BMW 320d 150Bhp Turbo Problems

[royal-marine]

just as an item of intrest and i appreciate this is a bmw related thread, but i recently purchased a vw golf 1.9 gt tdi with 62.000 on the clock. within 200 miles the turbo was high pithced like a police siren and there was 'white' smoke on start up, indicating an oil leak which is then burnt off on ignition. i dont know how these garages know when a car is going to go, but if they spent half the energy diagnosing and sorting problems as they do covering them up and flogging dead horse im sure they'd be alot better off.

 

avoid bmw 3 series post 01 and avoid mk4 golfs every forum or both these cars are packed with disgruntled customers who bought into the idea of quality of these german 'tanks'.

 

its simply not true that these are well built cars anymore they are living on hard won reputations both makes arnt anywhere near as reliable or easy to fix as fords, vauxhalls or any of the japanese cars.

avoid at all costs unless you want an experience similer to driving lots of hired or courtesy cars if lucky, whilst simultaneously throwing wads of twenty pound notes into the slipstream.

[sorr535771]

I have a 320cd se sport 2004. Love the car! quick, handles great and looks amazin!

 

However just been reading up on the turbo problems!!!

 

When i put my foot down and feel the turbo kick in there is a thin cloud of smoke from the exhaust, not much but seems to clear abit when warmed up.

 

I know diesels do smoke and so im not too worried at the minute, but does any one have any input on the matter?

 

And also does the dreaded turbo failure affect my 2004 model. I have a 6 month warranty on the car, so I might just send it in to get it checked before its up.

 

But any comments will be appreciated. thanks.

 

 

i would get it checked straight away, the official line from bmw is that this problem was fixed in 04 onwards plate diesels however i know a bmw mechanic and he says the defect will affect all models upto the new shape release of 2005 models, my failure started with a thin whisp of smoke from the back and the turbo got louder and louder for around 3months until BANG!!! inside a tunnel smoke blocking the vision of other motorists and choking them, this caused a multi car pile up and lead to a road closure until the car was recovered NOT GOOD BMW GET IT SORTED!!!

 

the repair cost to my car is £850 for a reconditioned turbo (i was very lucky the main turbo bolt didnt enter the engine if this happened i would be looking at a £8k bill) it blew doin 30mph in rush hour.

[yq1883]

hi there, ]

 

iv got a 320d on an 53 plate, its a lovely car, i mainly use this to go to work and back, i recently changed the turbo at 46k miles as had the same problems as you, u wont need a new engine only a new turbo, the cat and exhust can be sorted, also depends on how much oil has been sucked through the cat, i had taken this to a bmw speacilist who had advised me what had needed to be changed, what i can advise is that get a fe quotes from a few garages for labour only and buy the parts from a bmw parts supplier,

[Dan172]

You can always try taking it on a HARD drive, get alot of heat into the cat to burn off any oil that has gone into it.

 

I'm an ex-mechanic by trade, this is common practise tbh!

[Conniff]

You can always try taking it on a HARD drive, get alot of heat into the cat to burn off any oil that has gone into it.

 

I'm an ex-mechanic by trade, this is common practise tbh!

 

I agree with that, never replace a cat unless it fails the MoT after having been given a decent length burn.

[starsky02]

I'm new here and I've just had the turbo go on my October 2004 (sold new May 2005) 320d.

 

I'm pretty annoyed tbh. Even though the car has 97k on it, it has been regularly serviced and most of the mileage is motorway. As I pay for the car and fuel myself, I usually stick it on cruise control under 2,000 revs. I don't drive hard in order to avoid just the sort of situation I'm now in!

 

It annoys me greatly that BMW know about this problem but do nothing to warn customers. From the posts above it is apparent that some simple precautions can avoid catastrophic engine damage but BMW just won't tell you!

 

The service manager in my local BMW dealership is trying to be helpful. He volunteered to contact BMW about the cost as this is a known fault. I am waiting to hear back later today if they will assist.

 

A local mechanic has told me to get rid of the car as soon as possible after repair. However, is there any turbo diesel I can run over big mileage without big servicing and reapir costs? This thread makes me think that turbo diesels are just a bad idea!

[Dan172]

It may seem a down grade, but a 2.2dci renault laguna, dont get a 1.9. 2.2 is the best engine IMO they ever did in the laguna.

[Manoah1234]

Hey All,

 

Also a newbie to this site.

 

I have a BMW 320 TD compact (2001) with 76,000 miles on the clock. I was driving home from work the other day and the turbo blew, costing me a hefty £2500 (new turbo, cat etc.)

 

Just wanted to warn anyone else thinking about buying one that this can happen to these cars. Reading all the previous posts I would avoid it like the plague and stick with something more reliable.

