Usage to reduce risk of 320d DPF issues

[MadaCup]

I'm on the hunt for an F31 3 series touring around 2018-2019 under 60k miles.

It seems the 320d is the engine that's recommended but I have concerns about how it fits in with my usage. My wife will primarily drive it and she'll be taking the kids to school (3 miles in stop/start traffic) and to work 2-3 days a week (20 miles / 30 mins primarily on A roads). Mileage under 7k per year in total. Would a 320d be suitable or am I asking for trouble?

Coincidentally I have seen a 320i that fits the bill but it wouldn't be my first choice coming from a diesel and electric car. However, would a 320i be more suitable for my usage than a 320d?

Edited by MadaCup on Sunday 30th June 12:57

[egor110]

Your doing a 3 mile school run , how is the petrol engine going to be a issue ?

[MadaCup]

egor110 said:

Your doing a 3 mile school run , how is the petrol engine going to be a issue ?

I can see the confusion so have reworded my post.

Essentially, with my usage is a 320d suitable or should I be looking at a 320i which would be second choice. I'd prefer the 320d if everything was equal.

[Wheel Turned Out]

You're not getting any benefits of running a diesel at that mileage. Petrol all the way, or maybe even a hybrid.

[egor110]

MadaCup said:

egor110 said:

Your doing a 3 mile school run , how is the petrol engine going to be a issue ?

I can see the confusion so have reworded my post.

Essentially, with my usage is a 320d suitable or should I be looking at a 320i which would be second choice. I'd prefer the 320d if everything was equal.

No confusion.

You mentioned coming from electric/diesel so presumably your referring to the torque.

Again it's just a 3 min drive take the petrol and enjoy not worrying about dpf and injectors

[MitchT]

WIthout meaning to hijack the thread... Would the 320d be suitable for me?

• Commute into the office once a week, occasionally more - 30-45 minutes each way - about two thirds dual carriageway.
• Visit my mum's once a week - 10 minutes each way.
• Do a bit of local town shopping once a week - 5 minutes each way.
• Random days out to the coast, countryside, etc. - usually at least 60 minutes each way.

The OH's E87 120d is fine with all of the above but it's too old to have a DPF. I'm not experienced with newer diesels so I don't know how I'd get on with an F30 320d. I could go for a 320i but I'd have to pay more than I'd ideally like to as I'd want a later car with the B48 engine to avoid the potential issues with the N20.

NB. I'm actually after a 440i but the right car is proving elusive, so I'm thinking of a 3 Series as a stop gap.

Edited by MitchT on Sunday 30th June 14:21

[helix403]

Dpf will be fine with that use.

[d_a_n1979]

For that usage and mileage go 320i every time..

This is from an F31 325D owner who does 4k miles a year if I'm lucky!

[rottenegg]

Brother in law had an F30 320d from 14,000 miles to 72,000 miles. Driven by his wife mostly doing school and shop runs. Zero DPF issues.

My F30 330d, bought on 38K miles, now on 70K miles, 400 miles a week - mixture of dual carriageway, country roads and heavy stop start traffic. Zero DPF issues. My scan tool tells me the projected lifespan of the DPF is a further 150K+ miles with my current usage.

This whole "Diesel isn't worth it for that mileage/usage" thing is about 20 years out of date. Some people just prefer power delivery of derv and they use less fuel than petrol in all circumstances, even heavy traffic.

Petrol is not immune from short trip issues either. Direction Injection petrols get even worse intake valve fouling issues, which unlike derv is baked on rock hard and needs walnut blasting to shift it. Diesel intake and valve deposits are considerably easier to remove. A saturday afternoon job with 50/50 caustic soda and soap powder.

[d_a_n1979]

rottenegg said:

Brother in law had an F30 320d from 14,000 miles to 72,000 miles. Driven by his wife mostly doing school and shop runs. Zero DPF issues.

My F30 330d, bought on 38K miles, now on 70K miles, 400 miles a week - mixture of dual carriageway, country roads and heavy stop start traffic. Zero DPF issues. My scan tool tells me the projected lifespan of the DPF is a further 150K+ miles with my current usage.

This whole "Diesel isn't worth it for that mileage/usage" thing is about 20 years out of date. Some people just prefer power delivery of derv and they use less fuel than petrol in all circumstances, even heavy traffic.

Petrol is not immune from short trip issues either. Direction Injection petrols get even worse intake valve fouling issues, which unlike derv is baked on rock hard and needs walnut blasting to shift it. Diesel intake and valve deposits are considerably easier to remove. A saturday afternoon job with 50/50 caustic soda and soap powder

What do I use for the bath then after that?

[Pizzaeatingking]

I'd not even consider a diesel at that kind of annual milage. Economy would be crap, chance of issue would be high being clogged up and not being warmed up and it sounds like a tractor. Pointless, just get a petrol.

[E-bmw]

rottenegg said:

This whole "Diesel isn't worth it for that mileage/usage" thing is about 20 years out of date. Some people just prefer power delivery of derv and they use less fuel than petrol in all circumstances, even heavy traffic.

They don't though, do they?

Particularly until "up to temperature" which is the first few miles of the journey.

This is why if you have the trip computer on "range" the range normally drops significantly for the first few miles & then catches back up to where it should be soon after.

So if your journey is only ever a few miles they aren't efficient at all.

[_Hoppers]

E-bmw said:

So if your journey is only ever a few miles they aren't efficient at all.

From my experience that’s not necessarily the case. This morning I pretty much drove (320D ED) my commute to the park and ride at York. Route is out of our village then through two more with a bit of national speed limit in between. From a cold engine and a light right foot, following traffic, I got this..




