335d and cold weather concerns

[ronyeany]

Forum newbie here, and perhaps a new BMW owner soon as well...

I'm totally smitten with the 335d. The eco-credit puts it into my budget range. I would be ordering 2010 model for late October delivery.

My last remaining concern is a big one, however. I live in New England, north of Boston. Winters can be brutal, and I have no garage, so my cars get the full extent of New England winters, 24/7.

I am concerned about winter starting and fuel issues with the diesel. I asked the salesman about this, and he seemed to brush it off as a non-issue. But I have friends who insist otherwise, saying I should not consider this unless it has an engine block heater, and perhaps a battery warmer or trickle charger as well. I'm close enough to major highways that getting fresh fuel in the winter should not be a problem.

Many folks here seem to have reasoned and well-informed opinions, so I'm tossing the question out here. Ideally, someone in a similar climate will have experience with this issue. It's not the Arctic here, but in the dead of winter it's not unusual for the temps to remain below freezing continuously for a 2-3 week stretch some winters.

[StigNV]

Not only engine heaters, which would be a great asset in a cold Ma. winter, but you also deal with the issue of cold weather on your fuel. A good ol' 'noreaster could whip in a cold snap that wil congeal your diesel fuel. Here in Tahoe, we had a cold snap that froze the diesel tanks on top of the Heavenly Ski Resort, and ruined 20,000 gallons of diesel. It screwed up the mountain for 3 days, as all the snow cats were inop while they cleaned out the tank and got fuel back up the mountain. All the bleu runs got rutted out for the tourists, they complained. A buddy of mine had $1200 of repairs done on his Dodge Truck for the same thing.
It doesn't nearly get cold here like it does on the east coast, you may be more prone to this sort of problem.

[ahmer]

I live about 40 miles north of Boston and had no issues this past very cold winter with my diesel car. Its not a 335d, but is an 09 VW TDI. I added 4-8 oz of the white bottle Power Service diesel fuel supplement and antigel and NO problems. I have no garage and the car is parked outside. The max glowplug preheat time was only a few seconds and the car started fine every time. I do not have an engine heater installed. I think as long as you add some anti-gel to the fuel in the winter and buy from high volume stations dispensing "winterized" fuel you should be ok.

[ronyeany]

Thanks, ahmer. We're about the same distance from Boston, but I'm much further inland. I drove a Jetta TDI sedan and liked it a lot -- I just like the BMW more. I wish they had a Jetta Wagon on the lot. I would've liked to see/drive it, but apparently they are hard to find in these parts. The VW sales guy explained the glowplug preheater to me. I'm not sure if the BMW has an equivalent technology -- or if it's necessary.

[DnA Diesel]

I don't expect any problems. My 2001 Jetta TDI would take a couple of cycles for a good start, but my '06 CRD Liberty started right up with minimal glow time. Neither has ever had their block heaters used and started right down to -30C/-22F in Northeastern Ontario...I think the common rail, peizo injectors of this engine, similar to the CRD will make quick work of the winter starts (vice the longer turnover of the older TDI).

Sounds like some of the issues noted earlier were related to improper fuel characteristics. Properly winterized D-1 is pretty good stuff...sounds like there were some spots on the edge of the "We're (suppliers) really in D-2 territory, we won't bother to treat our fuel..." line.

Cheers
Duey

[lagin]

They also "winterize" the diesel with an additive to prevent gelling etc... You'll be more than fine. My old 04 VW TDI was good to -40C or -40F ... oddly enough they're the same.

The worst it experienced was about -25C or -13F and again, no issues at all, fired up right away and she was outside in the elements all night.

[Beer Goggles]

We do realize that it gets F'ing cold in Germany and Europe where over 70% of vehicles sold are diesel.....

And having a "Nor-easter" means the temps actually will be warmer. It can't snow when it's super cold. It really only snows around 24-38 degrees and when something gets cover in snow it can stay warmer if the temp dips way below freezing.

The real worry is when it's clear and windy, which means at night there is no cloud layer to keep heat in and the temps can go "booger freezing cold" and your car can have trouble starting (gas or D)

[mryakan]

We do realize that it gets F'ing cold in Germany and Europe where over 70% of vehicles sold are diesel.....

