2009/2011 BMW E90 Facelift
The sedan and wagon models received a mild facelift for the 2009 model year to address criticisms of the 3 Series appearance. The Coupe/Convertible was largely untouched as it was always attractive and less in need of a refresh. They were subtly facelifted for the 2011 model year.
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2009-2011 3 Series Sedan 5th Gen Facelift Front Changes
The sedan's front end was subtly restyled with a brand-new bumper featuring sharper creases that flow down from the inner edges of the headlights to the lower facia1.The lower air intake's frumpy downturned edges that gave the pre-facelift its "frown" was replaced by upturned edges giving it a "smile"2.The headlights were revised3and the kidney grilles are contained entirely within the bumper, losing their upper "rabbit's teeth" chrome inserts that used to be attached to the hood4.说罩是一个新的紧迫和扇贝s front edge to clear the new grilles and extra creases in the middle, flowing out from the BMW logo to the windscreen like a ship's wake5.In 2011, the Coupe and Convertible got a new, more aggressive front bumper with a one-slot lower air intake with horizontal slats.
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2009-2011 3 Series Sedan 5th Gen Facelift Rear Changes
The sedan's most noticeable change is the restyled, darker, monotone taillights using LEDs, hiding the previously contrasting backup lights by replacing them with thin reverse-light strips that hardly break up the uniformly all-red clusters1.The units also regained their trademark L-shape that BMW used for years. The new taillights that reach in further towards the middle of the car necessitated a new trunk-lid pressing with a more upright numberplate recess. The lower fascia is more dynamic, with pronounced horizontal creases2.In 2011, the Coupe and Convertible received new all-red taillights with thin reverse-light strips and a more aggressive new bumper with sharper creases.
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2009-2011 3 Series Sedan 5th Gen Facelift Side Changes
New wheel styles became available on the sedan and wagon1.The side marker lights at the front were moved from the headlight clusters to the wheel arch and the side skirts got a sharper crease for a more hunkered-down, dynamic look2.The restyled front and rear lights are easy to spot from the side too3, as is the slightly lower-profile shark-fin antenna. For the 2011 model year, the Coupe and Convertible got new side skirts with more pronounced creases.
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2009-2011 3 Series Sedan 5th Gen Facelift Interior Changes
Changes to the interior were relatively minor for the 2009 facelift, including chrome accents on the dash-mounted cupholders and a newly revised iDrive controller1.This comes with preset shortcut keys to more quickly and easily call up telecommunications, navigation, radio, and CD-player menus.
Engine, Transmission and Drivetrain
The 2006 E90 arrived with a 3.0-liter naturally aspirated N52 inline-six engine in two states of tune - 215 hp/185 lb-ft in the 325 models and 255 hp/220 lb-ft in the 330 models. Both are offered with either rear-wheel drive or xDrive all-wheel drive and either a manual or automatic transmission, both with six speeds. All the rear-wheel-drive manual and automatic sedans and coupes with either engine output achieved an identical EPA-estimated 21 mpg on the combined cycle, dropping to 20 mpg in all the xDrive sedans, the wagons (available in 325i xDrive only), and RWD-only convertible 325s. The heaviest on fuel is the 330 Convertible, with a combined 19 mpg. For the 2007 model year, the 328 replaced the 325 and retained the same engine, albeit upgraded to230 hp/200 lb-ft, with economy improving to anything from a best of 22 mpg combined to a worst of 20 mpg, depending on configuration. A new twin-turbocharged and direct-injected 3.0-liter inline-six N54 engine replaced the high-output N52 in the erstwhile 330 models. Renamed 335, these came packing 300 hp and 300 lb-ft of torque. Manual and automatic transmissions are still offered and all 335s achieve either 20 or 21 mpg combined, virtually matching the 328s. For the 2008 model year, RWD wagons became available - still only available in naturally aspirated 328 format - and the xDrive option was offered on the Coupe for the first time with either engine.
