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Calling all high mileage xi owners (what has broken?)

74K views 227 replies 154 participants last post by  Bhewgs 
#1 ·
I have a xi about to hit 50k...I'm wondering who has put a lot of miles on their xi and what has gone out on it...(related to a mod or not...)

I know my cooling system was replaced by the dealer before I bought it from the original owner @37k, and my front cv boot was leaking a bit...other than that, I have had zero problems. :pimpin:

How 'bout yall?
 
#57 · (Edited)
02' 325xit

Bought with 91k. Now have 121k

1. Sunroof kit after bits and pieces in track
2. Driver's side window regulator after cracked mount
3. Thermostat after stuck open position (included a stewart water pump to replace the oem and all hoses/expansion tank were good)
4. Front inner and outer CV's were cleaned and repacked with Mobil-1 grease. Stupid amount of vibration at around 50-60mph.
5. Two bent rims; two new tires. (Needless to say the previous owner did not avoid rough roads and the car was had for mighty cheap.)
6. Rear springs and shocks with Bilsteins. Oem were leaking bad and spring was cracked.
7. Left lower control arm with bushing.
8. All four brake pads/rotors.

In future:
1. clean re-lubricate/replace DME housing fan
2. AC condensor whines
3. Strange whoosh whoosh sound (consistenly timed) from front wheels when turning, left>right. Assuming it's the wheel bearings from the previous stress after previous owners lack of care but then again all e46's with these miles need major suspension care.
 
#103 ·
Now at 136,900 I've just finished doing:
4 new tires
Drive belt
A/C belt and recharge
VCG (second time)
Oil filter housing gasket
both front axles
left front control arm
both front wheel bearings
front and rear brakes (3rd time-warranty)
left rear bilstein shock (second time- warranty)
fuel filter
expansion tank
upper and lower radiator hoses
Emp stewart waterpump (second time- warranty as seals were weeping)
camshaft actuator line
right window regulator . . . .
Engine and tranny mounts are being done after a week of driving her post fixes.
 
#58 ·
I have a 2002 325xit, 5 speed, bought new. New England driving and now at 110k. Mostly, I've had to deal with the normal wear and tear maintenance items. I've been very happy with the car except for some annoyances. The CV outer boots keep splitting or getting punctured. After about 4 yrs had to replace both rear springs. Did the Final Stage resistor thing and thermostat. The moonroof shade needed the slider clips replaced and it may be time to do that again. At 100k, replaced spark plugs and this totally corrected a mild low rpm/speed stumble that had developed. Recently had to do the rear shocks. A couple of weeks ago the lower spring perch on the front right strut assembly failed due to rust. Broke the pinch bolt trying to replace the strut and its been a nightmare to deal with in my home garage. (Terrible design for such a critical bolt.) Almost all equipment is as original in the car, but dealing with the front strut has me wondering if I'm in for some expensive fixes.
 
#69 ·
Anyone swapped out the steering guibo? I'm planning on doing this soon. It looks like I'll either need to remove the driver's side CA or else go in from the top. Or maybe both. I don't want to have to lower the subframe, but it looks like that could be a requirement too.
 
#70 ·
Bought the car with 70k, now has 77, since I've had it, replaced DESA/adjuster, and battery.
Prior to purchase:
Drive Belts
Lower radiator hoses and temp sensor
right side outter cv boot
and collapsed engine mount.
and that was only the work done at the dealership near me under factory warranty. I later found out all the work on the car was done all extended work was done at the dealer up the rd. still haven't gotten the list from them yet.
Car needs
tension/idler replaced
axles are clicking
valve cover gasket
I'm regreting the extended warranty as nothing so far has been covered. Need new rear pads as well.
 
#74 ·
Oh- I have a new one:

I'm on my third front-center jack pad. It has failed on me twice now, and the second time could have done some damage if I hadn't put a jackstand under the left front pad about 10 seconds earlier.

As you know, it's sticks into the front subframe. Make sure to jack in a perfectly vertical motion and definitely make sure the jack is centered on the pad. I think mine got twisted slightly a few times from not being perfectly lifted- it's just plastic that sticks into the subframe, not metal.

I will eventually just weld something on the subframe as a permenant jack point.
 
#81 ·
Since my first post I now have the front passenger regulator to do. Things I forgot to add were the fan coupling.

I decided to pull out the previous owners info and put it here. It was purchased around 30-40k miles.

46,000 - front/rear brakes, Front stabilizer links, Coil springs
75,000 - Inspection II, driver belts, front left and right outer CV boots
78,000 - final stage resistor, p/s pump, battery, alternator
 
#83 · (Edited)
at 150000 replaced frt suspension pieces (all), alternator, radiator and hoses, rotors, pads, pulleys--nothing out of the ordinary yet--but am waiting for something to hit--will wind up doing all axles soon boots are cracked--drive the car pretty hard 90% of the time--most of this stuff was changed at 120-130K--xi is lowered, bilsteins, urethane bushings up front. I absolutely love this car--AWD handles great--goes thru the snow with ease--can turn the DSC off when I want to have some fun--wish it had another 60+ HP & torque
 
#84 ·
I'm at 88k and have done the following...
CV Axles - needed when i bought it
Starter - worst job EVER!
Alternator
Belts
Tensioners
Valve cover gasket
Front and rear pads and sensors
Front and rear rotors- front were unturnable so went drilled/slotted all around
Did the zip tie fix for front window regulator

Still love the car so the cost of repairs was well worth it.
 
