Is anyone else concerned as of late about the long-term realiability of their d's?

Originally Posted by KeithS

Please explain more about this. There is another thread (another board) with pictures that seem to indicate many of the cars have what appears to be black paint sprayed around below the turbo area, including mine. Not a lot, does not impact the operation of the car, it's just common and no one can figure out where it's coming from. Sort of like the car burped.

If you look at this thread

http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/sho...49#post6701749

You can see the picture, I smelled a slight diesel smell in the garage, this part is located directly under the black engine cover, driver's side, directly in front, I too had the mystery
" soot" by the turbos just not as much, if I noticed it before the valve was replaced I would have mentioned it. Just waiting for one of us to ask their dealer about it on their next service visit. The EGR cooler that failed on mine was covered in " soot " which was easily wiped off unlike the " soot" near the turbos.

Originally Posted by cssnms

Prior to buying your '10? The 335d only arrived on our shores in 2009. It's now 2012 and with more d's on the road and more time/miles on them there have been numerous reports of issues to include several MAJOR issues involving replacing the heads on at least 2 forum members cars, at a cost of $10k to $14k no less, not to mention the reported transmission failures as Snipe pointed out. These reports obviously do not account for the numbers of other owners who have not reported similar issues as well as whatever other issues they have had on forums.

For that reason I am not so sure I follow your logic in concluding the 335d will prove to be a reliable car. By many accounts it has already proven to be otherwise.

I agree that what is represented in these and other forums is a limited sampling. But forums like this one prove to be valuable when considering the purchase of a car. I consider it a "trend" if I see a large number of similar problems reported.

Admittedly my logic isn't perfect, but of the cars that I was looking at, which were also fairly new to the market, the only trend lighting up this forum - at the time - were the problems with DEF. I felt that was minor compared to what I was seeing in other forums for similar new models. Since then I think the EGR issue looks to become a "trend". But I think as others have said BMW will ultimately sort that out.

Also as part of my evaluation was the response of the mfg regarding the problems.

I don't want to hijack this thread discussing other cars - but suffice to say that in one case the NHTSA got involved - and only after they got involved did the mfg change the design of the affected part. Failure of that part caused the engine to self destruct resulting in $10k to $12k repair. In the middle of all that controversy when the mfg was blaming the problem on driver error, was when I was evaluating which car to buy.

I still feel that the problems that folks are reporting on the other threads in this forum are relatively random when compared to the total number of cars produced. and I think you would see similar complaints on other forums for what are otherwise very reliable cars.

Consistent with that - after after 2 years & 27k miles - I've had zero issues with my D. I can't say that about other cars that I've owned.

I think the bigger issue with the 335D is the fact that BMW has opted to discontinue importing this model and the availability of knowledgeable mechanics 4 or 5 years down the road. And based on my experience with another discontinued model, that will inflate repair costs.

If you have to look at how many people you have on this forum and then how many of the same problems come up to decide if it might truly be an issue. Overall we do not have a lot of active members in this section but I do not know if that means just 2 of the same problem means it should be a concern for everyone.

Originally Posted by boooomer

I agree that what is represented in these and other forums is a limited sampling. But forums like this one prove to be valuable when considering the purchase of a car. I consider it a "trend" if I see a large number of similar problems reported.

Originally Posted by boooomer

I still feel that the problems that folks are reporting on the other threads in this forum are relatively random when compared to the total number of cars produced. and I think you would see similar complaints on other forums for what are otherwise very reliable cars.

I agree that what is represented on these forums is only but a limited sampling, but therein lies the rub... It is difficult to ascertain whether or not this limited sampling is indicitive of a wider spread problem. Statistically speaking and based on the % of complaints regarding certian issues e.g. belt squeel, clogged metering valves, dme reprogrammings etc it is hard for me to qualify the 335d as "reliable" car, but that is all relative I guess to one's personal experience with other brands.

You know the thing is, I feel that way about just about every modern BMW. If you are thinking d is time bomb try owning an E65 750 or even worse the 745. Those cars have more damn gremlins than anything I've ever seen. Logic 7 amps that fail if you look at them wrong, shifts that feel like you just got rear ended by a cement trucking going 80, random electronics failures resulting from reprogramming the car to work with new parts replacing ones that already failed, coolant pipes that fail and require the top half of the engine to removed to repair it going by the manual. If not for the warranty it would have cost me over $2K just to have the dealer fix a stupid marker light warning.

To a lesser extent even the gas powered 335 are bad. Fuel pump issues, turbo failures, waste gate rattles, gunked up intakes, all of these items are not cheap bills out of warranty and happen more frequently than most of us would expect them to.

I think comparing to a 7 series is a poor decision. The 7 series is much like the S classes and extremely complicated vehicles. There is a reason why they have some of the worst depreciations I have ever seen.

I intend to buy the BMW extended warranty for mine when the time comes. Not because it's a d, but because it is a very complex, expensive to repair German vehicle. One failure, such as an AC compressor or evaporator, a turbo, a computer, or whatever could be all it takes to make an extended warranty pay for itself.

I am accustomed to keeping my cars on the road for 300-400k miles, but was advised that "no one designs cars to be that durable any more"
So I went for the extended warranty, and will sell the car when the warranty expires.

34,000 miles on the "d" so far, no problems

Originally Posted by diesel fan123

I am accustomed to keeping my cars on the road for 300-400k miles, but was advised that "no one designs cars to be that durable any more"
So I went for the extended warranty, and will sell the car when the warranty expires.

34,000 miles on the "d" so far, no problems

Why not just keep it past the extended warranty and until it actually has problems?

I think it will be worth more if it is working when I sell/trade it, vs. trying to sell it w/ a major defect.

