It's been a weird couple of months dieselwise

So, a couple of months ago, my service light came on. I took it to my local dealer fully expecting that I would be complaining about the urea system screwing up again. To my surprise, some critter had eaten part of the wiring to the NOx sensor. The sensor and wiring had to be replaced to the tune of $1000.

Then I got the recall on the D. I took it in and left it on Tuesday and picked it up on Saturday after I got back into town late Friday night. Not two days later, I got an ominous warning, complete with dinging alarms - DSC malfunction, DTS malfunction, brake failure - all while cruising down the freeway at 75 mph. I gingerly checked my brakes and everything seemed to be working OK. So back to the dealer on Monday and left it till Friday when I got back into town. The steering angle sensor had failed. Replaced under warranty.

Oh yeah, it was squealing again, so they put a new AC compressor belt on it again (like they did a year ago).

I love this car - but it has been in the shop a lot. Basically, I would never own this car without a LONG extended warranty.

Arizona? Live anywhere near Area 51?

How many miles on the D?
Mine's just out of warranty but it's been trouble free so I didn't get any extended warranty.
Here in Canada BMW doesn't have any extended warranty and the dealers offer after market warranty which I'm not willing to get.
So I'll drive my D till it stars to give trouble and then decide whether to keep it or trade it in.

Originally Posted by Flyingman

Arizona? Live anywhere near Area 51?

Uhhh. Looked at a map? Area 51 is in Nevada, not Arizona.

A better choice for levity might be the Superstition Mountains. (East of Phoenix area.)

Not close to Roswell either!

Originally Posted by UncleJ

Not close to Roswell either!

Obvious east coast bias: not only notable in Baseball, Football, etc.

Originally Posted by floydarogers

Uhhh. Looked at a map? Area 51 is in Nevada, not Arizona.

A better choice for levity might be the Superstition Mountains. (East of Phoenix area.)

Dang all this time I thought it was West Texas, you know the part they call New Mexico.

The brake fail is an error with the 3 series. I had it happen to me, and I called my friend (BMW mechanic) and he told me to reset the service thing on it. It worked for about a day, and now the front and rear brakes are failed, lol.

Originally Posted by DC-IT

How many miles on the D?
Mine's just out of warranty but it's been trouble free so I didn't get any extended warranty.
Here in Canada BMW doesn't have any extended warranty and the dealers offer after market warranty which I'm not willing to get.
So I'll drive my D till it stars to give trouble and then decide whether to keep it or trade it in.

The car only has 36,000 miles on it. Still within warranty thank god. For the last year and a half, it seems that this car has been in the shop about every 3 months for some repair or other. Most have been related to the urea injection system, then there was the AC squeal, then it was rear ended (not my fault or the car's fault), then this year it has been in for the NOx sensor, the recall and the failed steering angle sensor.

As a comparison, I also drive a 12 year old Honda S2000, that has been in the shop (for other than an oil change) twice.

I truly think 335D is the most enjoyable car I have ever driven, and I have owned many cars. I describe it to people as the rare chance in your life to have your cake and eat it too. It has breathtaking performance, handling, it is quiet, has great ergonomics. It is truly a car I can get in and drive a thousand miles in one day, and have more than a few times. All that and Prius like fuel mileage. Last week I drove it to visit a client - it is about a 100 mile round trip. I reset the fuel mileage meter before I went. I averaged 42.5 mpg for the trip.

But the lack of reliability and cost of BMW repairs will cause me to give the car up at the end of the lease in January. I'm sure I will miss this car badly, but the cost of upkeep and lack of reliability would drive me nuts.

It achieves the performance and economy through very complicated systems. I read about them in a white paper I found on this forum. Both impressive and scary at the same time.

You should add "emissions" to the list too because it certainly could achieve better economy and performance if it did not need to meet the emissions requirements that it needs to meet.

So, to add to the weirdness - a week ago I got a phone call from the body shop that did the work on my car when it was rear ended last November. The guy said, I just got your message - which I left about about 6 months ago - it was a glitch in their voicemail system. However it turned out to be a premonition, my car was backed into last week. The front bumper was damaged, as was the parking sensor, and the headlight now has a decided downward tilt. So back to the body shop it is.

Maybe it is snake bit.

A valet backed my car into a concrete wall last weekend. They did not tell us but Monday morning at home I saw the marks. Does not look bad but got two body shop quotes and both said it needs a new bumper cover. $1200 worth of damage, valet company said they will pay for it we shall see. I need to type up a letter and fax it along with the quotes and the incident form I got from the valet after driving back over there to report the damage.

Amigos on the failed EGR system issue I have a friend working on it with a x5d, the owner wants the system including the DPF removed, so he's working in erase the program off the ECU will keep you posted I cannot disclose the company since they are not vendors here but they are in germanboost follow the FMIC for the 335d, my nick is Puerto Rican 335d, ok

Originally Posted by Snipe656

A valet backed my car into a concrete wall last weekend. They did not tell us but Monday morning at home I saw the marks. Does not look bad but got two body shop quotes and both said it needs a new bumper cover. $1200 worth of damage, valet company said they will pay for it we shall see. I need to type up a letter and fax it along with the quotes and the incident form I got from the valet after driving back over there to report the damage.

Good Luck. Those parking lots are notorious for waiving any rights to liability. Ever read the fine print on the ticket?

I know and of they will not pay then I will just leave the damage. It is not even greatly noiceable, not enough to sink $1200 of my money into.