[Blackeye30]

Hey All,

I don't really know what kind of advice I'm seeking here but I figured I would muse out loud to the community.

I recently bought a 2011 335i xdrive 6MT with 79k on the clock (now at 83k). Maintenance history is pretty clean, I'm the third owner, always been serviced at BMW dealerships. Additionally, I sprung for an extended warranty for 2 years 24k miles that covers all major components and electrical systems (working on getting an exhaustive list of what is covered).

So far the car has been great, but reading so many horror story/frustration posts here, I'm a bit nervous about this platform serving as a performance daily driver for the next few years. My last two vehicles were Lexus and Infiniti, and I had each for 6+ years without major incident. This car is a big step up in terms of performance, and I would like to dig into strengthening and opening up the power a bit to get into the 350-400 whp range while keeping it daily driveable; though that would likely void my extended warranty on engine components.

Are my expectations unrealistic for this platform? Would it make more sense to get something with a lower cost of ownership per year in maintenance/repairs if the longer term goal is to buy a second vehicle that is a pure performer?

I have a list of things I would love to do with this car, but my fear is that component failures/oil leaks/gaskets/etc etc might be death by a thousand cuts that won't make the performance investment worthwhile.

For those with similar age mileage 335s, what can I expect from maintenance in the near future? If you could go back in time would you still choose this platform with all it's flaws and quirks?

Thanks in advance for the feedback - just weighing the options here.

[Gamb1t]

Buying a used car has its risk properties.
Buying a used older BMW raises that risk level higher.
Buying a used turbo 335i exponentially elevate the risk to another dimen$ion.

So your anxiety on the 335i ownership is not unwarranted. that said, 2011 335i should be equipped with the more reliable N55 engine. So I think you should encounter less issues. 'Should' being the operative word here.

That said, if you can wrench the car yourself, it will alleviate labour costs. Lots of great resources here to support you.

[Blackeye30]

I appreciate the feedback, I am certainly willing to wrench on it, and have done some basics on my vehicles in the past (headlight bulbs, filters, etc) but I am renting and do not have a garage, nor an auto shop worth of tools, so potentially somewhat limited to what can be done without a lift and to what can be finished in a day or so.

[neilvan]

Just like any other car(especially turbo ones) the more power you add past stock, the chances of part failures also go up. Just part of the game

Mechanical empathy goes a long way. Also maintanence to the T will keep you afloat (maybe even earlier than schedule especially the cooling system).

[nsjames]

keeps it stock and maintain it and it will be fine.

start scrwig boost into it and you will find it's weaknesses.

buy bimmergeeks adapter and software so you have a handle on diagnostics before you need it.
scan it monthly so you can get ahead of things that will leave you stranded, like water pump failure.

seriously,, I scan my junk monthly and it really helps you see whats coming and it allows you to save a ton of money by shopping around for parts instead of overnighting them. I had a water pump and thermostat in my garage for a month before I saw the message on the dash.

[Blackeye30]

Originally Posted by nsjames

buy bimmergeeks adapter and software so you have a handle on diagnostics before you need it.
scan it monthly so you can get ahead of things that will leave you stranded, like water pump failure.

That's great advice, thanks. I did pick up the bimmergeeks cable and adapter, though I need a new laptop to run the diagnostics from. Funny, I've worked in manufacturing supporting maintenance teams for years and am no stranger to the idea of keeping critical spares on hand, and yet I've never even thought to do it for my own vehicles.

-Cheers

[Dianovia]

Originally Posted by neilvan

Just like any other car(especially turbo ones) the more power you add past stock, the chances of part failures also go up. Just part of the game

Mechanical empathy goes a long way. Also maintanence to the T will keep you afloat (maybe even earlier than schedule especially the cooling system).

+1

[Tambohamilton]

Keep it stock, keep ahead on the maintenance as others have said, and you'll be fine.

Personally I wouldn't go faffing with the power...you've already pointed out that it's a step up from what you had previously, and if you want to keep it a daily driver, I'd recommend that you just keep it stock. I think it's really good advice not to (performance) tune your daily driver...especially if you don't have a garage and spare time (and a short commute that you could do by bike or on foot etc).