At 100k miles though it will not be worth a whole lot. Nothing to me shows that these will not last to at least 200k. Sure some repairs might be needed and some repairs might be desired. But way I look at it the car once out of all warranties has then tanked a lot in value. I have just shy of 28k miles on my car and doubt I could get over $20k for it. Matter of fact I think I'd be lucky to get $20k. So tack on another 70k miles and now where is my worth? I doubt it is much at all and especially when factoring how much harder parts will be to get and the more than likely needed maintenance items between 100-150k.

I'm sure there are plenty of BMW diesels in EU with 100k-300k miles on them

Originally Posted by AutoUnion

I'm sure there are plenty of BMW diesels in EU with 100k-300k miles on them

There are a couple on here with over 100k and seems those owners have no complaints.

Originally Posted by AutoUnion

I'm sure there are plenty of BMW diesels in EU with 100k-300k miles on them

I'm sure that there are. But while the engine itself is similar to the M57 we have, the appurtences on the engine are not similar at all.
1) No SCR or tank for adblue
2) mechanical versus electric controls on emissions and other engine thingies.
3) no electrical sensors on swirl flaps, EGR valve, etc., etc.
4) No DDE (they use a much less capable engine controller)
5) different crank and rod/pistons.

Those are the things I worry about.

Originally Posted by Snipe656

I think comparing to a 7 series is a poor decision. The 7 series is much like the S classes and extremely complicated vehicles. There is a reason why they have some of the worst depreciations I have ever seen.

Well, it's one I have personal experience with so, I was using it as an example of how even the simplest things can be much more of an issue and cost quite a bit more than you would expect with pretty much any modern BMW. The E9X isn't exactly on par with Range Rover Defender on the evolutionary ladder either, it's got all the impedance checks, most buss systems, etc... that can be troublesome for your average DIY'er as well. Sure the diesel has it's own group of potential issues but, I don't think they are anything beyond owning any other modern BMW.

You can ignore the part about the 7 and see the rest about the well documented issues with the E90/N54 if you like.

Originally Posted by dunderhi

My 2011 has 33kmi and to date my only issues were:

1. DEF transfer pump losing prime (fixed under warranty)
2. iDrive Controller de-laminating - nothing to do with being a diesel (fixed under warranty)
3. Premature wear on the driver's seat - nothing to do with being a diesel (dealer deferred to BMW to determine if it is a warranty item)

Just curious. Where is the premature wear on the seat? I have the grey interior, and the ribbing on the driver's side seat is suspect after 30K miles (I bought the car with 15K miles on it).

Heck I do not even really know what E90/N54 means. I know it is something to do with chassis and engines but I don't like these cars enough to memorize stuff like that.

Originally Posted by 831Doug

Just curious. Where is the premature wear on the seat? I have the grey interior, and the ribbing on the driver's side seat is suspect after 30K miles (I bought the car with 15K miles on it).

It's on the door side side-bolster. I assume the wear is from sliding against the seat while entering the car.

Originally Posted by Snipe656

Heck I do not even really know what E90/N54 means. I know it is something to do with chassis and engines but I don't like these cars enough to memorize stuff like that.

E90 is last gen 3 series. N54 is the old twin-turbo I6 that was used up until a couple years ago. They use the single-turbo twin-scroll N55 engine throughout BMW's lineup. Our diesel engine's code is M57

Originally Posted by AutoUnion

E90 is last gen 3 series. N54 is the old twin-turbo I6 that was used up until a couple years ago. They use the single-turbo twin-scroll N55 engine throughout BMW's lineup. Our diesel engine's code is M57

The N54 is still used in the 335is.

Originally Posted by floydarogers

Since I've been racking up the miles pretty fast (now at 46K - in 2.5 years), I've decided that I will probably buy the extended warranty. Obviously, that will take me to 100K and 5 years; essentially the same as a CPO warranty (but I have to pay for it.) The main reason is to ensure that any SCR/DPF problems are taken care of cheaply.

I've been researching the extended warranty the last week, as the car is approaching 48K and I need to decide soon. Unfortunately, I've come across some things in their coverage that have given me pause, and may convince me to *NOT* buy an extended warranty.

Exhaust systems, which BMW includes the catalytic converters in, are *NOT* covered by any extended warranty (regular, Gold, Platinum). The DPF and SCR are not, therefore, icovered. However, the SCR "mixer" - I presume that's the injector - and pump are included (just not the catalyst it drives.) The DPF is not covered (part of it is a catalyst). The turbos are covered.

The good news is that the EGR is covered by the warranties. And the slightly even better news is that, since I live in a CA emissions state (WA), the entire business is covered for 7 years/70K miles.

Given all that, it hardly seems worthwhile to pay for the warranty, as it would cover things for only another 1.5 years/30K on things I worry about. Of course, if a head or turbo needed replacing it would pay for itself, but those appear to be rare occurrences.

Does the emissions systems of the 333d or any part of it have a longer warranty than the original 4 years we get when we bought the car?

Originally Posted by GreekboyD

Does the emissions systems of the 333d or any part of it have a longer warranty than the original 4 years we get when we bought the car?

As I said, in the states following California's rules (13 states, including Washington and Oregon), it's covered to 70K miles/7 years.

Originally Posted by floydarogers

As I said, in the states following California's rules (13 states, including Washington and Oregon), it's covered to 70K miles/7 years.

Sorry, missed that. I live in Canada so I'm not sure if it's similar here too.

Originally Posted by GreekboyD

Sorry, missed that. I live in Canada so I'm not sure if it's similar here too.

Sorry, "CA" is the official abbreviation for California, but of course it's also the ".ca" for internet...