BMW E60 530XD | M57 Cold Start -33°C

Seen some videos of M57's struggling to start at not even sub freezing temperatures due to faulty glow plugs/relays and people seem to think that BMW's are supposed to struggle like that. Having "daily'd" this car for four years in the arctic I'd like to debunk that, lol.
Car has been sitting for 6 hours, no engine/block heater and no auxillary heater. Fully functional glow plugs and relay.
Unlike most cars where I live, this car doesn't even have a block heater installed. I (normally) just run the factory option Webasto auxillary heater which has been modified to heat up the engine and front windshield instead of the cabin. I do run a 1400W cabin heater with a cable which exits through the trunk for comfort. The auxillary heater or even just the "rest" function on the climate controls is more than enough to keep the cabin warm when stopping for groceries etc.
No mods aside from rear muffler removed to accomodate the quad exhaust on the M5 rear bumper.
One parking sensor is a bit sensitive to the cold, hence the warning light. (If one is failing, the whole system shuts down).
The light codes are for the LED angel eyes, goes away after the engine starts. They also don't pop up at all if the engine is started directly without turning on the ignition first.
310.000km on the dash, and still going strong.

[@FredrikEastling]

Small update: It finally happened. I was left stranded after picking up food on my way home from work. No crank / no start. Battery charged at work, tried jumping it, and checked engine to ground and the battery terminals. Main suspect is the starter motor. First time it's ever let me down, and I'm guessing this is the original starter which finally decided to throw in the towel at 310k km's.

[@FredrikEastling]

Another update: Starter replaced, we're back on the road!

[@NazIriz]

310k km?! Damn that’s some bulletproof bmw

[@5500ua]

M57 power, no matter where :D

[@tuoasmooo3945]

Thats normal coldstart in northern europe, my f10 525d n47 starts right up with worn battery and no pre-heating. Pretty weak start in -38c but it always fires right up with working glow plugs

[@MsPlay98]

nice seeing someone who is not scared of the KM, bought a 535i with 200k :)

[@FredrikEastling]

Nice! How's it treating you? Wish they sold the 535i's here too. I've been tempted to import one. It's a damn shame they didn't make the 535d with xDrive.

[@MsPlay98]

@@FredrikEastling my 535i is xdrive. Its a 2011 model. Its treating me really good. Changed intercooler and excaust to m5. And downpipe. Its hellah loud and fun to drive!

[@FredrikEastling]

@@MsPlay98 That's awesome! You should upload some videos of it :D

[@cipryan96]

Haha, bought mine with 380k

[@MsPlay98]

yes maybe i should :D @@FredrikEastling

[@blazbohinc4964]

I have a 2005 B-class mercedes with 370k km. New battery and starter, glow plugs changed at 240k km, clean injectors.. this thing starts first crank doesn't matter what weather. The lowest temp I've started it was -15C and it doesn't even care. Oh and oil is also changed every 8k km. The only time cars should have problems starting is when the fuel is gelled up.

[@Koorvkungen]

You know there is people who drive 8k km in a couple weeks right?

[@todor92]

@@Koorvkungen 8 to 10K is the best for changing engine oil. It's not normal ot make 8k in a 2-3 weeks, unless you work at the other end of the country. Avarage person who lives and works in the same city won't make 8K in 2-3 weeks. 8K km. in 3 weeks (21 days) means 380 km. per day, or 4 weeks (28 days) is 285 km. / day ... this is NOT normal. So claiming this sh!t is pointless AF. Maybe truck drivers do, but the avarage car drivers don't do this type of distances per day.

[@Koorvkungen]

@@todor92 Its not unheard of no. But enjoy changing your oil more than necessary :)

[@TiesTorN]

@@Koorvkungen absolutely... 8-10k is just waste of money. modern full synthetic oils can do at least 20k kms easily, there are lots of youtube videos about this with facts. 8k is ok for mineral oil, but who the hell uses mineral oil nowadays anyway?

[@spartan7306]

Hello nice E60, what rims are u running? I wanted to put style 128 R19 but I heard that you can't use wider wheels at the rear because of xdrive and the largest diameter u can put is R18, is it true? Dimensions of style 128: front et22 9j and rear et 14 10j

[@FredrikEastling]

Hi mate. Thank you so much for your kind words! I'm running OEM (RWD) Style 172. They're sticking out quite a lot more than the original wheels, and I have some slight wheel well rubbing in the front, but it sits pretty wheel and looks great. Ride is comfortable. I don't know the exact dimensions of the 172's, but I believe if you google it you should find out. There are only one model of 172s (RWD) as far as I know. I can confirm you can definitely run 19" wheels (or any wheel size for that matter) as long as the front and rear tires have the same rolling circumference when it comes to tire sizes. I'm not sure exactly how many %'s difference it can tolerate, but its not much.

