BMW M57

The M57 is BMW’s 3.0-litre inline-six diesel, built from 1998 to 2013. In the United
States it arrived late and left early: two models, four model years, and a torque figure that
made the point BMW was trying to make about diesel.

What the M57 is

A 3.0-litre inline-six with an aluminium block, two turbochargers of different sizes working
in sequence, and piezo-injector common rail direct injection. The
2009 3 Series brochure specifies it as a
“3.0-liter, 265-horsepower, dual overhead cam (DOHC), inline 24-valve 6-cylinder Advanced
Diesel engine with aluminum engine block, twin-turbo technology and third-generation piezo
common rail direct injection”.

The compression ratio in that brochure’s data table is 16.5:1, against 10.2:1 for the
petrol 335i alongside it. That single number is the difference between the two engines, and
everything else — the torque, the economy, the way it drives — follows from it.

Where it was fitted

Eight specification pages, all of them 265 hp and 425 lb-ft, 0–60 in
6.9 seconds, 130 mph, and 21 to 27 mpg combined. BMW introduced it here deliberately and said
so: the 2009 brochures describe “BMW Advanced Diesel with BluePerformance” as “being
introduced to the U.S. in select models in 2009”.

The number that explains the car

Put the 335d next to the 335i in the same 2009 brochure’s data table and the case for
diesel is arithmetic rather than argument:

Less power, and 42 per cent more torque, arriving just above idle. The M57 is slower on
paper to 60 mph than the petrol six and feels quicker in traffic, and both of those statements
come out of the same table.

It also returns 27 mpg combined in the 335d against 21 for the X5 — figures from the EPA’s
own testing rather than from a brochure, and the reason a 3.0-litre six in a large SUV managed
economy a four-cylinder petrol car would be pleased with.

Why it disappeared

Our records simply stop: the last M57 specification page is a 2013 X5, and no diesel
BMW appears again in our United States data until a single certification record for a 2018
540d. We can say what the data shows and no more than that — the reasons diesel left the
American market are not something a specification archive can document.

What we do not publish

No reliability rating. The NHTSA complaint database records faults against a
vehicle, not an engine, and a “2011 BMW 3 SERIES” record may belong to a 328i, a 335i
or a 335d. Any figure headed “complaints about the M57” was produced by splitting those
records on an assumption.

Common questions

How much horsepower does the M57 have?

265 hp and 425 lb-ft in both US applications, the 335d and the X5 xDrive35d. Peak power
arrives at 4,200 rpm and peak torque between 1,750 and 2,250.

Which BMWs came with the M57 in America?

The E90 335d sedan, 2009 to 2011, and the E70 X5 xDrive35d, 2009 to 2013. Elsewhere the
engine had a much longer career in the 330d, 530d, 730d and X5 3.0d, none of which were sold
in the United States.

Is the M57 a good engine for towing?

425 lb-ft from 1,750 rpm is the characteristic that matters for pulling a load, and it is
available from just above idle rather than at 5,000 rpm. We hold no towing ratings for these
cars — the figure is not in any government record we use and the brochures we have do not
print it — so for a rating you can rely on, check the owner’s manual or the door jamb
label of the specific car.

What replaced the M57?

The B57, BMW’s current 3.0-litre six-cylinder diesel. It barely
reached the United States: our records hold one certification entry for it, a 2018 540d
xDrive.

Sources

Quotations and the comparison table from the
2009 3 Series Sedan and
2009 X5 brochures in this archive. Outputs, torque,
acceleration and fuel economy from EPA certification and fuel economy data.