Any idea what this stuff growing under my hood is?

[Crash513]

I noticed this under the hood of my '11 X5 Xdrive 3.5d today while I was refilling the washer reservoir. It appears that there is some kind of cup under the round black object (which I assume is some kind of bleed valve)? The chalky tan substance appears to have caked up around the lip of the cup, and solidified. It's got a weird, strand like material around it that almost looks like fiberglass laid up with resin.

Does anyone have any idea what this assembly is and what it does? Any reason for concern about the material that has collected here? Any advice is much appreciated.

Thanks,

Crash

[dan11]

It's for your secondary def tank. That build up is normal and you can just flush it away easily.

[seattle]

The white substance would be DEF fluid. Dealer did a sloppy job refilling your DEF.

That being said, I have never seen buildup like that! Perhaps the closing cup is leaking?

[ard]

Originally Posted by seattle

The white substance would be DEF fluid. Dealer did a sloppy job refilling your DEF.

That being said, I have never seen buildup like that! Perhaps the closing cup is leaking?

Agreed. NEVER seen that level of build up- it is not just a spill, but looks like continuous leakage/vapors then condensing.

I would be concerned with evaporation from the DEF tank and crystalizing potentially causing an issue in the tank or with DEF injection...

Was this serviced by BMW? Niello? I would bring it in, ask them to look at it and verbalize these concerns. Not necessarily have they fix it, but "I need to know your thoughts on this" Maybe insist they document it? The DEF tank is covered under the 7/70 CA warranty. Technically the warranty says "SCR reagent reservoir" ...and that includes the tank, the fill neck, the cap, the cap seal, etc.

Just fyi

[bawareca]

Originally Posted by ard

The DEF tank is covered under the 7/70 CA warranty. Technically the warranty says "SCR reagent reservoir" ...and that includes the tank, the fill neck, the cap, the cap seal, etc.

Just fyi

I know the BMW warranty is voided when a car is salvaged, but what about this CA warranty?
BTW, a friend's '12 X5 50i ,that we bought salvaged last year, just went thru a full engine reconstruction in Center BMW under the service company for N63. No questions asked.

[ard]

The CA warranty statement has the following:

"The SAV, if the Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) is altered or cannot be determined, or if the SAV has been declared a total loss or sold for salvage purposes."

[bawareca]

Originally Posted by ard

The CA warranty statement has the following:

"The SAV, if the Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) is altered or cannot be determined, or if the SAV has been declared a total loss or sold for salvage purposes."

Good enough, thanks

[blue dragon]

The cap is probably just not on properly

[Doug Huffman]

NH3 ammonia disassociation ion is corrosive. I'd clean it up and prevent further build up.

[ard]

Originally Posted by blue dragon

The cap is probably just not on properly

Originally Posted by Doug Huffman

NH3 ammonia disassociation ion is corrosive. I'd clean it up and prevent further build up.

Agree and agree. But I want the dealer to document this on a BMW work order so if there are issues with crystallization in the tank in the future the issue is documented.