Car Model Guide/ BMW/ 3 Series/ E90/ 318i
BMW·3 Series·E90 sedan

318i N46

Port-injected four with Valvetronic. No fuel-system drama, but the rear-mounted timing chain and its plastic guides are the reason people sell them.

Overview

The 318i is the N46 petrol version of the BMW 3 Series sedan (E90), sold 2005–2011 with 143 PS and manual or automatic. Demands diligence at level 3. The rear-mounted timing chain and its plastic guides wear, and the repair needs the gearbox out on a car worth very little. 13 failure modes are recorded against its engine, gearbox, chassis and shared components. Prices on this page are illustrative placeholders rather than a sourced market sample. See the methodology for how the bands are derived.

BMW 3 Series sedan (E90)

BMW 3 Series sedan (E90) · photo BMW E90 kallerna by kallerna · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Power143 PS
Torque190 Nm
Years2005–2011
Fuelpetrol
DriveRWD
EnginesN46
Biggest risks

Ranked by probability × repair cost. 13 recorded in total.

52Demands diligence
  1. "Lifetime" fluid neglect€400–€2,500partly checkable
  2. Timing chain and guide wear€1,000–€1,800checkable
  3. Dual-mass flywheel and clutch wear€900–€1,600checkable

Risk level −22 · Likely spend vs price −26 · all issues →

System by system9 systems reviewed · 3 with no recurring fault reported
Engine⚠ attentionTiming chain and guide wear, €1,000–€1,800.
Fuel system✓ clearNo recurring fault reported for this system on this engine.
Intake & air✓ clearNo recurring fault reported for this system on this engine.
CoolingwatchCoolant expansion tank cracking, €120–€250.
Emissions✓ clearNo recurring fault reported for this system on this engine.
Transmission⚠ attention"Lifetime" fluid neglect, €400–€2,500.+3 more in this system
ElectricswatchFootwell module (FRM) failure, €150–€700.+2 more in this system
Suspension & brakeswatchFront control arm bushing wear, €300–€700.+2 more in this system
Body & interiorwatchCorrosion at the rear subframe and arch seams, €300–€2,000.

Pre-facelift or facelift, this engine spans both

The same badge either side of the changeover. Bands are split at the facelift year from the generation record.

PhaseYearsLowAverageHighGood buyWhat differs
pre Pre-facelift2005–2007€2,600€3,600€5,200€3,100The specification the car launched with.
LCI Facelift (LCI)2008–2011€2,850€3,900€5,650€3,400Revised front and rear lights and bumpers; Interior trim and iDrive updates; N53 replaced N52 in most European markets; N57 replaced M57 in the 330d

Known issues, ranked by expected cost

Faults recorded against this engine, its components and its chassis, ranked by likelihood × repair cost. Costs are indicative ranges with a stated labour basis.

"Lifetime" fluid neglectZF 6HP19 / 6HP21 six-speed automatic€400–€2,500
Harsh or hunting shifts, a shunt between second and third, delayed engagement when cold. BMW declared the fluid a lifetime fill. It's not. Fluid degrades, the valve body wears, and the box eventually fails.
Check: Drive it from cold through every gear, then in manual mode. Ask when the fluid was last changed. "It's sealed for life" means never, and you should price a service in.
TransmissioncommonPartly detectableevidence: documented120–200k km
Timing chain and guide wearN46B20€1,000–€1,800
Rattle on cold start that becomes a constant chatter, then timing correlation faults. Plastic chain guides wear and the chain stretches. The chain sits at the rear of the engine, so access is poor.
Check: Cold start only. Any sustained rattle from the bulkhead end of the engine is this until proven otherwise.
EnginecommonDetectable at viewingevidence: documented120–200k km
Dual-mass flywheel and clutch wearGetrag six-speed manual€900–€1,600
Rattle at idle with the clutch up that disappears when you press it, judder on pull-away, gearbox rumble. The dual-mass flywheel's springs wear. Diesels and tuned petrols wear them faster.
Check: Idle in neutral with the clutch up and listen, then press the clutch. A rattle that stops when you press is the flywheel. Also check for judder pulling away in first.
TransmissioncommonDetectable at viewingevidence: documented130–250k km
Front control arm bushing wearE9x chassis€300–€700
Knocking over bad surfaces, vague or wandering steering, uneven front tyre wear, steering shimmy under braking. The front lower arm bushings are a known wear item on this chassis and go well before the ball joints.
Check: Drive over a rough road at low speed with the windows down and listen. Check the inside edges of the front tyres for feathering.
SuspensionuniversalDetectable at viewingevidence: documented80–150k km
Run-flat tyres and kerbed or cracked wheelsE9x chassis€150–€900
Harsh ride, vibration at speed, slow punctures. Stiff-sidewall run-flats transmit impacts straight into the rim, and these alloys crack rather than bend.
Check: Inspect the inner rim edge of every wheel for cracks and hairline splits, not just the face for kerbing. Budget for a set of conventional tyres; most owners switch and the ride improves markedly.
SuspensioncommonDetectable at viewingevidence: documented
Corrosion at the rear subframe and arch seamsE9x chassis€300–€2,000
Bubbling at the rear arch lip, scaling on subframe mounting points and rear suspension components. Age plus road salt. This generation isn't a notorious rotter, but nothing from 2005–2013 is immune in a salted market.
Check: Put it on a lift and look at the rear subframe mounting points and the arch lips from behind. Largely a non-issue on cars from southern Europe, a real one on northern and Baltic cars.
Body & corrosionoccasionalDetectable at viewingevidence: documented
Mechatronic sleeve and pan gasket leakZF 6HP19 / 6HP21 six-speed automatic€250–€600
Fluid on the bellhousing or the exhaust, gearbox fault warnings, erratic shifting once the level drops. The plastic adapter sleeve carrying the wiring through the case hardens and leaks; the integrated pan gasket does the same.
Check: On the lift, look at the gearbox pan and the bellhousing seam for wet ATF, it's red-brown and unmistakable.
TransmissioncommonDetectable at viewingevidence: documented120–220k km
Footwell module (FRM) failureE9x chassis€150–€700
Headlights, indicators, windows, wipers and central locking stop working at once, usually right after a battery change or a jump start. The module's memory corrupts when supply voltage dips. It is the single most common electrical failure on this generation.
Check: Test every window, both mirrors, the wipers, all exterior lights and the central locking before you drive. If any cluster of these is dead, this is why.
ElectricalcommonDetectable at viewingevidence: documented

