N52 or N53 > E 60 5 Series

tom_tarbucket

Hello,

Looking at buying a 2006 / 2007 523i Automatic.

upon research, people told me to stay a million miles away from the newer N 53 engine and to try and get an N 52. So I went off purposely looking for an N 52.

Supposedly the N 53 suffers a lot from coil pack and injector issues.

Now based on more research, its seems the N 53 is not as bad as I thought.

Can anyone confirm here which is the most reliable :

1 ) The N 52 Engine
2 ) The N 53 Engine

Obviously based on a decent service record etc.

I know some people may have heard of 1 or 2 N5'3 that has had all its coils replaced, but thats only a couple of examples.

If the coil thing were to happen on an N 53 , would it have happened by now on a 2007 car ( lets says for example 60,000 miles and almost 7 years old ) or can it happen at any time in its life ?

Also, if the coil thing was to happen, once its replaced, is that the problem solved or can it keep on happening ?

Leonard Hofstadter

Regardless of the reliability, it's worth bearing in mind that on the engine size tax system, an N52 525i is a 2.5 litre whereas the 525i with the N53 is a 3.0 litre. For that reason alone I'd be looking for an N52 525i. But I still think the N52 is a more reliable unit.

Tea 1000

captainspeed wrote: »

Regardless of the reliability, it's worth bearing in mind that on the engine size tax system, an N52 525i is a 2.5 litre whereas the 525i with the N53 is a 3.0 litre. For that reason alone I'd be looking for an N52 525i. But I still think the N52 is a more reliable unit.

True, but the N53 523i is similar in output to the N52 525i, but with more mpg.
It seems if the N53 doesn't have injector and coil pack issues then it's a solid enough engine, but it's hard to see the real info as when you google problems all you'll find is problems.
The 2.5 N53 does seem more reliable than the 3 litre N53, and much less prone to the injector issues.

tom_tarbucket

Tea 1000 wrote: »

True, but the N53 523i is similar in output to the N52 525i, but with more mpg.
It seems if the N53 doesn't have injector and coil pack issues then it's a solid enough engine, but it's hard to see the real info as when you google problems all you'll find is problems.
The 2.5 N53 does seem more reliable than the 3 litre N53, and much less prone to the injector issues.

ok, If the coil thing were to happen on an N 53 , would it have happened by now on a 2007 car ( lets says for example 60,000 miles and almost 7 years old ) or can it happen at any time in its life ?

tom_tarbucket

captainspeed wrote: »

Regardless of the reliability, it's worth bearing in mind that on the engine size tax system, an N52 525i is a 2.5 litre whereas the 525i with the N53 is a 3.0 litre. For that reason alone I'd be looking for an N52 525i. But I still think the N52 is a more reliable unit.

for tax purposes I wont be getting an engine above a 2.5 litre

Tea 1000

tom_tarbucket wrote: »

ok, If the coil thing were to happen on an N 53 , would it have happened by now on a 2007 car ( lets says for example 60,000 miles and almost 7 years old ) or can it happen at any time in its life ?

From what I can see, if it hasn't happened by now it's much less likely to happen, but could always happen once. Doesn't seem to start happening and keep happening.

tom_tarbucket

Tea 1000 wrote: »

From what I can see, if it hasn't happened by now it's much less likely to happen, but could always happen once. Doesn't seem to start happening and keep happening.

do you know how much it is to replace a coil

Tea 1000

tom_tarbucket wrote: »

do you know how much it is to replace a coil

http://www.micksgarage.com/proddetails.aspx?pid=1264601

Not sure how much work is involved though.

ian87

I know a person who had a 2007 523i with the newer style engine. He literally had injectors fail every 6 months. BMW would replace the injectors under warranty only for them to fail again within months. It got to the stage where BMW were replacing them no questions asked such was the frequency of them failing.

Leonard Hofstadter

tom_tarbucket wrote: »

for tax purposes I wont be getting an engine above a 2.5 litre

Then get an N52, because you can still have a 525i with that engine - an N53 525i is a 3.0 litre.

tom_tarbucket

Tea 1000 wrote: »

http://www.micksgarage.com/proddetails.aspx?pid=1264601

Not sure how much work is involved though.

