2003 BMW 320d, any problems?

PADRAIC.M · 13-10-2009 09:11AM #1

Hi, thinking of buying one of these, just wondering has anyone had any problems with one of these, it has 125k on it, cheers.

EPM · 13-10-2009 09:16AM

Pre Sept 03 cars gave more than their fair shar of turbo problems. I would check that the turbo has already been replaced at that mileage

Nforce · 13-10-2009 09:24AM

EPM wrote: »

Pre Sept 03 cars gave more than their fair shar of turbo problems. I would check that the turbo has already been replaced at that mileage

Turbo problems generally occurred on cars fitted with the 1995cc 150bhp M47 engine from Sept '01 (facelift model). The earlier 136bhp cars do not seem to suffer from this issue.
Other things that need looking at on the 320d...

Suspension/bushes and wishbones
Final Stage Resistor for the A/C
Faulty ZKE module (internal relays burn out leading to central locking issues)
Corroded earth contacts for the tail lights
MAF may need replacing
Ensure that the crankcase breather filter has been changed regularly.

PADRAIC.M · 13-10-2009 09:55AM

thanks for the heads up, now that you mention those things above, A/c not workin thought it just needed re gas, and central locking when i unlocked it off the button the windows went down but i when i double pressed the button on the key it just unlocked so i thought the button was just sticking, i wonder are those bits expensive? Also the srs light is on . . .The car is pretty cheap and clean. Its a private sale by the way.

niceirishfella · 13-10-2009 10:04AM

PADRAIC.M wrote: »

. . .The car is pretty cheap and clean.

cheap for a reason, walk away.

Mr Benevolent · 13-10-2009 10:28AM

niceirishfella wrote: »

cheap for a reason, walk away.

+1. Air con not working is bad, not to mention the c/l problem. Walk away.

bazz26 · 13-10-2009 10:41AM

Given the wide choice of these out there at the moment I would not be interested in one with that number of things that need fixing.

PADRAIC.M · 13-10-2009 10:53AM

yeah one half of my mind says walk away other half says M tech kit with leather ;-)

JohnCleary · 13-10-2009 11:03AM

I have an 02 and love it. Only problem I had was a weeping turbo (oil seals on the way out) so whipped out the Turbo and sent it to Turbo Technics in the UK. £300 and it was like a new Turbo and sitll is a few thousands miles later.

As said, make sure crankcase breather filter was changed every 2nd service.

There's also swirl flap issues with this engine where the swirl flaps in the intake manifold can get sucked in writing off the engine - there's a mod to fix this.

Every car has their problems. Look at the amount of 320d's on the road, of course some are going to give trouble

Nforce · 13-10-2009 11:31AM

A/C final stage resistor is a relatively cheap fix. I did mine for around €70....bitch of a job to do though. ZKE is around €350 from the stealers and needs to be coded to the car.
My '01 has clocked up 155k now and has recently had a full suspension change...serviced every 5k with the EGR cleaned out every 15k.

2003 BMW 320d, any problems?

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