Partial apology for necro-posting in this thread, but my alibi is that a year and 25k of driving a 335d gives some perspective on some of the questions that were being kicked around years ago.

The car is great to drive, the sales credits for the last year and a half make the car cheaper than a gasser 335, the torque is insane (425+ ft-lbs) and the mileage is fantastic for a 5.8s 0-60 car (40-42 hwy, 28-30 city). DEF (diesel exhaust fluid, a.k.a. urea) is $12 for a two gal jug at Flying J (if you ever need it outside the normal servicing), and all servicing is included for 4/80k.

In the year and 26,000km, I have taken the car in exactly once (at 20,000km) to get its annual servicing (oil, filters, DEF flush/fill, etc...)

Waiting to see how the tuning folks are doing, but there are already some 300+hp/500+ft-lb boxes available now. Even stock at 265/425, the big six (well, only 0.2 L bigger than my Libby) is intoxicating to drive. The car pulls like a freight train to...well, what ever the road and law will safely allow.

Overall a great experience. Not for everybody, but right for many, and sales are picking up for both the 335d and the X5d - in fact, the diesel outsold the gas 335's twice in monthly sale in 2010.

2 more ¢

Cheers
Duey

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2K9 Space Grey 335d Sport
2K1 Galaxy Blue Jetta TDI 5-sp

Thanks for posting your review! I've done some dreaming about both the 335d and the X5. Glad to hear the BMW is working well for you.

Have you used the truck stop urea bottles? Are they compatible with the opening of the urea tank on the BMW? Is BMW OK with customers adding generic urea to tank?

A coworker of mine has a new Mercedes diesel and he's a bit shocked to see what they charge for the urea tank maintenance. They are claiming they need to drain/clean the tank instead of just adding urea. And they are also telling him it requires the special Mercedes urea as it has some special additives in it. Not sure if BMW is claiming the same thing.

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2006 Jeep Liberty Limited CRD
GDE Turbo Kit and TCM, European Torque Converter, Lift Pump, V6 Air Box, Magnaflow Muffler, Stanadyne FM100 2um Fuel Filter
2011 BMW 335d
2004 Dodge Ram Cummins, lots-o-mods
1990 YJ Repowered with 06 Cummins B3.3T
2005 Kubota BX1500

I was following a gent in a maroon 335d on my way back from Houston the July 4th weekend in my TDI wagon. I can't help but wonder about the long term reliability of the vehicle once past 100k miles. It's a horrendously complex engine system, as are the newest TDI's. My '02 TDI has been pretty much bulletproof so far at 160k, the '05 CRD much less so at 80K.

I'd buy a 335d in a heartbeat if I could get a wagon. I'd be lost without the cargo space - hence why I bought a '10 Outback for the wife. Not bad with the 2.5 and CVT getting 30mpg, but Subaru has a diesel version available overseas that would be sweet.

Chris

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'02 Jetta TDI Wagon 5 spd (mine)
'10 Outback (her's)
'05 CRD Sport (hangar queen)

Good to see people interested in the 335d> As for tuning, look in Europe for tuners, there are tons of them. Look for anything that is TuV approved, this certification is tightly regulated, unlike here in the US. Up until the 330 came out the only other faster 3 Series was the M3. I have seen many a 335d in Germany hauling on the autobahn.

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No longer a CRD or Jeep owner. Selling everything I have, needs to go as I need the room for a project.

Too bad you can only get the automatic tranny - I'd love a 6-speed manual (and the wagon version). I'm sure most of the European drivers aren't driving slushboxes.

On the flipside, I've not heard a lot of bad things about recent BMW auto-boxes, and I do know that the performance/fuel mileage penalty is rapidly disappearing compared to manuals.

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'02 Jetta TDI Wagon 5 spd (mine)
'10 Outback (her's)
'05 CRD Sport (hangar queen)

Don't forget AWD as well. I think the X5 and 5 and 7 have a 4.0l TD as well.

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No longer a CRD or Jeep owner. Selling everything I have, needs to go as I need the room for a project.

I was looking at diesels at the dealership. No AWD in sedan diesels, only SUV. I would have been interested in replacing my Volvo AWD, but RWD is useless in winter here. Yes, I know that you can drive a RWD car in winter (all use old guys did), but why should you?

I love the idea and wow what a car that surely would be. I used to say if I ever won a huge lottery jackpot I would go to Germany and bring back a BMW..... A 335d would sure be the right one. it would make one Hell of a summer car!!!!

I was in traffic last week next to an X5d. you could tell it was a diesel but it sounded different and quieter than my CRD.

