Seeing some DPM on the back of my car - UPDATE to the UPDATE

Originally Posted by bayoucity

Chris,

Will you post a screen shot of of your campaign job? When my diesel was in for the 1st schedule maintenance, the shop kept it for an additional day due to 1 TSB item from BMW. Below is the campaign that was performed. Since mine is a 2011 MY, I will think that we both shall be subjected to the same BMW TSB.

I will do that.

Originally Posted by bayoucity

Below are the close-up photos of driver side tailpipe & passenger side tailpipe. I might have to use some of that white powder stuff to clean it again.

Meguiars metal polish will take it out. Plus will work on the outside of them.

Originally Posted by cssnms

Despite the soot on my bumper, my pipes don't look nearly that crusty!

That was a ton cleaner that the primary pipe on the 335i I parked next to. I have not cleaned the insides since January, so 4-5k miles ago.

Fault code was 4D35, for the clogged metering module. Ticket says, "RnR Metering Module for Diesel. Clean per SIB, Reset Fault Code and Road Test."

This is the same code referenced in the other thread I posted up earlier. Whether or not this helps with the soot problem remains to be seen. The car does feel smoother on acceleration, but maybe that's because I just got of a 3.8L Charger loaner.

My car was at a service clinic two weeks ago - is this a new service bulletin? Could it contribute to my low MPG's - just under 30, mostly hwy.

Originally Posted by EYE4SPEED

My car was at a service clinic two weeks ago - is this a new service bulletin? Could it contribute to my low MPG's - just under 30, mostly hwy.

I am not sure, I didn't notice my mpg's were effected in anyway. I was actually getting pretty good mileage city (27) and a combined 31/33 with a few short highway trips thrown in.

It may very well be the quality of the gas you are using i.e. low cetane rating. I have noticed a dramatic difference in mpg's between diesel stations. The station I frequent Quest, provides the best performance. I hear the min cetane rating of the diesel they sell is 47.

Hmm...does not seem normal. I have an AW and it does not get any dirt on the tailpipes or rear decklid. I am always amazed at how clean it is. My 535 however has crazy dirty tailpipes and I cannot figure out how to get those things clean. Any suggestions?

Originally Posted by Alpine300ZHP

Hmm...does not seem normal. I have an AW and it does not get any dirt on the tailpipes or rear decklid. I am always amazed at how clean it is. My 535 however has crazy dirty tailpipes and I cannot figure out how to get those things clean. Any suggestions?

I have some meguiars metal polish that will make mine look new inside and out. It is really simple to use and I used to do it everytime I washed the car but kind of quit caring about the insides so now do it whenever I wax the car.

Here the picture promised:

In my above posts I was only referring to the "rim", I've never gotten low enough to take a look inside the pipe and am not concerned about that one bit.

But it looks like this "burning" or whatever one calls it is normal among our oil burners.

Originally Posted by grapes87

Here the picture promised:

In my above posts I was only referring to the "rim", I've never gotten low enough to take a look inside the pipe and am not concerned about that one bit.

But it looks like this "burning" or whatever one calls it is normal among our oil burners.

Hmmm,,, my pipes actually look cleaner than that despite the soot I am seeing on the bumper. BUT they may only look clean because I wash my car every week including the tailpipes, so nothing really gets a chance to accumulate.

That said, I would take dirty tailpipes over this soot thing any day.

That looks normal to me and looks like the stuff that basically washed off. So if someone were anal with washing the car then they might never see it to that point.

Originally Posted by Snipe656

That looks normal to me and looks like the stuff that basically washed off. So if someone were anal with washing the car then they might never see it to that point.

I am pretty anal about keeping my car clean, but its impossible for me to do. But the tail pipe you can see from miles away (ok -- not that far.) There is another 335d in my work garage (don't know the owner) and he has similar soot in that area.

I'll try to take a picture tonight from a normal point of view height that shows what I'm talking about.

Originally Posted by grapes87

I am pretty anal about keeping my car clean, but its impossible for me to do. But the tail pipe you can see from miles away (ok -- not that far.) There is another 335d in my work garage (don't know the owner) and he has similar soot in that area.

I'll try to take a picture tonight from a normal point of view height that shows what I'm talking about.

