BMW and the term “reliability” have had a rocky relationship. In the 1980s and 1990s, the brand made smooth and powerful straight sixes that were known for being strong and robust. Along with their rivals Audi and Mercedes-Benz, the German brand gained a reputation for its build quality and reliability. As the 2000s rolled around, the huge advancements in engine technology that occurred did two things. Firstly, it made for huge gains in power, efficiency and refinement, and secondly, it made all but some of the BMWs straight-sixes as brittle as a glass hammer. BMW really did struggle with its long-term reliability in this period, with timing chain issues, vanos pump failures, and, in the case of the N63 V8, catastrophic turbocharger failures.
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