 

Regards

[Conniff]

If it should happen again Manoah to you, or anyone else, do not have the cat replaced. They may tell you all this rubbish about the oil has ruined it, which it can do, but if you take a nice long drive it can also burn out the contaminent.

 

Wait until the next MoT to see it it fails on emission before having the cat replaced.

[Manoah1234]

If it should happen again Manoah to you, or anyone else, do not have the cat replaced. They may tell you all this rubbish about the oil has ruined it, which it can do, but if you take a nice long drive it can also burn out the contaminent.

 

Wait until the next MoT to see it it fails on emission before having the cat replaced.

 

Hi Conniff,

 

Thanks for the info, I hope it won't happy again anytime soon haha

 

I've only driven it a couple of miles so far but there is a small amount of oil coming out of the exhaust. I take it this is just residual oil left from all the damage and it should stop after a day or so?

 

Anyway i'm planning to go back to the garage if it doesn't

 

Cheers

[swedeman]

Hi all,

It seems that BMW have problems with their turbo diesels too!

 

I am currently repairing a Vauxhall movano Van with the renault 2.2 dci engine.

 

The renault engine /turbo is also prone to premature expiration, but renualt are agreeing to pay 100% of the repair cost for some relevant 1.9 and 2.2 dci's. Please see the following link for how they managed this:

Parker's forum - Renault dCi Turbo Problems. Read TOPIC l First!

 

 

Very important is that you inform the Vehicle & Operator Services Agency (VOSA) ESPECIALLY if the failure has put you or others in danger. Details below, (this has also been copied from the above link also):

 

"If you have had a catastrophic turbo and/or engine failure and you feel that this has put you and others in danger you should inform VOSA.

Details are as follows:

Vehicle & Operator Services Agency

Vehicle Safety Branch

Berkeley House

Croydon Street

BRISTOL BS5 0DA

Tel: 0117 954 3300

Mark your communication for the attention of Jeffrey Sweeting. The heading should read:

RENAULT (MODEL) X.dCi Reg. No xxxx xxx"

 

I have been looking at turbo diesels and it seems that there are many affected, including the VAG gruop cars.

 

One that does not seem to be affected so much is the peugeot TD. This may be because they are not stressing their turbos so much, either by running lower boost pressure and KW and/or lower exhaust temperatures. Or peugeot are doing a better customer service job ... ?? (i am not connected to peugeot, but i have rallied in them, and after the plastic falls off, they are absolutely bullet proof!!)

[swedeman]

I have to agree with the advice to allow the turbos to simmer:

Remember that a diesel turbo is running very high bost pressures nearly ALL the time, even when gently cruising and that exhaust (and therefore turbo) temperatures are highest in a diesel when gently cruising (as the burn is at its leanest). Therefore, the effect of turbo simmering is even more important than on a high performance petrol turbo, where it is advised to cool at idle for at least one minute after running. And with a Turbo diesel, this should be done on every shutdown, regardles on how hard you have been driving.

Also, when you start the car, let it idle for 10 seconds to allow the oil to reach the turbo bearings before giving any revs - as a red hot lump of cast iron (your turbo after cruising on the motorway for 1 hour) is still likely to carbonise the residual oil after stopping the engine even after simmering for 1 minute.

 

It now seems that if you own a TD, it is helpful to see some of the early signs of turbo failure, here are some, please copy and paste and add others you thing of:

1) blue smoke, this has come from the exhaust side of the engine and not through the engine, therefore, most likely to have come from the bearing on the exhaust vanes of the turbo, early indication is directly at start-up, at idle.

2) strange noises! especially tinkling like a coin in the exhaust, I believe this is some play in the turbo.

3) black or white smoke, this is poor combustion, due to low boost or excessive oil (from the inlet vanes of the turbo).

4) Low power, ecu is not happy possibly with the turbo boost (limp home mode), or the turbo is having bearing problems.

5) Too high fuel economy and power - this could be a blocked exhaust gas recycler (EGR) or sticking waste gate. Both of these overstress the turbo so should be checked - should send the car into limp home mode see 4)

6)...

[JFH1969]

Turbo blew on my 320d and I paid for a replacement to be fitted by a local garage around 3 months ago. Last weekend the engine siezed after a loss of power and a puff of smoke out the back. The garage are telling me the turbo's gone again, but this time blown oil through the engine which is gonna be VERY expensive (probably more than the value of the car) to sort. They're telling me that the turbo was starved of oil but I only checked it last weekend and the oil level was fine !! I'm expecting them to sort this for me as I paid for the turbo on the car 3 months ago. How can either me or the garage prove what's happened ??

[heliosuk]

How can either me or the garage prove what's happened ??

 

Probably not unless there is acess to a recognised lab and engineer. And that gets expensive!

[JFH1969]

Prior to the breakdown I was getting around 53mpg (which seemed unusually high) I thought it was great - is this a sign that there may have been problems with the turbo ??

