[Vroombimmer]

Anyone got any bright ideas on how to get the engine to operating temp quicker. Car was great in the summer and gave decent mileage. Now the cold weather has set in, i can pretty much get most of the way to work on my 28mile commute and the engine just about reaches temp- and then the mpg suffers drastically.

Is there anything i can do to increase the speed it reaches optimum temp?
will driving it in eco, comfort or sport make any difference?
heating controls and heated seats on or off?

[ian332isport]

It sounds like your thermostat is stuck in the open position.

I had this on my old E46 330D, and MPG was terrible until I replaced it.

[Abrek]

Originally Posted by Vroombimmer

Anyone got any bright ideas on how to get the engine to operating temp quicker. Car was great in the summer and gave decent mileage. Now the cold weather has set in, i can pretty much get most of the way to work on my 28mile commute and the engine just about reaches temp- and then the mpg suffers drastically.

Is there anything i can do to increase the speed it reaches optimum temp?
will driving it in eco, comfort or sport make any difference?
heating controls and heated seats on or off?

Very strange still takes about 5 miles for me. Check thermostat

[Vroombimmer]

5miles is excellent... even in the summer mine was getting to temp around 13-14mile mark- which i thought was normal.

[aquazi]

Mine has the water temp in about 3 miles.. by the time i reach the little ones nursery and the needle is half way.

[Soul_Glo]

Originally Posted by ian332isport

It sounds like your thermostat is stuck in the open position.

I had this on my old E46 330D, and MPG was terrible until I replaced it.

This

[Lorcan]

Yep, replace thermostat. Faulty thermostats lead to DPF getting blocked, as they never get hot enough to regenerate.

[Vroombimmer]

that would surely be a warranty job? ive had the car about 10months now

[Wills2]

You would think with all the sensors and ECUs carrying out millions of calculations per second/minute that a broken thermostat would trigger a warning light.

[JNW1]

Originally Posted by Abrek

Very strange still takes about 5 miles for me. Check thermostat

Even on a warm day in summer my 335d would struggle to be up to normal operating temperature in 5 miles and on colder winter days it takes rather longer than that! It's always been the same since new and hence I've just assumed it was normal; the car's had 3 services at the main dealer and presumably their diagnostics would have detected any fault with the thermostat?

[HighlandPete]

Originally Posted by JNW1

Even on a warm day in summer my 335d would struggle to be up to normal operating temperature in 5 miles and on colder winter days it takes rather longer than that! It's always been the same since new and hence I've just assumed it was normal; the car's had 3 services at the main dealer and presumably their diagnostics would have detected any fault with the thermostat?

I don't follow how anyone can get a 3-litre diesel up to temperature (coolant, let alone oil) in such short times or distances as some post. Winter can be so slow, can be 15 miles +, for coolant, more for oil, if the work load isn't high. Winter can easily double the heat up times we see in summer.

The 5 miles and it is getting hot, either have to work the engine hard (and I mean 'hard'), and consumption will be horrendous, or there just isn't enough waste heat available.

OP's case is different, typical signs of thermostat issues.

[HighlandPete]

Originally Posted by Wills2

You would think with all the sensors and ECUs carrying out millions of calculations per second/minute that a broken thermostat would trigger a warning light.

The diesel's are still in the stone age with a simple mechanical thermostat. Has to be a big allowance for variables with the setup.

[Hooded]

Originally Posted by aquazi

Mine has the water temp in about 3 miles.. by the time i reach the little ones nursery and the needle is half way.

That's unusually quick if you're talking this time of year....do you floor it from cold to warm It up or something?

My 3 litre diesel can get up to temp in around 4 or 5 miles during summer (when it's 20c+) but this time of year with the heater blowing the warm air into the cabin it takes more like 8-10 miles for the oil temp needle to reach the middle.

Sounds like there's a thermostat issue on the OP's car.

[Techno 9000]

Unusually quick, I think you meant...

[APJ]

Mine's the same, did 10 miles to the local Costco, with about 3 miles at 70 on the bypass and it still hadn't reached the middle, if you just pootle about it hardly moves. Thought that was just a characteristic of the car. Doesn't seem to affect how the car drives.

[Vroombimmer]

Most my driving is in eco pro as I'm cruising at 65 on motorway will driving in comfort at higher speed help?

[Hooded]

Originally Posted by Techno 9000

Unusually quick, I think you meant...

Yeah stupid iphone changes words sometimes after you type them. Edited now

[Hooded]

Originally Posted by Vroombimmer

Most my driving is in eco pro as I'm cruising at 65 on motorway will driving in comfort at higher speed help?

Stick it in comfort mode and try and get it to rev up to around 2000/2500rpm once the oil temp gets to the quarter mark (75c) .. it'll reach the middle (100c) fairly quickly then. If you are sitting with it constantly at 1100/1200rpm in this cold weather it'll take a while to reach optimum operating temp.

[ushafiq]

Temp gauge on the cluster shows the engine oil temp ONLY - not the coolant temp!
Regardless what oil temp it reaches after a while and how much time it takes to get to the mid point on the cluster oil temp gauge, what you need is the engine Coolant temp, which can be displayed from the hidden menu i.e. holding the trip reset button on the cluster and scrolling down to 'Unlock' - add last 4 digits of your VIN, enter, and the menu is unlocked -- now scroll to 'coolant temp' and drive - you should be able to see how much time it takes to get to 80 deg + (with the heater off) - normal operating should range from 85 deg to 98 deg. If it dont get to 80+ quickly definitely there is an issue regardless of the weather - could be sticky thermostat, clogged dpf or even the egr valve.

[Soul_Glo]

Access the hidden menu on BC and display coolant temp on your dash. This will give you more information. Don't use eco poo in the Winter.

[r654321]

Been out in the 335d this morning. Country roads in driving rain at 7degC. Took about 20 mins to reach 100. Seemed perfectly normal given weather

[Watsey]

My car usually takes around 8 miles in these lower temperatures, 30-40mph roads, to reach full operating temperature on the oil temp gauge.

If you use the coolant temp display in the OBC hidden menu you can see when the thermostat opens : typically the coolant temp will increase reasonably quickly to 70-80C then either stop increasing, or may decrease, for a while when the stat opens and the coolant from the radiator starts to flow around the block. Once all coolant has reached the same temperature the reading will increase again, up to full operating temp. This seems to be 98-108C for my car, depending on how hard the engine is working.