Top 5 Problems BMW 3 Series Sedan E46 4th Generation 1997-2006

In this video, we're gonna be going over the top five problems that we've found on this 4th generation BMW 3 Series.

I just wanna emphasize that there's nothing wrong with this vehicle, there's nothing wrong with owning it or buying it. These are just the top five problems that we have found with this vehicle. Number one, oil leaks. The first oil leak that's pretty common is the oil leak for the oil filter housing. Now, it's not the gasket that's right here on the cap, but down below where the housing actually attaches to the block. Those seals get weak over time and eventually crack, and you're gonna get oil somewhere in this vicinity underneath the car.

Another common oil leak is the valve cover gasket. You may see some oil dripping onto the exhaust manifold in the backside, and you'll smell the burning oil itself, and they generally leak right around that area. So, you can replace the valve cover gasket, or sometimes you can just replace the valve cover and the gasket together.

Number two, coolant system leaks. A lot of times this coolant reservoir right here, it is plastic. Over time, it'll crack, it'll leak out. You'll notice a low coolant light on and on on your dash, and make sure you have coolant, and you gotta replace that reservoir. Another common leak would be the thermostat housing and then also the water pump itself.

Now, how do you know if you have a coolant leak? You may smell a sweet smell. It almost smells like maple syrup, or if it's dripping on the ground... The coolant in this vehicle is blue from the factory. So, if you see something blue, it's probably not washer fluid, it's probably coolant. To check the coolant level, you wanna make sure the engine's cold. Take this cap off, and there's a little indicator that pops up, and there's a little key on here to tell you where the level should actually be. Adjust it accordingly.

Number three, the crankcase control valve, also known as the CCV system, and it's located under the intake. You may notice you have a check engine light for either a lean or a rich condition, and this tube goes down to it. You'd have to take a lot of stuff off to get to it underneath here. It would be easier to just pull the intake off to get access to all this stuff. When you get that valve that's under there, you're gonna wanna get the tubes as well, because they get brittle and they crack, and the tube comes up to here. This is part of it, this tube, and then underneath there, and it attaches to where the dipstick tube is down below there. And you may see that leaking oil, or, like I said, you might have a check engine light or something like that. So, that's a common problem.

Number four, front lower control arm bushings or any other control arms bushings that hold the backside of the control arm, you may see them start deteriorating, some of the rubber in there. You might hear a noise when you're going over bumps or turning. And those can be pressed out. You can replace those themselves. You don't have to replace the whole control arm. So, the little amount of movement right here isn't bad. These are still good, but if you had significant movement, then those are gonna be bad. These are not too hard to replace. You have to...you do have to take the control arm off to replace these, at least unbolt it from there and then press it down, and then you press these out. But sometimes you may even notice during heavy braking if these are really bad that it will actually pull the steering wheel and turn the vehicle, which isn't good. So, good idea to replace those.

Number five, window regulators. You may find that the window regulator makes some cracking noise or it may not even work at all. I mean, it might not go up or down, or it'll get stuck either in the down position or in the up position. You can replace the regulator separate from the motor. It's always a good idea to replace the motor while you're doing it. So, to replace the regulator, you take the door panel off, and you're gonna wanna tape up the glass or have the glass supported some way, take the regulator off, take the motor off with it and put the new one on. It's pretty easy.

I hope this video helped you out. If you need any of the parts for the problems that we talked about today, check out 1aauto.com, we sell a lot of those parts. If you enjoyed this video, make sure you subscribe to our channel, ring that bell, turn on all notifications so you don't miss any of our videos.