[swedeman]

Prior to the breakdown I was getting around 53mpg (which seemed unusually high) I thought it was great - is this a sign that there may have been problems with the turbo ??

 

It is on the list 4 posts above...

 

"5) Too high fuel economy and power - this could be a blocked exhaust gas recycler (EGR) or sticking waste gate. Both of these overstress the turbo so should be checked - should send the car into limp home mode see 4)..."

 

 

Passing oil through your engine is not as bad as it seems (the engine may be fine if there was not any hydraulic action) but it does contaminate the intercooler - the replacement cost is high, but not prohibitive.

 

The worry seems to be the "engine siezed..." . Did it actually seize? stop turning and could not be turned over with the starter, car came to a very sudden and violent stop?

If so, contact the VOSA as this is very dangerous, and the engine is indeed toast.

 

To fail so fast, it would appear that there was some problem with the fitment of the new turbo or that the underlying problem that ruined the first turbo was not corrected first...

[JFH1969]

the car just lost power, I turned off then on again, it then died and wouldn't turn over, the garage that installed the turbo don't reall want to know and I'm now left with a car worth £4k with a repair bill of nearly that amount !!

[JFH1969]

News back from independent engineer says that the Turbo failure was probably caused by the Turbo 'ingesting' something and NOT lack of oil. Does anyone know how this can happen ?

[swedeman]

If you have an airfilter fitted correctly, the something must have been left in the induction/exhaust system when the turbo was replaced, or come loose inside. Normally there is nothing to come loose for this reason.

Check all induction system for damage prior to the turbo.

 

Only other case is if the baerings failed and the turbo blades destroyed itself against the wall of the turbo, but your enginner would probably have mentioned that.

[joner20]

i have a bmw 320 d coupe sport on a 2004 plate and recently i have noticed a whistling sound and a little smoke on pull off does anyone no what this sound is

[des1]

My BMW 320D (04 year) with high mileage of 133,000, had alot of smoke coming out of exhaust. Wasn't sure what it was but told that most prob the turbo seal gone and was causing pressure and on advice for quick temp fix I drilled a hole in the oil cap to let pressure come out that way as a couple of times the cap had forced its way of and oil had spilled out, put some sponge in the hole to stop oil coming out (although still comes through but reduced) but at the same time to still enable the pressure to release. Was and is making a huming noise. Anyone have any ideas if this is the turbo or what is actually wrong with the engine?

[Blonde1921]

Same problem here, 2002 BMW 320td, Turbo blew on 2nd jan 2010.

Only done 51000 miles, careful lady owner, always serviced.

 

Lots of smoke, loss of power , thought car was on fire at first.

 

Rang Scottalls Southampton, said was prolly turbo, quoted me £1200 to fix it. Not too bad i thought. They wouldnt collect the car, so i had to pay for a breakdown vehicle to tow it to the garage.

 

Now, this is where the fun starts, quote went up to £1700, then £2200, Then £2400. Said they had to replace one of the cats, various exhaust parts and clean out the oil sump etc etc, but not to worry as the work came with a 2yr parts n labour guarantee. Having taken a deep breath, i accepted this.

 

This morning they rang me, car also needs the second cat changed, at a cost of £400.

 

That takes the bill up to almost £3000. WTF?

 

How can you warrant spending this amount on a car that cost me £14995, but is now only worth £6000, its not a viable expenditure.

 

Consequently, i lost my rag and chewed the service mans ear off this morning, explaining that it was due to their bad design fault,(commonly known factor judging by this forum) and that why should we, the customer, who has always trusted BMW to be a good car have to pay out for expensive repairs for a car thats only done just over 50,000 miles!!!

 

If i had known it was going to be this expensive i would have scrapped the bloody car.

 

The service man, has gone to ask BMW if they will pay towards the costs and I am waiting on a reply.

 

Hence to say, a friend of mine, is now on his 3rd turbo replacement in a car thats younger than mine. Stand up to BMW and fight for your rights, cos they KNOW about the fault, and I for one am not going to take this laying down.

[heliosuk]

Just a suggestion is to have a poke around USA Warranty data and see what pops up.

[swedeman]

Joner20, you may wish to check the post from september 24th for the smoke, and the whistling sound may just be normal turbo whistle.

 

Des1, the oil pressure at the turbo oil seals is from the oil pump pressure and not the sump pressure. The oil cap will relieve high sump pressure. The oil smoke is most likely coming from worn piston rings (worn engine) as is the pressurisation at the oil filler cap. It could also be a blocked sump breather system. I would check that first.

 

Blonde1921... ARG! I would have left the existing cats to clean up after the fix and then test then after some motorway driving. But if BMW will pay some, then it is good to have them changed... good luck with them.

But regardless, they should stand by the quote, cowboys!!

[des1]

swedeman, thanks for that info