为了配合2009 facelift, a new 335d model was launched, using an M57 3.0-liter turbocharged 265-hp/425-lb-ft inline-six diesel engine - but only as an automatic RWD sedan. It achieved 27 mpg combined and was only ever sold in low numbers. It's rare today. The drivetrains remained unchanged through 2010, but for its final model year, the 2011 335i models got a new N55 single-turbo 3.0-liter inline-six engine, dropping previous years' costly piezo-electric injectors for more conventional items, but still delivering the same 300 hp/300 lb-ft. It achieved slightly better fuel economy, with the most thrifty 335s getting 23 mpg combined. However, the old twin-turbo engine was retained for the new-for-2011 335is Coupe and Convertible models, uprated to 320 hp/332 lb-ft.
5th Gen BMW 3 Series Real MPG
The EPA publishes real-world miles-per-gallon figures that motorists submit once a car has been on the market for a certain period of time and enough people have submitted figures to arrive at a reasonably accurate average. Usually, turbocharged cars don't fare too well and produce worse real-world consumption figures than those estimated by the EPA. However, the 5th gen BMW 3 Series seems to be above average on this score and many of the brand's models improve on the EPA estimates on the road. A few examples are the naturally aspirated 3.0-liter engine in the sedan and coupe, coupled with the manual transmission - whereas the EPA estimates a combined figure of 22 mpg, users report anything from 23.4 to 28.8 mpg combined. Even the turbocharged engines do well and automatic rear-wheel-drive pre-facelift twin-turbocharged sedans and coupes achieve anything from 22.4 to 28.6 mpg combined, compared to their EPA estimate of 21 mpg. The diesel is a star performer too, easily beating its 27-mpg EPA estimate with real-world figures of 31.8-33.4 mpg combined. The BMW E90 gas tank size is 16.1 gallons on all models.
* Real-world mpg and MPGe figures are provided by the EPA. Once a car has been on sale for a significant period of time, the EPA gets real-world figures directly from the customer base. These figures are then provided on the EPA website. Real-world figures are not available for certain models due to a lack of sales, or not enough people partaking in this after-sales survey.
Safety
The fifth generation BMW 3 Series is now pretty old and, simply put, old cars aren't as safe as new ones. Still, compared to its contemporaries, it was good, scoring four stars overall when tested by the NHTSA. Just keep in mind that these results are for the less strict pre-2011 crash-test criteria; that star rating will drop even further when updated to the 2011 criteria. However, the 2011 3 Series was never tested against the new criteria. Suffice to say that, while the basic safety features are there, you will be worse for wear after a crash compared to a new 3 Series. That's just par for the course for old cars. The IIHS has also increased the demands of its crash tests over the years but, for what it's worth, the first 2006 3 Series achieved a Silver Top Safety Pick rating, even though it only scored "Good" in two tests (moderate front overlap and the old, less strict side impact). Back then, the small-overlap front crash was not being done yet and, not being designed for it, the E90 would probably fare poorly, as all cars of that vintage would.
All that being said, the 5th gen 3 Series was among the best at the time in terms of standard safety equipment and you won't do much better shopping elsewhere in the class. Even the base 2006 car comes equipped with six airbags, run-flat tires, tire-pressure monitoring, ABS, stability control, automatic headlights, and rain-sensing wipers. HID adaptive headlights were standard on the 330s only and options included adaptive cruise control and rear parking sensors. Coupes and convertibles were generally a little better kitted out, coming as standard with features such as HID headlights. The convertibles also had pop-up rollover hoops. A few more safety features were fitted over the years; in 2007, traffic updates were added to models with navigation and in 2010, automatic high beams became optionally available.
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2006 - 2011年宝马3系E90修剪
At the time of the 2006 launch, there were a variety of 325 and 330 models, both with the same naturally aspirated engine in different states of tune. A turbocharged engine replaced the high-output version from the 2007 model year, coinciding with the 330 becoming the 335, but the base engine remained in uprated form, getting a name change from 325 to 328. All-wheel drive was optional on some trims and there were four body styles: sedan, coupe, convertible, and wagon. The standard equipment fitted is more or less the same on 325/328 and 330/335 models respectively, but with a slightly higher number of features on coupes and convertibles.
