Love my e89, but mo problems = mo $$$

[Zed4USA]

I really, really love my 2014 BWM Z4 sDrive28i (8 speed automatic).

I bought it CPO with 6k miles. It has the sport package, cold weather package, and premium sound package.

I self installed an android screen (which works great with an installed wireless CarPlay adapter) - and I had a local garage install a backup camera (which works great with the android screen) and backup sensors (which also work with the android screen).

I also self installed and hard-wired a dash-cam. I even replaced the silver kidney grills with black kidney grills and painted the roll-bar covers to match the color of the car's paint. And the European odduments tray in the center console that I swapped in is great.

Since the car came with summer tires and I like to drive it on weekends all-year-round in the North-East USA, I bought Bremmer Kraft wheels and Pirelli Sottozero tires for the winter. I've got a jack and torque wrench, and I enjoy changing the wheels (with tires) seasonally.

I take my vehicle into my local BMW dealership every year for maintenance and inspection.

So after four years of ownership (car at seven years old) and some major repairs came up.

• cylinder head cover cracked and was leaking oil. - replaced $$$
• Engine ground wire corroded. - replaced $$$
• Transmission computer firmware out of date, and shifting funny - updated $$$

So now another year has passed, and the vehicle now has 17k miles (total)… both sides of the front suspension are leaking lots of fluid, so the front active suspension will need to be replaced (estimated cost of 3.5k USD).

And I've got a nail in one of my rear tires that is too close to the sidewall to be drilled and plugged - so my rear tires will need to be replaced. The rear tires are 8 years old with 4/32 of tread left - and I get that they'd need to be replaced soon due to age and tread, but I was hoping to get another season or two out of them.

Doesn't 17k miles seem like not much milage for all of these problems (other than the tires)? I get that this is a sports car, but I'm a little disappointed in the expensive problems. I really don't drive it all that hard.

I still love the car, but I am dreading the future repair costs on what is a low-milage car.

Dare I attempt to replace my own active suspension with original BMW parts (thereby saving on the labor costs)? Or is that dangerous and will there be coding problems? I can change my tires, but can I change my front active suspension??

P.S. I know folks have switched to non-active suspension and like it, but I really like the comfort mode for city, and sport mode for highway.

Thank you for your guidance.

[B21]

The cam box cover issue is well known across many BMW engines..the plastic components in the engine bay age, heat cycles are the primary cause.

Similarly the adaptive suspension is well known for failing through age and mileage. Unusual to see it fitted to 28i..

The TCU issue I personally was not aware of..the engine strap again is not unheard off.

So for a 10 year old car these are not surprising issues in either frequency or the number.

Many people argue that a car regularly used in fact suffers less degradation than ‘garage queens’..

The 28i E89 is a pretty reliable beast..if you had a 35is by now you may well have suffered some considerably greater issues.

[ray7792]

Its pretty easy getting the strut assembly off the car, should have no issues there...maybe some rusty tight bolts. As long as you have a spring compressor and a good impact wrench, getting the springs off/on the strut will be simple as well. No coding needed if you're replacing with adaptive struts. Definitely get an alignment as well.

I've had my 2014 35is for 5 years and just hit 50K miles and funny enough my front struts just started leaking a little bit as well but otherwise I've had no issues. For me sport/sport+ is pretty useless...so I'm personally going route of getting set of coilovers. FCP euro has the front adaptive struts at about 850 each which isn't worth it to me but if you like to retain OEM thats understandable.

In regards to comfort, the non adaptive suspension falls somewhere between comfort and sport. I doubt that you'd notice a difference, and if its leaking that badly new struts would help considerably either way. Getting rid of the OEM runflats would make a world's difference as well.

Your first two issues are unfortunate but that TCU issue you mentioned sounds very sketchy...I don't know enough to say for certain but just because firmware is out of date doesn't mean it would just go off the rails suddenly.


By the way, I think most manufacturers don't recommend using a tire older than like 6-8 years. Compound degrades over time especially if left in sunlight often. Don't want to end up like Paul walker...bit exaggeration but you know, be careful.

