin turbo and the S58 engine isn't new for the G80, I was hoping the community would have some sense of this iteration's reliability in the long haul.
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      10-10-2020, 04:11 PM   #2
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My S55 has been rock solid from July 2014 over 50k+ miles. I have zero reliability concerns for the G8X.
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      10-10-2020, 04:25 PM   #3
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My 2017 F80 has been very reliable, no issues, and have almost 60k miles.
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      10-10-2020, 04:31 PM   #4
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There are some F8x with 100+k without blown turbos. Even with that, the aftermarket has some reasonable options and if you have a good indy shop then its probably not a big deal if you want to keep your car and fix it. Once you tune, all bets are thrown out the window. I figure worst case if my stock F80 blows something big like turbos, trans, etc. then the dealer/ BMW should step up and cover a chunk of the cost, or provide a reasonable trade, despite being out of warranty. I did talk to a dealer mechanic recently and they haven't seen an SCH yet on stock cars, only tuned cars for whatever that is worth.
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      10-10-2020, 04:36 PM   #5
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It's not like people are taking their healthy 60k+ mile cars for him to look at though, I'd imagine you'd have a bias after only seeing broken ones.
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      10-10-2020, 04:59 PM   #6
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The newer BMWs, especially the xx8 engines are way more reliable than previous generations. Part of this is the fact that the newer engines haven't had the same mileage put on them, so we won't know for sure.

If you look at the Nxx forums you will clearly see more problems than a Bxx engine. Part of this is the fact that the newer engines haven't had the same mileage put on them, so we won't know for sure.

I'm stating the obvious here in that the new engines should not be less reliable than the prior generation.

Perhaps the people who can speak best to this are x3m s58 owners if any are over 50k miles and S55 owners
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      10-10-2020, 05:01 PM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by solstice View Post
My S55 has been rock solid from July 2014 over 50k+ miles. I have zero reliability concerns for the G8X.
S55 has been reliable based on what i've seen so +1 to this.
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      10-10-2020, 05:38 PM   #8
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I know this is only somewhat related but a little FYI; my brother has a B58 M340i and it just guzzles oil..

No exaggeration, It requires sometimes more than a quart, likes every 2,500 miles or so, ever since it was brand new..

I know the S58 is a enhanced B58, so I just hope the same oil burning issue doesn't follow this iteration..


M340i Low engine oil warning at 3000 miles https://g20.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh....php?t=1651647


https://www.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh...php?p=25897195


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      10-10-2020, 05:53 PM   #9
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No way to tell atm, the S58 is only a year old...
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      10-10-2020, 06:11 PM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Poochie View Post
I know this is only somewhat related but a little FYI; my brother has a B58 M340i and it just guzzles oil..

No exaggeration, It requires sometimes more than a quart, likes every 2,500 miles or so, ever since it was brand new..

I know the S58 is a enhanced B58, so I just hope the same oil burning issue doesn't follow this iteration..


M340i Low engine oil warning at 3000 miles https://g20.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh....php?t=1651647


https://www.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh...php?p=25897195


.
Doesn't the S58 have things like upgraded crankcase, pistons, crankshafts and other internals? I know the B58 while very young has thus far had a stellar reliability record, which bodes well for S58 reliability.
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      10-10-2020, 06:36 PM   #11
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S55 isn't really comparable to a S58.

N55/S55 was around for an extremely long time. B58 is pretty much brand new. Won't see reliability issues for a few years.

S55s so far have been relatively bulletproof besides tuned vehicles.
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      10-10-2020, 07:16 PM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by razman View Post
When I pressed him specifically on the M3 his response was even more emphatic: "stay the hell away from any BMW that has a twin turbo." He added that they were ticking time bombs around 60k miles.
I think this opinion is from the bad reputation that the early N63 twin-turbo V8 engines have.

The S55/S58 engines are not hot-vee designs, so they shouldn't be lumped together with the N63s.
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      10-10-2020, 07:30 PM   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Prossx View Post
There are some F8x with 100+k without blown turbos.
Did you mean to say there are some F8x with 100k+ with blown turbos? Otherwise this arguably reads as though not blowing a turbo by 100k puts you in the minority. I sure hope that's not the case...
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      10-10-2020, 07:33 PM   #14
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Poochie View Post
I know this is only somewhat related but a little FYI; my brother has a B58 M340i and it just guzzles oil..

No exaggeration, It requires sometimes more than a quart, likes every 2,500 miles or so, ever since it was brand new..

I know the S58 is a enhanced B58, so I just hope the same oil burning issue doesn't follow this iteration..


