[BimmerToolRental]

So... i take my 11' D to Florida for a little R&R this month and with 6 hours to go, develop a check engine and rough running at idle. To shorten the story, i made it there and after cooling off for 12 hours i was able to then get back home when vacation was over.

I finally get the car to a local shop to figure out what is up. CBU already done last year, new throttle body at BMW 6 months later, and a bunch of preventative maintenance that i did.

So they discover an issue with the injectors, the turbos are shot (loud), one headlight has a wiring issue causing a cornering light malfunction, and finally the tension struts are shot.

Ready for this... just over a $9000 repair bill. Thank god i bought that warranty. In 11 months i have racked up $11,700 in warranty work. We are not done yet either.

I am debating whether or not to keep the car since all of this work is being done. I have another 4 years or additional 35K miles i can put on the car under warranty. But at 100k miles, i don't think i would be able to sell it.

[Nadir Point]

Originally Posted by BimmerToolRental

...at 100k miles, i don't think i would be able to sell it.

...assuming of course you really don't want to keep it. I would have to go back through the paperwork to say for sure, but I believe my warranty-covered repairs came to a total of around $20k by the time it was all said and done. Pretty incredible, really. You have to remember probably around 60-70% of that number represents inflated BMW labor and parts rates. I've worked to correct most of the obvious emissions snafus that were either directly or indirectly implicated in the work. It should be good to go after the exhaut is replaced with supporting tune in the near future. Despite the scary outward appearance, I expect to keep this car many more years.

[coolchu001]

I owned my first 335d until 78k; I was very fortunate not to have any issues after the 50k warranty. During my first year, the car visited the dealer 6 times for SES and SCR related issues. I also had an injector replaced and had CBU issues around the 4th year.

I ended up selling the car late 2014, but I miss it so much I picked up another last week! However, I need to replace a lot of the fuel components. But I got it really cheap due to fuel contaminate issue. After I get it running, I'll get BPC tune to delete the EGR, SCR, and DFP to prevent CBU and having to replace any of the expensive emissions components in the future.

[BimmerToolRental]

Appreciate the replies and differing points of view. I find it interesting "CoolC" that you missed it that much that you bought one with known issues.

It is at an Indy and not BMW so the prices aren't as bad as they could have been for repair, but still i worry what the future holds.

I asked the SA if he thought i should sell it, and he said "Well its going to be practically new after all of this". He is right, but it had these issues when i bought it at 53K. So when will it have it again?

If I am going to keep it, i am reinstalling my block off plates and talking to them about whatever mods i need to do to keep it running long term. I absolutely agree that there is no other BMW in the US that offers this level of comfort, sportiness, fuel economy, and power. It is a complete oddball.

[Yozh]

To the OP. Your story sounds very unfortunate and I hope that you will never have to go through that again, ever. But, if I may, I am skeptical, especially since this was on the warranty dime. For that crazy amount of money, one can slam a new engine in there, really.

On a completely opposite spectrum of this story an off the wall hypothesis could have been as follows:

-injectors, may be, or may be it needed an IRAP session and reset of the adaptations after the CBU that you did previously;
-turbos... they did have oil in them... from the CCV, and shop concluded they are blown. And if seals blown (not turbos fried) Why rebuild them for as little as $200 in parts, when they can charge $3000 to warranty. At least I hope they gave you your old blowers back;
-wiring issue on the headlight. Wonder how they figured that one out. And if so, may be an easy fix (new light bulb), or a new harness/headlight? Hope not. Or can just code those damn cornering lights off and be done with it;
-ah the tension struts with a hydraulic bushing. Everyone has issues with those after 100K (wear item, really). That is why an M3 with a solid bushing is a great cost effective alternative, they are not expensive.

Hope I did not offend anyone. I just do not trust mechanics, especially, when I hear stories like this. Hope no new person doing the research on the D will read this thread and run away. May be that is why I wanted to post the above.

[CvilleBill]

Thanks Yosh!
This is an amazing car we are all trying to figure out. If it really sucked we wouldn't be here. I think it is the best compromise between performance and comfort of any car I have ever owned. I can go anywhere on the east coast with two tanks of fuel and blow most so called "sports cars" off the road while getting around 40 mpg. That's pretty hard to beat. The torque is so addictive!
Edit. This car has to be uncorked! ABC delete = HAPPY!

[coolchu001]

Originally Posted by BimmerToolRental

Appreciate the replies and differing points of view. I find it interesting "CoolC" that you missed it that much that you bought one with known issues.

It is at an Indy and not BMW so the prices aren't as bad as they could have been for repair, but still i worry what the future holds.

I asked the SA if he thought i should sell it, and he said "Well its going to be practically new after all of this". He is right, but it had these issues when i bought it at 53K. So when will it have it again?

If I am going to keep it, i am reinstalling my block off plates and talking to them about whatever mods i need to do to keep it running long term. I absolutely agree that there is no other BMW in the US that offers this level of comfort, sportiness, fuel economy, and power. It is a complete oddball.

I'm actually going to try to tackle the fuel issue myself. It seems that the high pressure pump needs replaced and the fuel lines cleaned. Worked on it for a couple of hours today and took off the intake manifold and glow plugs. The manifold was full of carbon buildup and the glow plugs should be replaced.

[Yozh]

You a brave man. But getting so close and personal to your car will make you appreciate and understand it so much better. And after all it is not as scary as it first seems.

