# Update at 85K miles



## Flyingman (Sep 13, 2009)

I just reached 85k and have had my 335D for 5 1/2 years.

Other than the usual emissions BS, the car has been reliable, never stranded me. All work has been covered under maintenance and/or warranty to date, other than tires and one battery change out.

I did buy both the extended maintenance and the warranty.

I currently have had an SES light on for several months due to a bad glow plug on one cylinder, but here in South Florida not overly concerned so will deal with that at next service.

I just got a low oil level light and am about 4k miles away from my scheduled 13k oil change, so I will top that off with a quart now.

My MPG did appear to drop the last 6 months or so but honestly my commute has also gotten much worse as there is a lot of road construction and delays now, so I will attribute the decline in MPG from around 29.4 mpg to 28.0 mpg to mostly the increased traffic and drive time.

My extended warranty will expire at 6 years this November, so I expect to just get in my last oil change in 4k miles, maybe in 4 months. I think the brake fluid will also come due, but that is about it.

The extended warranty is worth it, the extended maintenance perhaps not so much. Doesnt seem to be that much has to be done to these cars in first 100k. As far as I know I still have the same brake pads.:dunno:

What will I do after 6 years? No clue yet, but hope to stay with the car for a couple more years. Resale value I know is not much, trade in may make best sense if dealer is eager to sell a new car. Just dont have anything in mind I'd want to replace it with.


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## bimmerdiesel (Jul 9, 2010)

I am still an yr away from warranty expiration but as of now I m thinking to get Cbu clean up done just before warranty expiration and get some insurance which will cover powertrain. I want to drive it for another 5 yrs. after 5.5 yrs and 70k miles, car runs like its new.


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## Pierre Louis (Oct 23, 2011)

I'm at 60,000 miles now and without warranty, which is usual for me. Had I purchased every extended warranty on cars and electronics over the past 30 years, it would add up to way North of $20,000 of which I might have used no more than $1000. I take care of my machinery and usually don't have problems until around 120,000 miles, but you never know.

I am still of the opinion that branded fuel is better, especially in things like paraffin content, impurities, filtering, and additives. The station I used a lot at first was a Texaco that mysteriously raised their price for diesel to the going "brand rate" and later changed to an off brand station. The owners, I suspect, didn't buy brand name diesel (and didn't label it as such) which made some carbon-like problems early on but the car is now noticeably smoother with better fuel economy now that I've switched to branded Shell around here. I suspect that its better.

I've had/have a total of 4 direct injection diesels with 156,000, 203,000, 98,000, and now 60,000 miles all fed branded diesel (higher cetane?, better filtering?, better base stock?) with no signs of CBU other than the 335d early on. No cleaning, no other problems so far (knock on wood!). I also use the "downshift hard once in a while" maneuver to hopefully clear any crud out, as my first 3 cars without DPF would get a black plume of smoke the first time I did it in a while.

Hope things work out for everyone here, but I'm not sure about needing to do a "preventive" CBU cleaning at this point. The $3300 that would have gone for an extended warranty should go a ways toward a cleaning or two, but hope to be free of any other problems. You never know.

Cheers.

PL


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## imtjm (Oct 5, 2004)

Flyingman said:


> My MPG did appear to drop the last 6 months or so but honestly my commute has also gotten much worse as there is a lot of road construction and delays now, so I will attribute the decline in MPG from around 29.4 mpg to 28.0 mpg to mostly the increased traffic and drive time.
> 
> My extended warranty will expire at 6 years this November, so I expect to just get in my last oil change in 4k miles, maybe in 4 months. I think the brake fluid will also come due, but that is about it.
> 
> ...


i agree on the extended maint warranty not being worth it. extended warranty, we've found useful. I'm also at 5yr 3mo on mine but with 61k. ext warranty is good for another 1yr 9mo, but maint warranty expr in 9 mo, hoping brakes will need replacement. they've reset the brake three times and keep telling me both rotors and pads are barely worn. they must have been using magic pads and rotors on these things, because i can't get them to wear down fast enough to get a replacement, just like you.

interesting my gas mileage took a hit, too, over the past couple of months, but I blame the cold weather.

i think trade in is probably best option, and that's probably what I will do. M235i convertible is looking nice. good luck.


