BMW B47 2.0 diesel
The badge shows the lowest confidence tier on this page and the date the oldest fact was checked — the weakest link, not the best.
Timing drive
Timing chain
No scheduled replacement — but that is not the same as nothing to watch for. See the known issues below.
No scheduled replacement, and unlike its predecessor this engine has not attracted a pattern of early chain failures.
Replacing the N47 in 2014, the B47 carried over the broad chain architecture but has not inherited its reputation — the wave of early failures that defined the older engine has not repeated here. That is worth stating plainly, because a great deal of advice written about BMW diesels is really about the N47 and gets applied indiscriminately to anything with four cylinders and a chain. The sensible position on a B47 is the ordinary one for a chain engine: nothing is scheduled, oil condition is what protects it, and a cold-start rattle is still the thing to listen for.
Timing drive
Chain — drives the camshafts
Chain — no scheduled replacementReported
No scheduled replacement, and unlike its predecessor this engine has not attracted a pattern of early chain failures.
The B47 retains a similar chain layout to the N47, including its position, so a replacement remains a major job even though it is far less often needed.
Scheduled servicing
- Regime:
- Condition Based Servicing (CBS)
- Interval:
- Not established — Set by CBS from actual use rather than a fixed schedule.
- Oil specification:
- BMW Longlife-04 (SAE 5W-30)
Known issues
- No pattern of premature chain failure has emerged on this engine, in contrast to the N47 it replaced — advice written for the older engine should not be applied to it wholesale.
Cars this engine is fitted to
Questions people ask
Does the BMW B47 2.0 diesel have a cambelt or a chain?
A chain, with no scheduled replacement. That does not make it maintenance-free — chain wear is diagnosed on condition rather than pre-empted at a mileage, so a complete service history says nothing about it.
Is the BMW B47 2.0 diesel an interference engine?
Yes. If the timing drive fails, valves and pistons meet and the damage normally extends well beyond the timing components — which is why the interval is worth taking seriously rather than stretching.
How often does the BMW B47 2.0 diesel need servicing?
We haven't established a published schedule for this engine. Ask a franchised dealer to quote it against your VIN.
Outstanding recalls
We don’t hold recall data and won’t pretend to — it comes from the SMMT via DVSA, and a per-vehicle check needs a VIN rather than a registration. The official checker is free: check vehicle recalls on GOV.UK. You’ll need the make and the VIN, which is on the V5C and usually visible through the base of the windscreen.
Worth doing on any used car: a recall is free to have done regardless of age or how many owners the car has had, and an outstanding one often survives a change of keeper simply because nobody forwarded the letter.
Sources
Related engines
Spotted something wrong? If you own one of these, you probably know more about it than we do. Tell us and we’ll fix it — corrections are logged publicly and move the page’s review date.