#85 ·
car is at 173k....since i owned it driver window reg, expansion tank, battery, fcabs and ccv. However when my father in law owned it and i had my coupe i replaced full cooling system, power steering pump, all the spark plugs, a few coils and the remaining 3 window regs.

I can already sense the remaining suspension needs replacement along with front cv boots as well as another power steering pump and the alternator is beginning to whine
 
#86 ·
Recently bought my '01 330xi with 154k. Just broke 158k last weekend on a road trip. Half way there, the hood badge came flying off. Other than that, my crank case vent has gone bad, causing the car to burn oil, run rich, and throw a "Rich on bank 1 and bank 2" code. Also definitely needs front control arm bushings, like everyone else. And my alternator belt idler pulley occasionally makes noise. All part of the fun of owning a high-mileage car.
 
#88 ·
Bimmer newbie

First post!






:woot: :woot: :woot:



6 speed 03 330xi sport and premium package.



























Recent purchase. Repairs so far:


Rear struts and coil springs (both springs broken)
Valve cover gasket
Battery
Brake fluid flush (nasty)
Oil and filter





Rims and tires for sale! Make an offer!


Rear Driver




Front Driver

 
#90 ·
I' m at 70000 on the clock now, got it a couple years ago when it had 41000 and so far i had:

Replace the battery (started to give trouble around 62000)
Replace the two front and pass side rear window regulators
The vapor barrier and door rubber seal on front driver side door
Vanos overhaul (beisan kit) along with valve cover gasket and bosch platinum spark plugs
Cooling system overhaul (no radiator) with metal impeller water pump (from ECS Tuning)
Ignition coil replaced by the dealer under warranty
Sunroof shade fix by the dealer under warranty
CV boots
Zimmermann drilled rotors w/ pagid pads and oem sensors
Cabin air filter
Wiper blade inserts
And of course regular oil/ filter change every 5000
 
#92 ·
- DISA Valve
- Cabin Filter
- Air Filter
- Spark Plugs
- Front sway bar endlinks
- Tranny fluid
- Tires
- Rims (Not faulty, got a summer set)
- Oil/Filter change a handful of times

Still to do:
- Diff fluid
- TC fluid
- Shocks/Struts/Springs all around
- Fuel Filter
- Front driver window regulator

I've been lucky with the axles, CA bushing, and the usual stuff that goes wrong.
 
#118 ·
Update:
New shocks/struts/springs. Rear springs were cracked in half and fronts weren't far behind.
New DISA valve again
Reverse switch
Tail light recall
Rear sway bar end link snapped in half
Front driver sway bar end link worn out.

What's still wrong:
Front driver's window regulator
Left side steering wheel controls not working
Reverse switch doesn't work still
 
#93 ·
a lot of you guys are posting regular maintenance items. things dont go wrong. the bushing, Control arms, endlinks, tierods, brakes, etc.. are wear items. The only broken things for me were a secondary air pump control valve, t-stat, and a busted axle boot.
 
#95 ·
At 106k (owned the car since 75k):
- Camshaft position sensor
- Coolant temp sensor
- Final stage resistor
- Both front axles
- Springs (passenger rear and driver front broke)
- Shocks and shock mounts

From what i gather from the forum my diff bushings are bad...and my passenger front window is slowly dying
 
#96 ·
122,500 miles; Purchased at 17,000 miles

Cooling system (105k miles):
  • Expansion tank and cap
  • Thermostat (replaced with an aluminum aftermarket)
  • Hoses (those 2 connected to thermostat and the one connecting lower expansion to engine)
  • Water temp sensor
  • Thermostat
  • Water pump
CCV (Crankcase ventilation and related pipes and hoses) - Done as PM - 110k miles

VANOS seals (Beisan) (110k miles) - done as PM - Valve Cover gasket and seals replaced

Oil Filter Housing (OFH) gasket (115k miles) - Was leaking onto front differential and PS hoses.

O2 sensors (all 4) - 110k Pre-cat - 120k Post-cat

Front axles - Replaced right and left one time each; rebooted a time or two.

Front control arm bushings (CAB) ~75k miles

Front subframe-to-control arm ball joints - Replaced after mechanic split open the boots with a pickle fork. 115k miles

EBOX fan that ventilates the EBOX into passenger compartment - 110k miles - This fan starts to "chirp" lightly and sounds like a little bird is in your ventilation system. $100 fan. Simple install.

Auto Transmission service (ignoring the "Lifetime" fill sticker) - new filter and replace 6 quarts ATF(110k miles); drain and fill 5 quarts ATF at 120k miles (done twice in order to get a more complete fluid replacement) - Done as PM - Redline D4 ATF

Differential drain & fill - front and rear - Redline gear oil - PM

Transfer case drain & fill - Done twice (110k miles & 122k miles) in order to get a more complete fluid replacement - PM

Power Steering hoses and reservoir replacement (120k miles) - Done as PM - The leaking OFH gasket (above) leaked on the rack-to-cooler line, making the PS appear leaky.

Alternator voltage regulator/brushes assembly replacement (120k miles) - done as PM

Sunroof shade clips

Window regulator - driver's

Spark plugs, fuel filter, tires, battery, brakes, etc - all replaced at normally expected times and "Inspection I & II" times.
 
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