BMW 1 Series Glow Plugs Replacement Parts

Only diesel-engined BMW 1 Series models have glow plugs — they are a diesel-only component used to pre-heat the combustion chamber for cold starts. Petrol 1 Series variants (including all N13, N20, N43, N45, N46, and N52 petrol engines) never had glow plugs and never needed them. If you have a petrol 1 Series and are chasing a cold-start or no-start fault, you are likely looking for something else entirely, such as ignition coils or spark plugs.

Yes, the engine code is the single most important detail — glow plugs are fitted to diesel engines including the M47, N47, and N57 units found across the 1 Series range, and the plug specification can differ between those families. The engine code is printed on your V5C or can be confirmed via a VIN check, and supplying it to the breaker will save you from receiving the wrong plugs. Do not rely on the badge alone, as a '120d' across different generations may carry a different engine code with a different plug type.

The E87 (first generation, 2004–2011) and the F20 (second generation, 2011–2019) are entirely different platforms carrying different diesel engine families — the E87 used M47 and early N47 units while the F20 moved to revised N47 and later B47 engines, so glow plugs are not simply interchangeable between generations. You must match by engine code rather than by generation or year, and you should confirm compatibility with the breaker against your exact registration before purchasing.

The F20 received a facelift in 2015, so a 2014 car and a 2012 car are both pre-facelift models within the same generation, which is a good starting point. However, whether the glow plugs interchange exactly still depends on whether both cars share the same engine code, as the N47 and B47 diesel units were used at different points during the F20's production run. Confirm the engine codes of both vehicles match before buying, and check with the breaker against your registration to be sure.

Trim level makes no difference to glow plug fitment — SE, Sport, M Sport, and other trim grades do not alter the diesel engine underneath, so the plugs are the same across those variants for a given engine code. The only exception worth noting is that the M140i is a petrol model and has no glow plugs at all, so if someone is quoting you plugs based on a '1 Series M Sport' listing, confirm that you both mean a diesel variant. What matters is the engine code, full stop.

A four-cylinder diesel 1 Series (such as the N47 or B47) has four glow plugs — one per cylinder — while a six-cylinder diesel would have six, though six-cylinder diesels were rare in the 1 Series range. When buying used, breakers will often sell a full set removed from a donor car, and it is worth asking how many are in the set and whether they have been tested, since used glow plugs can degrade. Confirm the quantity and engine code with the breaker against your registration before agreeing a price.