'13 35d - Honeymoon is Over - P045F -Exhaust Gas Recirculation B Control Stuck Closed

[daytonatrbo]

The LP EGR valve is vacuum operated. The vacuum lines and pressure converters/VSVs are all known issues on this engine. You may be low on miles, but age and other factors play a role in the rubber vacuum lines deteriorating.

Its probably worth your time to remove the plastic cover, remove the airbox and visually inspect the vacuum lines for any signs of issues.

[Best4x4xFAR]

And it is back out again. Wondering if it is gunked up with CBU, seems like a lot of talk of CBU issues with these engines, and some pretty scary photos..

Originally Posted by daytonatrbo

The LP EGR valve is vacuum operated. The vacuum lines and pressure converters/VSVs are all known issues on this engine. You may be low on miles, but age and other factors play a role in the rubber vacuum lines deteriorating.

Its probably worth your time to remove the plastic cover, remove the airbox and visually inspect the vacuum lines for any signs of issues.

Good Point, will see if I can do that this weekend..

Also found an interesting method of 'disabling' EGR operation. Of course you still have to live with the check engine light, or have it coded out, but looks like posters are reporting better MPG and smoother running..

[AlpineX]

Originally Posted by Best4x4xFAR

And it is back out again. Wondering if it is gunked up with CBU, seems like a lot of talk of CBU issues with these engines, and some pretty scary photos..





Good Point, will see if I can do that this weekend..

Also found an interesting method of 'disabling' EGR operation. Of course you still have to live with the check engine light, or have it coded out, but looks like posters are reporting better MPG and smoother running..

That looks to me like an EGR valve produced prior to 2010... later models got a newer version

[Best4x4xFAR]

So the Check engine light had gone out for some time, but came back a week or so ago..

Doesn't appear to be going away this time..

Did my first oil change on the car since purchase..

When I pulled the acoustic cover off the top of the engine, I noticed oil around the EGR valve area, thoughts?

Going to guess it may be related to the issue, was hoping someone may have experienced this and know the cause?

[josiahg52]

Yeah, it could be a major problem. Could be oil spillage during filling or oil dripping from the used oil filter during the filter change.

[SPL15]

Any resolution on this? Your photos look like there's seal leak on the air charge tube. This is not too uncommon & is fortunately is about as easy & cheap to fix on your own as it gets. Whether this is the cause of your apparent EGR issues, I can't say...

This air charge line is after the intercooler, & is pressurized under boost conditions. The oil residue is due to the crankcase ventilation system (CCV) putting oil mist & combustion blow-by from the crankcase into your air intake system (Seemingly, a chronic design issue for all BMW engines since the 1990's or so, both diesel & gasoline engines...)...

Pressure side air intake system leaks can cause a host of seemingly unrelated fault code SYMPTOMS & red herrings... The $160 diagnostic fee being asked by the dealership isn't unreasonable, as you can easily spend a whole lot more than that buying various replacement parts & sensors that are not actually faulty, let alone the value for your personal free time / sanity being used to replace all of the non-faulty parts...

[Best4x4xFAR]

Originally Posted by SPL15

Any resolution on this? Your photos look like there's seal leak on the air charge tube. This is not too uncommon & is fortunately is about as easy & cheap to fix on your own as it gets. Whether this is the cause of your apparent EGR issues, I can't say...

This air charge line is after the intercooler, & is pressurized under boost conditions. The oil residue is due to the crankcase ventilation system (CCV) putting oil mist & combustion blow-by from the crankcase into your air intake system (Seemingly, a chronic design issue for all BMW engines since the 1990's or so, both diesel & gasoline engines...)...

Pressure side air intake system leaks can cause a host of seemingly unrelated fault code SYMPTOMS & red herrings... The $160 diagnostic fee being asked by the dealership isn't unreasonable, as you can easily spend a whole lot more than that buying various replacement parts & sensors that are not actually faulty, let alone the value for your personal free time / sanity being used to replace all of the non-faulty parts...

Hmmmm, that is an interesting perspective, thank you. If that is the case, scary to see how much oil is being recirculated to the intake

Assuming this would be the connection at fault if this is the issue?

