# 328d



## timf5895 (Nov 8, 2017)

I'm looking at a 2014 328D. It will be my first BMW and my first diesel. When the car sits outside in cold weather will it need to be plugged in? I have a heated garage but I work 12 hour shifts so the car would be sitting out for at least 12 hours on the days I work.
Thanks


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## Doug Huffman (Apr 25, 2015)

There is no manufacturer's provision for a block heater of any sort that I know, and I have turned the internet upside down looking. Your diesel BMW should start easily in any temperature that you will encounter in northern Illinois. You *MUST* charge your battery regularly and frequently as the IBS BMW will NEVER EVER fully charge its battery because of the CERTAIN marginal damage of the slightest overcharge.

I charge my battery weekly, about 5 - 10 AH, summer and winter, with a CTEK 4.3 MUS.

In European/Cold weather options, there is a Webasto diesel powered auxiliary heater for ~US$1,500. I believe that ALL US models are considered warm weather.


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## southcoastguy (Jan 3, 2017)

timf5895 said:


> I'm looking at a 2014 328D. It will be my first BMW and my first diesel. When the car sits outside in cold weather will it need to be plugged in? I have a heated garage but I work 12 hour shifts so the car would be sitting out for at least 12 hours on the days I work.
> Thanks


Before my BMW, I drove a diesel VW for 7 years. Never had a problem starting in cold weather. You would need a block heater to "plug it in". I don't think this is necessary. 
Just remember, batteries have a life. They work fine in the morning and at the end of the day they won't start your car.


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## Doug Huffman (Apr 25, 2015)

My VW diesel TDI started after cold soaking at -30°F.

I installed a ZeroStart 1000 Watt by FrostHeater because the TDI is a cold blooded creature, the engine will cool to the cold start condition just idling at a stop light.


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## FastDEW (Aug 26, 2017)

Doug Huffman said:


> You *MUST* charge your battery regularly and frequently as the IBS BMW will NEVER EVER fully charge its battery because of the CERTAIN marginal damage of the slightest overcharge.
> 
> I charge my battery weekly, about 5 - 10 AH, summer and winter, with a CTEK 4.3 MUS.


I do not understand this MUST charge your battery statement.

1) I cannot imagine (in fact I KNOW) that 99% of BMW owners are not charging their battery weekly on an external charger.

2) A lead Acid battery, AGM or otherwise, will last for many years staying in the 80% State of Charge range.

3) I leave my car at airports for 10 days at a time. Starts no problem.

4) There are millions of BMW's on the road with the same charging system - how many of these drivers are plugging their BMW into an off board charger each week? Maybe 10??

To the OP - your car will start just fine. You would have to be 20 below zero for an extended period of time before you need to begin thinking about any issue.


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## Doug Huffman (Apr 25, 2015)

BatteryUniversity.com by CADEX. BatteryFAQ.org


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## floydarogers (Oct 11, 2010)

timf5895 said:


> I'm looking at a 2014 328D. It will be my first BMW and my first diesel. When the car sits outside in cold weather will it need to be plugged in? I have a heated garage but I work 12 hour shifts so the car would be sitting out for at least 12 hours on the days I work.
> Thanks


My older 335d started every morning after sitting at my cabin overnight in temperatures down to 5F. You won't have problems.


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## FastDEW (Aug 26, 2017)

Doug Huffman said:


> BatteryUniversity.com by CADEX. BatteryFAQ.org


I am in the battery industry.

I am not going to put a charger on my car every week. I will sleep just fine. As will millions of other BMW owners.

But if it makes you feel better :thumbup:


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## Doug Huffman (Apr 25, 2015)

FastDEW said:


> I am in the battery industry. I am not going to put a charger on my car every week. I will sleep just fine. As will millions of other BMW owners. But if it makes you feel better :


*The battery industry has an interest in batteries failing for mistreatment.*. Your conflict of interest impeaches your opinion.

The cycle life of an AGM battery is closely correlated with the average State of Charge; with average State of Charge >70% 1,000 cycles (equivalent full capacity discharge-recharge) can be expected.
http://batteryfaq.org
11. CAN I INCREASE THE LIFE OF MY BATTERY?










The maximum lifetime throughput is at an SoC a bit higher, at the inflection in the curve below at SoC ~77.5%










_Thanks for the opportunity to review these references._


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## Doug Huffman (Apr 25, 2015)

Consider, a battery with an average State of Charge = 100% - that is, never used - will last until internal corrosion reduces its capacity to 80% nominal, a common End of Life criterion. Under the very best of environmental conditions, cool, clean, little vibration, that BMW tried to provide, a battery will last about eight years.


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## FastDEW (Aug 26, 2017)

I have spent 30 years in the battery industry. First thing they teach you - there are liars, damn liars and battery manufacturers. 

