[marksjacks]

I purchased a 335is coupe in June, looking to compare notes with other 335is owners. I've had many 3 series coupes in the past, but this one is (as I expected) a bit of an odd duck.

- fog lights, I have a fog light switch even though there is no fog lights available on a coupe. Is that true with other e92s? Guess i've never owned a coupe without fog lights.

- different glove box, no flashlight.

- non functional vents for cooling in center console.

- HD Radio, my HD radio sucks. Has difficulty finding and holding stations. Also audio quality is poor. Side by side comparison to my 328i Coupe it's not even close. Also 335is missing "tune up" speakers in door. (anyone else have this?)

- DCT, have not had one of these before. where can I get details on how this really works. Dealers suck at this info. How many programs are there?

"normal" (shows D1 in display) seems too sluggish to me.
"sport" (pressing sport button, shows "sport" in display) seems to be a faster shift at higher revs
"m/s" (sliding selector to left shows S1 in display) even faster shifts at higher revs, uses lower gears
"m/s + sport" (shows S1 in display and "sport") is this another program, seems similar to just m/s

- brake pedal, sometimes the brake petal is very firm before starting vehicle. so firm it is hard to depress to allow start button to work. (anyone else have this?)

- ash trays gone (finally), is that an "M" thing?

- universal remote on mirror, can't get this programmed (anyone else have this?) I've been able to program the others, not this one.

- gas milage, i've been getting 20 - 21MPG. I can 27MPG out of the 328i. Did not know it would be that low. (anyone else have this?)


thanks

[RFGuy_KCCO]

- Fog lights do not come on the E92 335is, only on the E93. This is to allow for better cooling. Seems pretty dumb they still include the switch, though.

- BMW stopped including the flashlight in the 3 series a couple of years ago.

- Center console cooling vents (drink cooler) were removed a couple of years ago.

- My HD radio (all audio sources, for that matter) sounds good in my car. I sprung for the Harmon/Kardon sound option, however. It sounds like you did not and are, therefore, stuck with the crappy sounding base audio, which doesn't even include tweeters in the sail panels, as you have observed.

- I can't answer your DCT questions, as my car is a 6MT.

- I haven't experienced this issue, but then I don't push in the brake pedal to start my car. I push the clutch.

- Ashtray was removed from the 3 series around the same time they removed the flashlight and the cooling vents.

- Maybe I got lucky, but I was able to program my garage door opener on the first try.

- I am averaging about 24 to 25 MPG, but I have the N55, so it's not a good comparison to your experience.

I hope this helps answer some of your questions.

[samej]

I had a bitch of a time programming my garage door opener since I was following the instructions (dumb me for reading the manual! ) IIRC they said "press and hold your (original) remote down" while trying to get the BMW to pick up the code. If fact I ended up pressing the remote button repeatedly until it finally picked up the code.

[Edward]

Took a pretty long time to program my garage door.
quit hitting your brake after turning your car off and it won't be that stiff in the morning
ashtrays being gone is great.
You operate DCT like a step but it is much better at doing its job. But don't use the sport button when you're not also going to have the car in S/M mode. It doesn't make much sense that you'd be needing extra boost and faster shifts if you aren't even bothering to step it up into sport drive. The actual sport button is my last ditch effort when I really need max power out of the car. I probably use it like once or twice a tank.

[Budfox27]

Miss the ash tray and I don't smoke. Ridiculous that there is no AC outlet to plug into.

[Edward]

Originally Posted by Budfox27

Miss the ash tray and I don't smoke. Ridiculous that there is no AC outlet to plug into.

I'm pretty sure there is one. Feel around under the glove box. I used to dislike the open tray with no lid, however I always throw my wallet and keys in there before I drive off and I like that it doesn't involve leaving an ashtray door up which looks worse than no door at all.

[WWONG]

Originally Posted by marksjacks

- brake pedal, sometimes the brake petal is very firm before starting vehicle. so firm it is hard to depress to allow start button to work. (anyone else have this?)

Don't know about the rest, but this certainly sounds like you're excessively braking when the car's engine is off or something's wrong with the brake vacuum. If the latter, run to a dealer ASAP.

[shamubro]

Originally Posted by marksjacks

- brake pedal, sometimes the brake petal is very firm before starting vehicle. so firm it is hard to depress to allow start button to work. (anyone else have this?)