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## wxmanCCM (Feb 17, 2010)

At 5 years and a little over 80,000 miles.

Have had no problems other than recalls so far. Mileage has stayed quite steady at 34 mpg over a 30% city/70% highway drive cycle.


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## ChasR (Aug 29, 2012)

When I got mad about CBU and injector repairs and looked to trading into a 335i, the dealership offered me $15,500 on the d at 92,000 miles. The salesman said I should figure to lose $0.12/mile after 60,000 miles. I went to Carmax and they offered $15,000.


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## Pierre Louis (Oct 23, 2011)

ChasR said:


> When I got mad about CBU and injector repairs and looked to trading into a 335i, the dealership offered me $15,500 on the d at 92,000 miles. The salesman said I should figure to lose $0.12/mile after 60,000 miles. I went to Carmax and they offered $15,000.


Is that $.12/mile just on costs associated with CBU or resale value?


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## ChasR (Aug 29, 2012)

Resale value.


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## firstbimmer (May 25, 2006)

I like seeing threads like this. (Not the resale part) It reminds me that CBU isn't guaranteed to hit me tomorrow. I am at 3 1/2 years, 75000 miles, only issue is reduced mileage. Now getting closer to 29 mpg 70/30 highway/city. It really is satisfying to drive as a commuter car.


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## Hoooper (Jun 17, 2013)

It's REALLY satisfying with the EGR blocked, JBD, and meth! :angel:


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## Fenstermaker1 (Feb 20, 2015)

Hooper,

Where did you get EGR blocker? Did you need a ECU flash to turn off EGR.


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## Hoooper (Jun 17, 2013)

I made the EGR block. The simplest EGR block for this engine is a steel blank off plate that goes at the inlet of the EGR valve. No tuning necessary, it's s mechanical block off. The check engine light is set when the car starts but I just clear it when I start the car. The couple seconds doing that is time well spent.


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## Fenstermaker1 (Feb 20, 2015)

Thank you. I have had diesel trucks and that has been the first thing I would do.

No way to turn off the light though. Annoying.


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## DozerDan (Dec 18, 2013)

Hoooper said:


> The check engine light is set when the car starts but I just clear it when I start the car. The couple seconds doing that is time well spent.


How do you go about that?


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## Hoooper (Jun 17, 2013)

DozerDan said:


> How do you go about that?


BMS CAN tool I just leave plugged into the obd port and tucked beside the drivers seat. That's about all those are good for in our cars, but one button code reset is pretty convenient


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## Hoooper (Jun 17, 2013)

Fenstermaker1 said:


> Thank you. I have had diesel trucks and that has been the first thing I would do.
> 
> No way to turn off the light though. Annoying.


I don't know about the 535d but you can in the 335d with a tune. I am not doing that because it could make passing smog an issue here in ca. You being in fl don't have smog, check out the diesel forum on e90 post if you want to look into the guys that can do that flash on 335d and ask them about the 535d


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## zach0726 (Oct 23, 2011)

Flyingman, 

Appreciate hearing how your 335d is doing, and glad to hear it. 

I am at 80k miles and fundamentally the car seems very sold. Recently I did have to replace an oil line that feeds the turbo, and a hose between the exhaust system and the engine.

I do a lot of hwy driving and haven't had a check engine light from CBU, averaging 32 mpg combined. I always run branded fuel from "clean" stations - Ex / Shel / Chev 

I have both the powertrain and maintenance thru 100k. So far, neither one has been worth it although if I keep the car, I think I will pay for CBU cleaning b4 the powertrain warranty expires.