The short cycles of a starter battery along with the ~80% SOC is very workable for a long lasting battery. 

Anyway - I appreciate that you are very focused on this charging every week regime. 99.9% are not going to do this - and it will be fine. The minimal life difference could be calculated to be less than 6 months if one is generous.


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## Doug Huffman (Apr 25, 2015)

FastDEW said:


> I have spent 30 years in the battery industry. First thing they teach you - there are liars, damn liars and battery manufacturers.


I retired less than 30 years after I graduated HS. 1966 to 17 September 1995.

An adjunct job was attendance at the morning production conference, that we called The Liars' Club, and were taught that if their lips were moving they were lying. Only the written word matters.


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## timf5895 (Nov 8, 2017)

Thanks for all your help. I bought the car today.


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## Doug Huffman (Apr 25, 2015)

*Happy Veterans Day Observed. Thanks y'all for your service.*



timf5895 said:


> Thanks for all your help. I bought the car today.


Best wishes. It is 17°F this morning.


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## floydarogers (Oct 11, 2010)

FastDEW said:


> I am not going to put a charger on my car every week. I will sleep just fine. As will millions of other BMW owners.


Doug is not the average of "millions". Considering Doug's location - on an relatively small island with limited resources and ways off, way up north - his actions are defensible. A bit extreme IMHO, but certainly defensible; hard to get a full charge by driving it there, and he doesn't work so it sits for days (I believe).

Or, he could just buy a spare battery.


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## FredoinSF (Nov 29, 2009)

timf5895 said:


> Thanks for all your help. I bought the car today.


Congrats! :thumbup:


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## awenthol (Sep 20, 2017)

timf5895 said:


> Thanks for all your help. I bought the car today.


The days of diesels needing to be plugged in, in order to start, are long gone. The common rail engines have cold start assist for emissions purposes only. Make sure you're using a winter oil and you'll be just fine.

I bought an oil pan heater for my 335d just because I can....not because I need it.


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## rbreding (Sep 6, 2016)

Doug do you use any fuel additives up there since your vehicle has a largely full fuel tank for weeks on end?


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## Doug Huffman (Apr 25, 2015)

No.


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## n1das (Jul 22, 2013)

2014 535d -10F cold start:
https://youtu.be/h4yh5aLwB8k

2012 X5 35d -12F cold start:
https://youtu.be/8QqyKpB2OPs

My cars are never garaged and they endure cold New England winters. I have never had a cold start issues in any of my diesels over the past 15 years and over 800k miles of diesel ownership experience. They actually start better than most gassers do in the bitter cold.

Good luck.


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## Doug Huffman (Apr 25, 2015)

Pre-glow is concealed. I'll see if I can find the description.

Preheating and start standby heating are activated as so-called concealed heating up to a coolant temperature of 30°C.
Concealed heating is triggered a maximum of 4 times and is then not enabled again before the engine is restarted.
Consequently, an effective voltage is established at the heater plugs that is lower than the system voltage.
Concealed heating is triggered by the following signals: 
***8226; Driver's seat occupancy
***8226; Driver's seat belt buckle
***8226; Valid key
***8226; Terminal R
***8226; Clutch operated.

Preheating is activated after terminal 15 has been switched on. The heater system indicator in the instrument cluster is activated at a coolant temperature of ***8804; 10°C.

Preheating is finished when:

***8226; The engine speed threshold of 42 rpm is exceeded (starter is operated) or
***8226; the preheating time has elapsed. The preheating time is dependent on the coolant temperature and is defined in a characteristic curve.
(At -20°C it***8217;s only 2.8 seconds, )


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## Enthusiast 456 (Jun 23, 2014)

timf5895 said:


> Thanks for all your help. I bought the car today.


Congratulations! You'll love it.

You will quickly find that the preheating is barely perceptible. Maybe a 2-second delay between pressing the Start button and engine crank. And it will start immediately.

You'll also appreciate the rapid heat, much faster than a gasser.

Burn oil!


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## edycol (Jul 8, 2015)

Enthusiast 456 said:


> Congratulations! You'll love it.
> 
> You will quickly find that the preheating is barely perceptible. Maybe a 2-second delay between pressing the Start button and engine crank. And it will start immediately.
> 
> ...


Rapid heat is because BMW diesels have electric heater. Otherwise you would freeze your ass in diesel.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## Doug Huffman (Apr 25, 2015)

+1


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## timf5895 (Nov 8, 2017)

How do I get rid of this? I bought the car from a Nissan dealer. They say they changed oil, filter, and air filter. Sorry about the pic being sideways.


