# 1st time diesel owner



## Jkiteboardah (Oct 7, 2013)

Hello everyone! Just got the VIN for a 535d and a ED next month! This is my 1st diesel and I am wondering if there are any tips from the wealth of knowledge found on this forum? I live in Germany (535d is US spec as I will be returning to the States next summer). I am wondering if there's anything I need to know about cold weather operation of diesel engines. I am fortunate to have an underground garage to park the car at night but is there a requirement to let the engine warm up (before hitting the autobahn on the way to work on those cold German mornings)?

Also a side note I am considering WeatherTech fitted floor mats for the front/rear/trunk. The custom fit seems pretty nice. Any recommendations?

I look forward to learning more about this BMW from all the experience on these forums!


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## rmorin49 (Jan 7, 2007)

Envious that you will be able to drive you d on the Autobahn for more than just a week or two. Don't baby the car once it is broken in. The diesels love to be driven, not babied. No idea of the quality of diesel fuel in Germany but here in the states some of the problems are being blamed on poor fuel, especially some of the biodiesel. If you can avoid biodiesel I would. Otherwise, enjoy your oil burner. I lived in Germany for 3 years and it was probably the best 3 years of my Army career, perhaps my life. Try to go back at least every couple of years to remind myself how nice it is to drive where most of the drivers actually know how to drive and stay to the RIGHT except when overtaking.


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## Jkiteboardah (Oct 7, 2013)

The way people drive in Germany was one of the first things I noticed when I moved across the pond (thank you USAF) and it is quite nice that people actually use the left lane for passing. Nothing like doing 100+ (legally) then getting smoked by a station wagon. I'm not aware of any biodiesel in Europe but I will avoid it. I will see what BMW has to say about the break-in period. I've seen on this forum anywhere from 1200-5k miles for diesel engines.


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## glangford (Dec 11, 2013)

Jkiteboardah said:


> The way people drive in Germany was one of the first things I noticed when I moved across the pond (thank you USAF) and it is quite nice that people actually use the left lane for passing. Nothing like doing 100+ (legally) then getting smoked by a station wagon. I'm not aware of any biodiesel in Europe but I will avoid it. I will see what BMW has to say about the break-in period. I've seen on this forum anywhere from 1200-5k miles for diesel engines.


I don't know about the 535d but on the 328d they say to keep rpms below 3500 for 1500 miles. That's fine for a diesel, most of the torque is down there. Some say drive it hard, some say follow manufacturer's recommendation. I chose the later.

As far as weathertech, you can get the bmw version as well. Made by weathertech.


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## d geek (Nov 26, 2008)

Jkite-
Thanks for your service and congrats on the car :thumbup:
All fuel available at commercial pumps in Germany will be as good as the best fuel available to us over here. I believe the fuel cap on your car will state something like "limited to B7" (7% biodiesel content). I would not hesitate to run that with German fuel.
As for warming up the car, just start it up and drive. Take it easy until the temp gauge shows that its reached normal operating level. Enjoy that fine auto with all that torque! The only time you need be concerned about cooling down is right after a high speed run. If you pull off the Autobahn to enter a Raststätte, let the car idle 30 sec or so to allow the oil at the turbo to cool a bit before shutting down.


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## F32Fleet (Jul 14, 2010)

Germans should be very strict with regards to bio diesel and fuel quality. Just enjoy the car and don't worry about doing anything special.


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## piredon (Aug 12, 2013)

The manual recommends staying under 3500 rpm, no WOT, and speed under 100 mph for the first 1200 miles. Just what you want to hear when the autobahn beckons, right?


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## luigi524td (Apr 4, 2005)

Aside from engine there are other things that benefit from adherence to the break in recommendations - brakes (pads and discs) & tires are two. Avoid long running at the same speed/rpm. Gentle but quick (not break neck) acceleration will make your new diesel happy but avoid any panic stops that might heat abuse your brakes. Keep a check on fluids ... cars have been known to leave a dealership / VDC with issues; it's rare but better that you're not the victim!


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## Jkiteboardah (Oct 7, 2013)

Just got done picking up my 535d M-Sport at the Welt. I only test drove a 2013 528i no line prior to picking this up and wow what a difference! The ED was quite the experience - class act by BMW for sure. I just spent the last few hours driving home and if I could sum up the car it would be "effortless". I will post a more in depth review and pics later.

LOVE THAT CAR!


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## finnbmw (Jul 6, 2008)

Looking good, congratulations! Thank you for your service!


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## GreekboyD (Jan 25, 2012)

Congrats man! Keep this topic going with your updates. :beerchug: :bigpimp:


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## Flyingman (Sep 13, 2009)

It is always a good idea to give any oil lubricated machine a few minutes to warm up.

I live in South Florida so when I pull out of my garage the car is already at 75 degs or so!

