# Potential new 335d owner - have some questions



## mysticalice (Oct 21, 2013)

-- I initially posted this in the wrong forum, so i'm resposting it here -- 


Hi
Let me start out by saying I'm very, very new to BMWs. My guitar teacher back in high school swore by them, and had several 80s models which he claimed would never break. I'm a big fan of German engineering, and have a lot of respect for them. 
My history, however, has been with Cadillacs. I've owned several CTS-Vs (both stock and modded), and while I've had plenty of fun destroying M3s and M5s over the years, I sold my last CTS-V a few months ago. They are also outstanding cars, although if I had to criticize one thing, it would be the quality is not quite german-level yet. Perhaps in a few years. For the 7+ years I owned CTS-Vs I was an active and contributing member to the community, an I intend on doing the same here 

Anyway, I'm getting older, have a wife and a house now, and currently driving a Camry, which is killing me. My CTS-Vs were always weekend drivers, but I'm trying to find a compromise - a car that's comfortable, classy, and gets good (great?) gas mileage, all in one. 

To my understanding, from the little research I've done, the 335D is that car. 

My commute is generally 50% city 50% highway, BUT I frequently take road trips of 250-300 miles (at least once or twice a month).

Just wanted to get everyone's take and opinion on the 335D. Sounds like an outstanding car. A few concerns/questions:
1) I know nothing about diesel other than that everyone in Europe drives diesel cars. I know you have to fill the 'urea' periodically? How does that work, how hard is it to do, how much does it cost, etc?
2) Any other maintenance issues that I have to worry about having a diesel vs a gasoline engine?
3) As far as tuning - this is going to be a daily driver, but I'm a big advocate of doing light tunes to improve throttle response, gas mileage, and so forth. Are there options out there? What kind of HP/TQ/city-mpg/hwy-mpg could I expect, and for what price tag? 
4) Anything else you think I should know? Long term and short term maintenance costs, etc?

Thanks guys - I'm looking forward to being a member of the community


----------



## Flyingman (Sep 13, 2009)

Mysticalice or shall we just call you Alice????:rofl:

Welcome to the Diesel Forum. I know you will find all of your answers within this forum and with this group.

Couple of things about Diesels:

1. High Torque, Low RPM, so gearing is completely different than a gasser. With Bi-Turbo you are gonna love this car.
2. Diesel definitely gives you greater MPG, suggest you do a reality check at www.fuelly.com and register yourself there while at it. Great site to keep track of your fill ups and see what others are getting mpg wise. I have mine attached to my signature below, so you can see my rock solid 29.4mpg over a four (4) year 60k mile period.
3. As for mods, I am a bit averse to these but there are plenty of folks on here that do them. I think I've seen some 4 or 5 different versions from JBD (Plug and Play piggtback) to DTUK and others that require a remap of your ECU. Some are happy, others not so much. I get plenty of get up and go stock!:thumbup:
4. The DEF (Urea) is really simple, it can be purchased most any auto shop or truck stop. Our cars are not that easily set up to actually fill, so you may have to read some of the posts and maybe check youtube. We have two (2) tanks, an active and a passive one. Be sure you fill both. I'm still under the extended warranty/maintenance so it's the dealers job still.
5. These cars like to be driven. If you idle around and drive lots of short stop and go, the intake system may get clooged up due to the carbon recirc from the EGR. A number of folks have complained, some with rather terrible stories. Most of us have not had an issue. Read about it.

Post some pictures when you get a chance, and we'll see you around the site.:thumbup:


----------



## F32Fleet (Jul 14, 2010)

#1 German "quality" is marketing. It doesn't exist. Once you accept that then owning a german car is easier. 
#2 A BMW does not fair well when it comes to deferred maintenance. 
#3 The 335d is really at home on the highway. It's not a city car and IMO those cars which have spent most of their life as such have more drivability issues at 50k+ miles.

#4 The only real issue that seems prevalent is carbon build up within the intake runners inside the head which is sometimes accompanied with an injector/DDE problem. Some have had problems with the transfer pump between the active and passive Urea tanks. I just had my tank replaced due to an intermittent (2-3 mo) SES.


----------



## Axel61 (Mar 10, 2011)

Get a a 335d and you may never go back to gassers. The main achilles tendon for these cars is the emissions sytem which has not yet been decifered as we would want it after 3 yrs in the US market , issues with Urea pump/tank, DPF, EGR, SCR issues are common, since you live in texas then you may be able to bypass all of these and i have the right guy from Poland that will do it for a good price, that said, if you tend to mod, a piggyback ala JBD is ok and cheapest if you want a flash then RENNtech, Evolve and others are the way but expensive, if you want a better IC then WAGNER IC, Cx Racing and i believe someone else came up with one just not long ago. the car is excellent and you will reap on an average og 36-44 mpg depending on your driving lead foot, again, these numbers will be reached with the above mods mentioned above, yes you can get 36 mpg if you keep yourself below 70 mph. i hope this info as well as the others will make you a proud and future owner of a "D"


----------



## mysticalice (Oct 21, 2013)

BMWTurboDzl said:


> #1 German "quality" is marketing. It doesn't exist. Once you accept that then owning a german car is easier.


