Reconditioned BMW 3 Series Gearbox

Série 3 from 2005 to 2019: the same 6-speed manual gearbox, but very different engine families depending on the generation

Between 2005 and 2019, the BMW Série 3 spanned two generations (E90/E91/E92/E93, then F30/F31/F34) and renewed virtually all of its engines. The 6-speed manual gearbox remained the standard transmission throughout this period, but it did not retain the same architecture or the same internal references: the gearboxes paired with the older M47, M54 and M57 engines are not the same as those fitted to the later B47, N47, N20 and B48 units. The vehicle's year of production and, above all, the engine code stamped on the block are therefore the only two reliable ways to identify the correct part.

2.0d and 3.0d Diesel: three generations of engines, three distinct gearboxes

The 2.0d is the most common engine in this range, with three successive codes: M47D20 (early E90), N47D20 (facelifted E90/E91) and B47D20 (F30/F31). Each engine generation received a differently sized gearbox, with specific casings, shafts and spline lengths. The 3.0d follows the same logic with the M57D30 (306D2) and the M57N2 (306D3), two variants of the 6-cylinder diesel whose gearboxes also differ.

2.0 and 3.0 Petrol: engine codes to check before ordering

On the petrol side, the 3.0 covers four codes — M54B30, N52B30, N53B30, N54B30 — spanning architectures from the naturally aspirated 6-cylinder to turbocharged direct injection. The 2.0i and the 2.0 partly share their codes (N20B20, B48B20, N43B20), but the 2.0 also includes the N46B20, an older engine not found in the 2.0i. Mixing up these variants will invariably result in a fitment incompatibility. For each engine, the gearbox references are listed on the corresponding product pages.