That said, I bet there are a handful of suspension mods you can play with, which could drastically improve the handling; they're generally much 'safer' than tuning the engine. Also a bunch of them you can do yourself in a day, without a garage or lift (get a good jack and axle stands!).

[N55Tiger]

Hey! I've owned my 2011 335i for 3 1/2 years now. I too read horror stories, but so far I haven't had any major issues until this week.

Until now, I've replaced the charge pipe (plastic cracks in warm climates), replaced the coolant reservoir (glue between 2 pieces of plastic leaks in warm climates), and a couple sets of tires. Added an oil catch can, basically the only mod I've done other than upgrading the charge pipe. Recently bought a Foxwell NT510, necessary if you'll be wrenching on this thing and making it last, along with the Bentley service manual. The N55 does tend to be more reliable, the 2011 is that weird transition of N55 engine with the E90 body style so I've found information on the E90 forum and F30 forum respectively.

Now if you noticed, I said minor problems until this week. Currently running down a starting issue, so found it necessary to finally join the forum.

[Blackeye30]

Originally Posted by Tambohamilton

Keep it stock

Appreciate the feedback, yea you may be right - This is my only vehicle and I have a 20-mile commute to work without great public transportation options, so I can't afford a lot of downtime on this car; sadly I think reliability trumps fun-to-drive power gains at the moment. I do plan on doing suspension + wheels/tires in the next few months, I will likely get some winter tires on in a couple months (planning some mountain trips) and then wheels + summer tires come springtime. She shines most in the twisties anyway

[Blackeye30]

Originally Posted by N55Tiger

Hey! I've owned my 2011 335i for 3 1/2 years now. I too read horror stories, but so far I haven't had any major issues until this week

Hey Welcome! I appreciate the input - it's good to hear that your experience has been relatively painless thus far. I know the N55 is supposed to be somewhat more reliable than the N54 which is good, but I don't want to find myself spending 20%+ of the purchase price of the car every year in maintenance. Seems like as long as everything is monitored and done in a timely fashion I shouldn't fear anything too catastrophic.

[nsjames]

I'm assuming it's auto.

XHP will completely transform the car.
service up the transmission prior.

the transmission programming in these cars was pretty terrible. it's a good way to transform the car without really adding risk. You're just firming up the shifts, which is exactly how the factory programming went in the later years with a very similar transmission.

[carguy138]

I got a 2011 335i xdrive 6MT 5 years ago and it has been very reliable and easy to maintain. Doesn't burn oil, rattle or make any weird sounds. It's been an excellent car and I plan to keep it for the long haul. I really like it and unfortunately no new BMWs really grab my attention anymore.

The only problems I've had were
-leaky valve cover gasket (covered by CPO)
-OFHG (replaced myself)

I did replace the waterpump and thermostat proactively. That's really it other than oil changes/spark plugs/air filter. Also getting ready to replace the original battery.

They are solid cars as long as you take care of them and treat them with respect (i.e. let come up to temp before driving hard, slow down on rough roads and avoid potholes).

[Blackeye30]

nsjames - it's a 6-spd actually, but thank you for the heads up.

carguy138 - that's awesome to hear, I'm planning on having local bmw specialty indy shop do a thorough checkup to give me a heads up on any items that look they might be on their way out.

[turbohugh]

It's just a car man. Change the oil get a scan app sorted for your odb2, the app for the bimmergeeks works and can read shadow codes etc.
At the end of the day it's a turbo car . Any car add turbos and watch reliability suffer. MoPowah moHeat etc.
I'd suggest reliability mods. Not sure if applies to N55 but get you some oil catch cans and PCV sorted and drive it til something breaks, and then fix it yourself . You'll be fine . There's the milestone things we all will face eventually, but that's what you signed up for 👀. So keep the coolant fresh and topped off and oil fresh and changed regularly and service the plugs etc and have fun with it. Great car

[CTinline-six]

The N55 is much more reliable than the N54. It will need more attention than an Infinity or Lexus, but IMO it also gives a much better driving experience so the few times it breaks are really no big deal in the grand scheme of things.

