27th Sep 2020, 11:12

Update: 69,000 km. Due to COVID lockdown, the one-year service got delayed by around two months, so did the yearly Warrant of Fitness (WOF) inspection, which it passed with no problem. A few months prior to service, topped up the oil by a litre, around 8,000 km since the previous service, so not bad at all considering it uses thin oil (5W-30, I think) when others complain of oil consumption of up to a litre every 1-2K km on some modern cars. Clearly whoever owned it in Japan did the break in correctly. During service, as a precaution I asked the mechanic to change all four plugs (found out that bad plugs accelerate the failure of coils, this had the original plugs still), got the rubber seal for the rear-mounted vacuum pump replaced (it'll leak every few years like my previous one, might as well, it's cheap) and while he had the vacuum pump off, replaced the blanking plate beside it which eventually leaks coolant, again also a cheap part. Plus the two plastic coolant hose bleeder screws. For the next service around June 2021, as a precaution I will get the seals for the oil filter housing changed, another one of those seals that eventually leaks, as well as the VANOS solenoid seals, easily reached from the front of the car.

This car has driven much further than my previous one, and in a very short period of time - post-lockdown, I drove all the way down to Wellington from Auckland (maybe 650km away), then up the North Island to Kaitaia. Drove beautifully - and the fuel consumption was excellent, around 14 km/L - that's with the aircon compressor on while on the flats but off uphills or in cities. As with my previous car, the base seats, despite no lumbar support, were great. Steering and handling are as expected for this car, but the run-flat tyres just make the ride a tad too brittle on less than perfect roads. Those two trips, basically spanning almost the length of the North Island, is why the mileage has increased quite a bit.

8th Aug 2021, 00:40

Update: 88,000 km. Just had the car serviced last week, plus other things done at the same time. Over the last few months, I noticed the oil consumption suddenly increased from the previous 1L/8,000 km, down to only 1L/2,000 km. Had to top up the oil twice until the service. My thoughts were, as has been common on this (N46) engine and its immediate predecessor (N42), the valve stem seals are a weakness, though my previous car with the N42 never used oil until I sold it at 19 years old. Advised the garage of this - and that I still have a mechanical warranty.

They first checked the car and said that the car was not blowing smoke (a sign of the valve stem seal wear), but they noticed oil leakage from the oil filter housing gasket (which I had planned to change at any rate). So they did not touch the valve stem seals first, and asked me to observe the oil consumption. During service, they also flushed the coolant (was weak), and pressed the bushings out of the two front control arms and replaced with new ones, plus replaced the drive belt tensioner and rollers as they were now making noise (my previous car had them replaced around this age), as was the aircon pollen filter.

They pointed out that the front and rear tyres still had very good tread (5mm) but were wearing out inside or outside unevenly, and suggested a wheel alignment to be done soon to save the tyres. The rear suspension rubber stoppers also had a split and would need replacing by the next service, else it can fail the Warrant of Fitness (WOF - a mandatory vehicle inspection in New Zealand). Brake pads were still fine.

With the service and work done, the car is running very well, the suspension work eliminated some creaks that I have grown accustomed to, and the suspension now rides much more pliantly. Amazing, I always thought it was just the brittleness of run-flat tyres.

Oh - almost forgot, although my air conditioning has always run well, since buying the car, I sometimes heard this "cronk...cronk...cronk" noise, which was not dependent on the engine's revs, nor the car speed. I speaking with my ex-mechanic, he suggested if I hear it, to turn ON the aircon compressor and see if it disappears. Sure enough, it did. So last January, as I have my extended mechanical warranty anyway, I took it to an aircon specialist, who replaced the compressor and receiver, noise now gone. He explained to me that my old car (an E46 BMW) had an aircon compressor (Sanden) whose pistons had rings; my new car also has a Japanese compressor, but showed me a cross section he had where it did not have piston rings: it relied on Teflon rings for seal. This makes the compressor less of an engine drag, improving efficiency and reducing the effect on emissions and fuel consumption. The Teflon uses the lubrication from the refrigerant to keep itself from wearing. SO...that's the reason I keep reading that modern cars (not just BMW) need to be run with the aircon on all the time (you can have the compressor on in winter as it will simply dehumidify heated air). I learned something here.

The interior plastics of this car are definitely of poorer quality than my older 2001 3-series. All the vent tabs have broken (the back clips) - something I have never had in any previous car including the old 2001 - plus the plastic ticket holder sleeve framing the vanity mirror, also the back clips. There are more squeaks and creaks from the dashboard of this car than my previous one. I think all this marketing rubbish about using recycled plastics is resulting in consequences that neither BMW nor the militant greenies are not paying for. I was lucky enough that my previous car did not suffer from the sagging headliner which afflicts SAABs, Volvos, and typical E36 RHD non-EU sedans (built in South Africa; my one was ex-Regensburg, Germany) which likely used environmentally-friendly glue. I may not be so lucky this time, if the plastics inside are anything to go by. Fortunately the engine plastics are holding up well. Speaking of sagging headliners, it appears it's not just a Euro car problem anymore: I've been noticing a fair few 2005-ish and older Honda Civics and Mazdas here in NZ with the same problem now.

Will get the alignment done in a few weeks, and will observe the oil consumption. Hopefully the gasket change solves it, else I still have my extended mechanical warranty to April next year to do the valve stem seals. For the next service, will get those rear suspension stoppers replaced. And the service after that (I will have had the car for 3 years - car being 12 years old), will get the auto trans flushed.