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2006 BMW 3-Series repairs by problem area
Engine (35%)
Transmission and Drivetrain (7%)
Brakes and Traction Control (3%)
Suspension and Steering (10%)
Electrical and Air Conditioning (30%)
Paint, Rust, Leaks, Rattles, and Trim (8%)
Other (7%)
Select a problem area
Chart based on 923 repairs.
2006 BMW 3-Series suspension repair cost distribution
$2500+ (4%)
$1000 - $2499 (20%)
$500 - $999 (18%)
$100 - $499 (25%)
< $100 (33%)
Chart based on 84 repair trips. The repair cost chart excludes repairs made under warranty, do-it-yourself repairs, and repair trips that include maintenance.
2006 BMW 3-Series
Engine not specified
2006 BMW 3-Series 4dr Wagon
215-horsepower 3.0L I6 6-speed shiftable automatic AWD
| 169260 mi US $385 |
Blown bushings. Rear front control arms needed to be replaced. Both were done. |
| 170000 mi US $240 |
Replaced both front wheel bearings ($85), and all rotors ($153) |
| 170000 mi US $40 |
Replaced ABS sensor. Had to install 2 separate sensors - Reluctor wound up being bad. Repair needed after rebuild CV boot, and the reluctor may have been damaged. |
| 123500 mi US $600 |
rear wheel bearing replaced |
| 102000 mi US $85 |
Front tension strut torn through |
| 129000 mi US $1500 |
Replaced springs, shocks, struts, and all wear items (bumpstops etc) |
2006 BMW 3-Series 4dr Wagon
215-horsepower 3.0L I6 6-speed manual AWD
| 63240 mi C $450 |
Drivetrain noise from the rear. Both wheel bearings need to be replaced. |
| 65720 mi C $500 |
Replaced both rear shocks with OEM Bilstein |
2006 BMW 3-Series 4dr Sedan
255-horsepower 3.0L I6 6-speed shiftable automatic RWD
| 122000 mi US $1400 |
Bent control arm. Two more control arms with leaking bushings found. All four were replaced. Right front tie-rod replaced due to being frozen and not adjustable. Needed an alignment so this had to be replaced also. |
| 60000 mi | Replaced valve cover gasket. Replaced left front strut assembly. |
| 65000 mi US $153 |
Thumping noise in front end when hitting bump in road. Dealer replaced control arm bushings and left side strut upper bearing. |
| 92000 mi | Squeaky front suspension. Suspect sway bar bushings require replacement. |
| 4030 mi | Creaking from steering column. Minor adjustments made under warranty. |
| 11160 mi | Persistent creaking noise from steering rack (vehicle equipped with Active Steering). |
| 63000 mi US $2500 |
front end bushings required replacement Replaced front end bushings. ABS Sensor, tires worn due to suspension, suspension bushings |
| 48300 mi US $900 |
Control arm bushings leaking, replaced. |
| 73140 mi C $700 |
control arm bushings on both sides |
| 58000 mi US $390 |
Rear left wheel bearing is bad. Noticeable humming noise while driving. Repaired twice because the 1st new bearing ordered from BMW is defective. |
| 19000 mi | Right passenger side strut was squeaking. Right front strut was replaced. Replaced passenger side front strut. My vehicle has the sport suspension. Repair was covered under warranty. |
| 105000 mi US $1300 |
- control arm bushing - front brakes - oil gasket - other routine maintenance |
2006 BMW 3-Series 4dr Sedan
255-horsepower 3.0L I6 6-speed shiftable automatic AWD
| 4000 mi | vibration in the steering wheel at speeds above 45. This vehicle has been lemon lawed. Bought back by BMW for $44,000. |
| 72700 mi | one front suspension strut replaced |
2006 BMW 3-Series 4dr Sedan
255-horsepower 3.0L I6 6-speed manual RWD
| 10000 mi | Steering Column Replaced |
| 92000 mi US $200 |
RF Wheel bearing was going bad. Replaced with new hub. |
| 95000 mi US $558 |
worn front control arm bushings, require replacement control arms and 4 wheel alignment. |
| 85000 mi US $2600 |
replaced front struts |
| 105800 mi US $300 |
Bushings for tension strut was leaking on left and right front. Replaced both tension struts. |
| 158300 mi US $1781 |
Struts were worn out and hard winter in New England did them in. One blew on a pothole and I had them all replaced. |
2006 BMW 3-Series 4dr Sedan
255-horsepower 3.0L I6 6-speed manual AWD
| 98000 mi US $1363 |
Broken rear shock absorber |
| 103000 mi US $900 |
