2011 BMW 328i xDrive Review & E90 Series Buyers Guide

In this video I do a complete review inside and out of my 2011 BMW 328i with xDrive. I also provide some tips for potential buyers and what to look for.
0:00 Introduction
0:28 Overview of the E90 Series
1:18 Overview of my 2011 BMW 328i
2:48 Front End / Headlights
3:15 Engine Option in the U.S.
3:58 Window Weather Stripping
4:19 Wheels
4:39 Fuel Requirement
5:05 Key
5:57 Trunk
6:23 Back Seat
7:03 Door Panel
7:32 Seat Controls
8:12 Steering Wheel & Controls
9:43 Key Slot / Car Start
10:08 Center gauges
11:22 Interior
13:20 BMW iDrive
14:40 Cup Holders
15:42 Thoughts about the car
16:39 What to look for when shopping for one
17:52 Close
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[@Sheethen]

Man I loved my e90, sadly it’s been a headache the past couple months with battery/voltage problems that I no longer want to deal with plus I’ve driven it over 210k miles. I’ve let it go and now drive a 2015 volvo s60 that I absolutely adore but miss the charm my e90 had, especially the idrive system. The e90 is a great car that everyone should buy just make sure to take meticulous care of it and it’ll do the same for you. For the first car I’ve owned and worked on myself it’s relatively easy to do diy work on too plus it’s significantly cheaper than bringing it to repair shops or the dealer and parts are also widely available (thank you fcp euro).

[@VishalRaoOnYouTube]

2:04 I was VERY diligent with my E90 328i xDrive with regard to maintenance but the EKP module STILL failed at 139k miles shorting the fuel pump and leaving me stranded on a busy highway. I still love this car though! I took it from around 20 miles on the odometer to currently a very spirited 141K miles. It's the electronics on this car that you have to watch out for. The drivetrain is pretty reliable as you say.

[@6yap2]

Thank you for the left ear audio, can I have the right?

[@pabloroca7910]

maybe gotta buy new headphones

[@NBARedj]

@@pabloroca7910def not genius

[@apiscold]

I’m actually leaving cuz of that lmao

[@nickfung9374]

fr not a single sound out of my right headphone 😭

[@William__Butcher1]

Some of ya'll must need new headphones, cause I have audio on both sides

[@Leper_Messiah.]

Thanks, mate. I’m buying this exact car black with nav in a few days and you answered all my questions. Cheers

[@guilty500]

This was a great review. I am actually in the market and I appreciate this type of review.

[@EdRoney]

Nice car Tom and a very well done, impressive style, review. I'm glad I subscribed.

[@FindtheRightRoad]

Thanks. It is a bit long and boring unless you are in the market for one : You might enjoy some of my other content better

[@JGWhips]

I've been tracking my experience with an e93 328i for the past year and a half. It's been an expensive ownership experience but it's a joy to drive. I love and hate it!

[@mikebaten5272]

Im really looking into getting one of these soon been wanting one for years now!

[@crackal90]

What’s stopping you?

[@josecarranza7555]

@@crackal90High cost of maintenance.

[@stevecariggillio4139]

If you pull back and hold the cruise control lever it'll grab your brakes for you! Also quick pushes will bump your speed up or down 5 miles an hour. It's cruise control is nicely done.

[@esteemedenergy]

Those are very reliable, safe, and well built BMWs. Ensure the valve cover, oil pan, and oil filter housing gaskets are done. Also, vanos bolts on a few models.

[@josecarranza7555]

Done?

[@plexusgamer1105]

Oh wow good sir your car looks mint and what a coincidence I’ve got the same car same color same year 2011 at 46k miles when I bought it 6 months ago. Such a sublime experience with beige interiors.

[@vincentbandak6036]

how did you find one with such low miles? where’d you buy it and how much?

[@plexusgamer1105]

@@vincentbandak6036 was on the lookout scouring through different online portals like car guru, carfax etc and finally came across a bimmer dealership in Philly who had a 46K mile e90 328ixdrive which looked mint. Lucky to have got my very first car and something that always puts a smile on my face when I start the engine. Wish you the best in your search. There are at least another few more sub 50K mile pre owned ones out there, get em bro!

[@robguillen2171]

I have the E91 fraternal twin of this car - Space Gray Metallic over black, x-Drive, auto trans, non-Sport. However, mine has the N52 engine and it appears yours is the N51. The N51 is the SULEV version and has lower compression but uses a 3-stage intake manifold to make up the HP difference. The N52 can also be fitted with the 3-stage intake manifold so that, along with a tune, it can make additional HP (as was offered on the one-year only 2006 330i which was replaced in the lineup in 2007 by the 335i with the turbo inline 6). I've done the 3SIM upgrade to mine and it really ups the driving experience. Love driving it but to keep it "bulletproof" maintenance must be timely and kept up with. The problems with these cars are usually when an owner defers maintenance and then sells the car so that the next owner has to deal with the consequences of the deferred maintenance.

[@stevecariggillio4139]

153k on mine now. Still runs like new.

[@raybutts9133]

Have you ever had the vanos bolts issue? thanks

[@rmstark1966]

how quiet is the cabin? smooth ride?

[@dovermobil]

Hold that lock button down a little longer, the windows go up in my e90 :)

[@fleipeg]

Place your key in the driver side keyhole; turn it to the left and hold it there all your windows, and sunroof, will close.

[@FindtheRightRoad]

Never knew that. Thanks !

