Snipe656

Thanks, never owned one so never would have known. Our Yamars also lack any glowplugs.

in2dwww

For what it's worth, I topped up my 2008 E320 bluetec with 9 gallons of Shell diesel, only to see afterward that the pump was marked as 5% biodiesel blend... meaning B5.

Well, about 100 miles into the trip, the car started to hesitate, throw a check engine light, and commence limp home mode.

I ran to another fuel station, Loves Truck Stop, grabbed a gray bottle of Power Service, and topped off the tank again with 8oz of PS.

The check engine light remained on, but restarting the car took it out of limp home mode. The car still hesitated and limp home mode kicked in again for about another 200 miles. Another 200 miles after that, the hesitation went away and it was not going into limp home mode.

Then I topped off the tank again with diesel from QuikTrip (QT) and the rest of the PS bottle. The limp home mode was not kicking in and the hesitation was gone.

I drove another 500 miles and topped up again at Loves Truck Stop in Virginia. When I started the car, the check engine light went away. I did not use PS in this last fill up.

So, I think Power Service is important to use on the Bluetec when a check engine light comes on after a bad tank of B5. I'm going to the dealer soon to run that CEL code just in case. The owner's manual states that it could be a fuel issue. If it's a fuel issue, that Shell station in Texas will be hearing from me.

But in the end... additives WORK. PS saved my day.

Snipe656

I doubt that it being B5 had anything to do with the issue. Not to imply that you maybe did not get a bad batch of fuel though. B5 is all I have been able to buy down here for around a year now. We just sold my wife's 335d which is probably the most worrisome diesel we owned towards fuel quality. That car never had an issue with B5 nor has the Mercedes or Ford and we'd burn through around 60-70 gallons of it per week.

Carsy

Mercedes recommends using B5 . I have used it for years. Not to say you did not receive a bad batch.

Did the car have short trip useage previous to the trip ?. I just wonder whether the cats & DPF were blocked & after a long run all were burnt off & cleaned?

Nuke

No they didn't, this did:

You just got a bad batch of fuel that needed to be burned out.

Green E-300 DT

Was wonder why you were worried about what went into the fuel tank of the 335d?

Reason for asking:

Are there problems with some of the components of the 335ds such as the HPFP like the VW TDIs?
I am thinking of getting one because they can be made to run really quickly!

Thanks in advance for any light you may shed on the subject.

Snipe656

Because it is the only diesel we have owned that specified to run premium diesel.

mi benz

Does the manual actually say that? How would you define"premium" diesel?

Green E-300 DT

In other words, you were worried about nothing!

I was concerned that you had had some problems with the 335d.

Why did you sell it BTW? Wasn't it a completely satisfactory vehicle?



DHG

Snipe656

Yes the manual specifies it on a 335d. As far as definitions for premium diesel, without the quotes, you can dig that up online if you were really worried about it, not to sound like a jerk but I honestly do not recall. Somewhere I have correspondence from BMWNA explaining their definition of the term, which I might add none of the fuel in my region met it at the time we bought the car.

It was definitely a short lived worry.

Sold the car because of horrible customer service both at the dealer level and at the BMWNA level. Basically BMWNA refused to pay Advantage BMW for work they did to fix what turned out to be a botched warranty repair by BMW North Houston. BMWNA expected me to pay for it and they are the ones that told me to take it to another dealer. The story is much longer than all that but not going to peck it all out on my iPhone right now. Bottom line is we bought the car because Mercedes was doing no diesel E classes at the time and we just assumed it would be the same experiences with BMW as with Mercedes. The 335d is by far the most fun diesel I have driven and honestly spoiled me because I have since looked at the ML and E diesels and just left not too happy(specifically with how the transmissions react for accelerating on the freeway).

Nuke

Premium diesel is anything with a cetane higher than 45 in the USA, 50 elsewhere.

Snipe656

I do remember it is more than just cetane.

mi benz

There is no recognized definition for premium diesel in the US. A definition has been proposed by NCWM but each state has its own say about the use of the word "premium" when associated with diesel, and in Texas where Snipe656 and I reside there is no state level enforcement of the use of this term. Fortunately for the both of us, the area of Texas we are in also has min 48 cetane diesel (TxLED).

I did look at the on-line owner's manual for the 2009 335d and it made no mention of cetane level. All it says is "The engine of you BMW is designed for diesel with low sulfur content: Ultra-low sulfur diesel ASTM 975-07a". that spec has a minimum cetane of 40.

Snipe656

It was in the literature that came with the car. I do not know which book, came with 3-4 of them and none of which could even fit in the glovebox. I have email exchanges with BMWNA about it, definitely not something I am imagining. At the end of it all, buried with the BMW website is an explanation that if the car does not get the fuel it will "de-tune" itself. In all of that literature also is a statement saying they recommend the car run on 51 cetane fuel.

mi benz

So they have conflicting requirements? Is the requirement ASTM 975, or 51 cetane? If the car can adapt to fuel with <51 cetane then that would not be a requirement in my book.

