Ignition Coil Replacement – BMW N52 6 Cylinder Engine

November 15, 2023

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Ignition Coil Replacement – BMW N52 6 Cylinder Engine

The BMW N52 engine has six ignition coils...one in each spark plug tube. Replacing your ignition coils is required every 60,000 miles to keep your BMW's engine running factory-fresh. The following article gives step-by-step instructions on replacing the ignition coils in the BMW N52 6-cylinder engine.

Not sure which engine you have in your BMW? Use our engine finder tool to easily identify it!

Possible Symptoms: Sluggish acceleration, rough idling, overall poor performance

This repair can be used on the following BMW models:

2004

325i Sedan, 325i Touring, 325xi Sedan, 328i Touring, 330i Sedan, 330i Touring, 330xi Touring, 523i Sedan, 523i Touring, 525i Sedan, 525i Touring, 525xi Sedan, 525xi Touring, 530i Sedan, 530i Touring, 530xi Sedan, 530xi Touring, 630i Convertible, 630i Coupe, 730Li Sedan, 730i Sedan, Z4 2.5si Roadster, Z4 3.0i Roadster, Z4 3.0si Roadster,

2005

130i 5 doors, 323i Sedan, 323i Touring, 325i Coupe, 325i Sedan, 325i Touring, 325xi Coupe, 325xi Sedan, 325xi Touring, 328i Convertible, 328i Coupe, 330i Convertible, 330i Coupe, 330i Sedan, 330i Touring, 330xi Coupe, 330xi Sedan, 330xi Touring, 523i Sedan, 523i Touring, 525i Sedan, 525i Touring, 525xi Sedan, 525xi Touring, 528i Sedan, 528xi Sedan, 530i Sedan, 530i Touring, 530xi Sedan, 530xi Touring, 630i Convertible, 630i Coupe, 730Li Sedan, 730i Sedan, Z4 2.5si Roadster, Z4 3.0i Roadster, Z4 3.0si Coupe, Z4 3.0si Roadster,

2006

128i Convertible, 128i Coupe, 130i 3 doors, 130i 5 doors, 323i Coupe, 323i Sedan, 323i Touring, 325i Convertible, 325i Coupe, 325i Sedan, 325i Touring, 325xi Coupe, 325xi Sedan, 325xi Touring, 328i Convertible, 328i Coupe, 328i Sedan, 328i Touring, 328xi Coupe, 328xi Sedan, 328xi Touring, 330i Convertible, 330i Coupe, 330i Sedan, 330i Touring, 330xi Coupe, 330xi Sedan, 330xi Touring, 523Li Sedan, 523i Sedan, 523i Touring, 525Li Sedan, 525i Sedan, 525i Touring, 525xi Sedan, 525xi Touring, 528i Sedan, 528xi Sedan, 530Li Sedan, 530i Sedan, 530i Touring, 530xi Sedan, 530xi Touring, 630i Convertible, 630i Coupe, 730Li Sedan, 730i Sedan, X3 2.5si SUV, X3 3.0i SUV, X3 3.0si SUV, X5 3.0si SUV, Z4 2.5si Roadster, Z4 3.0i Roadster, Z4 3.0si Coupe, Z4 3.0si Roadster,

2007

125i Convertible, 125i Coupe, 128i Convertible, 128i Coupe, 130i 3 doors, 130i 5 doors, 323i Convertible, 323i Coupe, 323i Sedan, 323i Touring, 325i Convertible, 325i Coupe, 325i Sedan, 325i Touring, 325xi Coupe, 328i Convertible, 328i Coupe, 328i Sedan, 328i Touring, 328xi Coupe, 328xi Sedan, 328xi Touring, 330i Convertible, 330i Coupe, 330i Sedan, 330i Touring, 330xi Coupe, 330xi Touring, 523Li Sedan, 523i Sedan, 523i Touring, 525Li Sedan, 525i Sedan, 525i Touring, 525xi Sedan, 525xi Touring, 528i Sedan, 528xi Sedan, 530Li Sedan, 530i Sedan, 530i Touring, 530xi Sedan, 530xi Touring, 630i Convertible, 630i Coupe, 730Li Sedan, 730i Sedan, X3 2.5si SUV, X3 3.0i SUV, X3 3.0si SUV, X5 3.0si SUV, Z4 2.5si Roadster, Z4 3.0i Roadster, Z4 3.0si Coupe, Z4 3.0si Roadster,

2008

125i Convertible, 125i Coupe, 128i Convertible, 128i Coupe, 130i 3 doors, 130i 5 doors, 323i Convertible, 323i Coupe, 323i Sedan, 323i Touring, 325i Convertible, 325i Coupe, 325i Sedan, 325i Touring, 325xi Coupe, 325xi Sedan, 325xi Touring, 328i Convertible, 328i Coupe, 328i Sedan, 328i Touring, 328xi Coupe, 328xi Sedan, 328xi Touring, 330i Convertible, 330i Coupe, 330i Sedan, 330i Touring, 523Li Sedan, 523i Sedan, 523i Touring, 525Li Sedan, 525i Sedan, 525i Touring, 528i Sedan, 528xi Sedan, 530Li Sedan, 530i Sedan, 530i Touring, 530xi Sedan, 530xi Touring, 630i Convertible, 630i Coupe, 730Li Sedan, 730i Sedan, X1 25iX SUV, X3 2.5si SUV, X3 3.0i SUV, X3 3.0si SUV, X5 3.0si SUV, Z4 2.5si Roadster, Z4 23i Roadster, Z4 3.0i Roadster, Z4 3.0si Coupe, Z4 3.0si Roadster, Z4 30i Roadster,