It is pretty firm for me before the vehicle is started, but I have never had trouble to use the start button.

[marksjacks]

Thanks for the advice.

Still wondering if I got a lemon for a HD radio, or if everyone one has the same problem with the base radio. I would have paid for a better radio had I know this would be such a step down. Problem with ordering a car that is not launched yet i guess, but I assumed it would be at least as good as my other coupe.

And still looking for DCT info, found a few things here but mostly "overview" type of stuff.


If I set the cruise at 45-50 MPHish:

in "D" mode I'm in 7th gear
in "SPORT" mode I'm in 6th gear
in "M/S" mode I'm in 5th gear

Seems like "SPORT" is an in between mode to me.


I'm a long time manual owner, but though I would stop fighting against the current. I do like for my commute, but I really wonder what it will be like on track day? Anyone else made the switch recently?

I'm not sure I like the rev - matching. Seems almost like a lurch to me, but I'm just used to the engine brake when I down shifted (even with a blip).

thanks,

[Barbera335]

Take your car to the dealer for the foglamp switch. Its an assembly error that has happened on a few 335is coupes in which they put the wrong headlamp switch in. You are supposed to have the switch from an M3 with no foglamps. The dealer will replace that for you free of charge. Also unfortunately you should have bought the Logic7 stereo as the current base radio is terrible. Good news is as of Sep production the new base radio will be the HiFi system used before, thankfully. But that really does'nt help you.

[marksjacks]

>Its an assembly error that has happened on a few 335is coupes<

Think I might leave that, gives it some character...


Sucks about the radio, maybe I swap it in the future. Wonder if that is a nightmare. Guess i won't get the speakers tho.

[WWONG]

Originally Posted by Budfox27

Miss the ash tray and I don't smoke. Ridiculous that there is no AC outlet to plug into.

Isn't there one in the center armrest compartment by the 6FL/iPod holes? It's plugged by a piece of plastic...

Also, it's DC. Never seen an AC outlet on a car before....

[marcel b]

the sport button sharpens throttle response and increases shift speed. Did you already try the Manual mode? (when being in Sport Mode pull / press one of the paddles or shift know. I drive manual about 95% of the time.

[Edward]

Ok, here's my personal take on DCT and the modes you might find useful in different situations.

For my explanation, I'll use:

D = Car in drive, full auto straight back from the neutral position of the shift lever
S = Pull the shifter left but it is still in full auto mode so you are not shifting with paddles or shifter
M = Shifter to the left and you hit the paddle once so your dash shows M1-M7 indicating which gear you have manually selected
Sport Button = self explanatory. It's a separate button under the shifter for the overboost.


In D, the car shifts the slowest and shifts before high rpm the soonest unless you are really on the gas, in which case, it will go up to redline. However the shift won't be as fast as it can be. It will also downshift in a civilized manner when slowing, but the car will not be aggressive in D mode.
Gas mileage is best in D mode, however, so I don't see why you need to be in anything other than this when cruising on the highway or traffic.

In S mode, it will do all the same stuff as above but it will hold a gear longer if you accelerate and let off the gas because it is anticipating you to be on it hard again in a moment. It will rev higher before shifting each time and it will also downshift quicker as you slow because again, it anticipates that you will need more power at any given moment. Gas is consumed noticeably more in S mode vs D mode. Shifting is a bit more crisp and quicker in S of course.

M mode is tricky because you can be in it in two different ways. You can be driving in D and tap a paddle and be in M1-M7, but the car will put you back into D mode automatically if you do not continue to shift in either direction. It won't let you hold a gear at any rpm in M mode if you go there while the shift lever is still in D.
I can't comment on how the car reacts or uses gas or whatever else in this mode because it's not really made to be sustained. I think they allow downshifts or upshifting for momentary situations.

For Manual mode, you need to move the lever to the left and either hit it forward to downshift or towards you for upshift, or you can just move he lever left and then pull either paddle. Now your car is probably in M1-7. It will hold gears at any rpm and never automatically put you in a different mode. The shifts are even quicker in this mode and obviously shift points are determined by you, not the computer. However, tapping down the gears fast results in some very quick or some delayed shifting. For instance, if you want to go from 5-1, it will probably have a lag between the 2 and 1. But going down one gear from any gear is very quick, especially if you're on the gas hard. downshifting while coasting or at low rpm results in slower shift speed. There are endless scenarios where results and shift times vary, but what I'm getting at is that the computer will absolutely dictate at times how the car will react to your shifting patterns. From a standstill, the car will always shift itself down to M1, unlike in D mode where the car always goes down to D2 and never D1. Gas consumption in M mode probably varies depending on how much gas you are giving the car and how frequently you accelerate hard and use the higher rpm range. What I'm saying is that if you drive in M mode but shift low and cruise, you probably won't use too much more gas than driving mellow in D.

