BMW M140i Buyers Guide & 3 Year Ownership Review
Summary
TLDRThis video offers an in-depth review of the BMW M140i, highlighting its position in the BMW lineup and the features of its rear-wheel drive and straight-six engine. The host addresses common issues such as oil filter fitment, coolant leaks, and PCV membrane problems. They also discuss engine oil leaks, injector failures in 2016-2017 models, and updates throughout the car's production. The video includes a dynamic road test, comparing the M140i's driving experience to modern standards, and provides tips for potential buyers, concluding with a reliability score of 8.5 out of 10.
Takeaways
- 🚗 The BMW M140i is praised for its rear-wheel drive and straight-six engine, offering an old-school BMW driving experience.
- 🔧 Common problems include oil filter fitment issues, coolant leaks from the coolant bottle lid, and PCV membrane failures.
- 💧 It's normal for this model to lose a small amount of coolant, which is usually not a cause for concern.
- 🔥 The PCV membrane can cause the car to smoke excessively if it fails or is damaged.
- 🛠️ Oil leaks are somewhat expected with BMWs, so vigilance during test drives and post-purchase checks is advised.
- 🚨 For 2016 and 2017 models, injector failures can be dramatic, potentially leading to engine replacement.
- 🌟 Post-2018 models have improved injectors, and these can be retro-fitted for earlier models to enhance reliability.
- 🔧 Mid-production updates included changes to the exhaust system with the addition of an OPF filter from June 2018 onwards.
- 💨 Exhaust valves and standard back boxes are prone to rattling or failure, leading to many owners upgrading to M performance back boxes.
- ❄️ Models with frameless windows may experience freezing issues in winter, but a specific product can prevent this.
- 🏎️ The M140i offers a sporty drive and is more connected to the road compared to some of its contemporaries like the RS3.
Q & A
What is the BMW m140i known for?
-The BMW m140i is known for being the epitome of old-school BMW characteristics, featuring rear-wheel drive, a straight-six engine, and being available as a manual transmission.
What is a common misconception about the oil filter in the BMW m140i?
-A common misconception is that the oil filters disintegrate, but it's often due to bad fitment rather than a quality issue with the oil filters themselves.
What is a common issue with the coolant system in the BMW m140i?
-A common issue is the loss of a small amount of coolant, which is usually due to the lid on the coolant bottle and not a significant concern.
What is the main symptom of a failing PCV membrane in the BMW m140i?
-The main symptom of a failing PCV membrane is the car blowing a lot of smoke.
What is a common engine problem in the BMW m140i from 2016 and 2017 models?
-A common engine problem in the 2016 and 2017 models is the failure of the injectors, which can wear the engine out if they fail in a spectacular fashion.
What updates did BMW make to the m140i during its production run?
-BMW made updates to the m140i platform, including changes to the exhaust system with the addition of an OPF filter from June 2018 onwards.
Why are BMW m140i models without fog lights?
-BMW m140i models do not have fog lights due to the need for a charge cooler in the space where the fog light would be located.
What is a common issue with the rear lights of the BMW m140i?
-Water ingress can be an issue with the rear lights, causing them to flicker and potentially affecting the light unit.
What is the difference between the 8-speed ZF gearbox and the 6-speed manual gearbox in the BMW m140i?
-The 8-speed ZF gearbox is an automatic, while the 6-speed manual gearbox offers a more traditional and engaging driving experience. Both are reliable, but the manual gearbox is rarer and offers a more direct connection to the car.
How does the BMW m140i perform on the road by today's standards?
-The BMW m140i still performs well on the road, offering a linear power delivery and a sporty driving experience. It feels lively and connected, though it's more of a sports car than a family car.
What is the reliability rating of the BMW m140i?
-The BMW m140i has a reliability rating of 8.5 out of 10, reflecting its relatively new platform and the use of a well-known reliable engine.