M340i Low engine oil warning at 3000 miles https://g20.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh....php?t=1651647


https://www.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh...php?p=25897195


.
Frankly, this is terrifying. I can't imagine a brand new car going through a quart of oil every 2-3 months. That can't be what BMW expected, right? That said, our Mini S goes through a quart of oil every 250 miles (not 2,500) so I guess this is a major step up.
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      10-10-2020, 07:37 PM   #15
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Quote:
Originally Posted by aerostar View Post
S55 isn't really comparable to a S58.
Why do you say that?
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      10-10-2020, 09:05 PM   #16
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Prossx View Post
There are some F8x with 100+k without blown turbos. Even with that, the aftermarket has some reasonable options and if you have a good indy shop then its probably not a big deal if you want to keep your car and fix it. Once you tune, all bets are thrown out the window. I figure worst case if my stock F80 blows something big like turbos, trans, etc. then the dealer/ BMW should step up and cover a chunk of the cost, or provide a reasonable trade, despite being out of warranty. I did talk to a dealer mechanic recently and they haven't seen an SCH yet on stock cars, only tuned cars for whatever that is worth.
Just curious, but why would you expect dealer or BMW to cover something major after the stated warranty period? That sounds unlikely but interesting.
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      10-11-2020, 10:00 AM   #17
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Personally I wouldn't listen to a guy working on Mini cars albeit he is a mechanic for the subsequent BMW franchise. From my experience, a lot of those mechanics work on cars daily and are jaded sometimes and come to work driving a Chevrolet. I found a mechanic that works for BMW and has his own shop at home and only drives BMW.
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      10-11-2020, 12:09 PM   #18
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Mechanics tend to always be weary of recommending the brand they represent. Think about it. All they see all day is BMWs with problems that they get to work on. But this number could be such a small fraction of the number of reliable BMWs that are operating without issues.

So I always take their opinion with merit, but with caution.

I have seen nothing but reliability out of the N54/N55 engines and other that they spinning crank hub on the S55 it has proven to be a solid platform, even when consistently abused.
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      10-11-2020, 12:43 PM   #19
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Avaley View Post
Quote:
Originally Posted by Poochie View Post
I know this is only somewhat related but a little FYI; my brother has a B58 M340i and it just guzzles oil..

No exaggeration, It requires sometimes more than a quart, likes every 2,500 miles or so, ever since it was brand new..

I know the S58 is a enhanced B58, so I just hope the same oil burning issue doesn't follow this iteration..


M340i Low engine oil warning at 3000 miles https://g20.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh....php?t=1651647


https://www.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh...php?p=25897195


.
Doesn't the S58 have things like upgraded crankcase, pistons, crankshafts and other internals?
It does but at its core, it's original blueprint was a B58 and factually, this is a know issue with the TU1 version of that motor..

Now, I'm just sharing my observation, I can't predict the reliability of the S58, just hoping it's not the same..
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      10-11-2020, 12:46 PM   #20
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I've had an N54 car (135i, bought brand new) for 12 years now and have driven 85,000 miles. Being in California, the car is subject to more fair weather than most other cars. Based on my experience and what others have said about the N55/S55, you can expect at around 60-80,000 miles:
leaking valve cover gasket
leaking oil filter housing gasket
water pump failure

100,000 miles:
leaking oil pan gasket

The gaskets failing aren't a major issue per se, except that the number of hours for labor is ridiculous. I ended up learning how to do this myself because the estimates were 2-3k for labor. Be prepared for this if you intend to keep the car long term. I also replaced a bunch of other stuff along the way (pulleys, timing belt, spark plugs, brittle plastic pieces), which you will also have to account for if you are paying a mechanic.

N54 also had various components that were updated throughout its lifecycle (hpfp, injectors) that were designed quite poorly imo and had recalls for years, but it looks like BMW has learned from their mistakes and isn't as bad on the N55/S55.

Also, freaking window regulators. Why does BMW have issues with window regulators is beyond me, but also expect to replace them if you keep the car long term.
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      10-11-2020, 02:24 PM   #21
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      10-11-2020, 02:38 PM   #22
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Quote:
Originally Posted by wuX2 View Post
I've had an N54 car (135i, bought brand new) for 12 years now and have driven 85,000 miles. Being in California, the car is subject to more fair weather than most other cars. Based on my experience and what others have said about the N55/S55, you can expect at around 60-80,000 miles:
leaking valve cover gasket
leaking oil filter housing gasket
water pump failure

100,000 miles:
leaking oil pan gasket

The gaskets failing aren't a major issue per se, except that the number of hours for labor is ridiculous. I ended up learning how to do this myself because the estimates were 2-3k for labor. Be prepared for this if you intend to keep the car long term. I also replaced a bunch of other stuff along the way (pulleys, timing belt, spark plugs, brittle plastic pieces), which you will also have to account for if you are paying a mechanic.

N54 also had various components that were updated throughout its lifecycle (hpfp, injectors) that were designed quite poorly imo and had recalls for years, but it looks like BMW has learned from their mistakes and isn't as bad on the N55/S55.

Also, freaking window regulators. Why does BMW have issues with window regulators is beyond me, but also expect to replace them if you keep the car long term.
144k on my 7 series and never had a issue with window regulators but the x5 is another story.
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