Sport button: I only ever use this if I need to really go fast since I'm not sure if it's good or bad to have it on continually. BMW claims that it gives you 7 seconds of 369 lbs/ft, but who knows how it actually works. It is very vague as to what gear or driving situation benefits most from the button. I think it works off the line as well as in situations where you are at cruising highway speeds. The uncertainty on my end is whether there is a "wait" period between using those 7 seconds.
What if I am on the gas accelerating hard for 3 seconds and let off and get back on it. Do I have an additional 4 seconds or 7 seconds? And I also wonder if BMW is understating the time at the full 14.x psi is available. Regardless, what I can actually observe is that the car shifts the FASTEST and smoothest in this mode. Gas consumption is maximum here as is throttle response.

I never use this button for sustained periods. Only if I need to get going real fast off the line or in the hwy, I push it, use it, then turn it off and continue on.

Like I said earlier, I don't see the point in turning on the sport button if your car is just in D mode. It probably does something, but why would you want to extract max psi and torque when your car isn't even in a mode that is made for spirited/aggressive driving?

If I missed anything or any of you other DCT owners think I'm wrong, please feel free to contribute/correct.

[vwong]

Originally Posted by marksjacks

- brake pedal, sometimes the brake petal is very firm before starting vehicle. so firm it is hard to depress to allow start button to work. (anyone else have this?)

The firm brake pedal feel when the car is off is normal. Every car is like this because there is NO vacuum assisting the brake system. When the car is on, the crankcase ventilation offers vacuum assist to the brake booster, therefore you don't need as much force to stop the car.

[Edward]

yea, I checked again today. They definitely relocated the cigarette lighter plug thing right under the left side of the glove compartment. I kind of like it, although I already use the armrest one for my blackberry charger. Go figure I had to pay 150 for some lame smart phone integration and I still use a standard charger and don't have a cradle that will cost another 200 and only work for as long as I use the same phone.

[EHDEN]

Originally Posted by Edward

Took a pretty long time to program my garage door.
quit hitting your brake after turning your car off and it won't be that stiff in the morning
ashtrays being gone is great.
You operate DCT like a step but it is much better at doing its job. But don't use the sport button when you're not also going to have the car in S/M mode. It doesn't make much sense that you'd be needing extra boost and faster shifts if you aren't even bothering to step it up into sport drive. The actual sport button is my last ditch effort when I really need max power out of the car. I probably use it like once or twice a tank.

+1

i am getting around 20 mpg on my 335iS. if you were hoping for more...then you might consider trading it in for a 328. nothing wrong with your car, just seems like you have horrible sales reps who just hand you the key. try reading your manual. that usually helps.

no issues with mine. love it all. not too worried about the flashilight. i never used it in 3 years and i put my personal one in the trunk in case.

dont put the car on SPORT if you are driving on D.

[PiperD]

All this talk of Sport button = overboost (among other things)... us 6MT 335is drivers have no Sport button, but we supposedly have overboost.

I think it's pretty lame that I can get overboost by pushing my right foot down but you guys have to be in Sport mode first...?

A boost gauge would certainly clear this up. A less scientific test for you DCT drivers would be back-to-back pulls through *one* gear in manual mode, from say 1500RPM, with Sport off and on.

The other thing I don't get about overboost is that it operates at low RPM. This is also borne out by the fact that peak torque changes but peak horsepower does not. But in a DCT, in anything but manual mode, flooring it will cause a series of downshifts and all of a sudden you're at a high RPM - presumably outside of overboost's operating range.

So how/when does overboost come in?

Personally, I think it's progressive. This car feels significantly faster in spirited driving than a JB1-tuned 335. I believe that BMW permits up to 14.x lbs of "over" boost at low RPMs, depending on throttle position - rather than activating overboost when you floor it.

Thoughts? Opinions? Boost gauge results?????

And for the record I'm getting 12 l/100km - or 20mpg for you boys south of the border