Power steering fluid reservoir cap was leaking. Cap was replaced, fluid flushed. Front left shock was leaking fluid and making noise. Replaced all 4 corners including mounts and bearings. |
| 120000 mi | Front ball joints are both creaking. |
| 123000 mi US $415 |
Right rear wheel bearing was making noise. Replaced. |
| 85000 mi US $500 |
Shocks were completely shot at 87k miles. |
2006 BMW 3-Series 4dr Sedan
215-horsepower 3.0L I6 6-speed shiftable automatic RWD
| 97000 mi US $700 |
Front lower control thru arms with bushings and ball joint. |
| 131000 mi US $800 |
Front Control arms Reset Airbag warning lights |
| 81000 mi US $1900 |
Replace front struts that were leaking. Problem discovered after routine inspection. |
| 41000 mi | suspension: a bolt got loose and was manually tightened; |
| 57000 mi US $4500 |
replaced front struts |
| 95000 mi US $2000 |
Bush rod |
| 99000 mi US $900 |
Right rear control arm and battery replacement |
| 62500 mi US $50 |
Alignment performed after replacing all tires. Tire shop had found uneven wear indicating alignment was off. |
| 20000 mi | Steering column replaced under warranty due to security interlock mechanical failure. Dealer says a new part number was issued, which is reassuring because it may indicate a design flaw has been corrected. |
| 107000 mi US $25 |
One bad outer tie rod end so both replaced. |
| 181000 mi US $1200 |
Both tie-rod ends worn and needed to be replaced. |
| 32000 mi | Steering column lock malfunction. Software update/reflash. |
| 67500 mi US $650 |
Replaced power steering pump and power steering reservoir w/its integrated filter. |
2006 BMW 3-Series 4dr Sedan
215-horsepower 3.0L I6 6-speed shiftable automatic AWD
| 5240 mi | New problem of suspension bushings requiring replacement. Old problem as well -- check engine light on. Appointment booked for April to address both problems. |
| 6200 mi | Replacement of rear supension bushings. |
| 97960 mi C $308 |
rear shocks. rear shock mounts in subsequent trip. the garage realized that they should have done the repair when replacing the shocks and waived the labour charge. |
| 105900 mi C $850 |
replaced sway bar links, lower rear position control arms, lower ball joints |
| 126480 mi C $1150 |
wheel bearing replaced |
| 42160 mi | Suspension bit replaced |
| 15000 mi | Steering wheel lock problem. They replaced entire steering column . |
| 57000 mi US $523 |
Slight shake,upon inspection, one of the Tierods had seized and needed replacement, including and alignment. |
2006 BMW 3-Series 4dr Sedan
215-horsepower 3.0L I6 6-speed manual RWD
| 998200 mi C $200 |
Rear shocks |
| 108500 mi C $170 |
Rear rubber bushings were squeaky. Lower control arm bushings were lubricated. |
| 62000 mi US $1200 |
Front sway bar bushings rotted and squeaking. Car exhibits more body roll than normal. Parts replaced and handling improved, but squeak is back within a few days. Rear end still exhibits poor handling. Will bring car back again. |
| 65000 mi US $50 |
Car still squeaks/creaks when going over speed bumps or coming to a stop when braking hard. Problem seems worse when its warmer outside. Dealer says can't reproduce. Front sway bar bushings were previously replaced - didn't help. |
| 98000 mi | Car is making a creaking sound with load changes/chassis flex when it is cold/wet outside. Inspection completed and could not find a reason for the sound, problem persists. Strut brace determined to be causing creaking noise. Strut brace re-torqued. |
| 115000 mi US $200 |
The car has had a shake in the steering while braking for about 15,000 miles or maybe even longer. I had hoped it was the brakes, but I had changed the rotors, pads, and got it aligned. In a BMW like this, it only leaves one thing left, the control arms. So that's what this job was, upper and lower control arms (I would highly suggest one do these at the same time as the job is terrible, but as you remove one set of control arms, the other set becomes easier to get at. Bought online from RockAuto, as they are about half of the Dealer price and that's for original equipment replacements. Probably due to the age of the car, this was a very hard job to do, as all the parts are so worn it required cutting them off the car with a cutoff tool or sawzall. broke many tools trying to