[Bimmer North]

I'm looking at buying out my 2014 320i as a daily driver for wife. At 80,000 km, is it risky with no more warranty and having the turbo go? Does this even happen often with this engine?
Appreciate some feedback.

[SteveInfante]

I have the N20 in my 228i and have just over 70K miles on it, 20K of which have been tuned, and it hasn't skipped a beat. I've owned mine since it had 2700 miles on it. I haven't seen it happen. Regular maintenance has a lot to do with how long these motors will last. Take care of it and it will take care of you.

[technologic]

The turbo in the 4 cylinder engine in my 2014 X1 stared to fail and needed to be replaced. Talked to many people who told me this does happen with the smaller BMW engines but is less of a risk with the straight 6. Anyway, I will never again own a 4 cylinder BMW. I don't trust them.

[uncleruckus]

Originally Posted by Bimmer North

I'm looking at buying out my 2014 320i as a daily driver for wife. At 80,000 km, is it risky with no more warranty and having the turbo go? Does this even happen often with this engine?
Appreciate some feedback.

I would personally be more worried about the timing chain issues in the N20. Not 100% sure if your 2014 has gotten all the updated parts, but I would be more concerned about that than turbo issues.

[chiefneil]

The charge pipe is known to fail, but I don’t think that’s a lot of money fix. I haven’t heard any reports of the actual turbo unit itself failing.

[Michael Schott]

Originally Posted by technologic

The turbo in the 4 cylinder engine in my 2014 X1 stared to fail and needed to be replaced. Talked to many people who told me this does happen with the smaller BMW engines but is less of a risk with the straight 6. Anyway, I will never again own a 4 cylinder BMW. I don't trust them.

From the posts here and on other BMW forums blown turbos are extremely rare. Extremely. There are millions of turbo 4 cylinder cars on the road now from nearly every major brand. Turbo technology has been perfected for many years now.

[bavarianride]

Originally Posted by technologic

The turbo in the 4 cylinder engine in my 2014 X1 stared to fail and needed to be replaced. Talked to many people who told me this does happen with the smaller BMW engines but is less of a risk with the straight 6. Anyway, I will never again own a 4 cylinder BMW. I don't trust them.

What are the symptoms of your turbo failure?

[Kafkaesque328]

Originally Posted by Michael Schott

From the posts here and on other BMW forums blown turbos are extremely rare. Extremely. There are millions of turbo 4 cylinder cars on the road now from nearly every major brand. Turbo technology has been perfected for many years now.

This, I wouldn't worry about it. Correct me if I'm wrong too here guys but I think the turbo in the 320 is the same as the turbo in the 328. They dialed boost down on the 320 quite a bit, I think its like 9psi vs. the 328's 18psi, so if thats the case and the turbos are the same, the 320i stock isn't even touching what that turbo can handle.

We should also specify what 'blown turbo' actually means.'

Charge pipe may go at some point but that isn't a biggie. There are more robust aftermarket ones as well that you can swap.

[Dirk Diggler]

Originally Posted by Bimmer North

I'm looking at buying out my 2014 320i as a daily driver for wife. At 80,000 km, is it risky with no more warranty and having the turbo go? Does this even happen often with this engine?
Appreciate some feedback.

BMW's in general have a reputation for needing repairs often. Forums like these perpetuate this perception as people will be pretty vocal on the Internet when their car gives them troubles, but pretty silent when all is well.

It's really really hard to buy a lemon these days. While these forums proves it's possible, it is extremely rare in the real world.

Buy the car you like, maintain and take care of it and you'll be fine - even a turbo BMW.

[bmwchue]

Originally Posted by technologic

The turbo in the 4 cylinder engine in my 2014 X1 stared to fail and needed to be replaced. Talked to many people who told me this does happen with the smaller BMW engines but is less of a risk with the straight 6. Anyway, I will never again own a 4 cylinder BMW. I don't trust them.

That's because straight 6 turbo use less work than 4 cylinder
N20 pushing 18psi while n55 7-10psi

[XutvJet]

There's a lot more to it than that. The N20 uses a much smaller turbo and is designed to push more PSI to get the necessary volume of air crammed in. Just because it's pushing more PSI doesn't necessarily mean it's working harder. As long as it's in its efficiency range, it's fine.

