Vuongto12

15 3IS already needs a alternator changed out?? I went to check it out at two different places. AutoZone and O'reilly said the alternator needs to be replaced. Is this a common issue for these cars? Seems like a pain to remove

laobo979

iTrader: (5)

With wear and tear item there no set year/mileage. I had to do one during winter time in MA outside in 20 degrees. That was 3hr process with me going in and out the house. I would say 2hr job if you get the nut underneath out easy. That was on 2nd IS with over 100k.

Sasnuke

What's the issue with the car that led them to condemning the Alternator?
It's not a common failure on the IS, but it could happen.

E46CT

Going to need a lot more info. Why did you get an opinion on the alternator in the first place. What prompted this? And what are the symptoms you are experiencing? Not common to go out that soon. Though my friend has replaced the alternator twice on his 2IS 350. From watching him replace it I believe they use small/light duty alternators and tend to not last super long. hopefully they've changed that.

On my BMWs, they are as big as your head and tend to go well beyond 200k. And even then it's just a noisy bearing. My friend has 225k on an M3, original alternator, bearing is starting to make noise but it charges perfectly. Not bad for 26 year old car.

Other times it can be the voltage regulator, the brushes wear down. sometimes you can replace them separately and sometimes they're integrated and not serviceable.