The Dreaded SES Light Happened to Me

After 16K fault free miles, the SES light on my d came on today on my way home from work. No diminished engine power and no other signs of problems, just the light. Called my dealer and they said to bring it in on Friday morning and they will check it out. I'll wait an hour or so and if they can fix it quickly I'll just drink their coffee and chill out. If they need parts, I'll take their loaner car for the weekend. If the DEF was low I would get a warning message, right? I just had the car serviced at 13K miles in November and they supposedly topped it off so I don't think this is the problem. I did notice last night that when I shut it down in my driveway it was in the middle of a particulate filter burnoff because I could hear the fan running and smell it. I'll update this thread on Friday evening when I am told what the caused the light to come on.

Once SES light came on when I got into my car after work. I remembered I shut it off when it was in middle of its cycle. So took it out for drive (15miles) in addition to drive back home and next day morning it was gone. I say give it sometime they usually correct themselves.

My SES light came on while traveling in another state over Christmas. Out of state dealer wanted to keep the car to diagnose and repair, but said it was OK to drive. Next morning light went off and stayed off till I got dealer to look at it a week later at home. Dealer found code 4035 stored for metering valve per SIB110210. Tech cleaned metering valve and reset light. Covered under warranty. No problem since; now at approx. 4500 miles.

If it goes out I will cancel my Friday appt. Nearest dealer is 50 miles away so I am not looking forward to taking it in and missing 4-5 hours of work. I turned off the engine last night while in a burn off cycle and my commute is about 60 miles so I had driven it to work this morning (30 miles) when it came on this afternoon as soon as I started the engine on my trip home. Would be nice if it stayed off tomorrow morning when I start it up to go back to work.

I got the SES light on my '09. The DEF injector was clogged. They replaced the part with an updated design. Happened around 20,000 miles.

mine lit up a couple weeks ago, it was a wheel speed sensor that went bad, they reprogrammed it and told me if it went on again to call and they would replace it, a few days later it did and they did, no ses light since

It is times like this when the Garmin Ecoroute is real handy. You can read what code has tripped and reset, if it is resettable.

Originally Posted by rmorin49

If the DEF was low I would get a warning message, right?

You do not get an SES light if your DEF is low. You get a specific warning about the DEF itself being low.

Originally Posted by Flyingman

It is times like this when the Garmin Ecoroute is real handy. You can read what code has tripped and reset, if it is resettable.

I do not think that though will let you see the shadow codes. Which is why I got the BT cable back when I thought the dealer was lying to me and I wanted to run codes myself.

Originally Posted by bimmerdiesel

Once SES light came on when I got into my car after work. I remembered I shut it off when it was in middle of its cycle. So took it out for drive (15miles) in addition to drive back home and next day morning it was gone. I say give it sometime they usually correct themselves.

You were right. I drove the H**L out of my car on the way to work today(25 miles). Won't say how fast but just say I was about 20 mph over the limit on the interstate. When I got to work I shut off the engine, waited about 30 seconds and restarted. SES light did not come on. Drove home and the light stayed out. Hopefully, when I shut down the car last night while the burn cycle was on this caused a fault which was cleared by driving the car at highway speeds. Cancelled my appt for tomorrow and hopeful that the light stays out. My car has been completely trouble free for over 16K miles so I am not complaining.

Almost every time I show up at the daycare in my car, it is in the middle of the cycle. I have shut it down countless times in the middle of a cycle an never once had an SES afterwards.

Originally Posted by Snipe656

Almost every time I show up at the daycare in my car, it is in the middle of the cycle. I have shut it down countless times in the middle of a cycle an never once had an SES afterwards.

You may be right, just a coincidence as I have shut the car off several times before in the middle of a cycle with no SES light. All I know is after a brisk drive to work the light went out and I am a happy camper. I think I need to drive it more aggressively and quit trying to maximize my fuel mileage.

Maybe so. I'd recommend buying some sort of code scanner then you can have a better idea for next time. They even make ODBII scanners that run on phones, friend has one for his android based phone.

Does anyone have experience with installing the Execuhitch on the 335d? Mine is 2009 E92 I believe. Dean at Execuhitch says it is OK but would like to talk to someone who has installed.
24K miles and no problems. Just fun.

Originally Posted by DA2009335d

Does anyone have experience with installing the Execuhitch on the 335d? Mine is 2009 E92 I believe. Dean at Execuhitch says it is OK but would like to talk to someone who has installed.
24K miles and no problems. Just fun.

You ought to ask this question in a separate thread. Don't think you will get much response as it is buried in my thread about the SES light. Just a thought.

So I get SES again but this time it is not willing to clear on its own. Came on Wed evening. Everything runs pretty much same except for climate, we had first snow storm in last 2 days. I am going on extended vacation starting next weekend so I will see if I can get appointment.

Originally Posted by bimmerdiesel

So I get SES again but this time it is not willing to clear on its own. Came on Wed evening. Everything runs pretty much same except for climate, we had first snow storm in last 2 days. I am going on extended vacation starting next weekend so I will see if I can get appointment.

Bimmerdiesel, I am really happy with my Garmin Nuvi 3970LMT with Ecoroute. I can see all codes that show and reset them, if they are indeed resetable. I posted some photos of the readout in the past, if curious I can find them.

Good luck, most likely an issue with some of the emission equipment.