530d Turbo’s.

Just to come back to y'all about that issue regarding the turbo's in 530's needing changing at 100k regardless. This is not at all true. It's all about regular oil changes. There is a small feeder pipe that runs off the main oil supply to the engine. This pipe lubricates the turbo bearing, and it drains from the underside of it. The pipe will get gummed up if the engine oil is left unchanged, or changed too late regularly, and could lead to the turbo running dry, and we know what happens then! Anyway, early and regular oil changes will keep your engine in top condition. Spoke to a top BMW grease man, and he has seen 530d's with 200k on the clock and no trouble.

 

Happy motoring.

If it's a consumable item then it would have "Replace Turbo" in the service manual for the 100,000 mile service. If not and your turbo goes with a BMW FSH then you can still sue BMW if your car is less than 6 years old. This is written in the law. (only saw it on telly the other day) Once your claim is reasonable then the manufacturer can be liable for up to six years from time of purchase. If the car had 200k with no service history then you probably don't have a claim. This law goes for anything. ie a cheap cd player brakes after 13 months = no claim but an expensive cd player brakes after 3 years = claim.

Edited by flyingalexf68

Hmm

I have to say the horror stories of 530d costing plenty (turbos, cats, fuel injectors....) with age and mileage was one factor that put me off a diesel.  That along with I didn't feel comfortable working on a diesel engine where as the M52 and M54 engines are pretty straight forward for diy. 

And the pick up when driving wasn't as good as my petrol. 

I don't do enough miles a year to warrant a diesel.  The fact that diesel costs more but you can go further for the same volume of fuel means it is only about 2 pence per mile cheaper to run than my 523i.  15,000 a year = £300 saving.  Whhooooaaaa.  An additional oil change for reasons mentioned above eats into that £300 plus slightly higher servicing costs and you will not notice the difference.  Plus it will eat rear tyres with that amount of torque, 400 Nm!

But as you say Rob, provided it's looked after........it should last......And they do pull like a train when you drive them, with a real kick in the back when booting it hard in 2nd when the turbo kicks in.  Yeehaaaa

One common problem of diesel turbo failure is people switching off the engine too early.  Park the car and switch off straight away means the turbo is still spinning but there is no oil being fed to the turbo bearings and this eventually seizes them if done often enough!  Let the engine idle for a moment before switching off.

Will need to have a shot of a 530i before I finally decide if it is a 530i or a 530d.

Andrew

Robert Casserly wrote: and I actually cant see a 530i being much kinder to the rear rubber.

Neither can I judging by how often the traction control cuts in on my car .

Or course if you leave it turned on the wear shouldn't be too bad (he says fingers crossed. 255/40/17 = expensive)

Robert Casserly wrote: Well 5KXO, I'm sure there are exceptions to every rule and we do hear of turbo's giving up at low milage, but if I was to sit here and write down all the ones that did'nt blow, I'd be here all week!   To anyone thinking of buying a 530d, buy with confidence. You'll be hard pushed to find a better car. Rob.

Sure. If you had the car from new, drove it without
trying to kill it and let the engine idle for 10 - 20 secs
before shutting it off every time then yes, the turbo
will be fine. However, if I'm buying a 100'000 mile
530d and I don't know how it's been driven, I'll fit a
new turbo and put the old one on Ebay........

flyingalexf68 wrote: I'm sure it tells you in the owners manual to let it idle before turning the engine off. It says it in my Patrol manual and same in my old Landcruiser manual. And it says let it idle for 30 seconds after a long journey.

Yeah but how many drivers a) read the manual and then b) actually do what the manual says!

I would do it but I'm quite sure others won't.  I let my petrol idle for a few seconds before switching off the engine while I switch off all the electrical items that are on so that nothing is 'on' while I'm cranking the engine when cold in the morning.

Andrew

Regarding 530d reliability:

Firstly, most failures are caused by poor maintenance. BMW are wrong with their service intervals. They are designed for normal operation to pass warranty!!

A 530d should [in my opinion] have Oil & Filter services EVERY 8-10K MAXIMUM with the CORRECT OIL.

Secondly, a lot of customers penny pinch - they don't want to pay for the PROPER BMW SPEC oil. As a result, most services carried out by independents [or DIY] are using a lower spec oil to the high service intervals, which are too high anyway...

Thirdly, people don't understand to keep the engine idling for 30-60 seconds after a HARD drive especially. As stated here, you have to let the turbo slow down.

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It's amazing that turbos last as long as they do on this model! I've had to change them at 40K. If you want reliability - renew the oil & filter every 8K with correct spec oil [Mobil 1 is a brand name that everyone knows]. I've got one car on original turbo with 260K that was serviced like that from new.

This had become such a problem that I took the choice away from my customers regarding what oil was used - I force them to go my way or the highway! If they don't like the price of the oil they can go elsewhere.

A hidden problem here is that independents [myself included] can buy a quality oil at relatively small money in bulk. When you have a BMW diesel customer in, the temptation is there to use the cheaper oil - simple money - customer is charged less and independent makes more money... So, short term, the customer is delighted, the independent makes more profit...
Another issue here is that most independents DON'T STOCK the correct oil at all [for later Beemers/Mercs etc] and don't want to turn away the work - so they put in the best oil they have...which is not good enough... However, they don't even realise the difference it makes..

The customer never realises down the road when the turbo gets shot that it was the saving of 50 quid in an oil change that caused it - they blame the car [as has happened here].

I've had customers "hop up and down" when they see a charge of Euro100 for oil on their bill. However, if their only complaint is that you're expensive - there's no problem in my book...

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Regarding drivability.
Petrol is quieter, smoother - without doubt.
Diesel is better all round car to drive especially in auto.

For example:
The early 184bhp 530d is far ahead of the 528i
The later 193bhp is a match [in real world driving] for the 00 530i
The newer [E60] 530d is excellent and the 535d FANTASTIC.

Another benefit - if driven gently, the 530d will get 45mpg+ easily

Most of the 530d's I've driven that were not serviced properly DO NOT drive as they should, but the customer doesn't even realise it... [They usually need MAF's, Turbos, Injectors].
Going back to the 260K example above - it's on it's 3rd MAF, original turbo, original injectors & second pre-supply pump.

HTH,
BMWcare

3rd Air Mass Meter - It's practically a service item anymore :(

It got 3 in it's life - one new, I fitted 2.

Pre-Supply pump causes starting problems - 100% flagged by diagnostic check...

BMWcare

Bimmer525 wrote: Thank you for that information

Yes BMWcare thank you very much for the info you have given.

I looked at an AUCBMW 530d which had 25,000 miles on the clock but had only ever had 2 services and one was at 12,000 miles and the second was from the dealer who was selling the car, who had just done it.  I wonder what its turbo bearings would be like.

What oil should a 530d be run on then? Apart from the name mobile, what is the rating like 10W-40 etc.

Andrew

Is it not true that on Early 530d's the ecu allowed to much boost and thus killed the turbo premeturly. The warranty fix was new turbo and software upgrade for the ecu????

Mick