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2009 X5 35D Diesel Exhaust Urea Reservoir Problem

75K views 245 replies 69 participants last post by  da_menace 
#1 ·
Seems to be a problem with the Urea Storage/Injection system. At 1700 mi, my X5 displays a service warning that the "Exhaust Fluid is Low"; starting the mileage run down to prevent the vehicle from starting if the problem is not corrected. I checked for a leak & found no evidence of leakage whatsoever. This certainly should not be happening at 1700 mi. Annoying to say the least; undermining my confidence in the vehicle. Has anyone else experienced this situation?

Joe
 
#100 ·
My car came with 1/4 tank of fuel. I had to ask for a full tank of fuel at delivery. They even quit stocking bottles of water at both my selling and local dealer.

Times are tough. At my Lexus dealer, they have all kinds of snacks, drinks and even fruit. They just built a new dealership and it's very plush.

Craig
 
#101 ·
My car came with 1/4 tank of fuel. I had to ask for a full tank of fuel at delivery. They even quit stocking bottles of water at both my selling and local dealer.

Times are tough. At my Lexus dealer, they have all kinds of snacks, drinks and even fruit. They just built a new dealership and it's very plush.

Craig
That has more to do with your particular dealer than BMW...

It's time for another dealer.
 
#110 ·
:thumbdwn:the dealer in Colorado had my 2009 X5 for 3 weeks. The factory rep looked at it and then called BMW. The problem is when the temp is 24 or below. The pump will freeze. It's in the owner's manual page 246. Bmw will not do anything about this as is working as designed........what a load of crap.
 
#111 ·
:thumbdwn:the dealer in Colorado had my 2009 X5 for 3 weeks. The factory rep looked at it and then called BMW. The problem is when the temp is 24 or below. The pump will freeze. It's in the owner's manual page 246. Bmw will not do anything about this as is working as designed........what a load of crap.
Maybe it is time to make some noise....

Look, the entire Toyota thing is a great example of the 'dance' between mfg, public and regulators.... mfgs hide behind "working as designed' until a regulatory body says 'that design is defective'.

Now, the question one has to ask is 'does emissions go out of compliance due to this design defect'?? If so, it should be reported and BMW pressured to address this. I suspect this is, unfortunately, not the case. for everyone- perhaps those that live in 'freezing all the time' areas may have a case.

A
 
#112 ·
:mad:I have called BMW. They made record of my complaint and said the car is working fine.
My service advisor thinks this is a load of c.....p. and he thought I would get a new car but not such luck. I did have the pump replace in October last year. I am not sure of the mileage but the car was only a few months old at that point.
:mad:
 
#113 ·
Not BMW, the people that regulate BMW are the ones that will make BMW address this issue (if it is, indeed, a scenario in which emissions compliance can be defective)
 
#115 ·
Letter. Certified.

Why do people call and email!?? Calling and talking is such folly, once you've come up against denial.

So I don't live in your state, but I typed Colorado Emissions Control into google and got this as the first hit:

http://www.aircarecolorado.com/links.htm

I'd spend 10 minutes, see if there are regulations that you could use to build a 'case' against BMW, then compose a letter. Send the letter to the appropriate group, and copy BMW. Send the copy to BMW certified, with a cover letter explaining what has lead to this report. Ask BMW to address this problem, and promise you will pursue this issue both with the regulators, the media, and other people you have heard are also having this issue through the internet.

Low odds of any immediate fixes, but it is a start.

A
 
#121 ·
Interestingly, most other references say DEF freezes at 12 degrees F:

http://www.fleetguard.com/pdfs/product_lit/americas_brochures/MB10033.pdf

Since the DEF has rather tight specifications, I suspect that the DEF freezes at 12 degrees, but that the X5 has a temperature sensor which prevents the pump from trying to pump the fluid if it is below 24 degrees to avoid burning-out the pump. The difference between the BMW listed 24 degrees and the freezing point of 12 degrees would be the safety margin, to cover the possibility of degraded or diluted DEF, sensor inaccuracy, and only partial melting of previously frozen DEF, e.g., if the DEF is frozen solid, it probably melts rather slowly if the temperature rises to 15 degrees and it's freezing point is 12 degrees.
 
#122 ·
I'm not sure if I ever reported what was wrong with my urea system. Turned out that the factory never attached the tubing from the passive to active tank. So my active tank was never being refilled by the passive.

I haven't had another problem since the tubing was attached. Very satisfied with the dealer's & BMW NA attention to this situation.
 
#123 ·
I'm not sure if I ever reported what was wrong with my urea system. Turned out that the factory never attached the tubing from the passive to active tank. So my active tank was never being refilled by the passive. ....
Thanks for the post. AFAIK this is first time this manufacturing error has been reported. But it would certainly explain some of the issues others have reported with DEF warnings after only a very few hundreds/thousand of miles on a new 35d.

BTW the mind boggles at what happens when the tubing from the passive to active tank is not attached. Does the active tank ask for more DEF and the system pumps DEF out of the passive tank and onto...uhh... I'd rather not think about it :tsk:

Funf Dreisig
 
#126 ·
I am in Canada , I got the same exchaust erro messege today. My 09' 35d has 8000 KM by now. I went to my dealship today when I got this messege and the technican told me this is very common problem in Canada cause the temperature is always below -10 C. I was asked to park the vichle in heated garage for an hour, and the problem did resolved.
 