I won’t usually achieve this during the week when there’s queuing traffic at the lights but I can get at least 50mpg

Edited by _Hoppers on Saturday 6th July 10:42

Edited by _Hoppers on Saturday 6th July 11:17

[Pica-Pica]

If you already have a diesel, that journey won’t hurt a modern diesel, if longer runs are included.
If you are changing cars, then a hybrid may be better.

[rottenegg]

d_a_n1979 said:

rottenegg said:

Brother in law had an F30 320d from 14,000 miles to 72,000 miles. Driven by his wife mostly doing school and shop runs. Zero DPF issues.

My F30 330d, bought on 38K miles, now on 70K miles, 400 miles a week - mixture of dual carriageway, country roads and heavy stop start traffic. Zero DPF issues. My scan tool tells me the projected lifespan of the DPF is a further 150K+ miles with my current usage.

This whole "Diesel isn't worth it for that mileage/usage" thing is about 20 years out of date. Some people just prefer power delivery of derv and they use less fuel than petrol in all circumstances, even heavy traffic.

Petrol is not immune from short trip issues either. Direction Injection petrols get even worse intake valve fouling issues, which unlike derv is baked on rock hard and needs walnut blasting to shift it. Diesel intake and valve deposits are considerably easier to remove. A saturday afternoon job with 50/50 caustic soda and soap powder

What do I use for the bath then after that?

You could add in some hydrochloric acid

[rottenegg]

E-bmw said:

rottenegg said:

This whole "Diesel isn't worth it for that mileage/usage" thing is about 20 years out of date. Some people just prefer power delivery of derv and they use less fuel than petrol in all circumstances, even heavy traffic.

They don't though, do they?

Particularly until "up to temperature" which is the first few miles of the journey.

This is why if you have the trip computer on "range" the range normally drops significantly for the first few miles & then catches back up to where it should be soon after.

So if your journey is only ever a few miles they aren't efficient at all.

Yes they do. Modern diesels at idle and low load run anywhere from 25-40:1 AFR. Petrols run 14.7:1. So how is the petrol engine more efficient when it's injecting more fuel? It isn't. Not to mention diesel injection time is significantly shorter than petrol.

I've owned a mixture of petrol n'asp, petrol turbo and diesel turbo for 30 years and diesels are always more efficient in any given circumstance.

So what if the miles to empty reduces when stuck in traffic. Same applies to petrol engines. Maths at the pump is the evidence.

I consistently get 600 miles per tank from my 330d. My MK5 Golf GTI returned 380 mile per tank. Exactly the same daily commute. The 330d is more powerful, 200Kg heavier and they both have 12 gallon tanks, so yeah, petrol DI is more efficient.....not.

Edited by rottenegg on Saturday 6th July 16:04

[E-bmw]

rottenegg said:

E-bmw said:

rottenegg said:

This whole "Diesel isn't worth it for that mileage/usage" thing is about 20 years out of date. Some people just prefer power delivery of derv and they use less fuel than petrol in all circumstances, even heavy traffic.

They don't though, do they?

Particularly until "up to temperature" which is the first few miles of the journey.

This is why if you have the trip computer on "range" the range normally drops significantly for the first few miles & then catches back up to where it should be soon after.

So if your journey is only ever a few miles they aren't efficient at all.

Yes they do. Modern diesels at idle and low load run anywhere from 25-40:1 AFR. Petrols run 14.7:1. So how is the petrol engine more efficient when it's injecting more fuel? It isn't. Not to mention diesel injection time is significantly shorter than petrol.

I've owned a mixture of petrol n'asp, petrol turbo and diesel turbo for 30 years and diesels are always more efficient in any given circumstance.

So what if the miles to empty reduces when stuck in traffic. Same applies to petrol engines. Maths at the pump is the evidence.

I consistently get 600 miles per tank from my 330d. My MK5 Golf GTI returned 380 mile per tank. Exactly the same daily commute. The 330d is more powerful, 200Kg heavier and they both have 12 gallon tanks, so yeah, petrol DI is more efficient.....not.

Edited by rottenegg on Saturday 6th July 16:04

Yes, I know all of that & didn't pass comment on that.

The earlier poster said that they "use less fuel in all circumstances" which I commented on as not being correct, because that is not correct, none of what you say is actually at all relevant to what I said.

Both are true.

[Pizzaeatingking]

E-bmw said:

rottenegg said:

This whole "Diesel isn't worth it for that mileage/usage" thing is about 20 years out of date. Some people just prefer power delivery of derv and they use less fuel than petrol in all circumstances, even heavy traffic.

They don't though, do they?

Particularly until "up to temperature" which is the first few miles of the journey.

I found this, going back a few years now but I used the wife's 320d for my commute for the week expecting to save on fuel over my 340i. The car was only just getting warm by the time I arrived for work and used the same amount of fuel as I would use in my 40i. At the end of the week by the time I'd paid for the extra cost of diesel over petrol I was out of pocket, it was at that point I realised diesels aren't really the cheaper to run option everyone seems to think they are.

Once you factor in sorting the EGR valve and DPF every time they give you hassle you're well out of pocket vs a petrol.

[_Hoppers]

Pizzaeatingking said:

I found this, going back a few years now but I used the wife's 320d for my commute for the week expecting to save on fuel over my 340i. The car was only just getting warm by the time I arrived for work and used the same amount of fuel as I would use in my 40i. At the end of the week by the time I'd paid for the extra cost of diesel over petrol I was out of pocket, it was at that point I realised diesels aren't really the cheaper to run option everyone seems to think they are.

Once you factor in sorting the EGR valve and DPF every time they give you hassle you're well out of pocket vs a petrol.

How long/short was your commute? I made a note of my mpg stats commuting to work this morning (which included driving to York centre) and managed 54mpg over 13miles. What mpg were you getting form the 340i?