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BMW 3 Series E90 Interior Overview
The BMW 3 Series E90 sedan is surprisingly accommodating inside, with excellent build quality and carefully chosen, high-quality surfaces and materials. Up front, there is plenty of room, but the rear is a little more confining and although two adults will fit, they will complain about restricted headroom if they're tall. Three across is a definite squeeze but can be done for short trips. The Coupe is even less accommodating and involves the contortions required to get into the back of a two-door car. The Convertible's rear seats are only suitable for two small children. Cargo space is competitive for the class, with a trunk big enough for a minimum of 9 cubic feet of luggage in the Convertible (11 cubes in the Coupe and 12 in the sedan) to a maximum of 60.9 cubes in the wagon with the seats folded.
The two basic trims for the 2006 cars are 325 and 330, in a choice of sedan and wagon; the Coupe and Convertible of this year are not E90s and still belong to the previous-generation E46-based 3 Series. In 2007, E90-based Coupe and Convertible models joined the range and the default trims changed to 328 (replacing 325) and 335 (replacing 330). In the last year (2011), a special 335is trim was added. Keep in mind that the E90 is now an old car and no trims received Apple CarPlay or Android Auto. However, a smartphone interface with BMW Apps was optionally available, so you'll have to check if this was fitted to a car you consider. Bluetooth wireless connectivity and navigation were extras too and not standard.
5th Generation BMW 3 Series Maintenance and Cost
There is a long list of things that can go wrong with the 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, and 2011 E90 BMW 3 Series models and virtually no configuration is free of problems. That said, many of the issues can be avoided and/or postponed with meticulous maintenance. Service intervals should be no longer than a year apart, even on low-mileage vehicles that travel little. BMW recommends that gas engines' oil should be replaced every 15,000 miles or once a year (or 13,000 miles for the diesel), but given the number of issues that can be avoided by keeping the oil fresh, we would halve these distances. For severe use on dusty roads, freezing temperatures, and very long idling (like taxi use), replace the oil every 5,000 miles.
To give you an idea of the tasks that must be performed at every basic oil service, BMW dealerships replace the engine oil and oil filter, burnish the brake pads, and the air-conditioning's microfilter on all cars and on the diesel they also change the diesel exhaust fluid. At every third oil service, they replace the air filter on the gas engines. At every second oil service, they replace the diesel's fuel filter, while also checking, among others, all models' batteries, steering systems, and all the other fluid levels. The brake fluid should be replaced every two years. The spark plugs on the N52 engine last 100,000 miles but those on the N54 last only 45,000 miles.
There is no BMW E90 spare tire compartment, since all models run on run-flat tires.
Check Before You Buy
Technical Service Bulletins according to the NHTSA. Check service book for:
Relatively reliable motoring is possible with an E90 BMW 3 Series, but you have to buy smartly and avoid the models with the most common problems. Alternatively, buy one that has already seen the problem areas attended to. However, a full service history at BMW is important, more so than with many other used cars out there. Some of the most significant 2006-2011 BMW 3 Series problems revolve around the engines and these are sensitive to the model and year. Besides breakdowns, there are also wear-and-tear items such as the Vanos system that periodically require overhauling. Fifth generation 2006 BMW 3 Series transmission problems seem quite rare though, the six-speed ZF being a solid transmission.
That being said, BMW E90 automatic gearbox and transmission problems do crop up and have mostly to do with neglecting transmission oil changes; the manufacturer's interval for this might be too long. Thankfully, BMW E90 3 Series throttle body, air conditioning (AC), central locking, immobilizer, mechatronic, mirror folding, brake, ABS, accelerator pedal, steering, transmission oil cooler, head gasket, manual gearbox, and steering problems tend to be few and far between with proper maintenance, but a few glitches have been noted on individual models in all these systems from time to time. However, these are not the most common BMW 3 Series E90 problems and tend to be the exception, not the rule. One would imagine that the naturally aspirated N52 engine is solid and indeed, 2009 and 2010 BMW E90 3 Series engine problems are at a series-wide low for these years, but this engine should be avoided for the 2007-2008 model years, as we explain later.
A few relatively rare BMW 3 Series E90 problems that do rear their heads from time to time include:
- Fewer than 600 cars' engine-cooling fans failed, which could cause the engine to overheat. This was an NHTSA recall item.
- In another NHTSA recall, a total of 3,450 cars were affected by incorrect crimp connectors used on front side airbags and seat-belt tensioners.
