High mileage n20s

[nickn20]

Hey guys, I have a 2014 bmw x1 with the n20 engine. I am tuned with a jb4 and I have about 215k miles on the car. I was just wondering if anyone else has reached the 200k mile marker on their n20. If so, what can I do to make the car last as long as possible. I want to replace the engine when I need to but I would rather have the original engine last as long as possible.

[MarvF30N20]

Originally Posted by nickn20

Hey guys, I have a 2014 bmw x1 with the n20 engine. I am tuned with a jb4 and I have about 215k miles on the car. I was just wondering if anyone else has reached the 200k mile marker on their n20. If so, what can I do to make the car last as long as possible. I want to replace the engine when I need to but I would rather have the original engine last as long as possible.

You’ll get very few responses as not many people maintain their bimmers to reach that mark and it gets expensive to repair the damage caused by poor maintenance. The occasional repairs (air and coolant pipes, valve cover, thermostat, water pump etc) on a maintained N20 aren’t very expensive if you have a good Indy though, the suspension repairs will probably the most expensive depending on the roads in your city.

Changing the engine oil on time and using a quality filter will go a long way in protecting the turbos and the rest of the engine. I was with the mindset to only fix things if they break, but noticed that my turbo intake was cracked only after unfiltered air was already going into the turbo and engine (hope that didn’t damage the engine), there was no check engine light so I only realized when changing the air filter. Doing preventative maintenance on the coolant hoses and some air pipes (turbo intake and charge pipe) will save you from being stranded and it’s very cheap to do. Did you have any major repairs on your X1??

I havent hit the 200k mark but have the same engine in my 2013 328i, just hit 125k miles with the original timing chain. I’ve seen a few timing chain failures and may get mine changed soon. I use BMW TT 5w30 or Castrol 5w40 in summer and Castrol 0w30 in winter (not BMW TT 0w30 as it is LL-01 FE which has a lower HTHS and degrades faster than the Castrol 0w30 LL-01). Is your timing chain original and what oil do you use?

[Westies]

I mean dang, you made it that far- sounds like you should keep doing what you're doing!

[maxwmiller]

N20 maintenance by 100K: timing chain + tensioner, gaskets, and cooling system. Plugs, coils, belts, and motor mounts around 50K. I do an engine oil flush and intake manifold cleaning every 25K as well. If you're running a tune, you'll eventually need a turbo replacement and charge pipe upgrade.

Car maintenance: Transmission fluid flushes and brakes every 50k, suspension/bushing refresh and axle boot refurb around every 100K. Lights as needed

There is truth that BMW engines become expensive to maintain over 100K miles. However, the expenses associated with higher-mileage vehicles is somewhat overstated IMO, and mostly due to neglect in the early years of ownership. Actual vehicle cost is not just running costs and repair, but also depreciation. While a brand new car might be under factory warranty for three years and not cost a dime, the 20K of resale value that you eat over that time is to be accounted for.

As for the N20 and high mileage, these engines started coming into the US in late 2012 for the 2013 model year. That's about 12 years ago, to reach 200k miles you'd need to average driving 17k miles/year. As long as the timing system is taken care of, these engines are plenty capable of reaching this.

[05X3lover]

Taking one of these vehicles up to very high miles will be the same as pretty much any vehicle with the same goal. Maintenance as others have said is one of the most important pieces of the puzzle.

BMWs drive so well that people often put off or skip important maintenance intervals since the car 'drives fine'. That's a bad idea and there's usually a heavy price to be paid down the line for that way of thinking.

Our '15 X1 has around 114K miles on it right now, so still a ways to go. But we sold our '05 X3 at 225K miles and everything still worked normally. And my e30 I sold at 335K miles.

The thing is though, once you pass 200K miles you really start to notice things failing, because you're reaching the end of many part's designed service life, no matter how easy you are on the car. This is why most people don't keep vehicles much past 200K miles.

One other thing I wanted to mention is that covering the car when not in use or garaging it adds years to any vehicle, imho. We do this with our X1, and it has yet to have a single issue. Anything we've done has been maintenance, but no actual repairs. Our X3 was the same way and looked pristine inside and out when we sold it. It's hard to overstate the importance of a cover or garage, though most people are too lazy to do the cover and won't pay for a garage.

I have a '90 Miata as well and it's always been garaged and/or covered - I never leave it in the sun or elements for hours on end - and the interior is almost perfect. No rips, fading, or cracks anywhere. And very few repairs of the car have ever been needed throughout it's 215K miles and 35 years of existence.

All this to say OP, if you want to keep your X1 forever - garage it!