Which BMWs Have the N46 Engine? Models, Years & What to Know
Photo by Default on Unsplash If you own or are thinking of buying a BMW from the mid-2000s to the early 2010s with a petrol four-cylinder engine, there’s a very good chance it has the BMW N46 under the bonnet. It’s not a performance engine, and it never made the headlines the way the turbocharged units did. But it has powered an enormous range of BMWs over more than a decade, and it’s an engine that rewards good maintenance and suffers badly from neglect. This guide covers which models got it, what’s different about it compared to other BMW four-cylinders of the era, and what you need to keep an eye on as an owner. What Is the BMW N46 Engine? The N46 is a naturally aspirated inline-four petrol engine, which means no turbo, no supercharger. It came in two sizes: a 1.8 litre (N46B18) and a more common 2.0 litre (N46B20). BMW produced it from 2004 right through to 2015, making it one of their longest-running four-cylinder families of the era. The defining feature of the N46 is Valvetronic...
