335d Questions
 

I'm new to the forum and need input on the 335d. My daily driver in the winter months here in Alaska is my Ram 3500 DRW 4x4 Quad cab Laramie Sport w/warmed up Cummins power. In the month or two of non snow,I drive my Caprice SS. I'm ready to purchase another car and I want to go with the 335d. I did drive one at the local BMW stealership and was impressed with the torque once the turbo's spooled up. Not quite the get up and go like my truck has,but that's comparing apples to oranges. Has there been injector issues,whether its from dirty fuel,water or any other fuel related problems? How are the dealers/BMW doing with these type of issues? Anybody had their car/SUV start making oil due to faulty injectors washing a cylinder down? Has anyone added extra aftermarket fuel filters to catch the sand and other grim that is in the fuel tanks at gas stations,and did the stealerships void your warranty on the fuel system or the whole car warranty? When I found out that Dodge's OEM filters were rated to something like 6 microns,not enough to protect the expensive injectors. Plus they won't oner the warranty if dirty fuel was the cause. I went ahead and installed an AirDog lift pump and filter system which are rated down to 2 microns. Which Dodge quickly voided my fuel system. Has there been any lift pump/fuel pump issues? Any other problems with the 335d? What kind of fuel mileage can I expect on a nice long hwy cruise at 55-70mph? We have very few spots that is posed above 65mph. I've heard as high as 40 mpg,but I think they are stretching the truth just a tad. I was looking at prices on the '10 and '11 certified cars with mileage as low as 8K miles for $38K and lower. Great prices to start bargaining at. Only problem is I get to drive it up here next spring.:D I noticed that a majority of the cars are in Black,which I refuse to get another black vehicle,due to it being a pain in the butt keeping clean.
Sorry bought going on so long,I want to make sure I'm covering my bases about getting a dependable car that will still be going strong at 250K-300K miles.
Thanks fellas-Casey

Bluenutsnak, welcome to the forum.

From your comments, I take it you are used to diesel trucks.

The 335d is a different animal. If you stick with brand name pump diesel, you shouldn't have problems with the BMW fuel system, including the filter and fuel pump. Ultra low sulfur diesel has improved consistency as part of the regulations and hasn't been much of an issue with the new high tech diesels in North America. If you have a high percentage of biodiesel, say, over 5%, it would not be recommended by most manufacturers, and don't even think of using home grown used vegetable oil, or WVO.

I would be more concerned with the urea injection (DEF) and exhaust particulate filter (DPF) on these cars, given the way Alaska roads are and their reputation to tear into the undersides of cars and trucks. Having no spare tire is another issue with the run-flat tires for you, as you may want to change over to regular tires with a spare and a jack kit.

As far as reliability similar to the old diesel trucks, it remains to be seen if the modern motors with their delicate turbo control systems and high pressure direct fuel injectors will last 300,000 miles without major problems, but if you take care of machinery it might take care of you.

I can't imagine you not liking how the 335d performs, even comparing it to a diesel truck. The BMW will put a smile on your face every time.

PL

You might find some of the stuff in this thread interesting.

http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=461450

http://www.bmwtradeparts.co.uk/PDF/W...uelFilters.pdf

Claims ~4um at 99.5% filtration. And claims water protection, although there's no way to drain the water out.

Welcome. FYI, a bone-stock 335d will do a quarter-mile in 14.2. Launch is problematical; a LSD would help a lot.

Although 40 mpg is possible and sometimes attainable, I think you would be more likely to see mileage in the 34 mpg highway range (that's what I get here in Seattle going over the passes or down to Portland.) Lower speeds (under 60) definitely help with mileage.

I've been reading pretty much everything here in the last 3 years; I think there have only been 3-4 injector problems and most of them have been adaptation problems rather than failed injectors. But we're not in AK.

My fuel mileage ranges from a low of 29.89 (daily commute at about 45 mph average speed) to a high of 36.36 (trip with cruise control set at 80 mph). The average of all tanks is 32.9 mpg. 40mpg probably isn't out of the question if you stay in that 55 to 70 mph range on a trip. Cold starts sink the mileage a bit.