#131 ·
I think the engineers and the marketing people had a 'failure to communicate' on this issue.

Engineers just figured 'well, we will document it, and owners will just need to properly interpret the warnings and react accordingly'... the marketing people, too busy getting spray on tans, didn't fully realize that customers would get warning messages that would lead the sheeple to reflexively drive to a dealership and say "Fix It"......
 
#155 ·
as an engineer i can tell you it went more like this:

hey marketing guy, this urea thing doesnt really work yet and people are going to be upset with us.

hey engineer guy, heres your deadline, get it done and stop being so negative, thats what customer service is for.

i came here to do a little research on the 35d since i found one for a decent price. the urea thing doesnt seem like a deal breaker at $50 or so a year if im understanding this correctly. but if theyre not achieving the claimed fuel efficiency, why deal with it? the 3 litre gas seems like a safer bet? is 20 cty / 26 hwy out of the question with a 35d, low 20's combined?
 
#132 ·
So whats the consensus boys? My first warning on my 2010 35D with 2,400 miles just came on this afternoon. Understandably its been about 20 degrees for the last week. Do I continue to drive it, hoping that it thaws in the next couple weeks and the warning goes away? Or do I need to bite the bullet and take it into the dealer? Please advise
 
#135 ·
I would suggest you take it in. There seems to be a pattern of 2010 35d's coming from the factory with significantly less than full tanks. Mine were filled at approx. the same miles and no problem since. Point being; it was NOT a false read. I'm at 3300 miles now and so far, so good. Average temps 20-30 degrees.
 
#133 ·
I was at 2400 as well.........and it was last week of December, and pretty cold too..........I put 1 gallon of Cummins Fleetguard DEF in the main tank.........and I haven't had the error message again..........and I now have 6000 miles.......... $6.00 per gallon jug...........you can go my Tracey Road equipment in Henrietta.....they are the Freightliner dealer...........they sell their Daimler version of DEF........AdBlue is the trade name........I don't know if it comes in 1 gallon jugs.....I've seen their 2.5 gallon.......might cost more than Fleetguard, but certainly less than BMW........good luck.........if you're in Syracuse, you can stop by Cummins Northeast, just off of Carrier Circle............or in Buffalo by the airport on Aero Way..........either way.....call first to make sure they have the product.........
 
#136 ·
...I put 1 gallon of Cummins Fleetguard DEF in the main tank...
Just to be clear...

Which tank do you regard as the "main" tank. The smaller, heated 'active' tank with the easy-to-reach filler on the passenger's side of the engine? Or the bigger, unheated 'passive' tank with the filler partially obscured by the air intake tube on the driver's side?

Funf Dreisig
 
#142 ·
In that case you did exactly* what BMW recommends in cold weather... When the warning appears add DEF to the active tank as needed until the passive tank thaws.

Funf Dresig

* Well maybe not 'exactly'. BMW would probably prefer that you had purchased their 'special' BMW branded DEF at their 'extra special' price :rolleyes:
 
#141 ·
That's because only the Mafia bought the town car..........and even Ford was smart enough not to mess with that customer base........... I wonder if there is a Town Car forum? I can only imagine the threads........"have any of youz guyz had da problem wit da Map thingy not been able to understand you voiczes?

I can only imagine what their posting names would be................. any suggestions ??
 
#178 ·
That's because only the Mafia bought the town car..........and even Ford was smart enough not to mess with that customer base........... I wonder if there is a Town Car forum? I can only imagine the threads........"have any of youz guyz had da problem wit da Map thingy not been able to understand you voiczes?

I can only imagine what their posting names would be................. any suggestions ??
Well, sounds like you need to "recruit" some of deez guyz into buying 35ds to beef up our ranks. You're in Boston...go to the North End with some good cigars and make it happen. Capiche? (Don't wear a wire)
 
#144 ·
i have read the whole 6 pages because my girlfriend and i are about to put an order for a 2010 x5 35d this week...is this problem happening more for 2009 than 2010?? how can we make sure the tank is filled once the car is ready?? is it something we can physically see or look at?? i dont want the CA to just say yes its filled and come back a few miles later to top it off if it wasn't filled to begin with...

so every 10,000miles this has to be changed/flush??
do i ask them if this is covered under the 4 year/100,000miles maintenance??

any info/advice would be greatly appreciated
 
#145 ·
so every 10,000miles this has to be changed/flush??
do i ask them if this is covered under the 4 year/100,000miles maintenance??
DEF is covered with the normal maintenance for the term of the 4 Years/50,000 Miles Maintenance Program and further if you prepay for a longer maintenance program.

It may not be covered if needed between the normal scheduled maintenance.

Chuck
 
#152 ·
Funf told you in his post- $50 for a full fill of fluid.


Or $200+ if you go to BMW for it.
 
#158 ·
thats pretty darn good for an suv. i think most trucks this size regardless of who builds it average 15 to 16 combined. its nice to get on a long hwy trip and see upwards of 30 mpg too, especially in something as comfortable as an x5. i'll keep reading, thanks for the quick replies.
 
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