Your picture looks a lot like most 335d cars I have come across in parking lots, which admitedly is probably only half a dozen cars so not a huge sampling to make a judgement. I saw one that was worse but the entire car was pretty dirty too. When I do my walks during my lunch breaks I almost always see one of two different 335d(one black one and one white one) cars. Neither one of those cars has the solid black tailpipe(want to say passenger side, it is their primary pipe) that I normally notice on any 335i I see driving or parked. So overall, I'd say that is a pretty clean tailpipe.

Originally Posted by Snipe656

So if someone were anal with washing the car then they might never see it to that point.

That would be me!

Tailpipe pic. Car washed last weekend.

Originally Posted by cssnms

Tailpipe pic. Car washed last weekend.

Jealous.

My pipes look like that, actually worse. I do have 16,000 miles and I have never cleaned the pipes. I think that is normal and (forgive me) it does not bother me in the slightest.

I get a very fine layer of grime around the back of the car. Unfortunately I don't wash the car very often (it is parked outside and gets coated with city dust within a few hours). I think the stuff at the rear is probably road dust, pollen, and a little bit of soot. Thank goodness for Tasman Green.

My tailpipes have a dirty spot at the bottom, very similar to the pic posted by grapes87. It was quite a bit less noticeable several months ago so I think I'd better see about polishing them. Would Brasso or toothpaste work?

My 2001 330ci has soot on the rear bumper as soon as the day after a wash. I assumed the car was running too rich .....but now see the "problem" is not unique to my car. I have 85000 miles and the car is in excellent condition though I thought it needed to be tuned because it seems the power less than it should be and I thought the soot was a sign that the mixture was off. Seems to be burning more gas than normal too.

When getting behind the wheel recently I noticed that I had a bit of oily/powdery grime along my right thumb. At first I didn't think much about it but the second time it happened I realized I probably got it from handling the trunk lid. I haven't examined the underside edge of the trunk lid but will do that soon.

I think it might be a good idea to have my exhaust system checked out.

See, not if you used the handles on the inside of the trunk lid to shut it then you'd never discovered that

I usually do use the inner handle, so I think it might be when I open the trunk using the latch rather than the keyfob.

Sent from my SCH-I510 using Bimmer App

Just remember to never ever touch the paint. It is sensitive and gets its feelings hurt easily. I always use the latch and never noticed something on my hand. I have beige interior and am pretty paranoid about checking my hands for anything that might hurt my interiors feelings.

Originally Posted by cssnms

I am very anal about keeping my cars clean so I might be more sensative and thus keen to notice it then most. I would be willing to bet my next paycheck it is DPM vs road grime. I do not see a lot of soot around the tailpipes or no more then what I would consider "normal." As mentioned previously, I've owned white cars before and never experienced this issue. The DPM I am seeing starts to accumulate almost immediately after I wash my car and doing some spirited driving. It is a very fine black powdery substance, that when I run my finger across it it leaves a very distinct line and black on my finger. If my car were any other color it would not be noticable to the eye at least until it accumulated to a point where it might be more visible or after it rains.

I would be very interested to hear from another AW d owner as to their experience/findings. Or maybe one of you guys that thinks your car is clean right now, go rub your finger across your rear bumper and tell me what color it is after doing so.

I have an AW and I notice exactly the same thing. It has done this since I got it. Never bothered me any. Don't misunderstand- I would bet I am every bit as anal as you are on car maintenance. As a matter of fact, when I first saw it, I was surprised not at the soot, but that the soot would stick to my multiple Zaino-layered finish that I spent days layering on .

My pipes will also get a very slight darkening at 6:00 which comes off very easily with Nevr-dull. This doesn't bother me either. It's a nice reminder of that wonderful power plant under the hood

Originally Posted by bayoucity

Wait ! I believe it is normal to have those thin layer of black soot in the rear & its PIA to keep them clean if you have AW. Am I wrong?

p/s: Attached photos are showing rear view & close-up of the black shoot. BTW, I been bad & she hasn't been washed for 4 weeks. Please tell me it is normal.

You live in Houston. The VOC's and burn off (flare) blowing in from Deer Park and Pasadena could easily cause that IMO.