Outlines
🚗 Overview of BMW M140i and Common Problems
The script introduces the BMW M140i, highlighting its rear-wheel drive and straight-six engine. It emphasizes the importance of the video for potential buyers, as it covers common issues with the car. The narrator discusses the car's place in the BMW lineup, starting from 2011 with the second generation one series. It addresses misconceptions about oil filters disintegrating, explaining that improper fitment is often the cause. The script also mentions coolant leaks, which are usually not serious and are caused by the coolant bottle lid. Another issue is the PCV membrane, which can fail or tear, causing the car to have trouble regulating crank case pressure, leading to excessive smoke. The video promises a road test to evaluate the car's performance by modern standards.
🔧 Engine and Mechanical Issues of the BMW M140i
This section delves into engine problems, particularly oil leaks that are common in BMWs. It advises viewers to be vigilant and check for leaks before and after test drives. The script then discusses injector failures in 2016 and 2017 models, which can be catastrophic, but were improved in later models. It suggests that owners of earlier models can replace their injectors for peace of mind. The video also covers updates to the M140i platform, including changes to the exhaust system from June 2018 onwards, which might require a remap if changed. It mentions that early M140i models did not come with fog lights due to the placement of the charge cooler. The script advises checking the charge cooler for damage and highlights the prevalence of rattling exhaust valves and the common upgrade to M performance back boxes.
🌧️ Exterior and Interior Considerations for the BMW M140i
The script addresses exterior and interior aspects of the BMW M140i. It points out that water ingress can affect the car's lights, causing them to flicker. It notes the absence of fog lights in M140i models due to the charge cooler's location. The video also discusses the susceptibility of the charge cooler to damage from rocks. Moving inside, it mentions that models with frameless windows can have issues with the glass freezing to the rubber seal, particularly in winter. A solution is suggested to prevent this issue. The script praises the interior's durability and reliability, advising viewers to check the air conditioning and the iDrive system. It also covers the gearbox options, detailing the characteristics of both the 8-speed automatic and the 6-speed manual, noting the rarity of the latter.
🏁 Road Test and Reliability Rating of the BMW M140i
The script describes a road test of the BMW M140i, focusing on its driving experience. It comments on the car's handling, power delivery, and the driver's connection to the vehicle. The video notes the car's linear power delivery and its ability to pull strongly in a straight line. It also discusses the car's adaptive suspension and the different driving modes, including a manual mode for the automatic gearbox. The script concludes with a reliability rating of 8.5 out of 10 for the M140i, attributing this score to its relatively new platform and the engine's known reliability. It encourages viewers to subscribe for more car buying guides and thanks them for watching.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡BMW m140i
💡Rear-wheel drive
💡Straight-six engine
💡Manual transmission
💡Oil filter fitment
💡Coolant system
💡PCV membrane
💡Injectors
💡LCI
💡Exhaust system
💡Reliability leaderboard
Highlights
The BMW m140i is praised for its old-school BMW characteristics, including rear-wheel drive and a straight-six engine.
The video offers a comprehensive guide for potential buyers, covering common problems and a road test.
The m140i is part of the second generation one series, with the B58 engine introduced in 2016.
A common misconception about the oil filter disintegrating is clarified; it's often due to bad fitment rather than quality issues.
Coolant loss is typically not a major concern, often due to the coolant bottle lid, not a systemic leak.
The PCV membrane can fail or tear, causing the car to smoke excessively, but it's an easy fix.
BMW's oil leaks are somewhat expected and buyers should be vigilant during test drives.
For 2016 and 2017 models, injectors can fail dramatically, potentially leading to engine replacement.
From 2018, updated injectors were introduced, and can be retrofitted into earlier models for improved reliability.
The m140i received several updates throughout its production, including an exhaust system change with the addition of an OPF filter from June 2018.
Exhaust valves and standard back boxes are prone to rattling or failure, leading to many owners upgrading to M performance back boxes.
Water ingress in the front and rear lights can cause flickering, and should be checked for during inspection.
The m140i lacks fog lights due to the placement of the charge cooler.
Later models from 2018 onwards have additional protection for the charge cooler.
The interior of the m140i is durable, with the iDrive system and air conditioning being reliable features.
Both the 8-speed ZF automatic and 6-speed manual gearboxes are reliable, with the choice coming down to personal preference.
