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

so many 2002 xis

Bought my 2002 330xi March 2008 with 75k miles, now it has 87k miles

Replaced:
spark plugs
all 4 window regulators
fuel filter
power steering fluid pressure hose
cooling system overhaul (waterpump, thermostat, expansion tank, upper & lower hoses)
drive & alternator belts
front control arms, ball joints & bushings
front CV boots (rebuild the front axles)

going to replace in this year:
front and rear brake pads, shoes & rotors
rear trailing arm bushings

Bought my XI at 87k. Sitting comfortably at 99k.

Fixed so far:
Water pump + pulley
Belts
Thermostat and housing
Engine oil + filter
Air filter
Upper and lower intake boots
Cleaned IACV
Inspected and resealed DISA

Need to fix:
Passenger side xenon low beam flickers a few times and then goes out.
Leaky valve cover (sometimes get that burning oil smell from the center vents)
Possibly have a leaking ATF hose somewhere by the radiator
Threw P0171 and P0174 codes a couple weeks after getting the car, just as I was starting a 400 mile road trip; Never figured out what caused it but SES light went out a week or two later. Need to have a tech look for vacuum leaks.
Whistling pulley in cold weather condition. Temps haven't been consistently cold enough for me to fix this just yet.
CV boots are in good shape but I'd still like to get a second pair of trained eyes on them
ATF fluid+filter change

bought mines at 102K now has 151K
so far - non reg maintance parts
Fuel Pump
Front Driveshafts
Bushings
Alternator
Thermostat

Reg Maintance stuff-
Belts
Spark Plugs
Oil Change
Filters (Fuel,Air, Cabin)

The only big ticket expense was the driveshafts which raped me at $1,000 with labor. Everything else hasnt been so bad.

got mine new, now at 105k- aside from regular maintenance I've done
- Thermostat- 60k
- CDV removal 65k
- Rear brakes (90k)
- Rear Springs (90k)
- CV boots and control arms (100k)
- I'm scheduled to do belts and front brakes sometime in the next couple of weeks.

Not quite as cheap as my 99 Maxima was, but overall it has been a great car and still has tons of life left.

Coolant temp sensor is leaking. New seal was $1.50

We just purchased our 2001 325xiT 5 speed. 136k We are going to do the cooling system overhaul here in the next week. Parts on order waiting for delivery. But judging from all of the postings here I am pretty excited on the lack of issues. We did need to replace an post cat o2 sensor right after we bought the car. We have an oil leak of some type but I think it is the power steering resevoir/hose. Every BMW (all E30s) I have purchased had that same issue. I'll replace the clamps when I do the cooling system overhaul. Previous owner had spen a bunch of money on the car in the last 18 months. Suspension bushings and brakes.

I think I am going to need to put a transmission in it as going down into first when moving causes a grind and it is sometimes hard to get it into first when stopped. Fluid had been changed before we bought it. I know this because I just changed it again and the fluid was pretty clean. There was a little bit of gold colored metal in the drain plug. Syncro I think. I'll baby it until it fails completely or a low mileage tranny comes up for sale on ebay or something. I guess it is possible the clutch is causing it but I doubt it.

My experience with subarus is they suck for engine reliability. I had a 2003 Legacy with 116k and the head gaskets went bad. And it is a common problem on the non turbo 2.5 flat four (EJ25). I paid about the same amount for the 01 325xiT and of course like it much better than the subaru. Subaru recognizes they have an issue with head gaskets as you are supposed to put Subaru branded stop leak in the coolant everytime you change it. However, my subaru was leaking oil. I bought the subaru to replace my 1991 325ix; I also have a 1991 325ix sedan with 327k miles. That has cost a bit of money in the last year but it runs pretty well. I'm going back to the old 325ix.

201 XiT purchased with 89k, put about 5k on it.

Seller did 1 CV boot, I did other
I did cooling system(pump, thermostat, expansion tank, sensors)
Replaced belts
Replaced cabin air filter
Going to do spark plugs
Going to change trans and diff fluids

control arm bushings, cv boot, front axles, and the usual maintenance

Old thread thought I'd add on. 2002 325xi. Went to pick the car up from the seller. Car didn't start, brought it to the mechanic. New alternator and the previous owner was down $1500. haha!

2001 330xi purchased in 2004 with 47,000. Currently has 85,000.

Worst thing was water pump failure where the pump shaft locked up which basically exploded my entire cooling system. This dameged the pump (obviously), fan, overflow tank, radiator, and all rubber hoses to be tore apart. This happened right at 70,000 miles.

Other than that, a couple of control arm bushings and the oil level sensor.


jim

Bought mine at 38,000 has 107,

altenator, battery, belts, pulley, expansion tank, 4 brakes and pads, brake sensor, stabalizer links, control arms, bushings, tie rods, both axles, alot of tires, rear and front differential oil, power steering oil, sparkplugs and ignition coils

now im looking into how to change the transmission oil

now Im at 123,

another set of control arms w/bushings, power steering pump, front strut mounts, rear shocks w/mounts, new amp for subs, new hoses for the secondary air pump, air filter, cabin filter, windshield wiper...

now im at 126,

another expansion tank and the ffffkn starter
worst nightmare for mechanics

70K miles

alternator

battery

one window regulator

camshaft position sensor

2002 325xi at 117k now.

Replaced:
Alternator
Radiator
Thermostat
Left front axle (boot was leaking)
Battery
Clutch
Throwout bearing
Slave cylinder
Upper and lower intake boots
All 4 brake rotors
Exhaust gaskets
Passenger window regulator
Expansion tank

I got mine with 70k, now at 82k.

-expansion tank blew at 75k in my garage and replaced the whole cooling system except the radiator

-1 lower control arm and both inner ball joints

-power steering hoses replaced for leaks

-front rotors and pads/ rear pads

-replaced both diff oil, transfer case oil, trans oil

-oil level sensor

*Needs new front shocks soon, very small leak with passenger side inner axle boot.

Got mine a month ago @ 176k

replacing:
Waterpump (for metal impeller WP)
PS pump
serp+ac belts
rear pads + rotors
RF wheel bearing
Valve cover gasket

143k, had it since 100k

replaced all 4 rotors and pads and shocks.

next up tisher cooling system package and spark plugs

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.

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.

Anyone replace a steering rack on their xi?

I'm starting to get some play in the steering wheel at highway speeds.

150k.. but i've replaced damn near everything. The list of what i haven't replaced would be smaller.. ecu.. um...