Do you think the 48 cetane available to you in the Houston area was not enough?

Snipe656

The statement I know for a fact said "Premium Diesel" of somewhere in everything else is a statement of 51 cetane, but the two statements were not together if that make sense. The problem at the time is the adaptation piece of the puzzle was not plainly stated anywhere, I'd never worried had that been known to me from the get go. When I bought the car all the Shell stations here in town still had on their signs "Premium Diesel" so I only filled up at those. The car though for whatever reason did not like any of their pumps, it would take probably 10 minutes to fill up as if the filters in the pumps were clogged. I remember one day I was so fed up that after I got home I jumped into my Mercedes and filled up at the same pump with zero speed issues. Another day I tried it out via my truck shortly after the BMW slow fillup and again zero issues with the non-BMW fillup.

So my aggravation from those slow pumps is what made me start researching things deeper and my discussions with BMWNA began. When it was all said and done though after my discussions with some engineers(fuel additive ones and one of them was a lady who had 3 335d engines she had been testing) at Chevron I opted to just run Chevron diesel. I can't remember(this was late 2009 or early 2010) what cetane rating they disclosed to me but I felt it was more than good enough for the car. Only reason those discussions happened with some Chevron people is because a family member just happened to work with those individuals. Because you maybe already know that pretty much no company will give a clear official statement about their cetane levels and instead just guarantee some base number.

So to answer that question, I think the fuel sold in this region is more than sufficient for any of the modern diesels for sale. I just purposely avoid the no name brand stuff but that is me and honestly I do it for the gas cars we have too.

I'd be curious to know if that twin turbo 4-cylinder for the E250 will be overly picky about fuel quality. Just seems like given the power numbers it produces that just maybe it would be a little picky.

yobnhoj

Well in Toronto Ontario - not required. Here is why:

DieselMax meets all ultra low sulpher diesel standards. The extra dose of lubricity means that there is no need for bottled additives.
Try new enhanced formulation DieselMax today...

• Cleans up pre-formed deposits - peak combustion performance
• Maintains fuel injector cleanliness and cleans up dirty fuel
• Contains cetane number improver
• Extra lubricity - no need for bottled additives
• Reduces emissions
• Improves fuel economy
• Longer life for engine parts

Go to your local gas site and check their fuel. This is grade #1 other stations use grade #2. Good fuel does not require an additive. Good luck...

mi benz

Canadian fuel meets the higher lubricity standard, but I believe cetane is the same minimum as most of the US: 40

zemun1234

It is same diesel - in other words, they don't deliver 2 types of diesel: regular and premium. Once I tried to fill my truck with Shell Premium (with extra cleaning bla bla ...) and the pump didn't work. They opened box and added 2 lit. bottle inside to make it 'premium'. Once the bottle added, I put diesel in car without any problem.
Every time when you fill you gas tank with extra 'quality', you get a few drops of magic solution. It doesn't worth 0.05$ extra for me (100 lit = $5 extra)

ps. I have found that Shell is mixing 10,000 lit with 4 lit bottle to make 'premium/ultra with extra cleaning' vs I am adding glass of PS on every full tank

isstay

Expect same thing if not worse from BMW 328 and 528.

yobnhoj

I don't bother in Ontario, Canada. Based on what MB advised - I don't need it and they don't recommend it.

And I go to Husky. 2nd tank to date and I see the improvements over all other D/Fuels I have used. Same cost too.

DieselMax ...

• Cleans up pre-formed deposits - peak combustion performance
• Maintains fuel injector cleanliness and cleans up dirty fuel
• Contains cetane number improver
• Extra lubricity - no need for bottled additives
• Improves fuel economy - and I am seeing it too...

kurtismayfield

So what have we learned in this ongoing thread?

1) Some people use additives and some people do not.
2) No one seems to have any knowledge of an additive causing a breakdown.
3) Everyone is an expert of their own experience.
4) And, we all know experts do not care what other experts say...because
they are experts!

So people, use it or don't use it. It's all good. Life is way too short to sweat addiitives.

Raus und genießen Sie die Fahrzeuge!

Alles Gute

zemun1234

It is easy for you to say when you drive older style (inline vs V6) which it can be fired with any liquid

kurtismayfield

Yes it is easy. Good research is worth it's weight in soot!

Cheers

S350blue

I have used Amsoil synthetic oil and fuel additives in all of my Mercedes diesels,one with 350;00miles, and have had excellent results. I've used Amsoil since 1983 and know from experience what the benefits are using their products. I will pick up my 2012 S350 in a few days and drive it back home over 1000 miles without additves only because TSA won't allow me to fly with it in my carry on baggage.