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N20 timing chain replacement: what owners actually paid

N20 / N26 (2.0L turbo 4-cyl)

Fair-price range (from sourced prices)

Dealer$3,550 – $5,0003 sourced prices · full spread $3,500–$6,400
Independent shop$2,375 – $2,8324 sourced prices · full spread $2,000–$3,228
All shops$2,600 – $3,5507 usable prices

How this is derived: the middle 50% (25th–75th percentile) of the USD prices in the table below for that shop type, using full-job totals only. Labor-only, customer-supplied-parts, warranty cost-share, bundled-extra-work and non-USD prices are shown but excluded. A range is only published with at least 3 usable prices. Scope differs between quotes, so read the notes.

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Graded against the dealer sourced range and independent sourced range.

What this job should cost near you Draft, under review

National average shown
Dealer estimate$3,416 – $4,85810–15 dealer-billed/book hrs (no multiplier) × $255/hr + ($722–738 list × 1.2–1.4 markup = $866–$1033 parts)
Independent-shop estimate$2,769 – $3,10113.5 labor-guide (guide not named) hrs × $175/hr + $406–738 parts

Labor rates: national medians of 12 reported BMW dealer rates ($255/hr) and 11 independent BMW-shop rates ($175/hr).

How these estimates work

Dealers look up BMW's own warranty labor time for the job, then for customer-pay work most multiply it by about 1.5 to 2, and charge their hourly rate. Genuine BMW parts are typically marked up 20–40% over BMW list price. So: warranty hours × 1.5–2 × local dealer rate + (genuine list price × 1.2–1.4). (source, source)

Independent shops usually quote straight from a commercial labor guide (Mitchell or ALLDATA), with no multiplier. So: labor-guide hours × local independent rate + parts.

Local rates come from labor rates people have reported for BMW dealers and BMW indie shops in your area. Where we have no report, the national median is scaled by how much auto technicians earn in your state or metro (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2025). Those rates are marked "estimated." Tax, shop fees, fluids and diagnosis aren't included.

BMW warranty time: not found. BMW warranty time not found publicly.
Dealer-billed hours used instead: 10–15 hrs — FCP Euro: dealer labor 'will be between 10-15 hours' (quoted by Accelerate Auto Repair)
Labor-guide time (guide not named): 13.5 hrs — 13.5 labor hours (BMW tech, r/F30); 13.5 hours for a 2013 328i (JustAnswer expert)
Dealer parts list basis: Full genuine list not found. Uses the FCP complete-kit price ($722–738) as the basis. Genuine MSRPs found: chain 11318648732 $128.80, lower tensioner rail 11317592877 $96.31, upper guide rail 11317592850 $57.77. No MSRP found for tensioner 11318685091 or oil-pump chain 11417605366; markup 1.2–1.4× (Typical BMW dealer parts markup of 20–40% over list).
Parts: Genuine chain 11318648732 MSRP $128.80 (BMW Parts Deal); Genuine tensioner rail 11317592877 MSRP $96.31 / guide rail 11317592850 $57.77 (BimmerWorld); ECS basic kit $405.99 / complete $649.93; FCP complete kit $721.84 RWD / $737.67 xDrive.
No warranty time found, so the dealer figure uses FCP Euro's published dealer billed hours (10–15, multiplier already included). The 13.5-hr labor time is cited by a tech, but the guide isn't named.

Missing inputs: dealer: no warranty time, used published dealer-billed hours; indie: labor guide not named.

Symptoms

  • Whining/whirring noise from the front of the engine, rising with RPM
  • Rattle on cold start
  • Check-engine light with camshaft/crankshaft correlation faults
  • In the worst case, plastic guide breaks and the chain fails (major engine damage)

Affected models & years

2012–2015 F30 320i/328i, F32 428i, F10 528i, F25 X3 28i, E84 X1 28i, F22 228i, Z4 sDrive28i (N26 = SULEV 328i). Problem mainly on pre-2016 builds per owners.

Many quotes bundle the oil-pump chain and guides. Ask whether the quote is timing chain only or timing + oil pump chain. Some VINs got a BMW goodwill/extended cost-share — ask a dealer before paying.

Sourced price points (8)

PriceShopVehicle / scopeLocationYearSource
$6,400 Dealer
paid		 N20
Timing chain + guides; also included oil filter housing gasket (~20 hrs at $240/hr)		 —~2025BimmerFest
$2,000 Independent
paid		 2014 F32, 62k mi
Timing chain + oil pump chain, out the door		 Simi Valley, CA~2024BimmerFest
$3,228
3227.95		 Independent
quote		 2013 328i (N26), 86.6k mi
Timing chain, parts + labor, BMW specialty shop (quoted 20 hrs)		 —~2024r/F30
$3,500 Dealer
quote		 N20/N26
Timing chain		 —~2024r/F30
$2,700 Independent
quote		 N20
Timing + oil pump chain, rails included		 Houston, TX~2021Bimmerpost F30
$2,500 Independent
quote		 2013 N26
Timing chain		 Northern California~2021Bimmerpost F30
$1,750 Dealer
paid		 N20, 95k mi
Owner paid 40% under a BMW 60/40 cost-share · not used in range: warranty cost-share		 Houston, TX~2021Bimmerpost F30
$3,600 Dealer
quote		 328i
Timing chain (quote from 'a few years ago', ~2019–2020)		 —~2020BimmerFest

Greyed rows are shown for context and excluded from the range. Years are approximate (date of the post).

Submit what you paid

Anonymous. Helps the next owner. Reviewed before publishing.

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