Nutsack,

I don't think I would recommend the 335d for Alaska. I assume your roads can be pretty rough due to the cold/winter climate, i.e. lots of potholes, cracks, etc...

That would be really rough on a car like the 335d.

It also sounds like your diesel quality up there could be a bit problematic as well. Also not a good thing for the 335d. May be a bit too refined for your area.

Just my opinion. I'd stick with a truck for sure.

Snipe, you have any words for this guy?

From: How good is the Alaska Highway?
Sounds like avoiding the gravel roads would be good, as well as perhaps getting a 335d without the sport package! I guess it depends what others are doing with their cars: any Corvettes? Mercedes? other BMWs?

PL

No place to install an after market fuel filter. Personally with what you said in terms of roads and more importantly fuel quality I would avoid the 335d. For reference it uses the Bosch CP3 injection system or so I've read.

Sent from my MB525 using Bimmer App

Ultra Low Sulfur Diesel (ULSD) is now required even in rural Alaska since 2010. The required standard is ASTM D 975 which also has better fuel cleanliness:

If you think he needs a secondary fuel filter for Alaska, then we all do, since all US on-road diesel fuel has the same maximum particulate contaminant percentages now since 2010. Unless our friend is using off-road diesel, this should not cause a problem with his fuel pump.

Unless of course you think unacceptable wear occurs from winter diesel having higher kerosene content, which I imagine would be more common in Alaska even during "Summer" months. The ASTM standard is specific for lubricity also, so it should not be as bad as before ULSD.

ULSD has improved fuel consistency and cleanliness. This is why the US can now export it in the international market, as it is acceptable for other countries' standards, and why its price is higher than gasoline, which Europe exports to us.

PL

I understand all of that but my take on the OP is that the local stations are not proactive when it comes down to tank maintenance.

Sent from my MB525 using Bimmer App

The link above shows a 335d with an additional water separating, drainable fuel filtration system installed.

Do you mean the link in your previous post? http://www.bmwtradeparts.co.uk/PDF/W...uelFilters.pdf It shows the standard fuel filter setup, which appears pretty darn good already, down to 4 microns.

PL

Post #3 above.

For reference, the Cummins 6.7 ISB also uses a CP3 CR pump...FWIW.

I've driven a Sport 335D in Northern Ontario for the last three years including gravel roads, 100,000km on the clock now. These cars aren't made of sugar and won't melt in the rain, you know. ;)

I say go for it....if you stick you head under the hood, the M57Y sounds like a Cummins at idle. :D ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f-wmKZNVIq4 )

Cheers
D

Thanks for all the replies! I want to make sure there hasn't been any issues with the fuel systems since any fuel related parts will cost an arm & a leg.We have the same fuel as the lower 48 has except we run the winter fuel most of the year. Problem is with all the snow we get there is water. The tanker drivers have to chip the snow and ice away from the fuel dump lids and sometimes there is as much as a couple feet of snow/ice/sand his dump nozzle rests on,some do a better job of cleaning the area before unloading. Some of my fellow drives didn't give a damn if anything falls in the stations tanks. Plus the moisture that occurs after being out all day and then thaws out in the garage at night. I always run Power Service with a touch of ash less two stroke oil in the winter. I doubt the newer vehicles need the extra lubricity since they were designed to run todays fuel.I'm going to talk with the service dept at the local BMW and see if extra filtration is needed here. We only have one local stealership in the Anchorage area and without any competition,prices will be expensive if any fuel related parts are needed. I'm going to go ahead and start looking for the right car with the options I want. I look forward to the drive back to AK. I drove my car up here 3 yrs ago and had a blast. Pierre is spot on about the drive to AK,its paved almost all the way and they are always improving the roads. The only issues were the frost heaves and I was down to 10 mph in some areas and if I had waited another month it wouldn't have been as bad. Other areas one could drive way above the posted speed limits since its rare to see any police at all. I can count on needing a new windshield by the time I get home,may try the film NASCAR uses and see if I can save the windshield. I usually have to replace the windshields in both vehicles once a year since a chip like to spread once it warms up in the garage.(fixed or not) Thanks again fellas.