The road test highlights the car's strong performance, with good grip and a linear power delivery.
The video concludes with a reliability rating of 8.5 out of 10 for the m140i, reflecting its robust engine and relatively few issues.
Transcripts
[Music]
this is a BMW m140i and it is the
epitome of old-school BMW rear-wheel
drive straight six engine available as a
manual now if you're thinking about
buying one of these you've done yourself
a favor clicking on this video because
I'm going to take you through all the
common problems show you everything that
tends to go wrong and also we'll get it
out on the road for a rep and see how it
drives by today's standards let's go
[Music]
all right
so first let's talk about how this car
fits into the BMW lineup and what it
actually is so if we rewind back to 2011
Along Came the second generation one
series now it wasn't until 2016 that the
shoehorned in the b-58 335 brake
horsepower engine and made this little
beast let's clear up this idea that the
oil filters disintegrate because what
this is more often than not is bad
fitment of the oil filter so the oil
filter actually lives down the back here
and what happens is a lot of mechanics
don't realize but on the lid of the oil
filter those two little logs now the
intention of those logs are you take
your new filter you lock it into those
logs on the lid and then you place the
filter in if you're not aware of that
what you might be tempted to do is just
drop the new filter into the housing and
then as you put the lid back on it
starts to crush that filter so more
often than not it's a fitment issue
rather than a quality issue with these
oil filters so something else that can
be really common on these engines is
losing a little bit of coolant now that
seems to be quite a big worry for a lot
of people and understandably so as we
found out when we rebuilt our crashed
BMW M4 it's a pressurized system so any
coolant gone missing you would expect
you're going to see it leaking out of
the car it's not that big a concern
because the culprit is right here it's
the lid on the coolant bottle and to
confirm that more often than not you'll
be able to look around the filler cap
here and you'll see the Dryden residue
of the coolant leaking out so usually
nothing to worry about so the next
problem is one that looks absolutely
catastrophic but again it tends to be
quite an easy fix and what I'm referring
to here is the PCV membrane now what
happens there is this either fails or
gets a little tear in it and the car has
trouble regulating how much pressure
it's pulling through the crank case now
the main symptom you're going to get
that is blowing tons of smoke something
that you're not going to mess when you
view a car the most important thing to
mention here is although it's an easy
fix you want to do it sooner rather than
later probably going to get a better
hate for saying this but BMW's oil leaks
can sometimes come as standard so just
be vigilant there's I didn't close
so yes be vigilant check now before you
go the test drive and check when you
return just in case we get a Savvy
seller trying to pull the wool over your
eyes and mopping up any mess before
you've arrived now the final engine
problem to refer to here is with the
injectors now specifically this relates
to the 2016 and 2017 model year cars now
these can fail and when they do
Unfortunately they can fail in
spectacular fashion wearing the jam
fully open and sometimes they can take
the engine with it you need to replace
the entire engine now the good news is
from 2018 onwards the injectors were
superseded and replaced by BMW and those
later injectors you can get hold of them
and put them into an earlier car for
peace of mind as well so there was a
couple updates to the m140i platform
throughout its production run as well
BMW liked to turn these as LCI it's an
update to the rest of us I'm going to
add the main changes that happened on
screen now
now the only other thing you might want
to be aware of mid production run was a
change to the exhaust system this is
when they added in the OPF filter it's
got a few different names as well we can
maybe add them at the bottom but
effectively it was a filter added to the
exhaust from June 2018 onwards and what
you need to know is if you plan on
changing the exhaust out you'll probably
require a remap when you do so if you
buy one of the post June 2018 cars and
Here Comes the Sun so speaking of
exhausts one thing that was really
common when these cars were new were the
exhaust Valves and the standard back box
starting to Rattle or fail and here
comes a bloody plane pause so yes
standard back boxes starting to Rattle
the exhaust valves now what happened
there is a lot of owners who had bought
them new it went back to BMW
understandably said this ain't good
enough I want it replaced which BMW then
offered to replace like for like give
them another standard back box and they
went ah hang on a minute that same