Keep up on maintenance, educate yourself on the weak points and what to look for and you will be golden. Just knowing how to maintain the car (which really isn't all that hard to do) is half the battle. I open the hood once a week just to look around and make sure there are no leaks or glaring issues. Many on here would say even that is overkill, but it comes from my previous background running equipment and doing pre-op checks. All cars break at some point, even Lexus and Infinity. I have family members with Lexus and Infinity vehicles and while they don't break often, when they do it is usually very expensive ($3000 driveshaft for example).

A great thing about the BMW community is you have a wealth of knowledge (like this forum) on basically the entire car at your finger tips, and a huge aftermarket full of support which is not always the case with many other brands.

Welcome to the dark side.

[jt335i]

Congrats on your purchase. So regarding your doubts, I’m going to add my 2 cents.

I have a 2010 E92 335i I bought it brand new with 7 miles on the odo. This is my first BMW and I still own it after 9 years, 8 months, and 114,000 + miles. Love this car and don’t have any plans to get rid of it anytime soon. Don’t beat on it or hot rod it all the time, and since the day I first drove it home, I have not had any major catastrophic electrical/mechanical/strange explained issues, where I was dead on the road in the middle of nowhere hit in gut with thousands of dollars in repairs.

Not every single 335 has a myriad of problems so don't believe all the problem posts you read about on this site and other similar sites. These types of issue threads you read about represent a small percentage of 335i owners from all over the world and there are those who own a 335, but who are not members on this site, so you don’t hear from those people either. Now when the are no issues, there’s nothing to talk about and so all you read about are all the problem posts therefore it makes you think that every 335i is plagued by some kind of mechanical or electrical problem or reliability bug that’s going to suck the money out of your wallet every day of the year.

During my 1st and 2nd years of ownership, I started seeing all these HPFP problem posts which started sometime in early 2010. I was freaking out and getting paranoid thinking, for sure, my car’s HPFP was going fail, but it never did. The HPFP was replaced as part of the mandatory recall and the new replacement one didn't fail, either, as opposed to some others who had theirs replaced 2 or more times. I don’t beat on my ride and keep it properly maintained, but of course, there are things that typically wear out as a result of 9+ years of exposure to the Florida summer weather and other environment condition beyond my control. But, those are minor things which I do my best to extend the life with good preventive maintenance.

I have a trusted Indy BMW mechanic who I bring my ride to for all the regular scheduled preventive maintenance services (i.e. spark plugs, oil changes, brakes, coolant flushes, etc.). The only minor things I’ve had to replace over those 9+ years is the right fog lamp bulb, right rear brake LED, and the rotted front windshield rubber molding. Yes, my mechanic has repaired and replaced the more common things due to typical wear and tear (i.e. VGC, OFHG, water pump), and some other things, but I don’t consider any of those reliability related. They’re just the nature of the beast.

I posted a 100,000 mile write up back in November 2018. You can read more details, as well as, my thoughts and experiences by going to the following link.
100,000 mile Elite Club

With that said, each car is different and depends on a lot of things, but most importantly how well the previous owner operated and maintained it. According to you, the prior owner(s) did their job in maintaining it well so you shouldn’t have anything to worry about, but it’s good to find a Indy BMW mechanic that you can trust because they know how to properly maintain a BMW, especially a 335. Although you may have to wait for their work to be done, they take the time to do things right the first time. Therefore, you cannot take this car to a general automotive center because they don’t know jack and don’t typically use OEM BMW parts. Taking it to the BMW dealer is fine, but they are more focused on volume and getting cars in and out quickly. So if you have a complex problem, they may not take the time to diagnose it right and so they end up fixing the wrong thing and you’re still stuck with the same problem.

