BMW Inline Six Engines
"BMW 3.0 inline six" covers five different engines built over twenty years, and two of them share a displacement, a badge and a body shell while sharing almost nothing else. We hold 477 BMW 3.0L inline sixes and 568 BMW inline sixes in total. This page is how to work out which one you need, what each of them breaks, and the two fitment splits that cost people the most money on this engine.
568 BMW inline six engines in stock from $770, and 783 BMW transmissions. Median mileage on the 3.0L units is 49,646.
BMW engines Text your VINThe five families, and how to tell them apart
| Family | Roughly | Induction | In our 3.0L stock |
|---|---|---|---|
| M54 | 2000–2006 | Naturally aspirated | 30 units |
| N52 | 2006–2015 | Naturally aspirated | 144 units across the 2006–2010 window |
| N54 | 2007–2013 | Twin turbo | |
| N55 | 2011–2016 | Single twin-scroll turbo | 193 units |
| B58 | 2016 onward | Single turbo | 110 units |
The quickest sort is turbo or not. An N52 and an N54 can both sit in a 2008 3-Series shell, but the N54 is the twin-turbo 335i and the N52 is the naturally aspirated 328i, and they do not interchange. After that it is the year that separates N54 from N55 and N55 from B58.
Alongside the 3.0s we hold 52 2.5L units (1990–2011, from $779, median $1,855), 14 2.8L M52s (1997–2000, from $2,850) and 25 3.2L M-car engines (1997–2008, from $5,716 with a median of $10,039 — a different market entirely).
Fitment trap 1: AWD and RWD are different engines
On the turbo cars the xDrive and rear-drive versions of the same engine are separate part numbers, and the price gap is the largest on this page.
Straight from our stock, same year, same engine, same car:
| Unit | RWD | AWD (xDrive) |
|---|---|---|
| 2007 335i 3.0L twin turbo | $2,750 | $4,809 |
| 2008 535i 3.0L twin turbo | $2,954 | $2,945 |
| 2009 335i 3.0L twin turbo (early build) | $2,745 | $4,802 |
That is a $2,000 swing on a 2007 335i for a difference that is not in the model name. Check your drivetrain before you order, not after.
Fitment trap 2: the build date, not the model year
Look at the 2009 335i in our listings and it splits into "thru 12/08" and "from 01/09". Same model year, same badge, two different engines:
| 2009 335i 3.0L twin turbo | Built to 12/08 | Built from 01/09 |
|---|---|---|
| Rear-wheel drive | $2,745 | $6,268 |
| xDrive | $4,802 | $7,442 |
A build-date split costs more than double here. Your build date is on the sticker in the driver's door jamb, usually as a month and year. On a 2009 BMW, read it before you order anything.
One more in the same family: the 335d is a diesel and shares nothing with the petrol 335i. Ours lists at $6,956 for a 2009. If your car is a d, say so.
What each one breaks
N54 — the one with the reputation
The N54 is the engine most of the questions are about, and the headline fault is the high-pressure fuel pump. It shows as a long crank, a stutter or power loss under throttle, and eventually a stall that will not restart. BMW recalled the pump and extended its warranty to 10 years or 120,000 miles.
Do the maths before you rely on that. The N54 ran from 2007 to 2013, so even the last cars passed ten years in 2023. For almost every N54 on the road today that extension has expired. Check your VIN with a BMW dealer rather than assuming either way — but plan on paying.
The rest of the N54 list, roughly in the order owners meet it:
- Fuel injectors. Revised more than ten times and still a wear item. Intermittent misfire and power loss.
- Wastegate rattle. The arms wear loose, you get a rattle on throttle lift and a 30FF boost-leak code, and eventually the turbo stops making boost.
- Turbo failure, usually from oil starvation where sludge has built up. Which is really an oil-change-interval problem.
- Oil filter housing gasket. Leaks externally onto the belt, or internally so oil and coolant mix. Common to the whole family, not just the N54.
- Valve cover cracks and gasket leaks, sometimes as early as 25,000 miles. Burning-oil smell, oil in the spark plug wells.
- Electric water pump, a 60,000 to 80,000 mile item, with the thermostat replaced at every second pump.
- Carbon buildup on the intake valves. Direct injection means no fuel washes them. BMW's own guidance is walnut-shell blasting around every 40,000 miles.
N55 — one turbo instead of two
The N55 replaced the twin turbos with a single twin-scroll unit and added Valvetronic. The fuel pump stopped being the defining problem. What carried over is the shared BMW list: oil filter housing gasket, valve cover, electric water pump, and carbon buildup on the intake valves. The plastic charge pipe is the one to add — it cracks, and it is cheap to replace before it strands you.
M54 and N52 — the naturally aspirated pair
No turbos to fail, so the list is cooling and gaskets: the plastic cooling-system parts go brittle with heat cycles, the oil filter housing gasket leaks, and the valve cover gasket follows. The N52 adds an electric water pump with a finite life. Neither has carbon buildup to speak of, because neither is direct injected in the way the turbo engines are.