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## Doug Huffman (Apr 25, 2015)

timf5895 said:


> How do I get rid of this? I bought the car from a Nissan dealer. They say they changed oil, filter, and air filter. Sorry about the pic being sideways.


for mine; on iDrive


> 1."Vehicle Info"
> 2."Vehicle status"
> 3."Service required"
> 4. "§ Vehicle inspection"
> ...


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## timf5895 (Nov 8, 2017)

Thank you.


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## BMWE84E71 (Jun 26, 2014)

To reset your service indicator, I believe you can follow the following steps. I maybe wrong, so someone else can chime in. There’re videos on YouTube. If you have iDrive, follow Doug’s post above.

1. Push start/stop without holding the brake. Not to start the engine.
2. Hold down the trip reset button till different available reset options display.
3. Cycle through to the maintenance you want to reset by pushing the button quickly.
4. Once you have the maintenance you want to reset displayed, hold down the trip reset button until it’s reset.

However, I would question if the Nissan dealer did or changed the items correctly without resetting it before selling it. 
I’ve read others got their oil changed at service centers that doesn’t know BMW and caused issues by using the wrong oil or filter. BMW reset the service interval between 12k to 16k miles, so if Nissan used regular oil and by the time your indicator shows up next time, it would be too late.
My suggestion is to go to the dealer or some Indy that specializes in BMW and have them redo all the fluids.

Just my recommendation and something I would do. You decide if it’s worth it. Keep in mind my opinion is only worth how much I got paid.


Sent from my iPhone using Bimmerfest


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## timf5895 (Nov 8, 2017)

I’m a little concerned about them using the correct oil also. I think I’ll change it myself next week. Thanks


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## n1das (Jul 22, 2013)

Doug Huffman said:


> Pre-glow is concealed. I'll see if I can find the description.
> 
> Preheating and start standby heating are activated as so-called concealed heating up to a coolant temperature of 30°C.
> Concealed heating is triggered a maximum of 4 times and is then not enabled again before the engine is restarted.
> ...


I recorded the videos before I was aware of concealed preglow in BMW diesels. BMW has made the whole process so transparent to the driver that newbie diesel owners don't need to worry about it. The end result is they start better than most gassers do in the bitter cold.

The absolute coldest part of the winter is when I most look forward to driving my BMW diesels. They love running in the dense cold artic air. Dense cold air means more O2 available for combustion which means more fuel can be injected to make more power. Turbocharged engines whether gasoline or diesel love running in cold air!


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## edycol (Jul 8, 2015)

timf5895 said:


> I'm a little concerned about them using the correct oil also. I think I'll change it myself next week. Thanks


Use Mobil1 5W30 ESP. 
It has best performance numbers of all LL04 oils and lowest ash levels.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## FredoinSF (Nov 29, 2009)

n1das said:


> 2014 535d -10F cold start:
> https://youtu.be/h4yh5aLwB8k
> 
> 2012 X5 35d -12F cold start:
> ...


I love this on so many levels, not the least of which is that whenever one of my friends or the SO gives me 'merde' about being obsessed over my cars, I can pull these videos out and say "Look, there's a dude who was up at 3 and 4am on Valentine's day and went outside to take vids of his BMW's starting in 10 below weather." Thank you.

The cold starts are pretty cool.

Sent from my iPad using Bimmerfest mobile app


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## ard (Jul 1, 2009)

timf5895 said:


> I'm a little concerned about them using the correct oil also. I think I'll change it myself next week. Thanks


Glad you realized this.

Ive been running the BMW 5w30ESP as well

$108 a case shipped via amazon, last time I bought 3 cases.


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## n1das (Jul 22, 2013)

FredoinSF said:


> I love this on so many levels, not the least of which is that whenever one of my friends or the SO gives me ***8216;merde***8217; about being obsessed over my cars, I can pull these videos out and say ***8220;Look, there***8217;s a dude who was up at 3 and 4am on Valentine***8217;s day and went outside to take vids of his BMW***8217;s starting in 10 below weather.***8221; Thank you.
> 
> The cold starts are pretty cool.
> 
> Sent from my iPad using Bimmerfest mobile app


That was a record cold snap on Valentine's day that year so I planned ahead for it to test my car's cold start ability. I entered the videos in the IDparts.com Cold Start Challenge. My *535d *happened to be already parked for a week and a half while my *X5 35d* was my daily driver during the worst parts of the winter. The *X5 35d* also had plenty of time to soak in the cold. It was on a weekend and I was already up late that night in the middle of rewiring my basement. I took time out from the electrical rewiring project in the wee hours of the morning as planned to do the cold start tests.

BMW diesels start better than most gassers do in the bitter cold. :thumbup:


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## Doug Huffman (Apr 25, 2015)

And a big bump for IDparts.com, my parts source since 2000.


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