As far as mods, if you decide to push the envelope and go FBO, then of course stock parts will wear out and need to be replaced because they cannot handle the added power. The only mods I have done on my 335, is added a stage 2 Cobb tune, K&N filter swap, and BMW performance muffler swap and that’s all I’ll do. I’ve had this set up since September 2016 and I have not had any mechanical or performance related issues whatsoever.
I have not dynoed it, but it know it may not be a huge HP gain compared to a FBO setup. However, the extra power gives me that extra boost when I know I can get a good POS ricer, domestic, or Euro kill from time to time.

Anyway, that’s my 2 cents worth.

Just enjoy that ride whatever you do with it and keep it well maintained like a well oiled machine.

[nsjames]

Originally Posted by Blackeye30

nsjames - it's a 6-spd actually, but thank you for the heads up.

carguy138 - that's awesome to hear, I'm planning on having local bmw specialty indy shop do a thorough checkup to give me a heads up on any items that look they might be on their way out.

6 speed awd 335?

good score.

[Blackeye30]

Originally Posted by nsjames

6 speed awd 335?

good score.

I thought so

[Blackeye30]

Originally Posted by jt335i

Congrats on your purchase. So regarding your doubts, I’m going to add my 2 cents.

Hey I really appreciate the feedback, and congrats on the long and healthy relationship with your car, great to hear that you have had such a good run with it. I read your 100,000 mile write up too, great info. I'm feeling much better about the longer term prospects of the car, and its a good point that we hear a disproportionate percentage of bad-luck scenarios on a forum since very few will write about when everything is working fine.

Also, courtesy of the long thread over on the maxbimmer forums, I just found out that mine is one of just 92 6MT Xdrives produced in my year and color combo in the US, which is pretty darn cool. I think I need to keep this rare bird for awhile and see how it all works out.

-Cheers

[cahme]

I'm about 4 years into my '11 335 ownership and this sums up my take:

• owned from 113k mi and currently at 171k, tuned with stock DP since 118k
• DD and never left me stranded; no plans of changing anytime soon
• had many of the "normal" e90 non-turbo issues (OFHG, Coolant Exp tank, radiator side-tank crack, starter, valvetronic motor & non-leaking VCG, OPG@170k)
• had a few turbo related issues (DiverterValve, boost solenoid, HPFP -really direct injection and not turbo related .. ask the n53 guys)
• maintenance is a bit more with plugs/coils and the clutch will not last as long .. mine went @ 115k, while my son's original Z4 n52 was only half used @ 124k
• even if the extra strain of HP & heat causes the parts to be replaced at 75% of the N52 equivelant, it's still a no-brainer for me

Another thing going for the '11 is that most (all?) had a VANOS recall in 2014? which got a new VCG, so it's less likely to leak than other models. Obviously, this assumes yours was part of the recall.

I can admit that I've over-maintained mine and even changed the rod bearings (excuse was there was a small OPG leak) a few K mi ago and they looked great; I almost just put the originals back in.
But still, including the cost of the car and doing all maintenance/repair myself, I'm about $7k in maintenance/repair including everything but gas ... I mean everything: tires, clutch, brakes, oil/filter, front wheel bearings, shocks/struts, plugs/coil, all fluids, etc

[jt335i]

Originally Posted by Blackeye30

Hey I really appreciate the feedback, and congrats on the long and healthy relationship with your car, great to hear that you have had such a good run with it. I read your 100,000 mile write up too, great info. I'm feeling much better about the longer term prospects of the car, and its a good point that we hear a disproportionate percentage of bad-luck scenarios on a forum since very few will write about when everything is working fine.

Also, courtesy of the long thread over on the maxbimmer forums, I just found out that mine is one of just 92 6MT Xdrives produced in my year and color combo in the US, which is pretty darn cool. I think I need to keep this rare bird for awhile and see how it all works out.

-Cheers

No problem bro. Welcome. Glad to help calm your fears. All these problem post you see, some can be informational for future reference for repair or replacement (i.e. VCG, OFHG, water pump), but then there are some other posts where it isn't a problem if the poster just applies some simple common sense, or, they don't use the search and just repeat the same subject that has already been beaten down 1000 times like a dead horse.
Take good care of that rare bird and it will last for however long you plan to own it.