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BMW 330i Fun Facts

  • You're probably wondering what the i in BMW 330i stands for. Well, the i stands for fuel injection. Today, fuel injection is as normal as a car having a steering wheel but back when the 330i first graced car showrooms in '80s, it was still a big deal. Fuel injection was a feature that not many cars back then had, thus it was something to brag about.

  • If you're a true-blue automotive enthusiast, then you've probably heard of this not-so-little magazine called Car and Driver. It's only one of the most prominent automotive publications of all time and one of the most respected in the entire industry as well. Car and Driver releases an annual list of the year's top ten cars. And in every year that the BMW 330i was in production, it never failed to make the distinguished list.

  • The BMW 330i was one of the make's first models to feature its unique VANOS technology, which allows the vehicle to have superior variable valve timing. This significantly improved the BMW 330i's torque and emissions.

  • In the BMW 3 Series' earlier years, the 325ix was the line's sole AWD model. However, this was eventually discontinued in 1991. For an entire decade, there was no AWD variant in the 3 Series. This all changed in 2001 when the 330xi, the 330's AWD version, was released.

  • The BMW 330i has received numerous awards throughout the years. Its most recent accolades include: Canadian Car of the Year awards' Best New Sports Saloon in 2006, Japan's Import Car of the Year for 2006, and What Car? magazine's (a renowned British motoring publication) Car of the Year for 2006.

  • The BMW 330i has been seen in various media. These are just some of the movies and television shows wherein the automobile has made an appearance: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1, The Shield, Crash Kids: Trust No One, Missing, Paycheck, Just like Heaven, Fahrenheit 9/11, Cover, Happy Endings, Lost, SuperBabies: Baby Geniuses, The O.C., Ghost Whisperer, Switch Reloaded, Cars 2, Desperate Housewives, Alias, and CSI: Miami. Its convertible version has also made appearances in popular silver screen comedies such as White Chicks (during the famous scene wherein the main characters were singing Vanessa Carlton's Thousand Miles) and Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle. Hollywood seems to be really fond of the 330i, eh?

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BMW 330I Articles

  • BMW 330i Problems

    17 January 2013

    A member of BMW's illustrious 3 Series, the BMW 330i is one of the most remarkable models to come out of the line. While it didn't debut during the series' earlier generations, the 330i has already had several versions throughout the years. Each version of course improved from previous installments. However, with each new version also came new difficulties. Below are some of the most common problems encountered when driving a 330i.


    Suspension/Chassis

    Several suspension components of the E46 BMW 330i (which was released in 1999) were reported to be weak. The said parts, which included rear coil springs and ball joints, usually wouldn't last that long before they would break. There were also a few reports of the rear suspension mount surprisingly breaking through the car floor, as well as faulty front control arms and rotors that caused vibrations.


    Engine/Gearbox

    The E46 BMW 330i came with a then-new M54 engine. While the said engine was generally both heavy-duty and reliable, there were still problems that arose (mostly limited to models with manual gearboxes and those that have the unique high-performance ZHP package). This included reports of the M54 engine's ECUs (electronic control units) being plagued by rough idles, power delivery issues, and flat spotting. Because of those, the M54's ECUs needed to be overhauled.

    Although BMW fixed those issues in the next generation (E90) of the 330i, there were still some reports of automatic gearboxes that experience difficulty in shifting.


    Steering

    Steering also became an issue for some E46 BMW 330is as there were several reports of owners experiencing heavy steering. BMW addressed this problem by retrofitting the 330is of the complaining owners with new steering racks. With the improved steering capabilities of the then-problematic 330is, the issue was eventually put to rest.


    Sunroof

    Although this is a minor issue, the E46 BMW 330i's sunroof problems bugged some owners. For instance, the sunroof often got stuck. Owners were advised to regularly grease the sunroof tracks to prevent that from happening. Another complaint regarding the sunroof was that it tended to forget its initialization for various positions. BMW released instructions on how to fix it though.

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