I have heard about the subaru boxer diesel. I understand it is sold overseas in the Legacy, Outback and Forester. I had several subies and still like them. For camping and biking a forester would be good but the gassers they sell in the states can't tow much more than a tiny popup and I have been looking to have a camper in the future. A boxer diesel Forester is rated to tow with in my expected needs but can't be had here. so I have and have grown to love my CRD.

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2006 Liberty CRD Limited Deep Beryl Green Metallic Clear coat, Fumoto valve, MH ProVent (removed), GDE Eco tune,
OME 790/948 springs, OME struts, OME N132L shocks, Jeepin by Al A-arms, Hercules Terra Trac AT2 245/75R16
Weeks Stage 1 EGR delete, 5 volt steel glow plugs

I have a small 16 oz bottle of DEF I got from the dealer as the connector to the 335d's filler is different than the standard filler that Class-8 rigs use (that is on the 2 gal jug). No matter what shop filled your vehicle's DEF tank, you'd be paying at least whatever the shop rate is...it's dead simple to fill, so why not do it yourself? An out-of-cycle fill would cost you the same as a premium case of beer. I haven't needed to top mine up yet, so I just have the small bottle primarily for the filler cap, if I ever need it. I did see one story about a $200+ Ad Blue fill for a Merc a while ago, but the odd thing was, the guy was doing his own oil changes inside the free-maintenance period, yet complained when he then took his car in for the AdBlue service? Doesn't make sense to me? why not do the DEF if you do your oil/filters anyway? When the dealer does a servicing (12,000mi/20,000km) they do flush both the active (heated) and passive DEF tanks, and refill with fresh fluid. The DEF is the same product, no matter the name/brand...it's 32.5% urea and distilled water...that's it.

Chris, the M57Y motor (a US-Cdn variant of the European-spec M57D30T2, downtune from 286hp to 265hp, torque is the same 425 ft/lbs either side of the Atlantic) is the end-product of a twelve year run of that engine...it is a very mature design, and as others have noted, it's hard to go wrong with a "big" in-line diesel putting out 88-95 hp/L for as long as this one has.

Ah yes, the old "I'd only get it if it had a manual transmission" argument...well, even the Euro/non-NA folks can only get an auto in the 335d -- there is no manual transmission that can handle the torque of the motor that would still fit within the form factor of the 335d's transmission tunnel. That said, the ZF6HP28 is a very nice transmission...same as the Jag XF 3.0 Diesel, and the same as used in V12 550i's and 750i's, and it's no "slush-box"! I've been a dedicated "rower" in the past, and the Liberty was actually one of my first automatics, but to be honest, I don't miss not having a manual in this car at all. The torque band is so wide, and the programming of the transmission, either in standard Drive or steptronic DriveSport, is excellent. Always in the right gear to launch the car forward when I hit the rumble pedal. BMW may put a manual in the next series of 3 diesels (F30), but that's unknown for sure at this time.

Since I grew up driving RWD in the winter, I have no issue with the 335d not coming with X-Drive. I have a set of winter rims/tires and have driven the car in weather down to low -20'sC (-teens/20 F) and inches of snow on the road...the 50/50 weight distribution makes for a nice driving car, without an additional couple of hundred pounds for the AWD.

Cheers
Duey

(pics of the 335d)
(Engine start and idle)
(Driving around (manual sport mode))

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2K9 Space Grey 335d Sport
2K1 Galaxy Blue Jetta TDI 5-sp

Interesting. Thanks.

My coworkers Merc dealer was quoting about $200 for the Adblue service. And he was told the Merc Adblue supposedly contains an antifreeze additivie? First I had heard of that. That $200 service would sure make the BMWs more attractive due to their covered maintenance for the first 4 yrs. Do you know what they would charge after the coverage period?

Does anyone know why they need to flush the tank(s) during regular maintenance? Is it because the urea solution attracts water over time? Or does it breakdown and form some molecular compounds that need to be removed?

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2006 Jeep Liberty Limited CRD
GDE Turbo Kit and TCM, European Torque Converter, Lift Pump, V6 Air Box, Magnaflow Muffler, Stanadyne FM100 2um Fuel Filter
2011 BMW 335d
2004 Dodge Ram Cummins, lots-o-mods
1990 YJ Repowered with 06 Cummins B3.3T
2005 Kubota BX1500

I would be a fan of a 330dx 6spd. I am a huge fan of the R8 TDI.

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No longer a CRD or Jeep owner. Selling everything I have, needs to go as I need the room for a project.

