TL; DR Thinking about switching from Ram to a 5 series and am wondering how reliable the B58 engine is
Hi all, new to BMW world. A little back story: I owned a 12 Jag XJL Supercharged previously that I daily drove. Only issue I had was the well known timing chain issue and an alternator. After getting those things done I had 0 issues and roughly 110k miles on it total. It developed an oil leak and needed some suspension maintenance so I thought I’ll get something else since it’s showing its age and didn’t want to keep abusing it daily. I bought a 19 Ram 1500 Limited in May, while it’s nice I just can’t seem to bring myself to trust it. As stupid as this sounds, but I just have a feeling like all the electronics are sketchy and these apparently have air suspension issues, lifter issues (hemi tick), and exhaust manifold issues. I was thinking about getting their extended warranty, but it’s like $3500 for 5 years (which isn’t terrible). I already have a steering issue where it sticks to the right sometimes. My point is, if I have to go all through all this hassle anyways, why not drive something that at least I’ll love, enjoy and trust.
This brings me to my question. I’ve been eyeing the 540i as it offers a great balance between a lot of things. I’ve heard great things about the B58, but wanted to hear it from people that own these how they are. Any major issues past 60-70k miles? I do maintenance work myself like oil changes, brakes, spark plugs and what not and am pretty knowledgeable about mechanical stuff. I also have a Indy shop that I used to take my jag to, they work on anything pretty much Euro.
Any input?
Own one, love it. Currently at 59,000km on my 2019 540i. I’ve had no issues with the powertrain whatsoever. There have been some other issues with the car that were dealt with under warranty:
- emergency telecoms had to be replaced due to water entry near the antenna
- active shutters had to be replaced as they were stuck in the open position (known issue)
- slight coolant loss (known issue with the B58), dealership noticed the oil filter housing was sweating so they replaced it.
Other than that it has been a great car; best I’ve bought. I think the 5 Series has the best build quality of the German brands in the segment, and the B58 and ZF8HP transmission is one of the best powertrains in the industry. Because BMW is putting it into just about everything, parts availability should be there for quite some time.
There are a couple of issues that may need your attention: 1) if the heater core fails and needs to be replaced it will be an expensive fix given it’s location and the labour involved and 2) the running day lights may be prone to failure/burnout and that can be an expensive fix/replacement.
Just stay on top of the maintenance, and remember that the problems won’t necessarily be with the powertrain but everything else around it that can go bad. BMWs have been known in the past to have issues with their cooling systems and electronic gremlins. Not sure if any of that has really gone away, but can say with complete confidence that the build quality and engine reliability has improved a ton in the past 5-6 years.
I was hearing that Mercedes was the worst with electronic issues. Is BMW that bad with the electronics?