r/BMW2Series

Hi everyone, I have owned a manual 2014 220i (early N20) for about 6 months now and I absolutely adore it, but since the mileage is coming up to that 80k danger zone I was wondering if it is worth paying out to have the chain and guides replaced?

On a cold start there is a pretty noticeable rattle/ticking sound (sort of like a heavy duty sewing machine) coming from the engine bay but the noise disappears once the revs drop to 700. Occasionally when I drive past thick bushes, parked cars or walls I hear that same ticking sound but I simply can't tell if it is the timing chain slapping around or the fuel injectors just being really loud. I personally change the oil every 6000 miles but it's had 4 owners before me and I don't know how well they treated it (though it has never missed a service interval).

I figured this was the best place to ask if anyone had any advice - do I just bite the bullet and pay to get the chain sorted or should I stop stressing?

Is it worth selling my car on and buying a different one or just paying for the repair?

I’m wondering how those compare to the F22 M240i.

This would be my first coupe and first really sporty car. I’m wondering if the GR86 is a little too impractical - it seemed tiny on the short test drive I had and everyone seems to say the F87 M2 is a little too harsh.

The M240i seems to have an option for Adaptive Suspension but they seem to be so rare. It’s also been nearly impossible to find a good M240i.

The car I’m looking for is one that’ll make me smile when I drive it, be comfortable on long drives, be somewhat practical as my only car (go skiing or hiking with it), let me do a couple of track days in a year and also be reliable. (I know the B58 seems to be more reliable than the N55 but the N55 is fairly decent too).

On paper the Golf R seems to be the most sensible but I’m also afraid it might be a little too…not special? Not engaging enough and then I might as well step down to the GTI which can be had new for close to 35k too.

I see some GR86, M2 and M240i all around 35k but the Golf Rs seem to be closer to 40-42k.

Can someone share their experiences with these cars and help me decide?

I’m in the market to purchase 1 of these cars. It’s gonna be an automatic for either one as my last car was a stick so I wanted to try a newer auto transmission. I’m looking for a daily car that can also be fun for canyon runs/ occasional autocross. Which one of these would be the best option? And what should I look out for when looking at these cars?

230i vs M235i****

Hi everyone,
I’m having a strange ENET connection issue with ISTA 4.39.20 on my BMW F22 and after several hours of troubleshooting I’m running out of ideas.
Problem:
ISTA does not detect the vehicle via ENET. The Connection Manager stays completely empty, KL15/KL30 are not displayed, and when I try vehicle identification I get:
“The vehicle could not be successfully identified. Check vehicle interface and ‘PAD active’.”
The strange part is that the exact same ENET cable connected to the exact same OBD port works immediately with BimmerLink on my iPhone using a USB/Ethernet adapter. BimmerLink connects successfully and can communicate with the ECUs.
So the vehicle, OBD port and ENET cable are at least fundamentally working.
What I have already tested:
ISTA 4.39.20 Standalone
Interface set to ICOM/ENET local area network
IPv4 automatic/APIPA
Several static IPv4 configurations as a test
Windows correctly gets a link-local address on the ENET interface, for example 169.254.73.84 / 255.255.0.0
Windows Firewall completely disabled for testing – no difference
Integrated Intel Ethernet interface
Realtek USB Gigabit Ethernet adapter
Two different Windows laptops
Different ignition/wake-up procedures
Same result every time
EDIABAS configuration has also been checked:
Interface = ENET
[XEthernet]
RemoteHost = Autodetect
HeaderFormat = 0
TesterAddress = F4,F5
ControlPort = 6811
DiagnosticPort = 6801
TimeoutConnect = 20000
I also tested ZGW Search with ISTA and other EDIABAS processes closed. ZGW Search remains completely empty and does not detect the vehicle.
arp -a also never shows another 169.254.x.x host belonging to the vehicle/ZGW. I only see the PC itself and broadcast/multicast entries.
The most interesting test so far was a packet capture during ISTA vehicle discovery using Windows PktMon.
The capture clearly shows that ISTA repeatedly sends BMW ENET/HSFZ discovery traffic:
169.254.73.84:<source-port> > 169.254.255.255:6811 UDP, length 6
So as far as I can tell, the Windows PC is correctly sending the ENET discovery request to 169.254.255.255 on UDP port 6811.
However, I cannot see any corresponding reply from another 169.254.x.x address / the vehicle ZGW. There is consequently no following diagnostic connection over TCP port 6801.
So the situation currently looks like this:
Windows/ISTA → ENET discovery broadcast on UDP 6811 works
ZGW → discovery response back to the Windows PC appears to be missing
What makes this especially confusing is that I can disconnect the exact same ENET cable from the Windows laptop, connect it to my iPhone via Ethernet adapter, open BimmerLink and successfully connect to the same car.
I have already spent several hours testing firewall settings, automatic/static IP configurations, EDIABAS settings, different Ethernet adapters and two separate Windows laptops, so I’m reluctant to keep changing random settings.
Questions:
Has anyone experienced an F-series ZGW working through ENET with BimmerLink but not being discovered by ISTA or ZGW Search under Windows?
Does an F22 require any additional Windows driver/interface configuration for ENET that I might be missing?
Is there any known reason why the ZGW would not respond to the standard 169.254.255.255:6811 discovery request from a Windows PC?
Is there another reliable way to determine the ZGW IP address and test HSFZ/TCP 6801 directly without relying on ZGW Search?
Would testing another ENET cable or an ICOM be the next sensible step, even though the current cable works with BimmerLink?