2009

125i Convertible, 125i Coupe, 128i Convertible, 128i Coupe, 130i 3 doors, 130i 5 doors, 323i Convertible, 323i Coupe, 323i Sedan, 323i Touring, 325i Convertible, 325i Coupe, 325i Sedan, 325i Touring, 325xi Coupe, 325xi Sedan, 325xi Touring, 328i Convertible, 328i Coupe, 328i Sedan, 328i Touring, 328xi Coupe, 328xi Sedan, 328xi Touring, 330i Convertible, 330i Coupe, 330i Sedan, 330i Touring, 520Li Sedan, 523Li Sedan, 523i Sedan, 523i Touring, 525Li Sedan, 525i Sedan, 525i Touring, 528Li Sedan, 528i Sedan, 528xi Sedan, 530Li Sedan, 530i Sedan, 530i Touring, 530xi Sedan, 530xi Touring, 630i Convertible, 630i Coupe, 730Li Sedan, 730i Sedan, X1 25iX SUV, X3 2.5si SUV, X3 28iX SUV, X3 3.0i SUV, X3 3.0si SUV, X5 3.0si SUV, Z4 23i Roadster, Z4 30i Roadster,

2010

125i Convertible, 125i Coupe, 128i Convertible, 128i Coupe, 130i 3 doors, 130i 5 doors, 323i Convertible, 323i Coupe, 323i Sedan, 323i Touring, 325i Convertible, 325i Coupe, 325i Sedan, 325i Touring, 325xi Coupe, 325xi Sedan, 325xi Touring, 328i Convertible, 328i Coupe, 328i Sedan, 328i Touring, 328xi Coupe, 328xi Sedan, 328xi Touring, 330i Convertible, 330i Coupe, 330i Sedan, 520Li Sedan, 523Li Sedan, 523i Sedan, 523i Touring, 525Li Sedan, 525i Touring, 528Li Sedan, 528i Sedan, 530Li Sedan, 530i Sedan, 530i Touring, 530xi Touring, 630i Convertible, 630i Coupe, 730Li Sedan, 730i Sedan, X1 25iX SUV, X3 2.5si SUV, X3 28iX SUV, X3 3.0i SUV, X3 3.0si SUV, X5 3.0si SUV, Z4 23i Roadster, Z4 30i Roadster,

2011

125i Convertible, 125i Coupe, 128i Convertible, 128i Coupe, 130i 3 doors, 130i 5 doors, 323i Convertible, 323i Coupe, 323i Sedan, 323i Touring, 325i Convertible, 325i Coupe, 325i Sedan, 325xi Coupe, 325xi Sedan, 325xi Touring, 328i Convertible, 328i Coupe, 328i Sedan, 328i Touring, 328xi Coupe, 328xi Sedan, 328xi Touring, 330i Convertible, 330i Coupe, 330i Sedan, 520Li Sedan, 523Li Sedan, 523i Sedan, 523i Touring, 528Li Sedan, 528i Sedan, 530Li Sedan, 530i Sedan, 530i Touring, 730Li Sedan, 730i Sedan, X1 25iX SUV, X3 28iX SUV, Z4 23i Roadster, Z4 30i Roadster,

2012

125i Convertible, 125i Coupe, 128i Convertible, 128i Coupe, 323i Convertible, 323i Coupe, 323i Touring, 325i Convertible, 325i Coupe, 325i Sedan, 325xi Coupe, 328i Convertible, 328i Coupe, 328i Touring, 328xi Coupe, 328xi Touring, 330i Convertible, 330i Coupe, 330i Touring, 520Li Sedan, 523Li Sedan, 530Li Sedan, 530i Sedan, 530i Touring, 730Li Sedan, 730i Sedan, X3 28iX SUV,

2013

125i Convertible, 125i Coupe, 128i Convertible, 128i Coupe, 325i Convertible, 325i Coupe, 325xi Coupe, 328i Convertible, 328i Coupe, 328xi Coupe, 330i Convertible, 530Li Sedan, 530i Sedan, 530i Touring, 730Li Sedan, 730i Sedan,

2014

530Li Sedan, 730Li Sedan, 730i Sedan,

2015

730Li Sedan, 730i Sedan,

Intermediate level repair.

Step 1 - Purchase Parts

You will need the following parts and supplies to perform this repair.

Ignition Coil

We usually only advocate using Genuine BMW parts here at the Repair Guide, but these Delphi ignition coils are of the same superior quality of factory replacements at a fraction of the cost. We recommend replacing the coils on any vehicle with ths N52 6 cylinder every 60,000 miles to keep it running factory fresh.

Step 2 - Repair Procedure

Unless otherwise noted, all vehicle repair step images in this article are copyrighted, and used courtesy of BMW of North America, Inc. .

The N52 six-cylinder engine was found in many different BMW vehicles. The following instructions may differ slightly depending on year and model.

1. Replacing the ignition coils in the BMW N52 engine

You must remove the acoustic (ignition coil) cover befor starting this repair.

For complete steps on removing the acoustical cover, please refer to our article Engine Acoustic Cover Removal – BMW N52 6 Cylinder Engine

Unclip the coil, unplug it and remove it from the spark plug tube

Click to enlarge image

- Lift the plastic locking clip and unplug the coil. Grasp the coil and pull it free from the spark plug tube. If the coil is stuck, try twisting it back and forth several times until it breaks free.

View part diagram for this step

Click to enlarge image

- Install a new coil in the spark plug tube and use the palm of your hand to press down on it until it is seated firmly on the spark plug.

- Important note: NEVER use any type of lubricant like dialectric grease on BMW coils during installation. It may cause the coils to slip off of the spark plugs causing an engine misfire.

View part diagram for this step