[wheres wally]

Hi Mate,

I had a similar issue with a 2008 30d. I however had quite a few codes, MAF sensor fault, Oxygen sensor fault, glowplug faults, DPF issues, and finally EGR control deviation fault.

Ended up replacing the MAF which made no difference, then started looking into the EGR, removed it to visually inspect, was relatively clean (with 320,000kms) and opened freely.

Reinstalled looked to see if it would open through the booth you highlighted above and there was no movement.

Eventually went through all vacuum hoses and traced it back to the pressure converter (also noticed when idling it was making a sort of quacking noise which has since gone since replacing).

Installed a new one and was all good from then on.

My suggestion would be to check all vacuum hoses to ensure no cracks or breaks.

[SPL15]

Originally Posted by Best4x4xFAR

Hmmmm, that is an interesting perspective, thank you. If that is the case, scary to see how much oil is being recirculated to the intake

Assuming this would be the connection at fault if this is the issue?

Yes, that would be the seal that is most likely leaking according to these specific photos. It's about $10 or so in cost & very easy to replace.

Keep in mind that this leak may not be the root cause for the codes & seeming EGR issues you've experienced. Also, the air leak could be between the anti-shudder valve & EGR Valve, as well as between the EGR Valve & Intake Manifold; all of these have been reported as potential leak points that have caused codes to be thrown.

Open your oil filler cap with the engine at idle... There is a lot of stuff that gets aerosolized / misted in the crankcase which you'll see wafting up thru the oil filler neck if you take the cap off, as well as hearing a noticeable repetitive "tock" sound from the vacuum generator / pump. Diesels are a pretty violent engine; hence why they're built stronger, & why they're regarded as longer lasting IF well maintained

With post inject DPF regen systems (as is the case with the M57), you'll get higher quantities of unburnt diesel misted into the air in the crankcase, as well as normal & expected combustion blow-by & misted engine oil... The CCV system isn't 100% efficient at filtering all of these things out of the air stream from the crankcase that gets fed back into your engine intake between the MAF Sensor & Large Turbo Air Intake, to be (re)burned in the cylinders... If you have any leak points post turbo charger in your intake system, this oily substance will gradually buildup near the leak point. Diesel fuel does not readily evaporate like gasoline, so it contributes to the oily substance & mess left on surfaces, where environmental dust & other debris will stick to the wet oily substance...

The misted / atomized diesel fuel & engine oil that gets fed back into the air intake system isn't that big of a concern in my opinion by itself, & possibly serves a lubricating function on the EGR Valve & intake valves; however, where this closed loop CCV system becomes a concern & downfall is that burning this misted / aerosolized engine oil in the cylinder causes higher quantities of ash to be sent to the DPF than would otherwise be the case if it were simply unburned diesel fuel & combustion blow-by (hence why DPF equipped Diesel engines spec out low or mid sulfated ash engine oil (low or mid SAPS)...

The primary reported issue w/ a closed loop CCV system in a modern diesel engine is due to the introduction of soot from the EGR system, where the aerosolized engine oil, diesel fuel, & combustion blow-by, is mixed & combined with soot & ash particulates from post combustion exhaust gasses, creating a slurry that is similar in consistency to tar / asphalt... When this engine oil / diesel fuel / soot / ash mixture builds up inside the engine intake system, it's called CBU (Carbon Build Up), which can & will cause issues with the function of the engine in a variety of ways.

[Scider]

So I have the same fault code. I haven't repaired it yet though. I did pull off the electronic valve looking assembly that sits between the manifold and throttle, the one with teh poppet style valve that gets all gunked up (pictured in previous posts). I cleaned it up, but it had surprisingly little spring pressure behind it.

I did eventually find that that poppet valve is supplied via the EGR cooler, and there is a vacuum actuated flapper valve on the inlet to the EGR cooler. The flapper is actuated via a vacuum system, controlled by a vacuum solenoid.

It's hard to know if this fault code lies in the poppet valve at the throttle, with a faulty vacuum solenoid, or if it's just a vacuum leak that's preventing the flapper from metering EGR correctly.

My first step is eventually going to be getting a vacuum tester and checking the lines, as that's the cheapest fix. Both the vacuum solenoid and the poppet valve device are big dollar replacement items.