get them off otherwise. Took two weekends to get them all off. To get this job done at the dealer was quoted $1500.00, so that's why I did it myself for $300, including the cost of the broken tools. Had to be done, the car feels like brand new in steering now. The tie rods had seized on both sides of my car. Since I was changing the control arms this month, I knew that I would need to attack and replace the control arms since they all affect the alignment. At first I didn't think this was going to be too bad because on one side the bolt started to to loosen but then it jammed. So, just like the control arms, I had to but off the tie rods, then cut them again to recover the boots as they don't come with the new ones. This is replacing the inner and outer tie rods. I would recommend that you always do both inner and outer along with coating everything in anti-seize or they will just seize again. Always do an alignment after this, they will be very far off. Alignment was an additional $99 on top of the cost listed. Took two long days to complete. |
| 118000 mi US $1000 |
Car was taken for alignment, but this was the final straw. It would not go into alignment any longer. It's been an issue with the car from the start, always being a very close to the edge of the alignment specs. But this time it was too far. To get this, I finally went aftermarket to fix it. I bought new shocks and springs, and then bought a set of Ground Control Camber plates for the front. These expand the alignment positions, permitting an extra 3 degrees above the stock settings. using this, I was able to bring the car not only within specs, but into perfect position. The car has never ridden this smooth before. Tires have always had the inner wheel worn out way before the rest of the tire because of this problem, now this is solved. |
| 197000 mi US $500 |
Broken shock in rear after hitting pothole. Replaced both rear shocks. Replaced rear shock mount |
| 23000 mi | Warning light indicating ignition lock problem. Dealer replaced steering column and flashed software. |
2006 BMW 3-Series 4dr Sedan
215-horsepower 3.0L I6 6-speed manual AWD
| 113000 mi US $1600 |
Front end rebuilt. [tie-rod ends] Also new tires and 4 wheel alignment. (Cost of tires not included in estimate) |
| 100000 mi US $1100 |
Both rear wheel bearings replaced |
| 109000 mi US $980 |
Needed a new power steering pump |
| 92380 mi | Electric steering wheel lock warning light started showing up (in Yellow, not yet in Red) |
| 103000 mi US $212 |
Blown left rear shock, replaced with Sachs unit on both sides along with all mounting hardware. Easy job. |
2006 BMW 3-Series 4dr Sedan
184-horsepower 2.5L I6 5-speed shiftable automatic RWD
| 60140 mi | Part was replaced |
| 78120 mi | front springs and struts, alignment, oil change and battery |
2006 BMW 3-Series 2dr Coupe
235-horsepower 3.0L I6 6-speed manual RWD
| 96000 mi US $360 |
Car wiggled and pulled hard to the right. Replaced the lower control arms and the control arm bushings. |
| 105000 mi US $275 |
Replaced front hubs and wheel bearings. |
2006 BMW 3-Series 2dr Coupe
235-horsepower 3.0L I6 5-speed shiftable automatic RWD
| 78400 mi US $430 |
Control arm bushings needed to be replaced. |
| 97000 mi US $2100 |
Replaced front wheel bearings Replaced power steering pump |
| 117000 mi US $1175 |
Steering rack was leaking fluid. |
2006 BMW 3-Series 2dr Convertible
333-horsepower 3.2L I6 6-speed manual RWD
| 75000 mi US $275 |
Front sway bar bracket broken, replaced. |
2006 BMW 3-Series 2dr Convertible
333-horsepower 3.2L I6 6-speed automated manual RWD
| 22000 mi | Leaky steering fluid line. |
2006 BMW 3-Series 2dr Convertible
225-horsepower 3.0L I6 5-speed shiftable automatic RWD
| 74000 mi US $1349 |
guibo - steering knuckle replaced. tie rods, replaced both sides - cost $660 total for this repair. |
| 78740 mi C $200 |
need to replace lower control arm bushings |
| 80600 mi C $200 |
lower control arm front, rear bushing |
2006 BMW 3-Series 2dr Convertible
184-horsepower 2.5L I6 5-speed manual RWD
| 65000 mi US $195 |
Car developed a vibration upon coasting after reaching 40 - 55 miles per hour. Parts were replaced. |
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