BMW N57 vs 1.6 CDTI: which engine is more reliable?

According to our risk index, the 1.6 CDTI carries less risk than the BMW N57: 36/100 (moderate risk) versus 87/100 (very high risk). The BMW N57 has 3 documented serious faults, the main one being «EGR cooler leaks with risk of engine fire»; the 1.6 CDTI has 1 documented serious fault, the main one being «Noise and early wear of the timing chain and its tensioner».

Risk index

BMW N57

Very high risk · 3 serious faults

Risk index

1.6 CDTI

Moderate risk · 1 serious fault

Lower risk

The index (0–100) weights the severity and frequency of the three most serious documented faults. How it is calculated

Reviewed on 27 September 202615 sources How we work

Is the BMW N57 reliable?

The BMW N57 (2008-2019, successor to the M57) is a six-cylinder diesel that is mechanically robust in the basics, but it shares with the N47 and B47 the EGR cooler covered by BMW's service campaign for engine fire risk, and it inherits from the N47 the timing chain at the rear of the block, with wear cases documented mainly from 200,000 km. Without a clear history of these checks, it is worth buying with some caution.^[1][2][3]

See the 4 of the BMW N57 faults

Is the 1.6 CDTI reliable?

The Opel/Vauxhall 1.6 CDTI (2013-2020, 95-160 hp) has no design fault acknowledged by the manufacturer, but it has built up reports of early wear of the timing chain and its tensioner, two episodes (2016 and 2018) of German investigation into a possible EGR valve shut-off, and AdBlue system faults on its Euro 6 versions.^{[4][5][6][7][8][9][10]}

See the 3 of the 1.6 CDTI faults

Side-by-side comparison

Comparison of BMW N57 and 1.6 CDTI
Item	BMW N57	1.6 CDTI
Technical data
Type	Engine	Engine
Fuel	Diesel	Diesel
Displacement	2,993 cm³	1,598 cm³
Timing	Chain	Chain
Power	204–381 hp	95–160 hp
Production	2008–2019^[1][11]	2013–2020^[4][12]
Reliability
Risk index (what is it?)	87Very high risk	36Moderate risk
Documented faults	4	3
Of high or critical severity	3	1
Worst severity	Critical severity	High severity
Main faults	Critical severity: EGR cooler leaks with risk of engine fire Critical severity: Rear timing chain wear High severity: Loss of thrust on twin-turbo versions due to the vacuum circuit or the actuator	High severity: Noise and early wear of the timing chain and its tensioner Medium severity: Suspected software shut-off of the EGR valve (emissions investigation) Medium severity: AdBlue (SCR) system failure on Euro 6 versions
Most expensive documented repair	No reliable data	up to €2,000AdBlue (SCR) system failure on Euro 6 versionsPublished figure^[10][13]
Which versions to buy
BuyRecommended versions	None	None
With cautionVersions to be cautious about	N57D30 204-211 hp, single turbo (U0/UL, 2010-2013)^[3][14] N57D30 245-258 hp, single turbo (O0/O1, 2008-2019)^[3][14] N57D30 299-313 hp twin turbo (T0/T1, 2009-2019)^[14][15]	1.6 CDTI 95 hp (B16DTE/B16DTU, 2014-2018)^[8][9] 1.6 CDTI 108-110 hp (B16DTL/B16DTN/B16DTU/D16DTI, 2014-2019)^[9] 1.6 CDTI 120-122 hp (B16DTJ/B16DTC, 2014-2018)^[5][6][7] 1.6 CDTI Turbo ecoFLEX 134-136 hp (B16DTH, 2013-2020)^[5][9] 1.6 BiTurbo CDTI ecoFLEX 150-160 hp (B16DTR/D16DTR, 2015-2019)^[8][12]
AvoidVersions to avoid	None	None

Severity of each fault: green, low; amber, medium; red, high; dark red, critical. How we rate them

Cars that each one is fitted to

BMW N57

See the 10 models with the BMW N57

1.6 CDTI

See the 7 models with the 1.6 CDTI

Other comparisons

With the BMW N57

With the 1.6 CDTI

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Sources

Every fact on this page links to its source. If you find an error, let us know.

BMW N57Wikipedia (inglés) · Other source · consulted 27 September 2026
Motor BMW B47 - Reparación EspecializadaDasercars · Technical documentation · consulted 27 September 2026 · in Spanish
324.000 diésel de BMW tendrán que pasar por el taller en Europa, por un posible riesgo de incendio en la EGRDiariomotor · Motoring press · published 8 August 2018 · consulted 27 September 2026 · in Spanish
GM Medium Diesel engineWikipedia (inglés) · Other source · consulted 27 September 2026
Opel, acusada de desconectar la válvula EGR de su modelo Zafira ¿aumentando las emisiones de NOx?Motorpasión · Motoring press · published 19 May 2016 · consulted 27 September 2026 · in Spanish
Opel está de nuevo en el punto de mira por las emisiones con 60.000 coches afectadosMotorpasión · Motoring press · published 16 July 2018 · consulted 27 September 2026 · in Spanish
La Fiscalía alemana registra las instalaciones de Opel en el marco de una investigación sobre emisionesMotorpasión · Motoring press · published 15 October 2018 · consulted 27 September 2026 · in Spanish
Fiabilité Opel Astra 5 (K) - avis et pannes des propriétairesFiches-auto.fr · Owners' forum · consulted 27 September 2026 · in French
Fiabilité Opel Mokka X - avis et pannes des propriétairesFiches-auto.fr · Owners' forum · consulted 27 September 2026 · in French
El aditivo de AdBlue que debes usar para evitar una reparación de 2.000 euros en tu coche diéselAutopista.es · Motoring press · published 1 April 2026 · consulted 27 September 2026 · in Spanish
BMW N57Wikipedia (alemán) · Other source · consulted 27 September 2026 · in German
Opel Astra KWikipedia (alemán) · Other source · consulted 27 September 2026 · in German
Twin dosing en diésel: el fallo que dispara una avería de más de 1.000 euros en el tallerMotor16 · Motoring press · published 22 September 2026 · consulted 27 September 2026 · in Spanish
Motor BMW N57 - Reparación EspecializadaDasercars · Technical documentation · consulted 27 September 2026 · in Spanish
Motor BMW N57: problemas, modelos y qué revisarCarexam · Motoring press · consulted 27 September 2026 · in Spanish