[@spartan7306]

@@FredrikEastling thank you very much, i found dimensions for your rims and they are 8.5j front and 9.5j rear. What tires dimension are you running? Do you think style 128 with 9j at front and 10j at back will fit? So there should be no problem for drivetrain if i use rims with diffrent width? I mean, if u dont have problems than it should be okay? How long do u have style 172? Sorry for this many questions, and greetings from Serbiа!

[@FredrikEastling]

@@spartan7306 That sounds about right! I actually don't remember off the top of my head, but I believe I'm running 245/35/19's in the front and 265 or 275/30/19s in the rear. Width difference is no issue at all, as long as the height of the wheel + tire is the same. Since they are different width, (wider in the rear) they're going to have a lower "profile" number than the front set. I've been driving on these tires since 2021 if I remember correctly. No issues whatsoever with DTC/4x4 etc. If you have instagram, I can message you on there and let you know exactly which tire size I have next time I swing by the garage :)

[@spartan7306]

@@FredrikEastling okay thanks a lot, i will add you on instagram

[@benjaminhugger4831]

I dont understand why people think this is fake. I got a Audi A3 1.6TDI CLHA from 2014. With alot of mods done to the engine. And mine even in -12 Celcuis fires up real quick with no Injector knocking, or misfires. Plus I have no preheat, and is parked directly in snow? Plus the snow not melting? I got that too, it dont melt. Even with the AC turned to the feet. I mean yeah mine jumps up to 1k RPM in the first start. But goes down after 10 Sec? Plus it has driven 330K KM, Just good Maintence, and i dont see why the car shouldnt start as normal. Diesels got glowplugs, and if they work correctly. They help alot?

[@FredrikEastling]

I think most of the scepticism is from people who aren't familiar with cold weather. We get these cold snaps every year, and our cars still work as normal. I can get behind the theory of my car possibly having some residual heat - however I still think that kind of unlikely given the extreme temperatures. I'm not sure I'd find it worth it to spend the time to debunk my own video 😂

[@heavyweight6440]

@@FredrikEastling Because it isnt a proper coldstart... look at the dynamic pre caution field. If the engine was really -33°C, this thing would be up to ~3.2-3.5k RPM. The M57 holds temperature extremely well. It takes many many hours for it, to cool down properly. Sometimes, after a long drive, I check the engine temperature 6-8 hours later, and it still is at 40°C+. Also, if it was a real coldstart, the idle RPM would be way higher. It has to be above 1000 RPM at -33°C, but in this case it instantly jumps below 1000 RPM. That doesnt make sense. Next time, open up the secret menu and show us the KMTP°C. You even wrote that the car has been sitting for "6 hours". Thats in NO way enough, to get the whole engine (includinge all fluids) down to the ambient temperature. Even if the coolant still has onl 10°C, everything else will also have some residual temperature. Outside temperature isnt what makes the engine have trouble starting, its the temperature of the engine, its fluid and all its parts, that determine how "easy" or "hard" an engine starts. Put the car in a climate chamber, let it freeze down to -30°C, then roll it out into +30°C weather and try to start it - guess what it will struggle, no matter how good glow plugs/battery are. You can also do it the other way around. Take an engine that was at +30°C ambient temperature and equalized with it, then roll it into -30°C climate chamber - oh, it starts just as well, as if it was in +30°C weather. The further you let it cool down, and the colder the engine gets, the smaller the difference between engine temperature and ambient temperature, the higher the amount of struggle while starting. Let the car rest for 48h to ensure it has properly cooled down and try to start it. It may still start good, surely not as good as shown in this video. Coming from a 11 year E61 530d owner with 415.000km.

[@FredrikEastling]

@@heavyweight6440 lol

[@heavyweight6440]

@@FredrikEastling I added some more info to my comment. Read it again please.

[@PiotrTester]

15l/100km?

[@FredrikEastling]

Recently reset the meter, and -33°C cold starts/idling (and even just regular driving) will do wonders to the fuel consumption 😂

[@lassitoytari5360]

Lightweight, no reaction.

[@elzrinja365]

Where is the glow plug light?

[@FredrikEastling]

Taking a nap it seems 👀 I've read that the glow plugs activate when unlocking and/or when the door opens. My guess is they had already been glowing since I unlocked the car to turn off the 1400w heater under the passenger side of the dash.

