The BMW 335d is known for its blend of power and fuel efficiency. However, some owners have reported issues with injectors and carbon buildup. This article details one owner’s experience with these problems in their 2010 335d.
The first 18 months of ownership were trouble-free, with the car performing well under various conditions. Problems began around 57,000 miles, shortly after the factory warranty expired. While accelerating onto a highway, the engine lost power and entered limp mode. Although a restart cleared the immediate issue, the check engine light persisted.
The dealer was unable to diagnose the problem despite stored fault codes. Over the next 10,000 miles, a rough idle developed, leading to frequent repair visits—averaging every 5,000 miles. Multiple injector replacements, some repeated, were necessary.
In addition to injector failures, the car underwent the EGR and metering valve recall and carbon cleaning. Despite these interventions, injectors continued to fail. Finally, in November, the Digital Diesel Electronics (DDE) unit was replaced. This seems to have resolved the issue, at least for the few thousand miles driven since.
The owner’s driving style consists mostly of highway cruising at around 2000 RPM using cruise control. Occasional aggressive acceleration and infrequent high-RPM driving on back roads suggest that low RPM operation might contribute to the injector issues.
Initially, a mix of Koch and BP diesel fuel was used, later switching to Shell after the injector problems started. Following BMW’s recommendations, no fuel additives were used until recently.
While satisfied with the car’s performance, the owner expresses concern about its reliability. With the extended warranty expiring soon, the future ownership costs associated with potential ongoing injector problems remain uncertain. A detailed service history will be provided in a subsequent post to help other 335d owners identify similar patterns. This information may assist in comparing experiences and troubleshooting similar issues.