Been cross-shopping these two 2023s and could use some outside perspective:

230i xDrive M Sport — 35,000 km, $42,000 CAD
M240i xDrive — 65,000 km, $49,950 CAD

My budget is really $42-43k, but I’d stretch a bit more if it’s genuinely worth it. The M240i has almost double the kilometers and is roughly $8k over budget, but it’s obviously the more special car (way more power).

For those who’ve owned either, is the extra power/character of the M240i worth the mileage and price jump, or would I be happier just staying in budget with the 230i and enjoying lower km/warranty runway? Also curious how B58 engines in the M240i tend to hold up past 60-65k km.

Would appreciate any real ownership experience over spec-sheet comparisons.

Hey everyone, looking for some ideas on an issue with my 2018 BMW 230i xDrive (B48 2.0L). The car has about 221,000 km on it.

I’ve been dealing with an intermittent jerking/stuttering/hesitation when accelerating. It feels almost like the car briefly loses power or fuel and then comes back. It’s not a really violent jerk, but it’s noticeable and has been getting frustrating.

A few things I’ve noticed:

- Mostly happens under light/moderate acceleration
- More noticeable in Comfort/Eco modes
Interestingly, I don’t seem to notice it nearly as much in Sport mode
- RPM does not noticeably jump or drop when the hesitation happens
- The torque/power gauge also doesn’t appear to suddenly drop
- Idle is generally pretty smooth
- I’ve had a drivetrain malfunction warning once, but it cleared after restarting the car.
- No obvious transmission slipping

The car otherwise runs and drives normally

Parts/work already done:
✅ Spark plugs replaced
✅ Ignition coils replaced
✅ EVAP purge valve replaced
✅ High-pressure fuel pump (HPFP) replaced
✅ MAF sensor cleaned

🔜 Planning to replace the low-pressure fuel pump (LPFP) next

I’m going to install a used OEM BMW LPFP that I picked up with relatively low mileage and see if that makes any difference.

I’ve also scanned the car with an OBD scanner.

I’ve previously seen some EVAP-related codes, but nothing that has clearly pointed me toward the cause of the actual jerking.

At this point I’m starting to suspect fuel delivery, especially since I’ve already replaced the HPFP and the LPFP is still original.

My question is: what else would you guys look at if the LPFP doesn’t fix it?

Could this be:

Fuel pressure/fuel delivery issue?
Injectors?
Fuel pressure sensor?
MAF/MAP issue?
Vacuum/boost leak?
Throttle body?
Transmission/drivetrain issue?

Something specific to the B48 that I’m overlooking?

If anyone with a B48 230i/330i/430i has experienced similar intermittent jerking/hesitation, I’d really appreciate hearing what ended up fixing it.

Thanks!

Ive been thinking about getting one of these as my first car, specifically a 2015+ (with the improved n20) 220i, i should be able to afford taking care of it, feeding it and insurance (dads gonna “sponsor” it a bit while im still in school) i just wanted to know what yall think, it looks like a great car, attractive, sporty, manual, practical enough for a coupe and has pretty good fuel economy, i found one for 12.5k euro with a manual m packet with 171k km on the odometer

is there anything i should know about the car that isnt mentioned much?

thanks yall