[@user-hv7om4wc8k]

I don't mind this kind of weather but I hate the UK as well.

[@FredrikEastling]

Haha lots of rain in the UK I hear?

[@javadoffss]

bro 14.5L/100km fuel consumption is crazy for a diesel... isn't it? ive never driven diesel bmw but i think that fuel cons. is too much for diesels. if it's normal then i would like you to enlighten me ^_^

[@FredrikEastling]

Yeah, 14.5L/100Km isn't very accurate. If I reset the consumption during these cold periods, it'll say about 30L/100Km just because it's too dang cold. I usually average about 10L/100km, with just city driving to and from work. Around 6-7L/100km driving on the highway.

[@lastgear1948]

RPM goes under 1k. It's already warm in the engine, 6 hours is not long enough. Not a real cold start.. I've owned a 535D, it struggled a little bit at -10 with brand new glow plugs.

[@FredrikEastling]

Thanks for the compliment 😂 "6 hours not long enough" Tell me you've never experienced -33°C winters without telling me, lol.

[@lastgear1948]

Klart jag har känt av samma väder i luleå som dig? Kom tillbaka när du gjort om det på riktigt@@FredrikEastling

[@DrBeast100]

There is no way it starts so easy,it was preheated for sure

[@FredrikEastling]

Haha, take a look at the temperature gauge 😂 (The white lines on the rev meter). No pre heating at all.

[@DrBeast100]

@@FredrikEastling that is the oil temperature, it heats up harder than the water. Maybe it is how you say it. What oil viscosity do you use?

[@FredrikEastling]

@@DrBeast100 Sure, but since the only pre heating system I have on the car is the auxillary heater (hotwired to heat the engine and windshield instead of the cabin), you would see the oil temperature change 😁 I'm running LL-04 spec 5W-30. Changing once per year, around 10.000 km intervals. If you're ever in northern Sweden during a cold period, let me know and you can see for yourself 😅

[@exenvanogert4284]

Before he started it, before i read your comment, i already wondered why there seemed to be snow on the carpet near the pedals when he opens the car and gets in. When he started it, i knew why.

[@FredrikEastling]

@@exenvanogert4284 That snow is still there. Despite running the 1400w cabin heater all day at work, the snow doesn't melt :)

[@NAjKONn]

6hours is nothing, that's why u started it so easy. Real videos like this are done after full night stay

[@FredrikEastling]

>"-33°C" >"Is nothing". Sure thing 😂

[@simonbrojer2353]

This is extremely FALSE! My Toyota Yaris didn't even start in minus 10 degrees and it is on the other fuel type!

[@FredrikEastling]

Thanks for the compliment 😂

[@cristianmarinescu3501]

Car was heated.

[@FredrikEastling]

Sure thing, boss 👍

[@dansworth392]

309k kilometers? that's insane for a 530xd

[@FredrikEastling]

It's not too bad. A friend of mine has a 525D (also an M57 engine) with 390k km's 😂 Knock on wood, but I've never even had a check engine light since I bought it in 2020 at 270k km's haha.

[@SupraStar29]

yeah, pretty low.

[@exenvanogert4284]

e39 M54B25 running on LPG since 176k kilometers sends his regards (he is at 577k, un-opened engine)

[@vomit_blood]

@@FredrikEastling 3.0 m57 with 478k kms here. Only problem was the hp pump and turbo . lol.

[@FredrikEastling]

@@vomit_blood Yeah things are bound to break inevitably, but as long as you keep up with the maintenance - the M57s are super reliable in my experience. :D

[@imeprezime9280]

Snow already in the car, fake

[@FredrikEastling]

See previous comments lol. It's -33°C. It wont melt even with the 1400W cabin heater going all day 😅

[@imeprezime9280]

@@FredrikEastling 1400w will burn the car in two hours not one day.

[@FredrikEastling]

@@imeprezime9280 I wish that was true 😂

[@rickjoony5743]

Nice fake bro. Even with pre-heat the car wouldnt star that easy, in such low temperature. The engine should also knock for a little when starting in this temperature...

[@FredrikEastling]

It's honestly amusing the amount of people who think this is fake 😂 I will say the times when it has been making "funny cold start sounds" or had to run the starter longer is when the battery has been bad. I keep a c-tek charger running all the time these past couple of cold days.

[@Oskaa686]

fake video, every single car when you cold start them especially at this temperature your rpm should go more than 1000 for sure

[@FredrikEastling]

Haha thanks for the compliment I guess 😂👍