Has anyone had luck finding indys to work on the engine and exhaust system? If those folks exist, I'd consider keeping the car super-long--term.


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## Fenstermaker1 (Feb 20, 2015)

This is my first BMW and my fourth diesel vehicle. Why are you all experiencing mpg reductions after 80,000 miles?

This car is new to me, I just signed up, 2014 535d, and my mileage is amazing. 40.5 at steady state 73-74 mph, 47 mpg at 62-65. I am getting 33-35 in city. These are all measured on the computer.

I add a little diesel power service but just started this. Car has 15,000 miles on it.

Thanks for the updates.


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## zach0726 (Oct 23, 2011)

Fenstermaker1 said:


> This is my first BMW and my fourth diesel vehicle. Why are you all experiencing mpg reductions after 80,000 miles?
> 
> This car is new to me, I just signed up, 2014 535d, and my mileage is amazing. 40.5 at steady state 73-74 mph, 47 mpg at 62-65. I am getting 33-35 in city. These are all measured on the computer.
> 
> ...


32mpg combined is a slight reduction for my 335d, but not very much.... maybe 1mpg down, if that.

A common theme seems to be that as carbon builds up, mpg can go down somewhat


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## KeithS (Dec 30, 2001)

Fenstermaker1 said:


> Why are you all experiencing mpg reductions after 80,000 miles?


As already suggested it's carbon build up. When my CBU was cleaned at 53K miles, I was able to again achieve the 42 MPG (ideal conditions) that I had when the car was new.

Also the diesel seems to be more temperature sensitive than gas engines. I figure about a 1 MPG drop for every 10 degree drop in ambient temp.


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## floydarogers (Oct 11, 2010)

Fenstermaker1 said:


> This is my first BMW and my fourth diesel vehicle. Why are you all experiencing mpg reductions after 80,000 miles?
> 
> This car is new to me, I just signed up, 2014 535d, and my mileage is amazing. 40.5 at steady state 73-74 mph, 47 mpg at 62-65. I am getting 33-35 in city. These are all measured on the computer.
> 
> I add a little diesel power service but just started this. Car has 15,000 miles on it.


Just so you know, your car has the N57 engine (335d had M57), and is sold as the 530d in the rest of the world - it's a little de-tuned from the "true" 35d sold in the rest of the world. That newer engine is almost as powerful as the M57, but because of the lower tune gets better mileage. The 5-series gets better highway mileage than the 3-series anyway, because of better aerodynamics (longer car.)

I haven't had a chance to check lately, but my 335d seems to be getting the same mileage as after it got broken in (10K-15K). But it's never had any CBU symptoms and is now at 91.5K. :thumbup:


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## KeithS (Dec 30, 2001)

> The 5-series gets better highway mileage than the 3-series anyway, because of better aerodynamics (longer car.)


The 8 speed vs 6 speed in the 335D helps as well.


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## Fenstermaker1 (Feb 20, 2015)

I think that 8 speed is probably a big reason. I didn't know or think of this. 
I am getting ready to add Racechip piggyback. Hopefully, get German power and a little more efficiency. 

One more question, is it a BMW trade secret as to how many quarts of oil this thing holds? I can't find it anywhere.


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## KeithS (Dec 30, 2001)

Fenstermaker1 said:


> One more question, is it a BMW trade secret as to how many quarts of oil this thing holds? I can't find it anywhere.


My M57 engine takes 8 quarts (including filter change). Does yours still have a dipstick (the 335D does) or are they gone on the 535D?


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## Fenstermaker1 (Feb 20, 2015)

I have a dipstick. Up on drivers side near back of engine.


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## totitan (May 11, 2013)

74K and no issues with my car. It does get driven 70 freeway miles per day with a 7% 3 mile long grade on the return trip so it probably gets worked a little harder than most. I change the oil at 7K and use a bit of wurth injector cleaner with every fill up. Still averages 34 mpg with my wife driving.....somewhat less when I drive it ;p


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