problem is just going to reoccur isn't
it to which the admitted yes it probably
is so an awful lot of owners got a free
upgrade to the m performance back box
that's why there's so many of these on
the market with M performance back boxes
fitted second hand so another thing
worth being aware of and this is a great
point to bring up with a seller
negotiate yourself a bit of money off
and it's to do it with both the rear and
the front lights water Ingress can be
quite bad and unfortunately it does
start to affect the light unit where it
can start to Flicker and such as well
something else you'll notice also m140is
never ever got fog lights even although
lesser models in the same range did the
reason for that is perform space because
it needs a charge cooler where this fog
light would have been now something else
worth mentioning here as well because of
its placement it gets a bit of abuse
pretty prone to having rocks hurled at
it because it's down low here later 2018
onwards m140is got a bit extra
protection here whereas these earlier
ones it really only had these fins so
check it all looks okay in there and the
charge cooler doesn't have substantial
damage
so hopping into this interior here one
thing to be aware of is on models that
had the frameless Windows now you're not
going to notice this unless you're
buying in winter so it could be easily
overlooked but the window can sometimes
freeze to the rubber you know the way it
has to drop in order to clear the door
and allow you to get in well it can
freeze and then you can't get in believe
me climbing through your boot is going
to get old after a couple of times
thankfully there is a little trick of
the trade and if you apply some of this
stuff I will add the name of it below
you can stop the window from sticking to
the rubber you're welcome
so hoping into this interior there's
really not too much to tell you about
these things are holding up really well
obviously goes without saying check the
usual stuff check the AC is blown cold
have a play with the iDrive and so on
now on the gearbox front two options
here you can't really go wrong with
either by the way it's really down to
personal preference first Up This
brilliant 8-speed ZF gearbox tough is
all boots tend not to have any problems
with these not a dual clutch as an
automatic but great gearbox nevertheless
now if you're looking to extract every
bit of that end of era old skill BMW
feel that this car provides then chances
are you might be interested in the six
speed manual gearbox be aware however
for every one manual on sale there's
about 10 or 11 automatics so finding one
they're quite rare can be quite
Troublesome to try and find a good one
but overall whatever one you choose
you're not going to be disappointed
right I think it's time to get this
thing out in the road for a rep and see
how it drives by today's standards
[Music]
they're very very very
after the end of when I was on a first
year start right so we partnered their
gearbox map I'm gonna be starting to
think you know
and you prefer that much yeah but
if I can do it's not enough if we do
start stopping in you I'll feel it
I mean
and you find it grips pretty good on
days like this so a nice sunny day hot
tarmac yes
the scene there went unripe and it's
only two or three degrees constantly
basically I can't take the carrot even
when you just try to take off it's
spinning the clutch control weight
flashing
last
have you driven an RS3 I haven't really
the faster
RS3 or anything but I would love to try
it
I mean right away I would say
Steven wise there's a lot more going on
in this than there is with the rs3s I
find that a lot as well I find it's
quite a hard car you keep in a straight
line it follows the camera
was because
[Music]
oh yeah I mean Quattro these are pretty
planted
can I get that room Corner Spot
we either have something to eat
we've got something in your life to
scare you know
I feel like with this it's a little bit
more
there's less between you and the car if
we're comparing it with like an RS3
history was a bit more it's not like
Mana machine
there's less cushioning there's less
kind of rocking I think yes and then you
get a big big long Bonnet in that as
well it kind of
he's in that b-58 one born eight car but
I'll give you a similar to see
much more connected for sure yeah
so problem-wise I think we actually
missed something didn't we so the washer
Jets you got a little tip for that as
well don't you so the washer just what
do they do they block up clog up and
then it's uh but yeah for getting the
arch leaning right off you're reeling
that off to get to the pump but I've
heard the quickest way you do is the
Melt and sterilizing fluid for babies
right either food and concentrate or
stick one in a tablets and leave it
overnight and then empty it it's fairly
random not crazy it's absolutely crazy
don't expect tk9s to happen but hey ho
yep makes it feel quite Lively I make it
