Anyone owns a CBU (grey import) E60 LCI with N53 engine here?

[aoch88]

@danielbazz, thank you boss for the valuable information. The HPFP does not only fail on the N53 but also N54. I guess it's a bad design back then and newer revisions are certainly a lot better. In my case, I notice a "tweet tweet" sound during de-acceleration and I believe it's due to the HPFP. Apart from that, everything works fine and great.

 

[danielbazz]

You r most welcomed. Yeah, we got all kind of animals in our car, frog... bird.... is super annoying. tweet tweet queek queek.......Worst part is when ppl asked ur car ok bro... I will answer them i modified a turbocharger in it. haha Apply to N54 model too? We all r lab rats man. Cheer :wink: BTW, is ur car affected by the recent recall?

 

[aoch88]

Yes, the tweet tweet sound is really annoying. My friend even asked me WTF was that. May I know where did you purchase the HPFP for RM1,000? Is it new or used HPFP? I wanted to go and check but BMW hasn't called me back to tell me how I should do it. I don't think walking into authorized service centres directly would be a good idea? lol

 

[alive88]

Hi guys, my bro in law is buying an e60 soon. He asked me to seek for you guys opinion, whether M54 530i or N52? 523i.not quite sure of the engine code for the LCI version.what bothers him is the maintenance wise between these two.thanks!

 

[aoch88]

M54 is a very old engine and local/Japanese LCI are N52's while UK specs are N53. N52 might have the engine oil "disappearing" issue but some people says that using higher viscosity oil resolved it. If he's worrying about maintenance, I suggest him to buy a brand new Japanese car (Accord/Camry), lol :d

 

[alive88]

what he meant by maintenance wise isnt totally about the expenses, but most about reliability.. didnt mention it in my post.. sorry for that

 

[aoch88]

To be honest, most BMW parts are very reliable. Of course it might fail after some time (everything has a lifespan) but once you change the part, you can be assured that it will easily last you a few years. The only problem is when few parts starts to fail at the same time so that is when you need to spend quite a bit and burn a hole in your pocket. If you buy the LCI, it's a relatively new car (5 years at most) and you can still drive with peace of mind for a while. If you buy a M54 (2004/05), you will be very likely to spend quite a bit because most parts will start to fail by now unless the previous owner diligently change them along the way. Such owner/cars are a bit hard to find though and besides, if you buy from dealers they will always tell you everything OK and GOOD which might not be true.

 

[alive88]

thanks for the heads up bro.. would love to buy the car from direct owner, yet to find one is kinda hard right now.. most avail e60s are the pre-LCi, and only looks good from the outside, once cranked the engine, lorry sounded better.. btw, this may OT a bit, a 530d will it worth the while?

 

[aoch88]

Yes boss, that's precisely true When I was hunting for my E60, I found a lot of pre-LCI which looks nice on the exterior but isn't up to my expectations when it comes to other areas. Some of it have worn off engine mounts where the steering vibrates like a Proton Wira. I'm not very well versed when it comes to diesel engines but in terms of power and performance, the 530d definitely has it but on the other hand, you might want to ask brother dzuljazz2001 about the maintenance. I heard the diesel filter has to be replaced more often (can't quite confirm).

I own E60 N53 LCI and it's a very fun car to drive but it's still in the range of RM200K these days if I'm not mistaken. If budget permits, please do consider the LCI version :top:

 

[alive88]

yupp.. patience is virtue.. gotta find that gem among those 'scrap'.. .. i think he told his budget is around 170k, perhaps would ask him to raise it a lil more so he can get the LCI version.. thanks for ur info bro aoch88..

 

[aoch88]

yupp.. patience is virtue.. gotta find that gem among those 'scrap'.. .. i think he told his budget is around 170k, perhaps would ask him to raise it a lil more so he can get the LCI version.. thanks for ur info bro aoch88..

My pleasure to help boss Btw, he can also consider getting those CKD 523i LCI which is going around his budget (RM170-190K). The LCI engine on 523i produces more or less the same horse power (190bhp) as pre facelift 525i. Literally you can say the LCI 523i = pre-LCI 525i in terms of engine performance. After that, spend a bit of money buying the BMS Powerbox and you will have a fun and spirited driving.

 

[jackaleyess]

Why wanna buy recon at d first place? Our fuel is not compatible with the N53 engine. My recomendation is to buy CPO from AB or local 2nd car. Say no to recon.

 

[aoch88]

Why wanna buy recon at d first place? Our fuel is not compatible with the N53 engine. My recomendation is to buy CPO from AB or local 2nd car. Say no to recon.

1. Not all recon cars are running on N53
2. There's no such thing as not compatible unless you are saying the fuel in Europe is imported from Mars and ours from earth. Petrol is petrol and the only difference is the refining process to ensure the fuel cleanliness/quality
3. Not everyone is rich enough to spend a fortune buying from AB

 

[cafee]

Most LCI recon from UK comes with the N53 engine - not limited to E60, X5s too.

Read up on the Piezo injectors used in the N53 and you'll understand why our fuel "grade" is not suitable. Check with some existing owners for horror stories - Still not convinced, check with owners of GDI engines or Toyota D4D - you'll get more horror stories.

Just my personal take - please ignore if you find it sensitive.

 

[Navarone]

Hi Guys,

I refer to Alantiong's comment on the use of RON 95 for N53 engine which I agree.

My car is a brand new 523iSE N53 self imported, I noticed that the first thing that will fail with regards to the fuel usage is the nitrogen oxide catalytic converter, luckily it was under overseas warranty and it was replaced here and since then there was no problem on this part.

As for the High Pressure Fuel Pump, its just a part that comes with this design and I recommend strongly to contact BMW Malaysia and replace it for free outside the warranty period (under technical campaign) as it may be an improved design. I replace mine it was perfect again.

I read in the post of the tweet..tweet sound possibiliy coming from the HPFF, there should not be any so please have it replaced immediately as it gives a bad name to BMW. It should always remain the Ultimate Driving Machine!

 

[aoch88]

Most LCI recon from UK comes with the N53 engine - not limited to E60, X5s too.

Read up on the Piezo injectors used in the N53 and you'll understand why our fuel "grade" is not suitable. Check with some existing owners for horror stories - Still not convinced, check with owners of GDI engines or Toyota D4D - you'll get more horror stories.

Just my personal take - please ignore if you find it sensitive.

It's not most or some but all European models are on N53, not N52 I'm driving a N53 530i so I know what we are talking about here.

 

[cafee]

It's not most or some but all European models are on N53, not N52 I'm driving a N53 530i so I know what we are talking about here.

Was referring to LCIs - yes I too had some time with the N53 X5 and N53 E60 530. I think there was an earlier thread on this.

 

[aoch88]

Was referring to LCIs - yes I too had some time with the N53 X5 and N53 E60 530. I think there was an earlier thread on this.

Any issues so far? I think it's alright but there are just additional things to replace - High Pressure Fuel Pump and Piezo injectors (if they fail)

 

[cafee]

I'll not say anything... edited to remove my cmments

 

[aoch88]

I'll not say anything... edited to remove my cmments

If it's your car and you're just sharing your opinions/experiences, why not? Maybe it would be a good thing so if other people gets the same issue, they know what to fix.