I was just thinking, why did BMW decide to put a DPF on these cars, when there is an intake manifold that does as good of a job capturing all the soot?...

[BimmerToolRental]

I just reached out to see what the ABC delete would with installed with tuning, etc. Interesting to see. If we can get this car to last i would keep it a long time because the engine itself should be good for a very long time.

When i just got my inspection, it was safety only in NC. They state that they don't emission check Diesels.

[Twilight1]

How does BMW justify the incredible cost of injector replacement ? And I think removing the DPF etc, and turning it into another stinky, smoky diesel ruins the appeal of the car. It's truly a half baked design.

[Nadir Point]

Originally Posted by Twilight1

It's truly a half baked design.

The only thing "half baked" about it is the emission system(s). A well-tuned diesel without emissions controls does not necessarily have to be smokey and smelly. The "smokey and smelly" diesel paradigm is attributable to jackhole pickup drivers who intentionally over-fuel their engines. On the contrary for example, my 1991 Cummins Dodge with no emissions controls whatsoever and making around 300hp /700ft.lbs only puffs briefly on shift recovery and burns clean as anything else on the road when it's up on the turbo at WOT.

[BimmerToolRental]

Just got word Thursday that my Turbo's have arrived. Awaiting a bunch of other parts. Looks like they might be coming from Germany, hence the waiting times. Going to be without the car for a while it looks like. Lucky i have an E39 a friend let me borrow, but boy do i miss that 35D.

[BB_cuda]

Perhaps we (at least me) missed something. You went from high press pump and fuel line cleaning to new turbos. What happened in between there?

[BimmerToolRental]

Originally Posted by BB_cuda

Perhaps we (at least me) missed something. You went from high press pump and fuel line cleaning to new turbos. What happened in between there?

You have the wrong person, i am the OP. The other guy commented on this thread about his cleaning.

My situation is waiting for parts in case anyone was interested in following progress.

[demon]

Originally Posted by BimmerToolRental

So... i take my 11' D to Florida for a little R&R this month and with 6 hours to go, develop a check engine and rough running at idle. To shorten the story, i made it there and after cooling off for 12 hours i was able to then get back home when vacation was over.

I finally get the car to a local shop to figure out what is up. CBU already done last year, new throttle body at BMW 6 months later, and a bunch of preventative maintenance that i did.

So they discover an issue with the injectors, the turbos are shot (loud), one headlight has a wiring issue causing a cornering light malfunction, and finally the tension struts are shot.

Ready for this... just over a $9000 repair bill. Thank god i bought that warranty. In 11 months i have racked up $11,700 in warranty work. We are not done yet either.

I am debating whether or not to keep the car since all of this work is being done. I have another 4 years or additional 35K miles i can put on the car under warranty. But at 100k miles, i don't think i would be able to sell it.

This is the main reason I am concerned about getting a tune or ABC delete!

My car is CPO with 100k warranty so far has not cost me a penny in repairs.
At 45k started having issues with my car, nothing near as major as what you are reporting. Dealer replaced AC condenser, heater core, heater fan, SCR tank, CBU removal. Then had to fix various squeaks from the dealer taking my dash apart three times. Got another squeak now I am almost afraid to take it in.

I am now at 55k and so far no new issues but I do not want to take the chance of voiding my 100k warranty with a tune. Especially considering how many weeks the dealer had my car last year.

I just got another recall notice about air bags - sheesh.....

[BimmerToolRental]

Originally Posted by demon

This is the main reason I am concerned about getting a tune or ABC delete!

My car is CPO with 100k warranty so far has not cost me a penny in repairs.
At 45k started having issues with my car, nothing near as major as what you are reporting. Dealer replaced AC condenser, heater core, heater fan, SCR tank, CBU removal. Then had to fix various squeaks from the dealer taking my dash apart three times. Got another squeak now I am almost afraid to take it in.

I am now at 55k and so far no new issues but I do not want to take the chance of voiding my 100k warranty with a tune. Especially considering how many weeks the dealer had my car last year.

I just got another recall notice about air bags - sheesh.....

I was going to consider tuning but like you, now i will stay far away especially under warranty. I may reinstall my block off plates to prevent carbon buildup. Possibly have the EGR disabled, but that is it. If i want a 12 second car, then i will buy one.

I just want it to run long term without more issues. We will see.

[Thecastle]

If you do tune, I would recommend buying a second DDE with stock programming and swap it in when you take it to the dealer. This will work so long as your not abusing your car in obvious ways.

Basically it sounds like your car is a problematic one. Some of these cars run trouble free, and others are just broken a lot. Keep the warranty and do the delete once the warranty is up and assuming all states don't clamp down on diesel emissions (which seems more likely given vw's allegations).

BTW my father in-law is a diesel mechanic/manager of a trucking company service depot. He says they have identical trucks in their fleet from the same manufacturer. Some go 600K+ miles without needing a dpf/scr or egr cooler replacement. Other trucks are at 300K and are on their 4th DPF/SCR/EGR. It just seems to be luck of the draw (they dump the low mileage trouble trucks), but CBU they say on heavy trucks seems very much related to how much idling the truck experiences (especially guys who idle their trucks overnight). The more idling the more likely they are to plug up. Not saying this translates to our cars, but it is kind of reassuring to note that Trucks and VW TDI's are experiencing some of the same failures/problems.

BTW its the unreliability of modern diesel emissions and CBU that will kill them in cars, even for the enthusiast.