My drive is through the neighbourhood and main blvd which is max speed of 40mph for maybe 5 miles or so, so about 10 minutes, then it's the I-75 on ramp and let er rip.:thumbup:

In your colder environ I would recommend some 15 minutes or so of moderate engine load before cranking it up. If you have access to your cars cooling water temp that would be the best indicator if she's warmed up or not.

I haven't heard of anyone using block heaters on these cars, maybe a few of you poor Canooks can pipe in!:rofl:

p.s. I got hooked on diesel when I took a VW Jetta TDI Wagon taxi from Munich to Augsburg. The car was doing about 240kmh and not even breathing hard. I didn't realize it was a diesel until halfway to my destination and I asked the driver. The car was about 4-6 months old and already had something rediculous like 160k kms on it. It was driven by two drivers that regularly made the run from Augsburg to Munich and back every day, multiple times a day. Maybe somebody can do the math on that?


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## GreekboyD (Jan 25, 2012)

Flyingman said:


> It is always a good idea to give any oil lubricated machine a few minutes to warm up.
> 
> I live in South Florida so when I pull out of my garage the car is already at 75 degs or so!
> 
> ...


It was -23.5 degrees Celsius here (-10 degrees F) on January 3rd and mine started very easily without being plugged in. Even my 2006 Jetta TDI that I owned before my D never had any issues.:bigpimp:


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## TopDog5450 (Feb 11, 2011)

*The 335D and B5*



d geek said:


> Jkite-
> Thanks for your service and congrats on the car :thumbup:
> All fuel available at commercial pumps in Germany will be as good as the best fuel available to us over here. I believe the fuel cap on your car will state something like "limited to B7" (7% biodiesel content). I would not hesitate to run that with German fuel.
> As for warming up the car, just start it up and drive. Take it easy until the temp gauge shows that its reached normal operating level. Enjoy that fine auto with all that torque! The only time you need be concerned about cooling down is right after a high speed run. If you pull off the Autobahn to enter a Raststätte, let the car idle 30 sec or so to allow the oil at the turbo to cool a bit before shutting down.


Good advice. Nothing wrong with running B5 biodiesel in a 335D. I fill the tank with B5 once every six months with no problems and drive the car *hard* like it was built to drive. This is not a car for wimps in my opinion.

Regarding a high-speed run, I sometimes hear the fan after shutting of the engine. It may last for several minutes before it automatically turns off. Next time I will try your suggestion to let the 335D idle for 30 seconds or more to allow the turbo to cool down.


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## BB_cuda (Nov 8, 2011)

When the fan is running for several minutes after shutdown, the engine was in the middle of a DPF regeneration. The engine bay gets pretty hot from this burn out cycle. I normally park my D in tha garage and open hood when this is going on to more rapidly cool off the turbos and rest of engine bay. It makes a little bit of a burnt caramel smell someone here once described. Enjoy your 5 series, I can't afford to switch up to this but would like the bigger back seat and trunk in comparison to my 335D.


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## kitw (Apr 5, 2007)

Nice! I have a space grey 2014 535d. I bought the BMW factory trunk mat, it's very nice, fitted and cheaper than the Weathertech. I haven't decided what to do about all weather mats, the BMW ones are cheaper, but the weathertech have better coverage.


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## Jkiteboardah (Oct 7, 2013)

I have the weathertech ones and they do fit like a glove with great coverage for the front seats. the rear set only covers the floor and does not provide protection for the hump in the middle.


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## carbonblacke60 (Mar 1, 2014)

Hi I drive a 525d e60 in the uk. It's the 3.0 l 6 cylinder 24v and the only advice I would give is avoid short journeys of less than 5k and once you start the engine drive off, diesils hate sitting still! You can't thrash the motor so don't overprotect it after the first 5000k. Enjoy 


Sent from BimmerApp mobile app


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## Jkiteboardah (Oct 7, 2013)

Just a quick update. I have about 6k miles on the car and every time I get in the car it puts a smile on my face. I'm really loving the torquey diesel and I think it was a great choice (not to mention avg around 32 mpg). It feels like a tank going down the autobahn and thats a great feeling. Very isolated as well. While topping it out at 130 mph (all season tires) it really doesn't seem that fast (I'm pretty convinced the germans paint the middle dashed lines further apart than the ones in the U.S.) I just got my car coded yesterday and I am looking forward to checking out the Euro-style Adaptive LEDs on a dark road soon. I have not experienced the DPF regeneration yet so I can't comment on that. If it wasn't for the torque/sound of the engine/mpg I really don't notice its a diesel. I really hope these catch on in the U.S. Such a great car!


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## piredon (Aug 12, 2013)

I've noticed DPF regen is less noticable in my 535d than it was in my X5 35d. I'm sure it's happened in your car, but you probably had no idea it was happening. The only giveaway is a burning oil/plastic kind of smell, which is only noticable when stopped.


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## Mbrown328dx (Mar 22, 2014)

Thanks for the nice reads from everyone. New to BMW


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