Wouldnt start in cold weather

[gen2c4s]

Just come back from Austria in our 30d M sport. Whilst in an underground car park tempreatures plummeted to round -10oC when I tried to start it wouldnt so I left it a tried again, still wouldnt start. I noticed a warning come up on nav screen saying something about heating and assumed it was similar to the old glo plugs waiting to warm up, it evenetually started but the hand book is useless at telling you what you should do when it does not start. Does anyone know the correct proceedure as I have never heard of this on modern day diesels. Its not happened since as I have not been in such cold condition since but it happened on two consecutive very cold mornings.

[JCL]

We don't have the 30d in North America, but the owner's manual for the 35d calls it a Cold Start. It is under Starting in the manual, and is also listed under Cold Starting in the index. A clip of the US owner's manual is attached below. Give the plugs a chance to warm it up when they self-activate.

[Penguin]

You really shouldn't get much of a delay in starting if the system is working correctly. On a trip this Winter the X5 sat outside all night and with an outside temperature of 5 degrees F, started right up after about a two second delay.

[JCL]

Penguin: You do have a different generation of diesel engine, so starting times may not be directly comparable.

[Penguin]

Originally Posted by JCL

Penguin: You do have a different generation of diesel engine, so starting times may not be directly comparable.

Good point. I seem to remember reading that on the 35d they are actually using glow plugs nominally rated at 6 volts to speed-up the preheat phase:

"Another feature of the reworked engines is the spontaneous preglow system. The
new glow plugs are designed for 6 Volt, but for an extremely short preglow time, it is
possible to overload them for a limited period, also the mass to be heated has been
dramatically reduced.
This new preglow system delivers approximately 150 degrees higher temperature at
the glowplug tip and occurs in less than 3 seconds.
The effect for the customer is that in the new engine there is no preglowing
necessary at temperatures above minus 5º Celsius (23º Fahrenheit). The maximum
preglow time at minus 25º Celsius (-13º Fahrenheit) is reduced from 9 to 2.5 seconds
compared with the predecessor."

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[Roadster]

we just got back from a snow trip to Austria too, the 30d started right up every morning after a brief delay (no more than a second or 2), the old coil sign (preheating) showed up between the dials for a brief moment, we got some serious sub-zero temps as well (-12 to -14°C)