But there were still significant issues, one, a 2009(ish?) had rod bearings replaced if I'm not mistaken. The other was generally pretty good, it was a 2011. Buddy with an E46 blew the engine with about 4000 miles on the clock. BMW denied the warranty claim, this was very early in the E46 life. They later reimbursed him (thank his attorney? The E46 M3 is an iconic sports car, but it does suffer multiple issues. One of them is the M3 camshaft gear bolt failure. The cam gear bolts are known to break which is why it is recommended to replace the bolt at a 30,000-mile interval. before some moron tells you the E46 filters are large and don't need to be changed because the gas pumps have filters on them, don't listen to this nonesense. :facepalm: fuel filters do need to be replaced and they can impede flow with crud collected in gas. whether this is your issue is another story. but just making sure the forum isn't The accumulator is easy to see from there. You're on the right track though as the oil line can really only be seen w/ mirror and light. If you hit a dead end there, you can buy a dye kit ($25) from an auto parts store. You add the dye to the oil, then use a special set of glasses and UV light to inspect. Forum: 1999 - 2006 (E46) (1999 - 2006) Starting in 1999 the E46 3 Series picked up where the E36 left off. Larger, with smoother lines, and with more advanced engines than its predecessor, the E46 easily held the title of "Best Car of the Year" throughout its life. Forum Tools. Common BMW M3 E46 SMG problems include the following: a faulty relay, faulty hydraulic pump and/or solenoid, trouble going through the gears, SMG fault codes, actuator problem, cannot shift gears, a leaking SMG transmission, not engaging gears, and dropping out of neutral. There have also been other associated problems documented with the M3 SMG. There is a data port in the area where the clutch pedal is, or would be if you had one, that you connect a scan tool. The scan tool will report various codes that define the reason for the light to be on. SERVICE ENGINE SOON can come on for any of about 400 different reasons, not all of them come from emissions systems. Valve cover gaskets and valve covers are one of the most common issues on all E46 models. BMW M3 GTR E46 was released in February 2001 and became the first M3 in PRdwve.

bmw m3 e46 common issues