Performance issues with 35d

[pedah3]

Nearly 1 year and 8K miles on mine and only issues have been the stupid battery draining several times. As far as the diesel engine - its fantastic and getting better gas mileage all the time. Averaging 22.6 with mostly stop-go city driving.

[Full Speed]

If you consider stump pulling torque and really good gas mileage problems, then yes - the X5d has a few.

[whyireef]

I've had my '09 35d since May and now it has 2,500 miles. The only thing wrong I've notice is a sudden and immense amount of thrust and power when I step on the gas and even more strange is the gas mileage is quite good. Usually, those don't go hand in hand....

Just kidding around - I love mine and would like another. Nothing to note for complaints. I have the sport package and when I want to start without any delay, I put the stick in DS mode instead of D, and I don't do that very often.

[JCL]

The basic engine structure (block, crank) is common to the European BMW diesel engine, and so is proven and reliable. It is aluminum, so likely doesn't have the same life expectancy as traditional (heavier built) diesels, but it will probably last as long as the gasoline engine, eg longer than the transmission. The urea injection system (emissions control) is new to North America and has had some reported problems with early production vehicles, but they are minor and generally fall into the nuisance category, likely to be ironed out in the second year of production if not already.

You will experience more throttle lag with the diesel just off idle, compared to the gasoline engine. The BMW drive by wire throttle issues may indeed make it worse, but regardless the diesel will always have a response lag due to the turbos needing to spool up. This engine does not have the same turbo arrangment as the 35i with the dual turbos, which result in far less lag. The 35i uses two equal turbos in parallel, the 35d uses two unequal turbos in a staged arrangement. There is great torque from the 35d engine, just not until you get it on the boil, ie 1800 rpm.

[jHamshaw]

The 3.5sd Twin Turbo diesel engine is one of BMW's best yet and, as others have already said, has been available in Europe for well over a year now and in various other models, as well as the X5.

It also responds fantastically well to a remap - here in the UK we can achieve a bhp increase from the stock 286 to 326, and a storming torque increase from 580nm to 650nm with (assuming no lead boots on the driver) a small improvement in fuel consumption as well! Any remnants of turbo lag (and there isn't much to start with on the twin turbo) are smoothed out.

Just as a guide,the e60 M5 only has 520nm of torque as standard from the factory!!

[jimsaq]

There is great torque from the 35d engine, just not until you get it on the boil, ie 1800 rpm.

doesn't really feel that way to me, in 18 months of daily-driving mine. the minute amount of lag I notice is much more about the 2200kg vehicle than turbo lag or lack of torque.

500 of it's peak 580 is available from about 1200rpm

[ranchhand]

Thanks to everyone for the information, even for the ?.

Just might spring for one.

[XXX555]

I have a 335i with the twin turbo engine. With all that torque and being gas powered as well as it being a much lighter vehicle it still has the lag from a stop. I still don't think it is the engine....


There is the Hoffmeister Kink and now the Bavarian Bog.

[FunfDreisig]

Since you list other E70 X5s in your profile I'll stick to comments about the 2009 X5 35d engine compared to our previous 2001 X5 4.4i.

AFAIK there has only been one report of a catastrophic engine failure in an 35d. BMW is replacing his engine. It will be very interesting to see how this turns out.

We have about 2,500mi on our 35d since we took delivery in mid Aug. Most of those miles are on 2 lane country roads in the Texas Hill Country. The engine has completely met our expectations. As others have posted....

1. It pulls like a OX. We have already hauled 2 tons on several occasions. The 35d is stronger than the 4.4i at any legal speed.

2. It is a little noisier than a gas engine. The 4.4i purred and growled. The 35d clatters a bit, but in a good way

3. The 35d has a little delay from idle. This is not a big deal; but it is very noticeable in some situations. For example, when pulling away from a dead stop. But we find it far more noticeable on steep slopes at very low speeds (e.g. at the top of our driveway where we slow down on a 10% slope to give the gate more time to open). The 4.4i had enough torque at very low RPM to simply trundle on up the drive with no apparent effort. The 35d requires considerably more RPM to then slowly accelerate up this slope. Even our ranch truck (a 3.0l V6 manual) handles this slope with less engine drama.

4. It gets great mileage. On a typical 10-50mi run we see an avg of 24-25 MPG. And frequently see runs of 27-30 MPG. BUT our actual avg MPG from time of purchase is only 21.5 MPG. The 35d does not get very good mileage until it is warmed up. IOW the longer the run the better the mileage. FWIW the 'from time of purchase' MPG is based on a 'fuel log' and confirmed with the X5's own Trip Computer (which I set to zero just before I drove it off the lot at delivery).

Funf Dreisig

[JCL]

Originally Posted by jimsaq

doesn't really feel that way to me, in 18 months of daily-driving mine. the minute amount of lag I notice is much more about the 2200kg vehicle than turbo lag or lack of torque.

The 35i which I drive every day (in a 535i, 6MT) has its peak torque at 1300 rpm, not 1750, and it seems to be about 1200 rpm before the diesel overtakes the petrol version of the 3.0 litre in torque. At low idle the diesel has much less torque. The very small parallel turbos of the 35i are very good for reducing perceptible lag. The diesel (CI) design just inherently needs more boost, in this case from a small and a large turbo, which is likely why BMW is coming out with the tri-turbo arrangement next, according to the reports. My comment about off-idle is really more about 600-900 rpm, and is pretty much what FunfDreisig refers to as a noticeable delay.

I have great respect for the torque of the 35d, and I think it is a great engine. I should probably have said 'ie 1200 rpm' when referring to off-idle responsiveness, as by 1800 rpm it has shown up for duty. Glad to hear you like yours.