TDIwyse, the DEF is only flushed fully on the annual servicing. DEF is acknowledged as having approximately a year-long shelf life before the urea starts to breakdown. I'll ask the dealer how much an out-of-maintenance DEF servicing (full servicing, flush and fresh fill) would be next time I'm at the dealer, which at my current driving rate will be next spring on the annual servicing. If I need a top up before then I'll spring the $12 or so bucks and grab a jug of FleetGuard DEF from the Flying J.

No, I had not heard that anyone had a DEF that included an anti-freeze component. On most SCR-equipped diesels, there are actually two urea tanks, often called an active and a passive tank. The smaller active tank is heated, as are lines leading to the injection port upstream of the SCR converter, so there is not the requirement for anti-freeze in the DEF. I'm not sure that pumping glycol into the exhaust would be a good idea anyway...sounds like an urban legend perhaps.

Cheers
D

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2K9 Space Grey 335d Sport
2K1 Galaxy Blue Jetta TDI 5-sp

I'm inclined to believe the "anti-freeze" comment was bogus and just something that was said to encourage my coworker to pay for the service. But if owning a new diesel requires a $200-$300 DEF flush each oil change I'm gonna have to pass. Thank goodness there's a few options that are available without the urea (Dodge Cummins, Audi A3, VW TDI's). And with the aftermarket tunners the HP/TQ deficits appear to be manageable.

_________________
2006 Jeep Liberty Limited CRD
GDE Turbo Kit and TCM, European Torque Converter, Lift Pump, V6 Air Box, Magnaflow Muffler, Stanadyne FM100 2um Fuel Filter
2011 BMW 335d
2004 Dodge Ram Cummins, lots-o-mods
1990 YJ Repowered with 06 Cummins B3.3T
2005 Kubota BX1500

TDI, just to be clear, on BMW's the first four years of DEF flush/refill are included within the price of the car, not extra. A couple of days ago, I looked under the beast to see how the draining would be done, pretty simple, so I'd be out perhaps $24-36/yr after the 4-year inclusive maintenance period expires.

Don't forget, you can tune the 335d as well...300hp+/525tq+ and still 40+mpg on the highway...

Cheers
D

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2K9 Space Grey 335d Sport
2K1 Galaxy Blue Jetta TDI 5-sp

is that a tuner in NA or from Europe? I tend to trust European Tuners more than I do US Tuners on European cars.

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No longer a CRD or Jeep owner. Selling everything I have, needs to go as I need the room for a project.

That is just a box for manipulating the rail pressure. On an engine that trims the energizing time map based on the lambda value, in the long run it won't do much and could likely cause a rash of P-codes.

Having the ECU read a rail pressure value that is not the real one is a sure-fire way for long-time issues related to longevity.

If you're going to have a diesel engine tuned, you should always ask some important questions to the tuner:
*Do you have a cylinder pressure sensor and can I see the data during the full-load curve?
*Do you have the turbocharger(s) instrumented for compressor speed measurements? What is the maximum speed during the full-load curve and also transients during full-throttle kick-downs?
*Does the engine have an exhaust temp sensor before or after the turbo for closed-loop management of the temperature? Has it been validated?
*Has the smoke opacity been measured during full-load to ensure that it is comparable to stock? THis is important for issues of soot modeling and the regeneration strategies.

If they can't answer any or all of these questions, they most likely don't truly understand the ramifications and underlying concepts of diesel calibration. Setting these various logics and constraints incorrectly will either drastically reduce the engine life expectancy, outright plug the DPF, or damage the turbocharger - any of which are bad for the end-user customer.

I would hardly call Alpina a "Box tuner". Anything sold in Germany has to have TuV approval and the entire process behind it. It is a long and very expensive process to get TuV approval. There are several tuners in Europe that do TD tunes and they are very expensive and done correctly. I am very cautious when it comes to little black boxes.

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No longer a CRD or Jeep owner. Selling everything I have, needs to go as I need the room for a project.

If the draining/flushing is something an owner can do themselves without a Hazmat certification, and is as easy as you indicate, that would be good news.

I was reading over here (http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/showth ... p?t=450290) that there's some conflicting reports about BMW covering DEF refills outside of the oil change intervals. If it's an easy to do service then that doesn't seem like a big deal to me.

_________________
2006 Jeep Liberty Limited CRD
GDE Turbo Kit and TCM, European Torque Converter, Lift Pump, V6 Air Box, Magnaflow Muffler, Stanadyne FM100 2um Fuel Filter
2011 BMW 335d
2004 Dodge Ram Cummins, lots-o-mods
1990 YJ Repowered with 06 Cummins B3.3T
2005 Kubota BX1500