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Vehicle

BMW 3 Series

The compact executive benchmark, and the most community-documented BMW. The N-series turbo era (N54/N55, then B58) built entire forums around fuel-system and ignition diagnostics — high-pressure pump, injector and charge-pipe patterns that the generic corpus describes in vendor-neutral terms.

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BMW 330i M Sport (G20), front three-quarter view
Vauxford · CC BY-SA 4.0 (external)

Generations

  • E46 1998–2006

    M54 sixes, largely conventional; vacuum leaks from aged intake boots feed the classic lean codes.

    Body styles
    Sedan · Estate · Coupé · Convertible
    Platform
    E46
    Engines
    • 1.8 / 2.0 four-cylinder — M43 · petrol · M43, N42 and N46
    • 2.2 / 2.5 / 3.0 straight-six — petrol · 125–175 kW (168–235 hp) · 210–301 Nm (155–222 lb-ft) · M52 and M54
    • 3.2 straight-six — S54B32 · petrol · 252 kW (338 hp) · 365 Nm (269 lb-ft) · M3, S54
    • 2.0d — M47 · diesel · 85–100 kW (114–134 hp) · 265–280 Nm (195–207 lb-ft)
    • 3.0d — M57 · diesel · 150 kW (201 hp) · 410 Nm (302 lb-ft)
    • 2.0 — N46 · petrol · 200 Nm (148 lb-ft)
    • 3.2 straight-six — M54 · petrol
    Transmissions
    5-speed manual · 6-speed manual · 5-speed automatic · SMG sequential · 4-speed automatic · 6 speed SMG-II
    Drivetrain
    Rear-wheel drive · Four-wheel drive

  • E90 2005–2012

    N52/N54 era — the N54's HPFP and injector history is a canonical case of expensive misdiagnosis.

    Body styles
    Sedan · Estate · Coupé · Convertible
    Platform
    BMW L2
    Engines
    • N43/N46 four-cylinder — N43 · petrol · 95–125 kW (127–168 hp) · 180–210 Nm (133–155 lb-ft)
    • N52 straight-six — N52 · petrol · 130–200 kW (174–268 hp) · 230–300 Nm (170–221 lb-ft)
    • 3.0 turbo straight-six — N54 · petrol · 225–250 kW (302–335 hp) · 400–450 Nm (295–332 lb-ft) · the HPFP and injector history is a canonical expensive misdiagnosis
    • N47 four-cylinder — N47 · diesel · 85–135 kW (114–181 hp) · 260–380 Nm (192–280 lb-ft) · timing chain at the rear of the engine
    • N57 straight-six — N57 · diesel · 150–180 kW (201–241 hp) · 430–520 Nm (317–384 lb-ft)
    • 4.4 — S65 · petrol · 400 Nm (295 lb-ft)
    • 2.0 — M47 · diesel · 85–100 kW (114–134 hp) · 265–280 Nm (195–207 lb-ft)
    • 3.0 — M57 · diesel · 145–210 kW (194–282 hp) · 400–580 Nm (295–428 lb-ft)
    • 3.0 turbo — N55 · petrol · 225 kW (302 hp) · 400 Nm (295 lb-ft)
    Transmissions
    6-speed manual · 5-speed manual · 6-speed ZF 6HP automatic · 6-speed GM 6L45 automatic · 7-speed dual-clutch
    Drivetrain
    Rear-wheel drive · Four-wheel drive

  • F30 2012–2019

    N20 four and N55 six, then B-series; timing-chain wear on early N20s is the age caution.

    Body styles
    Sedan · Estate · Liftback
    Platform
    F30
    Engines
    • 1.5 turbo three-cylinder — B38 · petrol · 104–170 kW (139–228 hp) · 220–320 Nm (162–236 lb-ft)
    • 2.0 turbo four-cylinder — N20 · petrol · 115–180 kW (154–241 hp) · 240–350 Nm (177–258 lb-ft) · N20 and B48
    • 3.0 turbo straight-six — N55 · petrol · 225 kW (302 hp) · 400 Nm (295 lb-ft) · N55 and B58
    • 2.0d — N47 · diesel · 70–160 kW (94–215 hp) · 235–450 Nm (173–332 lb-ft) · N47 and B47
    • 3.0d — N57 · diesel · 190–230 kW (255–308 hp) · 560–630 Nm (413–465 lb-ft) · N57 and B57
    • 2.0 turbo hybrid — B48 · plug-in hybrid · 115–233 kW (154–312 hp) · 250–450 Nm (184–332 lb-ft) · 330e
    • 1.6 turbo — N13 · petrol · 100–125 kW (134–168 hp) · 220–250 Nm (162–184 lb-ft)
    • 3.0 turbo — S55 · petrol · 317–331 kW (425–444 hp) · 550 Nm (406 lb-ft)
    • 3.0 turbo — B58 · petrol · 240 kW (322 hp) · 450 Nm (332 lb-ft)
    • 2.0 turbo — B47 · diesel · 85–170 kW (114–228 hp) · 270–500 Nm (199–369 lb-ft)
    • 4.0 — petrol · 309 kW (414 hp) · 8-cylinder, US market 2012-2013
    Transmissions
    6-speed manual · 8-speed ZF 8HP automatic
    Drivetrain
    Rear-wheel drive · xDrive four-wheel drive

  • G20 2019–present

    B-series engines and 48V mild hybrids — supply-voltage codes gain a new layer.

    Body styles
    Sedan · Estate
    Platform
    CLAR
    Engines
    • 2.0 turbo four-cylinder — B48 · mild hybrid · 115–190 kW (154–255 hp) · 250–400 Nm (184–295 lb-ft)
    • 3.0 turbo straight-six — B58 · mild hybrid · 275–288 kW (369–386 hp) · 500 Nm (369 lb-ft) · B58, M340i
    • 2.0d — B47 · mild hybrid · 110–140 kW (148–188 hp) · 320–400 Nm (236–295 lb-ft)
    • 3.0d — B57 · mild hybrid · 195–250 kW (261–335 hp) · 620 Nm (457 lb-ft)
    • 2.0 turbo hybrid — B48 · plug-in hybrid · 115–233 kW (154–312 hp) · 250–450 Nm (184–332 lb-ft) · 330e
    • 3.0 turbo — S58 · petrol · 195–344 kW (261–461 hp) · 550–650 Nm (406–479 lb-ft)
    Transmissions
    6-speed manual · 8-speed ZF 8HP automatic
    Drivetrain
    Rear-wheel drive · xDrive four-wheel drive

CAN data

Bus databases covering this vehicle, mirrored from the open-source opendbc project.

Service information

Information, not instruction

CarGeek is a reference, not a service manual. Its pages are written from public sources and from what other people have found, never from a manufacturer's own service information, so they can be wrong or incomplete for your particular vehicle. Some of what they describe carries real risk: high voltage, fuel under pressure, stored energy, hot and moving parts.

Have anything you intend to act on checked by a trained person against the manufacturer's own procedure for your vehicle. Nothing here replaces that procedure.

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