Hi, My 2006 E61 535D (Pre-LCI) is showing DPF service due after 1800 miles. There is lot of info on the net but mostly old threads which may not apply due to legislation change. So what are current (road legal) options? Currently 117,000 miles on the clock (mostly motorway), I'm in the Manchester area. Thanks.
Hi The DPF, is a grey area, once upon a time the tuning and economy benefits were hugely discussed, however these days emission control is forefront Legally, the emission control system, if fitted has to been functional and correct To comply, your option is limited to replacing like for like From GOV.uk website. Tests for diesel cars and lorries are to be tightened up to ensure vehicles have a critical exhaust filter if one had originally been fitted as standard, Roads Minister Robert Goodwill has announced. Garages and testing stations will be required check for a diesel particulate filter (DPF) in the inspection of the exhaust system as part of the MOT test (or annual test for heavy vehicles) from February 2014. The vehicle will automatically fail the MOT test if the filter had been fitted as standard but is found to be no longer present. The filter works by trapping solid particulate matter from exhaust gases. This type of filter has been in use for more than 20 years and helps meet European emission standards, improving air quality and health standards. Some firms offer services to remove the filter, claiming it will improve the economy. But it is an offence to drive a vehicle that has been modified this way, as it will no longer meet the emissions standards the car achieved when it was approved for sale in the UK.
In no way do i condone illegal activity but as i understand things, for MoT purposes it is only a visual check of the DPF ...nothing is removed to be physically checked. Of course the car will need to pass the emissions test as part of the MoT Not sure what a DPF service entails, but could you try having it cleaned ?
That would be about right if my memory serves me correct as the default in the older cars was set to 120,000 miles, I think it can be reset via the idrive so if the car is still running well I would be inclined to do exactly that. I purchased a C110 handheld scanner (when I had my E60 535d's) which provides good information regarding the current state of the dpf by showing the back pressure readings. This info gives you a good idea of how full of ash the dpf actually is as the 120,000 miles is just a mileage default and has no bearing on the condition of the dpf. The default mileage option and idrive reset option were removed from the later LCI cars (I have had both 535d's)
Exactly this, early cars it was included in the cbs with a fixed mileage aside from a bit of adaption based on driving style etc but it was always an estimate/guess, your dpf might be quite full of ash or not much at all. First port of call is a reset of the cbs for it, if you’re getting no back pressure faults then you can happily carry on.
Thank you for all the replies. Is professional cleaning an effective solution? Only asking for future reference as the car is running fine. Does Inpa or Rheingold show the dpf diagnostics data?
Did you mean to rate my post above as disagree? just wondering if I need to clarify what I meant. There are professional cleaning companies that remove the dpf from the car and clean it using high pressure air and ultrasonic or similar to dislodge the ash, that in theory could be effective. There is a liquid available from gsf that you remove the dpf and then fill it up to soak overnight then clean out, a friend has had success using that, I tried it on a 2009 focus dpf and it didn’t work. There’s also companies that sell products to clean the dpf in situ, I’m very weary of them and suspect they’re not much use in reality. I feel like bmw might have introduced something for dealers to use to spray onto the dpf in situ but can’t remember what that was. Rheingold will show the dpf back pressure reading
Hi, No I didn't mean to do that, my apologies. I tried to reply from my work computer (working nightshift this week) but the IP is blacklisted, used my phone and must have pressed the rating button. I'm going to see if Inpa or Rheingold will read the back pressure to see if any work is required at this stage.
I would buy the C110 scanner it makes life far easier for DPF monitoring with live data. I also purchased a cheap phone windscreen mount so I could see the pressure while driving & of course when it regens. laptops are all well & good if stationary but for live data on the move this is by far the best way. Only £40 on ebay and just plug & go
the MOT rules around DPF delete were tightened in 2018 the biggest change is emissions if a car that should be fitted and emits visible smoke of any colour it will fail the MOT. also if the visual inspection shows any signs of the DPF having been opened you then have to provide proof that it was opened for repair or clean rather than Delete l would be very wary of DPF delete now as you could spend £600-£800 for the delete and then come MOT an emissions fail could result n another £1500-£2000 bill to reinstate the DPF
I had the same on my '06 E91 330d at around 130000 When it came to the time for the dreaded and potentially expensive DPF service I spoke with my local trusted independent garage. They suggested the following process for me 1, they would check the relevant readings, pressures etc and if there was a problem 2, they would try a flushing solution which they said they had had success with in the past If this worked then problem solved albeit for a short time If it didn't then 3, they would swop out the DPF for a new one and knock off the costs of the previous processes for me. As it happened all I needed was stage 1 as they said the readings were all very good and no further investigation/work was required When I said that the driving I was doing at the time was a 30+ mile commute over dual carriageway and fast country roads they said that this was evidently doing the car good as the engine would be working hard so the exhaust was getting really hot and any regens were working as they should I kept the car for another 15/20000 after this and never had a problem at all with the DPF. No doubt had I gone to a main dealer they would have rubbed their hands with glee and butt fu(&3d me over the bonnet of a brand new M5 until I screamed for mercy and then extracted of a large sum of my hard earned cash from my wallet for their pleasure.....
Hence the purchase of the C110 it will check all the pressures that an independent will do & far far more all for only £40
Actually the reason for such poor DPF regens etc on the pre lci E60's is simply because of its location. The dpf was a separate cannister in the exhaust that was actually fitted under the drives seat area, which was a considerable distance away from the engine based on the fact that they needed high temps to work correctly. The older cars had separate dpf's and cat's fitted where as the later LCI car's (03/2007 > ) had a combined dpf and cat fitted just after or below the turbo that was actually visible from under the bonnet. These worked better but still had a tendency to block with the famous 480A & 481A fault codes especially if used only for short trips! After this the newer cars (2012 > I think) had a better dpf and improved software which would allow the car to regen as and when needed and this also included a partial regen and a restart of a non completed regen once up to temp etc. Something the earlier cars couldn't do so those of us that spotted a regen as we arrived home would carry on driving for another 10 miles until it was completed!
If you have ISTA you can run a back pressure test. ISTA will control the car accelerator and you get back pressure readings at idle, 2000rpm and 4000rpm. You need to do this after the car has regened then you will get an idea of the condition of the DPF. ISTA tells you what the acceptable limits are. The regen burns off the soot but cannot burn off the ash. It's the ash build up that signals a DPF change. In a pre-LCi 535d the iDrive will require a DPF change at 120,000 miles but this can be reset via the iDrive. It's purely on mileage, nothing else so your DPF may be full of ash or not. In my car I took the DPF off at 116k miles and pressure washed it out myself. There wasn't a lot of ash, I'd estimate perhaps a quarter of what I've seen come out of other DPFs. After a wash (and importantly a dry) my original DPF gave these readings: Idle 0.0mb, with max allowed of 65mb 2000rpm, 8.9mb with max allowed of 150mb 4000rpm, 60.9mb with max allowed of 250mb This is consistent with a brand new DPF. In fact the idle at 0.0mb gave me a fault code for an implausible reading and I had to reconnect the exhaust tip valve to get a very low mb reading at idle!!!
@JasonH Nice to see your still around Jason, this thread reminds me of the good old days on the original bmwland
And of course I remember you! The shocker is that although I have another car I still have the same 535d I bought in 2007. I have replaced about 50% of it over that time!!!