I appreciate the response, but just want to express my disagreement and comment on the above.

I'm not a stranger to domestic cars - I've owned the top of the line domestics (many Cadillacs, Corvette ZR1, etc), and the interior fit and finish (read: Quality) does not compare to even lower end imported cars (that I have also owned). The materials used are sub-par, they develop squeaks, rattles, and other noises after just a few thousand miles, and so forth.


----------



## F32Fleet (Jul 14, 2010)

mysticalice said:


> I appreciate the response, but just want to express my disagreement and comment on the above.
> 
> I'm not a stranger to domestic cars - I've owned the top of the line domestics (many Cadillacs, Corvette ZR1, etc), and the interior fit and finish (read: Quality) does not compare to even lower end imported cars (that I have also owned). The materials used are sub-par, they develop squeaks, rattles, and other noises after just a few thousand miles, and so forth.


I'm speaking from a mechanical perspective. BMW has a history of engine related design problems that GM really doesn't have. IIRC the engine used in the Corvette/Caddy is rock solid. Fit and finish I agree with you.


----------



## mysticalice (Oct 21, 2013)

BMWTurboDzl said:


> I'm speaking from a mechanical perspective. BMW has a history of engine related design problems that GM really doesn't have. IIRC the engine used in the Corvette/Caddy is rock solid. Fit and finish I agree with you.


Ah yes, in that case we're both on the same page. I agree drive-train related, GM has it down - their engines and transmissions are tried and true. My 'quality' comment was more related to the interior, which is something I think every (realistic) domestic car driver acknowledges is a problem.


----------



## mysticalice (Oct 21, 2013)

It's interesting how so many (here and other forums) have mentioned how well the 335d performs on the highway, but seems to have problems in the city. To be honest, it's going to be about a 50/50 split for me. A good 200 miles a week (for probably 6-7 hours weekly) are going to be spent in bumper to bumper traffic, rarely going above 35mph.

Do you think perhaps this is not the right car considering my situation?


----------



## Axel61 (Mar 10, 2011)

Mystic I live in Puerto Rico and I hv had my car for two yrs and I don't regret it


----------



## F32Fleet (Jul 14, 2010)

mysticalice said:


> It's interesting how so many (here and other forums) have mentioned how well the 335d performs on the highway, but seems to have problems in the city. To be honest, it's going to be about a 50/50 split for me. A good 200 miles a week (for probably 6-7 hours weekly) are going to be spent in bumper to bumper traffic, rarely going above 35mph.
> 
> Do you think perhaps this is not the right car considering my situation?


Perhaps a 4 cylinder diesel would be more appropriate? If you're inclined to drive a diesel.


----------



## mysticalice (Oct 21, 2013)

I'm looking for a car that gets good mileage, more on the 'luxury' end


----------



## White D (May 18, 2013)

This is the car for you! I came from a Pontiac G8 GT - 6.0L.
I was wanting similar performance with much better MPGs. And I got exactly that. Granted my G8 is no CTS-V, but still a very fast car.
I have the sport package on my 335d, which consists mainly of better handling suspension, staggered better looking wheels, much better side bolstered seats, and a better steering wheel. This was must have for me.
As far as performance I have the JBD tuner and with that my car a slightly slower than my old G8. 
The drive-ability of the car is better with the JBD, takes away what little turbo lag there is, and pumps up the power. But, MPGs are not affected if you keep a light foot.
The power is deceiving in a diesel, it comes on much more smooth, and seems to last longer. Where a gas just hits hard.

If doing a lot of city driving just be sure to do a hard acceleration once in a while.


----------



## Flyingman (Sep 13, 2009)

BMWTurboDzl said:


> I'm speaking from a mechanical perspective. BMW has a history of engine related design problems that GM really doesn't have. IIRC the engine used in the Corvette/Caddy is rock solid. Fit and finish I agree with you.


Hmmm, I'm having a rather hard time envisioning the fantastic time my father had with those GM Diesels from the late 70's/early 80's.:tsk:


----------



## Flyingman (Sep 13, 2009)

mysticalice said:


> It's interesting how so many (here and other forums) have mentioned how well the 335d performs on the highway, but seems to have problems in the city. To be honest, it's going to be about a 50/50 split for me. A good 200 miles a week (for probably 6-7 hours weekly) are going to be spent in bumper to bumper traffic, rarely going above 35mph.
> 
> Do you think perhaps this is not the right car considering my situation?


That is about what my daily commute is. Bumper to bumper downtown and part of the I-95, then it's a race home on I-75. As long as you get to open it up once in a while you should be fine.