B58 — the one to buy if you can
The B58 is the strongest of the five by reputation. Cooling system and the familiar gasket items remain, but the fuel pump and wastegate chapters largely close. We hold 110 of them, 2016 onward.
What a used BMW inline six costs
Across all 477 3.0L units: from $770, median $4,507, median mileage 49,646. The spread is enormous because the five families sit in very different markets — an M54 out of an early X5 and a B58 out of a 2019 car are both "BMW 3.0 inline six."
- M54 era (2001–2005) — 30 units. Naturally aspirated 330i, 530i, X5 and Z3 units start around $1,965.
- N52 and N54 era (2006–2010) — 144 units. Turbo 335i and 135i units from $2,745 rear-drive.
- N55 era (2011–2015) — 193 units, the deepest part of the stock.
- B58 era (2016–2020) — 110 units.
We also hold 783 BMW transmissions. If the engine went while the car was being driven hard, price both at once.
All BMW used engines · BMW used transmissions · BMW N20 & N26 2.0T guide (the four-cylinder turbo).
What to send us
Five things settle a BMW inline six order, and the model year is only one of them:
- The full 17-character VIN
- Turbo or naturally aspirated — 335i versus 328i, 535i versus 528i
- RWD or xDrive — separate part numbers, and the biggest price swing on this engine
- The build date from the driver's door jamb, if the car is a 2009
- Petrol or diesel — a 335d is not a 335i
Before you fit it
- Replace the oil filter housing gasket while access is open. It is the single most common leak on this family and a fraction of the cost now versus later.
- Do the water pump and thermostat on an N52, N54 or N55 unless you have paperwork showing they are recent.
- Walnut blast the intake valves on any direct-injected unit before it goes in. It will never be easier to reach.
- Check the charge pipe on an N55 and replace it if it is the original plastic one.
- Diagnose why the first engine failed. If it was oil starvation from a stretched service interval, change the habit as well as the engine.
- Change the oil early on the replacement, at a few hundred miles rather than at the service interval.
What ships with the engine
Every unit is compression and leak-down tested before it is listed and the test sheet ships in the box. Fitment is matched to your VIN before the order goes out. The written warranty is 3 months on 1991–2000 units and 6 months on 2001 and newer, extendable to 3 years — parts only, labour is not included unless you buy a separate labour agreement. Returns run to 7 days with free return shipping, and freight is free to any address in the lower 48. Full terms: engine warranty policy · shipping policy · returns.
Frequently asked questions
How do I know which BMW inline six I have?
Start with turbo or naturally aspirated, then the year. The M54 and N52 are naturally aspirated, the N54 is twin turbo, and the N55 and B58 are single turbo. An N52 and an N54 can sit in the same body shell in the same year — the naturally aspirated 328i and the twin-turbo 335i — so the badge matters as much as the model.
Why are the AWD and RWD engines different prices?
Because they are different part numbers, not the same engine in a different car. In our stock a 2007 335i 3.0L twin turbo runs 2,750 dollars in rear-wheel drive and 4,809 in xDrive. Confirm your drivetrain before ordering; it is the largest single price swing on this engine.
Why does a 2009 BMW 335i have two different engines?
There is a build-date split inside the 2009 model year. Our listings separate them as "thru 12/08" and "from 01/09", and the difference is more than double: 2,745 dollars against 6,268 in rear-wheel drive, 4,802 against 7,442 in xDrive. Your build date is on the sticker in the driver’s door jamb.
Is the N54 high-pressure fuel pump still covered by BMW?
Almost certainly not any more. BMW recalled the pump and extended its warranty to 10 years or 120,000 miles, but the N54 ran from 2007 to 2013, so even the last cars passed the ten-year mark in 2023. Check your VIN with a BMW dealer rather than assuming, but plan on paying for it.
What fails on the N54 besides the fuel pump?
Fuel injectors, which have been revised more than ten times and still fail; wastegate rattle, which shows as a rattle on throttle lift with a 30FF code; turbo failure from oil starvation where sludge has built up; the oil filter housing gasket; cracked valve covers; the electric water pump at 60,000 to 80,000 miles; and carbon buildup on the intake valves, which BMW suggests walnut blasting around every 40,000 miles.
Is the N55 more reliable than the N54?
On the fuel system, yes — the N55 runs a single twin-scroll turbo and the high-pressure pump stopped being the defining problem. What carries over is the rest of the BMW list: oil filter housing gasket, valve cover, electric water pump and carbon buildup. Add the plastic charge pipe, which cracks and is worth replacing before it strands you.
How much is a used BMW 3.0 inline six engine?
Across the 477 units we hold, prices run from 770 dollars with a median of 4,507 and a median mileage of 49,646. The spread is wide because five different engines share that description — an early naturally aspirated M54 and a 2019 B58 are in completely different markets.
Send your VIN, and tell us turbo or not, rear-drive or xDrive. We will confirm which of the five you need and what we hold.
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