easier to catch them and it all goes
wrong if you tend to drive it manual at
all hey a bit of wolf yeah they make
noises and sports more than manual yeah
are we in sports mods we are new so we
get Sports sweet CE Sport and then
Sports Plus oh Christ which gives you a
little bit more slap right but it's up
to you Sport Plus Sport Plus built in
hey you want to give it a manual mode go
for it there you go Bud
we go
the first year of launches team
oh it's still changing up
is it one of these you're in manual but
not fully in manual if the car wants to
change
I mean that's not and you can feel it
getting a little livelier maybe I say
it's all good fun yeah
guess you need to be ready and get some
quick steamingos in there don't you yeah
definitely you always need to keep your
head in the game with us
so if you've got the Adaptive
suspensional right I think they made
that standard from 2018 on the LC line
two I think we saw I think so because
the LCI tourism
as well the shadow editions or not but
not that just means there's a speech you
know what that definitely said that so
we've probably got quite a good
compromise in this because it's soft
enough that you can drive it day-to-day
it's quite happy I'm sure you see we've
been up to losing me for a few weeks ago
yeah I don't feel it I don't know it's
definitely a driver's perspective
dignity
yeah whilst you move that my bike we're
starting to get me a bit sore you know
what I mean but it was a long day it was
a three and a half hour driving it was
so like yeah it's been a 140. it's
predominantly going to be it's a sports
car yes and it's a sports car first and
foremost yes before it has a family car
yep yeah
two kids love it
yeah wife knows so much because
I wanted my attention goes to it but uh
I actually love driving it as well
actually just guilty she comes out in
you know what I mean
there's a nice guy
shift as well you'll hear it
nice and Noise with that double
wrestling
oh yeah changes are so silky smart as
that xhp it makes night in the
difference
the gearbox is totally transformed so I
was a stage three xhp Flash and just the
noise it makes
Darkness the noise when it changes as
well you know I mean it's proper
entertaining through stuff for an Emily
if you want to call it that
yep
there's a question for you would you
have liked one of these on manual
tough one year I'd like a show of a
manual
I don't think
this is the first Auto I've had and for
that reason
I love it see just getting tea put in
they have no option in a manual mode I
know it's definitely feeling about
follow manual gearbox but that's enough
for me I put my short air manual film
manual but I don't think I could have a
manualized marker right
fair enough yeah because uh it's like
you just focus on driving the thing you
know what I mean well you've already got
quite a lot going on here you have rear
wheel drive pretty high power even today
with a bone dry attractions as good as
it's going to get yes there's still
quite a lot going on there's a lot of
stuff
so to have one hand off
work in a manual box as well yes you've
got a like a 60 bike at the the farm
you've got to think one game driving
this yes it's Eagle that's down a
strange Road and it's got a bump in it
halfway around a corner you're a
passenger yeah
but put it in a straight line it'll just
keep pulling up pull that tree in that
edge I'll just pull all day
that's talking enough that it gives you
that kind of dizzy feel
um
my next feel on it basically you got it
prepared like you do when you're driving
how's your nerves feeling it full trust
I know that I showed you okay
all good
is that that's how you don't get many
miles per gallon because that noise is
too moish yeah in the pool and
everything
see right around that three and a half
thousand inferior and era
it turns on yeah it's got that same sort
of characteristic that I feel the end
forehead we are
spite
being double charged it feels quite it
feels very linear as you say it's really
linear yes it's a lovely lovely delivery
in a pillow just to show up so much
about a small place to be
cool place to be
so thank you so much for watching if you
have got value from this please do hit
the like button that's how YouTube Works
it'll recommend this video to other
prospective 140i buyers so yeah it helps
them out as well and also if you tend to
buy second hand then please do consider
subscribing to this channel because we
create these bios guides for literally
every type of car but yes overall thank
you for watching how do we rate the 140i
on a reliability leaderboard then well
it's still a relatively new platform
that coupled to the fact that it's got a
well-known reliable engine means it's
always going to score pretty high and
it's for that reason we give it an 8.5
out of 10 on the reliability leaderboard
now thank you once again please do that
subscribe and we'll see you in the next
video
[Music]
foreign
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