And having a "Nor-easter" means the temps actually will be warmer. It can't snow when it's super cold. It really only snows around 24-38 degrees and when something gets cover in snow it can stay warmer if the temp dips way below freezing.

The real worry is when it's clear and windy, which means at night there is no cloud layer to keep heat in and the temps can go "booger freezing cold" and your car can have trouble starting (gas or D)
lol, you never lived here. It has snowed at negative 20 F although usually it does warm up when it snows. All depends, but in general you are right about it being colder when clear and windy. Now enough about cold weather, we still have a good 2 weeks to go before winter starts :shifty.

[Beer Goggles]

lol, you never lived here. It has snowed at negative 20 F although usually it does warm up when it snows. All depends, but in general you are right about it being colder when clear and windy. Now enough about cold weather, we still have a good 2 weeks to go before winter starts :shifty.

I lived in the Northeast for 27 years and I know the weather. I don't normally snow at 20F, it may feel like that but it's going to be super rare. Extreme Cold is very dry. Antarctica is a technically a desert since it rarely snows there, but it just doesn't melt.

[mryakan]

I lived in the Northeast for 27 years and I know the weather. I don't normally snow at 20F, it may feel like that but it's going to be super rare. Extreme Cold is very dry. Antarctica is a technically a desert since it rarely snows there, but it just doesn't melt.
I lived in NE too (Boston area) and it is not even close to the winter we get here. Unless you live in Alaska or Siberia, I doubt you have experienced worse winters, but let us not talk about that yet there will be 6 months of that coming soon.

[CirrusSR22]

I was looking into this lately on VW and diesel pickup forums. It seems that the use of diesel additives in combination of winter diesel blend makes it a non-issue. Maybe in northern Canada, but certainly not Boston. Although, I think a block heater or oil pan heater is a good idea for ANY vehicle that sees temps below 0F/-18C

The Power Service Diesel Fuel Supplement website says their supplement prevents gelling down to -40F/-40C. Also, the 335d has a built-in fuel filter heater.

[islandbimmer]

I own a 1985 BMW 524td and when I lived in winterpeg the car was good at temps below-40 C/F are the same at that temp. Never even had the cord to plug in the engine heater can only image how much better that would have been. The car was near flawless needed a shot of ether occassionally . The car was well engineered the return lines and inline fuel heaters were excellent I would have no worries about running a modern version in Boston. The old 524 I would rate at the top of the list as far as a winter performer, it was much better than my Ford F250. My 524 never stranded woukld always start and run smooth even at -45, days when many diesels won't start.

[ronyeany]

Following up on my original post, I spoke with one of the top mechanics at the BMW dealership and learned there *is* some type of preheater system integrated with the 335d. I assume it must be something similar to VW's glow plugs, as he described it. The BMW tech said in very cold weather an indicator light will illuminate on the dash to indicate the pre-heating, and the car is ready to start when the light goes out.

[Bodacious]

I work for a trucklines which services all 48 states, and the only thing we have found to safely prevent gelling in our diesel engines is a good solid diesel fuel additive. Check your local truck stop when you fuel, most truck stops, in the severe winter areas, treat their fuel with an additive to prevent gelling. If you don't want to fuel at a truck stop, we have always used "Primrose fuel additive" with great success.

[landis]

I live in southern NH. I don't own a diesel car, but I do own a diesel pickup and a diesel tractor. The pickup and tractor have glow plugs to preheat to help starting. I have started both in -20degree F, without any problem. The key to getting a diesel to start is to make sure you always have a good battery. Don't worry running a diesel in New England, they work just fine. Most cars and trucks have glow plugs and a fuel preheater. Just make sure to run the car low on fuel in the fall and fill it up after the switch to winter fuel. If you drive the car reguarly, you won't even need to worry about the fuel change. You'll notice a slight drop in fuel economy because the winter fuel has a lower cetane rating. You can use a fuel additive if you want, but I don't and never have a problem. The key thing to with a diesel is never to run it out of fuel. They are hard to get running again without priming the fuel system.