Ranked by probability × repair cost, not by how loudly a failure is discussed. Inherited from the engine, gearbox, chassis and shared components, each written once. All 13 issues in full →

Pre-purchase inspection

The same issue records, reordered into the sequence you can actually check them in: cold start, static, drive, paperwork.

13 checks · saved in this browser ·

1Cold startYou get one. If the engine is warm when you arrive, come back another day.

2Static checksEngine off, ideally on a lift.

3On the driveInclude low-speed manoeuvring, not just an open road.

4PaperworkOn these cars the folder is most of the value.

Mileage and servicing

What the odometer does and doesn't tell you here, plus the service items whose neglect causes the expensive failures above.

Mileage matters less than the cold-start sound. A 220,000 km car that starts silently is a better buy than a 120,000 km car that rattles for two seconds. And these were fleet and driving-school cars, so a high odometer with a full book is normal and not a red flag.

Service itemIntervalCost
Engine oil
Chain wear tracks oil condition on this engine more than on any other in the range
10,000–12,000 km€90–140
Timing chain inspection
It is the only failure that will write the car off
listen at every cold startfree
Automatic fluid + pan
"Lifetime" fill is the gearbox's lifetime, not yours
80,000–100,000 km€400–600

What to pay

What this engine sells for, against the median of every engine in the chassis. All figures are illustrative placeholders. See the basis chips.

Enter an asking price to get a verdict against this variant's band: cheap, fair, good buy or overpriced.

United States vs Europe

1 EUR = 1.08 USD ·
🇪🇺 Europe · EUR€3,100band €2,600–€5,650
🇺🇸 United StatesNot sold318i N46 was never a US-market car
What that meansNo US band exists to compare. Any car you find there's a private import, parts and specialist knowledge are thinner, and the price says more about import cost than about the market.

US figures are the EU band converted at a stated rate. No US market differential is modelled: we hold no sourced US asking prices, and inventing one would be worse than saying so. What the comparison does show for real is availability. Most of this range was never sold in the US.

  • ModelBMW 3 Series 318i
  • ChassisE90
  • EngineN46
  • Years2005–2011
  • MarketCentral EU
  • Windowrolling 12 months to 2026-07
€3k€4k€5kE90 median, all 21 engines €6,300 (off scale) ▶Pre-faceliftPre-facelift: low €2,600, good buy €3,100, average €3,600, high €5,200€3,600€2,600€5,200€3,100Facelift (LCI)Facelift (LCI): low €2,850, good buy €3,400, average €3,900, high €5,650€3,900€2,850€5,650€3,400
Good buy at or under the marker · Median asking price · bar spans the 10th to 90th percentile · dashed line is the e90 median, all 21 engines

Good buy isn't the same as cheapest. The good-buy figure assumes the known failure items are either done with receipts or verifiably not yet due. Full breakdown by facelift phase →

Buyer notes

Our judgement, kept separate from the records it's built on.

Our read, not a record
The 318i exists because the tax bracket did, not because anyone wanted 143 PS in a car this heavy. It's a perfectly decent thing to own, with cheap insurance, cheap tyres and nothing turbocharged or direct-injected to fail, as long as the chain is healthy and you're honest that overtaking requires planning. But the problem is arithmetic: a chain and guides job costs more than a third of what the car is worth, so a rattly one is scrap and a quiet one is worth paying up for. If you want a cheap E9x and do mostly town miles, this is the sane petrol. If you cover distance, a 320d or a six will cost less per year despite costing more to buy.

Everything above this line comes from the issue and specification records. This paragraph is our judgement on top of them. See how we reach it.

Full specification

Manufacturer figures for this engine and body, as recorded in the variant and engine data.

Engine codeN46B20
ConfigurationI4, naturally aspirated · 1995 cc
Fuel / injectionpetrol · port
Model years2005–2011
Facelift phaseSold either side of the 2008 facelift, 2005–2007 pre, 2008–2011 LCI
Power / torque143 PS · 190 Nm
Transmissions6-speed manual · 6-speed automatic (ZF)
Gearbox familiesGetrag six-speed manual · ZF 6HP19 / 6HP21 six-speed automatic
DrivetrainRWD
Economy (real-world)8.5–10 l/100 km mixed
MarketsEU