BMW engine code by VIN: N47, B47, N55, B58 and how to tell them apart

BMW engine code by VIN: the build record does the work

The VIN identifies the car, and BMW’s build record behind it names the model, the body and the engine. The catalog reads that record, so you get N47D20 or B47D20 from the VIN without opening the hood.

Decode the VIN in BMW ETK and the engine appears in the vehicle data at the top, next to the production date. Each engine diagram after that shows the parts for that engine only.

The BMW engine codes you meet most

Six engines from the last two decades, with their production spans:

• N47: four-cylinder diesel, March 2007 to September 2014, in 1.6 and 2.0 liter versions. It went into the 1 Series, the E90 and F30 3 Series and the E60 and F10 5 Series.
• B47: four-cylinder diesel from 2014, the N47’s successor and part of BMW’s modular family with the B38, B48, B57 and B58. B47D20 goes into rear-wheel-drive cars and B47C20 into front-wheel-drive ones.
• N55: turbocharged straight-six gasoline engine, 2009 to 2021, the first BMW six with a twin-scroll turbocharger. It powered the F10 535i and the F30 335i.
• B48: turbocharged four-cylinder gasoline engine from 2014, first fitted to the F56 MINI hatch.
• B58: turbocharged straight-six gasoline engine from 2015, which replaced the N55. It went into the F30 340i and the G20 M340i.
• S58: the high-performance version of the B58, from 2019, first in the X3 M and X4 M and then in the G80 M3 and G82 M4.

N47 or B47: one badge, two engines

The model name does not tell you which diesel you have. BMW built the F30 318d with the N47 and, from 2015, with the B47, and the F10 518d took both engines as well. In their 2.0 liter form both displace 1,995 cc, with the same 84 mm bore and 90 mm stroke.

They still belong to two engine families, so order gaskets, injectors and timing parts by engine code and never by the badge. The N47 is known for timing chain wear, heard as a rattle from the rear of the engine, which makes the timing kit a common order. Our post on timing belt and chain parts by VIN covers the wider picture.

On the gasoline side the badge changed with the engine. The F30 335i used the N55 until 2015, and the 340i that followed used the B58.

The engine number on the crankcase

BMW stamps the engine number, together with the engine identification letters, on a marked surface of the crankcase. The spot changes with the engine family, and on the B47 and B48 you find it near the oil sump.

Clean the area before you read it, and compare the result with the catalog decode. A mismatch points to an engine swap, and the parts for the engine in the car then take priority over the VIN.

From engine code to parts order

BMW files engine parts under main group 11 and fuel preparation under main group 13, so a timing chain or an injector starts from the engine the VIN decodes to. A B47 car and an N47 car of the same model open different diagrams in those groups.

Our general post on engine code by VIN explains how other makers handle it. For a BMW, decode the VIN in the catalog, note the full designation, such as B47D20, and order against that.