They Tell Me I Need A New Turbo

bpwj76 · 02-22-2020, 01:15 PM

So about a week ago (this past Monday), the CEL came on in my 2016 X3 with N20 engine and 74k miles. It's still under CPO warranty, so I made an appointment for yesterday and I dropped it off. I got a call from the SA yesterday afternoon and she said my car needs a new turbo charger.

Now I'm a little worried about longevity of the vehicle. However, I can't recall ever seeing anyone else mention this kind of trouble in the forums. Please tell me this issue is uncommon and probably isn't a sign of more bad things to come.

Wgosma · 02-22-2020, 02:26 PM

There's not a lot of activity on the SAV forums...I don't think too many owners work on their own cars.

The N20 engines are used in the F30 3-Series sedans, you might want to do a bit of browsing on their forum as you'll find a lot more activity and commentary, such as here https://f30.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh....php?t=1225865 and here https://f30.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh....php?t=1614899

Good luck / Bill

TwinSnailz · 02-23-2020, 09:30 AM

Besides the cel, what symptoms are you having? This will help you troubleshoot.

pungo · 02-23-2020, 09:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TwinSnailz

Besides the cel, what symptoms are you having? This will help you troubleshoot.

If the dealer already troubleshot it to bad turbo and they are replacing under the CPO warranty, why would the owner need to troubleshoot it further?

TwinSnailz · 02-23-2020, 10:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pungo

If the dealer already troubleshot it to bad turbo and they are replacing under the CPO warranty, why would the owner need to troubleshoot it further?

Oops yea i read it wrong. Thought OP was stressing about footing the bill.

pungo · 02-23-2020, 11:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TwinSnailz

Oops yea i read it wrong. Thought OP was stressing about footing the bill.

No worries, good when the dealer has to diagnose and repair under warranty.

To answer the OP question, the turbo isn't a common failure, though since newer vehicles are so complication now, there's just a lot more things to go wrong. Many people have very few problems and go well over 100k miles without any major expenses. I wouldn't stress over it.

bpwj76 · 02-25-2020, 06:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TwinSnailz

Besides the cel, what symptoms are you having? This will help you troubleshoot.

The vehicle was not exhibiting any symptoms at all. It was behaving no differently than it did when we first bought it at 52k miles.

It does lug at too low an RPM sometimes. Like trying to accelerate in a manual transmission car at 20mph in 6th gear. I don't know if that is a symptom of a bad turbo. This is my first ever turbo charged car.

bpwj76 · 02-25-2020, 06:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pungo

No worries, good when the dealer has to diagnose and repair under warranty.

To answer the OP question, the turbo isn't a common failure, though since newer vehicles are so complication now, there's just a lot more things to go wrong. Many people have very few problems and go well over 100k miles without any major expenses. I wouldn't stress over it.

Thanks! I just wanted some input and reassurance from people who have more experience than me with BMW's. This X3 and my 320i, which we purchased at the same time, are our first ones.

bpwj76 · 03-05-2020, 09:29 AM

Just a quick update. I got the car back yesterday with the new turbo installed. They also changed the oil 2,400 miles early, which was nice since the dealer is 100 miles from my house.

Anyway, all is good and the whining noise I was hearing is gone. It must have been coming from the failing turbo.

I think my CPO Wrap warranty has now paid for itself.

BMWZ4 · 03-05-2020, 09:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bpwj76

Just a quick update. I got the car back yesterday with the new turbo installed. They also changed the oil 2,400 miles early, which was nice since the dealer is 100 miles from my house.

Anyway, all is good and the whining noise I was hearing is gone. It must have been coming from the failing turbo.

I think my CPO Wrap warranty has now paid for itself.

Glad you got it sorted w/o any dealer or warranty hassles.

bpwj76 · 03-05-2020, 09:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BMWZ4

Glad you got it sorted w/o any dealer or warranty hassles.

Me too. I've read some horror stories on here about some dealers and I've had my share of bad dealer experiences elsewhere. My BMW dealer has been top notch.

bpwj76 · 03-11-2020, 10:41 AM

Just thought I'd update this thread real quick. I got the car back with the new turbo and all is right again. Except now it's even better. The turbo must have been going out for quite some time, because now with the new turbo it seems much more powerful. It's a lot quicker than it ever was. It's my wife's daily driver and she swears it's getting better fuel mileage too. I don't know about that, but she's happy.

02-22-2020, 01:15 PM	#1
bpwj76 Private First Class 94 Rep 184 Posts Drives: 2021 530i; 2016 X3 Sdrive28i Join Date: Oct 2018 Location: Louisiana iTrader: (0)	They Tell Me I Need A New Turbo So about a week ago (this past Monday), the CEL came on in my 2016 X3 with N20 engine and 74k miles. It's still under CPO warranty, so I made an appointment for yesterday and I dropped it off. I got a call from the SA yesterday afternoon and she said my car needs a new turbo charger. Now I'm a little worried about longevity of the vehicle. However, I can't recall ever seeing anyone else mention this kind of trouble in the forums. Please tell me this issue is uncommon and probably isn't a sign of more bad things to come.
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02-22-2020, 02:26 PM	#2
Wgosma Lieutenant Colonel 806 Rep 1,906 Posts Drives: 2012 F25 X3 28i (N52) Join Date: Sep 2018 Location: Northern Nevada iTrader: (0)	There's not a lot of activity on the SAV forums...I don't think too many owners work on their own cars. The N20 engines are used in the F30 3-Series sedans, you might want to do a bit of browsing on their forum as you'll find a lot more activity and commentary, such as here https://f30.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh....php?t=1225865 and here https://f30.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh....php?t=1614899 Good luck / Bill
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02-23-2020, 09:30 AM	#3
TwinSnailz First Lieutenant 75 Rep 357 Posts Drives: 2011 X5//M Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: IL iTrader: (0)	Besides the cel, what symptoms are you having? This will help you troubleshoot.
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03-05-2020, 09:29 AM	#9
bpwj76 Private First Class 94 Rep 184 Posts Drives: 2021 530i; 2016 X3 Sdrive28i Join Date: Oct 2018 Location: Louisiana iTrader: (0)	Just a quick update. I got the car back yesterday with the new turbo installed. They also changed the oil 2,400 miles early, which was nice since the dealer is 100 miles from my house. Anyway, all is good and the whining noise I was hearing is gone. It must have been coming from the failing turbo. I think my CPO Wrap warranty has now paid for itself.
	Appreciate 1 BMWZ41909.50 Quote

03-11-2020, 10:41 AM	#12
bpwj76 Private First Class 94 Rep 184 Posts Drives: 2021 530i; 2016 X3 Sdrive28i Join Date: Oct 2018 Location: Louisiana iTrader: (0)	Just thought I'd update this thread real quick. I got the car back with the new turbo and all is right again. Except now it's even better. The turbo must have been going out for quite some time, because now with the new turbo it seems much more powerful. It's a lot quicker than it ever was. It's my wife's daily driver and she swears it's getting better fuel mileage too. I don't know about that, but she's happy.
	Appreciate 0 Quote