[@xxxencryptacion]

Bhahaha

[@sunshinevip1624]

Mommy here , bought same car , same year 2011 , only because my son said 2012 and so on , come with turbo and have more issues down the road . Mine had 49k miles , drove for a year now , had dead battery and it’s a pain to enter the car to jump start , battery is in the trunk . Everytime you jump start these cars u also can ruin some electric components, mine started to have noise in the fuse box behind glove box , well it was a blown CAS module , not cheap . So first year it’s been a bit of pain for me , my son did most repairs , otherwise I would not buy it , price $12,900 from dealer )

[@munchyman0196]

I don’t have the trunk option

[@2002WS6]

I own one of these the maintenance is almost weekly for mine I told my Certified BMW mechanic that I needed a new hood emblem that had the letters BMW replaced with POS.

[@FindtheRightRoad]

😂

[@chopper8511]

Did you find out why the fist engine was replaced so early?

[@FindtheRightRoad]

Nope. I have not...

[@GamingHistory.]

So many videos about how to buy a BMW, and the truth is, it will be a pain in the pocket no matter how well-maintained it was, how low miles it has or any other reason. If you don't have a good stack of money in your bank or a very healthy paycheck, this car will bring you nothing but grief, it's not gonna be cheap. But if you're willing to put in the money, and look for a nice used one, and even maintain it yourself (best best decision you will make, if you have the time and skill to do so), then you're in for a treat, no need for AWD... just makes it heavier and slows it down, what a piece of machinery, amazing, I'm in love with the E90 and the E60, but they're too expensive for me to maintain

[@stevecariggillio4139]

You may be over stating it a bit. If get the rwd manual and have the tools, as I do, it's been a great car.

[@GamingHistory.]

@@stevecariggillio4139 sounds cool, just dying to get one, makes no financial sense however

[@joehishmeh5624]

About how much a year have you spent on maintenance? Interested in buying one but my only concern is maintenance costs

[@stevecariggillio4139]

Get a rwd manual. Then you don't have to worry about extra things that break.

[@josecarranza7555]

BMW maintenance is expensive.

[@e90baby]

you need to replace your cooling system if you want a bullet proof car. I just did mine with a brand new water pump, thermostat,various hoses and a new radiator as well because there’s a hose that attached to it that didn’t wanna come out and it was one i wanted to replace, broke the radiator inlet so i had to buy a new one, 140 from csf. in total with all extras i had to buy apart from the cooling system refresh, it cost me about 1000 dollars, installed by me and my buddy. I change the oil every 3000 miles with liquimoly 5w40 (about $80 for an oil change kit) new performance ignition kit from Turner motor sports for about $230, worth it cuz it makes the car smooth as butter. I also changed the oil filter housing gasket which might be the most catastrophic failure point if it does fail as if it leaks enough, it looks down to the belts and the belts eventually slip off and get swallowed by the engine, not good. I do my own maintenance but i’m not the most inclined, but while the cooling system was drained, I did the gasket myself and it was a relatively easy job to do for that peace of mind. Overall, my car runs beautifully, it’s a 6 speed manual sport pack x drive, doesn’t need much, just cosmetical stuff from a 14 year old car. I plan to do a fluid refresh on the x drive system and my transmission, but that’s pretty easy. If you can diy and don’t mind the cost of parts and having to order a whole bunch of new stuff for something you thought you could replace by itself, it’s a great car.

[@levimachado]

I thought most of these were manual... were they sold automatic as well, or someone modified it?

[@FindtheRightRoad]

Actually there were more automatics sold than manuals for this generation. It is 100% stock.

[@Sky-hw8op]

What engine is better, 3.0 230hp or 3.0turbo 300hp?

[@FindtheRightRoad]

The obvious answer would be the 300 HP turbo IF performance is important to you.

[@Sky-hw8op]

@@FindtheRightRoad i ment what engine is more reliable

[@FindtheRightRoad]

From what I have read, I would say the non-turbo 328@@Sky-hw8op

[@kylepawelczyk163]

@@Sky-hw8op the turbo online 6 and the turbo 4cylinder after 2012 is garbage and will give you constantly problems. The 06-11 non turbo online 6 is one of the most reliable engines BMW ever made

[@user-cs9sn3yb6u]

Please I’m buying one with 86k miles should I buy it ?

[@FindtheRightRoad]

If everything checks out, no issues, and the price is right...then BUY IT.

[@user-cs9sn3yb6u]

@@FindtheRightRoad i did test the car today and came out P1404 secondary air injection system insufficient total flow

[@user-cs9sn3yb6u]

@@FindtheRightRoad should I buy it and fix it?

[@FindtheRightRoad]

@@user-cs9sn3yb6u That is not for me to say...I am not a mechanic.

[@cale373]

@@user-cs9sn3yb6u Look it up and see how difficult it is to fix

[@stevensims3342]

For Americans: Never buy the XDrive unless you have money to burn. Good god what a headache with them. Front diff mounted to oil pan. Crappy steel front subframe too with xDrive.

[@FindtheRightRoad]

When you live in a place with all 4 seasons....I find it helpful to have xDrive.

[@VishalRaoOnYouTube]

xDrive is a must in New England. California/Texas not so much.

[@tobiecouillard7864]

"Bullet proof reliable " Also "Engine blew at 71 000 miles" Wtf is this place 😂

[@FindtheRightRoad]

Agreed. That was odd. No idea why it was replaced.

[@robguillen2171]

Hmm, 71K miles . . . likely some necessary maintenance was put off and resulted in catastrophe. One possibility that comes to mind is the leaking oil filter housing gasket - oil drips down onto the belt and deteriorates it/makes it slippery, belt slips off and is sucked into the front main seal and bye-bye engine. While the oil pan gasket and valve cover gasket leaks look worse, the OFHG leak must be dealt with promptly.