[F30inthe6ix]

Originally Posted by Kafkaesque328

This, I wouldn't worry about it. Correct me if I'm wrong too here guys but I think the turbo in the 320 is the same as the turbo in the 328. They dialed boost down on the 320 quite a bit, I think its like 9psi vs. the 328's 18psi, so if thats the case and the turbos are the same, the 320i stock isn't even touching what that turbo can handle.

We should also specify what 'blown turbo' actually means.'

Charge pipe may go at some point but that isn't a biggie. There are more robust aftermarket ones as well that you can swap.

I believe the stock PSI for a 328 is closer to the 14-16 PSI range, but aside from that, you're spot on.

[aerostar]

Originally Posted by XutvJet

There's a lot more to it than that. The N20 uses a much smaller turbo and is designed to push more PSI to get the necessary volume of air crammed in. Just because it's pushing more PSI doesn't necessarily mean it's working harder. As long as it's in its efficiency range, it's fine.

PSI is where all the wear comes from pretty much.

Any high-PSI turbo setup has higher risks of bearings failing and oil leaks...

Higher PSI puts a lot more stress on all the internals of the motor, gaskets, etc.

[Kafkaesque328]

Originally Posted by aerostar

PSI is where all the wear comes from pretty much.

Any high-PSI turbo setup has higher risks of bearings failing and oil leaks...

Higher PSI puts a lot more stress on all the internals of the motor, gaskets, etc.

I can personally verify this. When I had my 2010 GTI, I was running stage 1 APR tune which is pretty robust beyond stock output, a lot more than the difference you get with stage 1 on a 328. My GTI was putting down about 250HP at the wheels. That is a massive boost beyond stock, which is like 200. I was running that tune, and basically driving the shit out of the car, for about 2 years when I started noticing oil leaks in the driveway and when I pulled the engine cover, noticed oil seeping around the valve cover gasket. I brought it to the dealer and they looked the other way and serviced under warranty. I was cool with the tech, always asked for him and we were shooting the shit the day I picked the car up. He had a Mk5 GTI, heavily modified so we were talking shop and he said plain and simple, this happened because you are pushing 30% more power than stock. He explained that the engines and internals are designed to handle a specific amount of power and when you start pushing more power without changing anything else, shit happens. He explained that a seeping valve cover gasket and required replacement at 30k miles was extremely rare and that it was in his opinion due to the tune.

So you know, pay to play and all that. As far as stock cars though, I don't know.

Originally Posted by F30inthe6ix

I believe the stock PSI for a 328 is closer to the 14-16 PSI range, but aside from that, you're spot on.

Just looked it up online including with Burger tuning and it peaks at 18.9psi. Compared to the 320's 9, thats a big difference which explains why the 328 blows away the 320 in acceleration.

[XutvJet]

Originally Posted by aerostar

PSI is where all the wear comes from pretty much.

Any high-PSI turbo setup has higher risks of bearings failing and oil leaks...

Higher PSI puts a lot more stress on all the internals of the motor, gaskets, etc.

Again, it depends and is relative. Think about it. 18 psi on an N20 turbo isn't moving remotely as much air as 18 psi from an N55 turbo because.....the N55 turbo is much larger. Therefore, the N55 turbo will generate a lot more combustion chamber pressure than the N20's turbo. Point being that comparing PSI between different turbos is pretty meaningless.

A higher PSI doesn't mean it's necessarily harder on the turbo either assuming the turbo is working within it's designed range or "efficiency". You start getting into issues when you start pushing the turbos outside their efficiency range like so many people do with turbo BMWs and turbo cars in general.

If high PSI was really an issue, turbo diesel would be failing all over the place as the tend to run 30+ psi and many in the 40 psi range.

[technologic]

Originally Posted by bavarianride

What are the symptoms of your turbo failure?