- The E90's engines can be sensitive to worn spark plugs and ignition coils. Spark plugs overdue for replacement can also hasten the demise of the ignition coils. Ignition coils should be replaced at least every 60,000 miles.
- Take note that the E90's ignition key has to be removed in a certain way by pushing it in first. Some owners have neglected to do this and forcefully removing the key without following the correct procedure can damage the ignition slot.
- Some E90s' 17- and 19-inch alloy wheels have been known to form hairline cracks, especially if used on rough roads or driven too fast over speed bumps.
It's worth keeping in mind a few common error codes:
- P0456 on a BMW 3 Series means there is a problem with the evaporative emissions system
- The BMW 3 Series code 4E24 refers to errors detected by the transmission controller relating to solenoids in the valve body
- The BMW 3 Series P0304 code indicates that there is a misfire in the number four cylinder
- The BMW 3 Series P0305 code indicates that there is a misfire in the number five cylinder
- The P0012 BMW E90 error code is an ECM code indicating incorrect intake-cam timing
- The P0015 BMW E90 error code is an ECM code indicating incorrect exhaust-cam timing
- The BMW E90 P0442 error code indicates that there is a small leak in the evaporative emissions system
- The P0174 BMW E90 error code indicates that the ECM has detected that the air-fuel mixture is too lean
- The P0128 BMW E90 error code indicates that the engine coolant is taking too long to warm up, which could be an indication that the thermostat has failed in the open position
Recalls
There were many 2006-2011 BMW 3 Series E90 recalls. In fact, the 2006 model was subject to no fewer than 13 recalls and among these, we've already covered the airbags, PVC heater, blower motor, front-seat occupation mat, and master-cylinder leak. Added to them are 25 cars recalled for front axle connection that may break and 585 cars for an engine-cooling fan that may fail. The 2007 and 2008 BMW 328i recall list is identical to that of the 335i and down to seven issues each, but inherits many of the same problems. In addition, a faulty battery cable may cut power and cause the car to stall (2007 and 2008) and the wrong crimp connectors may have been fitted on the front side airbags and belt tensioners (2008). The 2009 model is mostly the same and the camshaft bolts undoing themselves are new for the 2010 model. Even the very last model year is awash with recalls - eight in total - with the 2011 BMW 3 Series recall notices containing yet another new item: front driveshaft bolts that may loosen. Overall, not a stellar showing.
Which One To Avoid
The 2006 models had the most problems and of these, the 335 with the N54 engine is the most troublesome. Most of the problems might have been sorted by now, but those cars have mostly accumulated lots of miles and this maintenance-sensitive engine with its twin turbochargers and expensive injectors is too complicated for its own good and should be avoided. The naturally aspirated N52 engine is much better, but the cylinder-head defect means that you cannot take a chance on anything earlier than a late-2009 model. We would avoid the diesel too, due to its expensive and more frequent servicing and potential parts-availability problems. Avoid any E90 without a full service history or with a high mileage without transmission fluid changes.
Which One To Buy
328 - 2009年末或2010年初整容手册rguably the sweet spot in the range. The traditional, naturally aspirated inline-six and clean-shifting manual transmission is what BMW enthusiasts wax lyrical over as they are truly rewarding driver's cars. An automatic is good too, as long as you have evidence of proper transmission maintenance and the mileage is not too high. 2011 vintage 335 models with the new N55 single-turbo engine are comparatively rare, single-model-year models, but also significantly more reliable than the earlier N54-engined cars, if the naturally aspirated engine just won't do.
5th Gen BMW 3 Series E90 Verdict
The E90 3 Series is a BMW true to form - fun to drive and available with a sweet manual transmission and sonorous straight six. You have to tread carefully among the model years to avoid the unreliable engines - mostly the N54 and the pre-update N52 - but other than that, a well-maintained one can provide reasonably reliable motoring. But we cannot emphasize how important meticulous maintenance is. These cars' engines and transmissions are sensitive and advanced for their time and need clean oil to keep going. If you can get a clean, low-mileage one that's been pampered, you'll have a great used BMW that will put a grin on your face every time you turn the key. If the steering lock isn't playing up, that is.