----------



## nuclearbeef (Dec 19, 2012)

We had a 1984 diesel Chevy Suburban while I was growing up.

My dad still hates diesels. Thinks I'm an idiot for buying them.


----------



## 3ismagic# (Mar 17, 2011)

Funny how one's idiosyncratic experience can creat such strong opinions. 

My FIL had a diesel rabbit and still has super positive feelings towards it and diesels in general.


Sent from BimmerApp mobile app


----------



## mysticalice (Oct 21, 2013)

So sounds like the horror stories about these cars and their emission systems / injectors are just a few people, and far from being an everyday problem, right?


----------



## Penguin (Aug 31, 2003)

mysticalice said:


> So sounds like the horror stories about these cars and their emission systems / injectors are just a few people, and far from being an everyday problem, right?


Only BMW knows for sure, and they ain't talking.

It is true that the scope of problems tends to be exaggerated on the internet, because people tend to post when they have problems and be silent when all is well. However, without an unbiased sample of sufficient size, you can't conclude it is far from being a significant problem.

As for me, no major problems with my X5 diesel injectors/emissions systems other than a need to replace two NOx sensors under warranty. Out of warranty that would have been in the ball park of a $1,000 bill was the NOx sensors were $381 each and there was also labor to clean the SCR fluid nozzle to confirm it was the sensors, and the installation and testing.

Most auto manufacturers consider that they have a major problem if 5% of the customers experience a particular failure; however, even at a 5% failure rate, 19 out of 20 customers do not experience it.


----------



## montr (Oct 7, 2006)

mysticalice said:


> So sounds like the horror stories about these cars and their emission systems / injectors are just a few people, and far from being an everyday problem, right?


It appears the 335d has more problems than the X5d. The SA and manager of service department told me that the 335d had recurring problems with the injectors. They also told me that they are starting to replace the DPF (I did not get this one yet). Few months ago, they replaced all 6 injectors on my 335d. This was just after they did the same on another 335d.

BMW NA is the only one that can provide statistics of problems on the diesel engines. I know from the traffic on this forum and other forums, there are many of us experiencing the same symptoms, the same SES codes, the same step with BWM trying to fix the problems.

This remind me, 2 years ago, there was a lot of posting on BMW forums about the 335i high pressure fuel pump. At first, BMW start blaming the NA fuel, nothing wrong with the pump. There were peoples that did not experience the problem themselves, saying that there is no problem there. Eventually, BMW did acknowledge the problem, added a 100K miles warranty on the pump and replaced the failing pumps with a new improved version.


----------



## F32Fleet (Jul 14, 2010)

montr said:


> It appears the 335d has more problems than the X5d. The SA and manager of service department told me that the 335d had recurring problems with the injectors. They also told me that they are starting to replace the DPF (I did not get this one yet). Few months ago, they replaced all 6 injectors on my 335d. This was just after they did the same on another 335d.
> 
> BMW NA is the only one that can provide statistics of problems on the diesel engines. I know from the traffic on this forum and other forums, there are many of us experiencing the same symptoms, the same SES codes, the same step with BWM trying to fix the problems.
> 
> This remind me, 2 years ago, there was a lot of posting on BMW forums about the 335i high pressure fuel pump. At first, BMW start blaming the NA fuel, nothing wrong with the pump. There were peoples that did not experience the problem themselves, saying that there is no problem there. Eventually, BMW did acknowledge the problem, added a 100K miles warranty on the pump and replaced the failing pumps with a new improved version.


There is a lot of double posting between this and the other forums as well.


----------



## floydarogers (Oct 11, 2010)

mysticalice said:


> So sounds like the horror stories about these cars and their emission systems / injectors are just a few people, and far from being an everyday problem, right?





Penguin said:


> Only BMW knows for sure, and they ain't talking.
> 
> It is true that the scope of problems tends to be exaggerated on the internet, because people tend to post when they have problems and be silent when all is well. However, without an unbiased sample of sufficient size, you can't conclude it is far from being a significant problem.
> 
> As for me, no major problems with my X5 diesel injectors/emissions systems other than a need to replace two NOx sensors under warranty...


As several have said, anecdotal evidence is hard to quantify. It sure seems like there might be SOMETHING, but it's hard to decide what the real problem is. One thing about the X5d not being reported as a problem - it's a popular car that I see a lot of women driving, yet I can't really recall many women posting on any of the forums I watch (Nordic Cat excepted). Do they complain to their husband or just not complain?

Also, these cars are really complicated. Getting to the root cause or fault is not an easy thing - witness the widespread complaints about "replacing injectors" when the fault appears to finally be the DDE. There's a reason that protocol exists, and without a complete understanding... Similar symptoms may have differing underlying faults.

I hate fault trees - blew getting a job due to not fully understanding them at the time.


----------