Weird noise. Dealer told me it needed to be replaced and had me in a loaner for 2 weeks while we fought about who would pay for it as car was just past warranty (what are the chances, lol). Anyway they paid for it which is why I didn't walk away from the brand. I did walk away from 4s for good though. These tiny engines expect a lot from the turbo. I totally understand that may not be the conventional wisdom here but this is my view point.

[F30inthe6ix]

Originally Posted by Kafkaesque328

I can personally verify this. When I had my 2010 GTI, I was running stage 1 APR tune which is pretty robust beyond stock output, a lot more than the difference you get with stage 1 on a 328. My GTI was putting down about 250HP at the wheels. That is a massive boost beyond stock, which is like 200. I was running that tune, and basically driving the shit out of the car, for about 2 years when I started noticing oil leaks in the driveway and when I pulled the engine cover, noticed oil seeping around the valve cover gasket. I brought it to the dealer and they looked the other way and serviced under warranty. I was cool with the tech, always asked for him and we were shooting the shit the day I picked the car up. He had a Mk5 GTI, heavily modified so we were talking shop and he said plain and simple, this happened because you are pushing 30% more power than stock. He explained that the engines and internals are designed to handle a specific amount of power and when you start pushing more power without changing anything else, shit happens. He explained that a seeping valve cover gasket and required replacement at 30k miles was extremely rare and that it was in his opinion due to the tune.

So you know, pay to play and all that. As far as stock cars though, I don't know.



Just looked it up online including with Burger tuning and it peaks at 18.9psi. Compared to the 320's 9, thats a big difference which explains why the 328 blows away the 320 in acceleration.

Interesting. From what I was reading, it seems that with Dinantronics Sport Race mode (+4 PSI over stock), people were saying 18-20 PSI range was targeted for peak boost. If stock goes up to almost 19, I can't imagine adding another 4PSI to that wouldn't have serious negative consequences for the motor and the turbo.

[Kafkaesque328]

^^ Yeah, I dont know. I think with JB+, I am pushing 3 psi over stock currently so probably like 21psi. No problems yet. I never keep cars long enough for this to be a worry to me. Even with the GTI, I sold it like 3 months later.

[AGONXF30]

Originally Posted by Kafkaesque328

I can personally verify this. When I had my 2010 GTI, I was running stage 1 APR tune which is pretty robust beyond stock output, a lot more than the difference you get with stage 1 on a 328. My GTI was putting down about 250HP at the wheels. That is a massive boost beyond stock, which is like 200. I was running that tune, and basically driving the shit out of the car, for about 2 years when I started noticing oil leaks in the driveway and when I pulled the engine cover, noticed oil seeping around the valve cover gasket. I brought it to the dealer and they looked the other way and serviced under warranty. I was cool with the tech, always asked for him and we were shooting the shit the day I picked the car up. He had a Mk5 GTI, heavily modified so we were talking shop and he said plain and simple, this happened because you are pushing 30% more power than stock. He explained that the engines and internals are designed to handle a specific amount of power and when you start pushing more power without changing anything else, shit happens. He explained that a seeping valve cover gasket and required replacement at 30k miles was extremely rare and that it was in his opinion due to the tune.

So you know, pay to play and all that. As far as stock cars though, I don't know.

Just looked it up online including with Burger tuning and it peaks at 18.9psi. Compared to the 320's 9, thats a big difference which explains why the 328 blows away the 320 in acceleration.

This is anecdotal and not everyone experiences this.

Here is My VW 2.0T experiences:

I have a MKV (2006) GLI with a BPY with 160 K miles that has been APR stage II + for a long time, since nearly new, and I have not had serious issues. It still burns the qt of oil every 5K miles that it did since new. It pushes ~ 20 PSIG with its stock KO3 snail and it has been nearly trouble free despite all the abuse.

Your tech was full of it. Leaks can happen to higher boost, but only due to a faulty EGR system.

Also VW highly underrated the 2.0T, with the BPY making something like 225 HP stock and not 200 HP, this would obviously make the R32 of the time look anemic with only 25 more HP and thousands more in price.

So OP turbo failures are a thing of the 80s and 90s and I am confident the snails will last well past 150K.