Thanks.

So just to confirm, you like me were advised against an N 53 engine. But you delved a bit deeper and found the N 53 to be ok ?

Where did you find this information. ?
And are you definitely going for an N 53 over an N 52 now ?

R.O.R

We had one N53 engined, late 07, 523i Manual on Fleet. In it's time on fleet it had at least 14 injectors replaced, and at least the same number of coils.

It broke down so many times in the first year, we took it off the driver and replaced it - with exactly the same car, just an 08 model.

The 08 was better, but wasn't totally trouble free. 3 notes on the history of loss of power (but no further info), which is usually the first sign of coil/injector issues.

Not a huge number of cars to make a firm judgement on, but as ALL (circa 30) the Stop/Start Petrol 3 Series we had on the fleet had the same issues, on multiple occasions, and were never right, I'd be steering clear of an Effecient Dynamics Petrol BMW.

tom_tarbucket

R.O.R wrote: »

We had one N53 engined, late 07, 523i Manual on Fleet. In it's time on fleet it had at least 14 injectors replaced, and at least the same number of coils.

It broke down so many times in the first year, we took it off the driver and replaced it - with exactly the same car, just an 08 model.

The 08 was better, but wasn't totally trouble free. 3 notes on the history of loss of power (but no further info), which is usually the first sign of coil/injector issues.

Not a huge number of cars to make a firm judgement on, but as ALL (circa 30) the Stop/Start Petrol 3 Series we had on the fleet had the same issues, on multiple occasions, and were never right, I'd be steering clear of an Effecient Dynamics Petrol BMW.

Thanks, so your vote is that the N 52 is more reliable

When did the efficient dynamics come in on the N 53, dont think it was 07 ? a bit later that that maybe ?

R.O.R

tom_tarbucket wrote: »

Thanks, so your vote is that the N 52 is more reliable

When did the efficient dynamics come in on the N 53, dont think it was 07 ? a bit later that that maybe ?

Was September 07 I think. Some were in earlier than that and there was some stock of pre Lci models around as well.

bazz26

E60 LCI was introduced in March 2007 but still carried over most of the old engines. It was around September 2007 before the new Efficient Dynamic engines were introduced along with a new 6 speed auto box.

rocky

Jayzis, another N52 thread... my favourite

Not gonna say again that N52>N53 in reliability, other posters have done that already...

Ferris

It's worth noting that the n53's are only 750 to tax on the emissions tax rate ('08+ obviously)

Also did BMW not rectify the injector and coil issues, albeit eventually.

Leonard Hofstadter

bazz26 wrote: »

E60 LCI was introduced in March 2007 but still carried over most of the old engines. It was around September 2007 before the new Efficient Dynamic engines were introduced along with a new 6 speed auto box.

Not true, only the 520d kept the old engine until September 2007 - all other LCI E60 models got updated engines from the outset.

Idbatterim

http://cars.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/06-bmw-523i-sports-auto-fully-loaded/6441794

just saw this OP, bloody bargain if it all checks out...

http://cars.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/bmw-5-series-523i-sport-z5si-my05-4dr/6460197

tom_tarbucket

Idbatterim wrote: »

http://cars.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/06-bmw-523i-sports-auto-fully-loaded/6441794

just saw this OP, bloody bargain if it all checks out...

http://cars.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/bmw-5-series-523i-sport-z5si-my05-4dr/6460197

Not bad. M sport is a bit saucy.

Tea 1000

tom_tarbucket wrote: »

Not bad. M sport is a bit saucy.

It's a cleaner looking car though and M Sports are typically worth a few more bob used versus SE's.

tom_tarbucket

anyone else on N 52 versus N 53 ?

tom_tarbucket

Hello

Regarding maintenance and servicing on a 6 cylinder 523i --- will it cost a lot more do than on a standard car ? ( focus, corolla etc )