BMW 320d, Turbo Failure

Hi all
I just bought 320d(sep 2003), and only realised that they have common turbo failure problem and it cost a lot of money to get it fixed,

does anybody know how you can avoid it and which models of 320d are particularly affected with this problem

It's a wearing part. Failure can be made less likely by regular oil changes throughout the cars life.

I therefore hope you got a full and comprehensive service history.

It is a known fault in the trade on all BMW diesels including 5 series 3 series and X5.

BMW do not officially say this. However there is a filter that Range Rover recommend that you change in their service schedule. They use the same BMW engine.

I get my car serviced in AC car sales and they recommend changing this filter to ensure that you do not get turbo filter.

Good luck

Turbos are now so well integrated into current engine designs that people forget that they're there but they do need looking after. Good quality oil and regular changes according to the service schedule/service indicator are a must. If you want to maximise turbo bearing life its also recommended to avoid hard acceleration when the engine is cold and to idle the engine before switching it off to give the turbo a chance to cool down - anything up to a minute depending on how fast you've been going. The last thing that you want is oil carbonising in the turbo itself.

If the worst does happen, a good independent BMW service specialist will be cheaper than a BMW dealer. If I'd a '03 BMW I'd be using a good independent specialist anyway - a good one will be as good if not better than a main dealer as well as being cheaper.