Hi, Scotty
Thanks for all the highly informative videos, I have learned quite a lot from your input.
I currently own a 2018 BMW 440i GranCoupe which I purchased new in December of 2017. The car now has just over 24,000 miles. All factory recommended maintenance operations have been dealer performed. Considering your alerts about the plastic engine components in BMWs, in your estimation, how much time (in calendar time and miles) would you say this car has before it starts to experience the destructive deterioration that you have described?
Thanks for your input.
Best Regards
John
How much warranty do you have left on this vehicle?
Remaining warranty is about 6 weeks.
BMW’s can last a long time, they just cost an arm and a leg to maintain.
For my 2007 BMW X5, I had a plastic DISA valve fail around the 150K and 10 years. Had the valve cover gasket start leaking around 190K miles. Plastic valve cover had to replaced because of a failed PCV valve at around 190 miles. AC Compressor failed at around 175K miles. Electronic brake failure could not disengage at around 160K miles.
And this X5 was not driven hard. I think these would have failed earlier had the car been driven harder.
Around 100K miles and 7 years is when things start to add up, from the BMW owners I talked to. Maybe less. For me. It didn’t really start until 150K and 10 years.
There are quite a few variables that need to be considered.
How hard is the car driven? How often? Short trips or long trips? Heat, age and mileage are the biggest enemies of plastic components.
What is your weather like? Heat, cold and humidity should also be factored in. Extreme temperatures will also take their toll on component longevity.
If you maintain the same low mileage accumulation into the future, I think the components should last until 2028. (I'm only referring to the molded plastic itself, not the function of these components)
This car has been operated exclusively in central Florida. The first 18000 miles, or so, have been urban stop and go with occasional short highway runs. Now, the majority of mileage is highway, about 40 miles per day usually under 70mph. I drive the car conservatively; no hot-roding, no pedal to the metal acceleration, no hard braking unless a traffic situation requires it. For the last year, the car has been garage kept.
I think your good to go. The car has been and will continue being lightly/normally used, so I think my guess will probably pan out to be pretty accurate.