[akabazza]

I am new to this forum and hoping for some advice. My 2013 X3 28i has been great for many years and I thought (maybe naively) that the BMW was good for a few hundred thousand miles if well maintained.

It recently started smoking on start up after sitting all night. After several conversations with a few mechanics, the theory is that it is the turbocharger and to fix it, a replacement of $3K to $4K is needed.

I did some additional research and it seems that the 2013 engine has a history of completely failing around 90K and mine is currently at 91K.

What I am trying to decide is if I just run it until it dies and then face a full replacement of the engine at a cost of over half the value of the car, or do I look to sell/trade it in on either a newer BMW or another brand that is more reliable. If I do look for a new model, does anyone know if BMW has improved the reliablity of the X3 engine in 2016-1018 models?

Thank you!

[Wgosma]

aside from your cars turbo issue, the 4 cylinder engines built prior to 2015 suffered failures of the plastic timing chain guides, and I believe also some issue with oil pumps....there was a class action lawsuit that was recently finalized and it offers some relief to owners on this issue, but I'm not up on those details. it may be worth having the timing chain mechanism inspected to learn it's status. another idea is to have the engine refitted with the redesigned chain guide components, may cost few thousand dollars on top of turbocharger replacement but should insure good life going forward.

there is a fairly detailed thread on this timing chain guide issue posted on F30 sedan forum, suggest you locate and browse details; it's quite lengthy and lots of details about court case.

My rough guesstimate is to get turbo repaired and chain issue resolved also you are into perhaps $7-9K of expense.

Good luck/Bill

[akabazza]

Thank you for responding Bill. Sounds like there is no great way to deal with it but at least it helps point me in the right direction.

[tracer bullet]

Originally Posted by akabazza

After several conversations with a few mechanics, the theory is

I'd pay a BMW dealer to take a look. They'll have the most experience and know what to look for. Probably somethign they see almost daily or at least weekly. Just to be sure what's actually going on.

Then drive away and consider your options afterwards. Maybe go back, maybe take it elsewhere, maybe sell it, who knows. But I'd use them for a slightly more official opinion (and pay for the diagnosis since it'd be worth it).

Assuming of course there's a dealer around and they are any good.

[Bdavi011]

I would ensure it's the turbo that is bad. For all you know it could be something else? Bad turbo is the more likely reason but I am wondering if a failing PCV (valve cover) could also cause burning oil during start up?

[akabazza]

Thank you both. I agree that paying for a solid evaluation is well worth it. I am going to schedule it for next week and to your point, take a look at the options and go from there. Disappointing, but at least I am not in a full failure situation at this point.

[Fodaski55]

Depending on your in service date and mileage,the lawsuit may be of some help.See attached.www.timingchainmodulesettlement.com the phone number is 866-411-6985. The issue with the turbo might be a actual adjustment when checking electronically,indicating the waste gate may not be closing sufficiently while under boost check you tube on this.Good luck. Have your vin number ready when calling ��

[akabazza]

Cool, thank you. I will call this number and see what I can find out.

Much appreciated!

[CAX3]

Hello. I have 120K on my 2015 X3 and she has been really reliable. I did have a smoking issue with mine as well and it was an oil leak at the valve cover gasket leaking drips of oil onto the exhaust manifold, which is hot. They quoted me thousands of dollars to do that work too, but I bought the gasket for $125 and replaced it on a weekend.

I usually troubleshoot myself, then if im stumped or not sure I take it to the stealership and pay them the $200 diagnostic fee to tell me what the problem is. Look at some YouTube videos and see how difficult it is to replace whatever the part is. In most cases its something you can do at home.

I have had several occasions where the stealership told me it would be thousands to replace/repair something and I did it myself for hundreds.

[Bruce24]

Originally Posted by akabazza

I am new to this forum and hoping for some advice. My 2013 X3 28i has been great for many years and I thought (maybe naively) that the BMW was good for a few hundred thousand miles if well maintained.

It recently started smoking on start up after sitting all night. After several conversations with a few mechanics, the theory is that it is the turbocharger and to fix it, a replacement of $3K to $4K is needed.

I did some additional research and it seems that the 2013 engine has a history of completely failing around 90K and mine is currently at 91K.

What I am trying to decide is if I just run it until it dies and then face a full replacement of the engine at a cost of over half the value of the car, or do I look to sell/trade it in on either a newer BMW or another brand that is more reliable. If I do look for a new model, does anyone know if BMW has improved the reliablity of the X3 engine in 2016-1018 models?

Thank you!

I also have a 2013 X3 28i and had and issue with smoke on startup. The problem ended up being the oil lines to the turbocharger for which BMW has an extended (10 Years/120K miles) warranty to cover.

see: https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/tsbs/20...46877-9999.pdf