[Zed4USA]

Thank you for your thoughts. I agree, for a 10 year car… but it was only 7 when some premier issues started . And 8 years and 17k miles for the front suspension?

I am a bit of a workaholic, so I only get out with my baby like once or twice a week. What should I be aiming for? Bless the stars if I can drive more, while damaging my car less.

Originally Posted by B21

The cam box cover issue is well known across many BMW engines..the plastic components in the engine bay age, heat cycles are the primary cause.

Similarly the adaptive suspension is well known for failing through age and mileage. Unusual to see it fitted to 28i..

The TCU issue I personally was not aware of..the engine strap again is not unheard off.

So for a 10 year old car these are not surprising issues in either frequency or the number.

Many people argue that a car regularly used in fact suffers less degradation than ‘garage queens’..

The 28i E89 is a pretty reliable beast..if you had a 35is by now you may well have suffered some considerably greater issues.

[Zed4USA]

Alas, I do not have a strut capacitor, Dr. Brown... where we're going, we won't need roads. Yeah, what you're describing is way above my pay grade. I wish it wasn't, as it sounds fun.

See, 50k miles and just now your front struts are leaking. Why are mine leaking at 17k?

I hear what you're saying about the adaptive modes, but friend… when we are on the on-ramp of the highway with no one around, and I switch from comfort to sport, she is like a cheetah let off her leash, pulling forward and purring all the way...

Regarding the tires, I've already put in an order for Pirelli P Zero RFT summers. I know I'm in the minority here, but I really like the Pirelli Sottozero II RFT winters that I've had for the last couple of years in the colder months.

For the record, my off-season wheel+tires are washed, dried, and then vacuum sealed for their rest. And my on-season wheels+plus tires rest comfortably in the garage on my car.

I appreciate your thoughts, thank you for taking the time to reply.

Originally Posted by ray7792

Its pretty easy getting the strut assembly off the car, should have no issues there...maybe some rusty tight bolts. As long as you have a spring compressor and a good impact wrench, getting the springs off/on the strut will be simple as well. No coding needed if you're replacing with adaptive struts. Definitely get an alignment as well.

I've had my 2014 35is for 5 years and just hit 50K miles and funny enough my front struts just started leaking a little bit as well but otherwise I've had no issues. For me sport/sport+ is pretty useless...so I'm personally going route of getting set of coilovers. FCP euro has the front adaptive struts at about 850 each which isn't worth it to me but if you like to retain OEM thats understandable.

In regards to comfort, the non adaptive suspension falls somewhere between comfort and sport. I doubt that you'd notice a difference, and if its leaking that badly new struts would help considerably either way. Getting rid of the OEM runflats would make a world's difference as well.

Your first two issues are unfortunate but that TCU issue you mentioned sounds very sketchy...I don't know enough to say for certain but just because firmware is out of date doesn't mean it would just go off the rails suddenly.

By the way, I think most manufacturers don't recommend using a tire older than like 6-8 years. Compound degrades over time especially if left in sunlight often. Don't want to end up like Paul walker...bit exaggeration but you know, be careful.

[B21]

Originally Posted by Zed4USA

Thank you for your thoughts. I agree, for a 10 year car… but it was only 7 when some premier issues started . And 8 years and 17k miles for the front suspension?

I am a bit of a workaholic, so I only get out with my baby like once or twice a week. What should I be aiming for? Bless the stars if I can drive more, while damaging my car less.

With the 35i and 35is faults started to appear at low mileages and relatively young cars, and most importantly with wide variation in owner experiences..some people have zero issues and keep a car for several years without problems..others rack up thousands of dollars of problems on short periods of time.

My 2011 50k miles 35is had in short order, leaking front shocks, failed rear shocks, coil failures…

I know 35is that have incurred over 15,000 USD warranty work over a 3 year period.

So of all E89s the 35i and 35is have more faults and they tend to be much more expensive..