X5 35d - Exhaust fluid

[JCL]

Originally Posted by darkside4.8

yeah and if i do opt for the cheaper fluid and something goes wrong i'm SURE i will have just waved goodbye to my warranty as well.

You don't have to use BMW fluid. The owner's manual gives you the spec for the required fluid (AUS32). Any fluid that meets that standard is approved by BMW for warranty purposes.

[Diesel Guy]

Here's the scoop:

Spec AUS 32 is contained in ISO 22241. If you search for it on-line..you'll get this abstract:

ISO 22241-1:2006 specifies the quality characteristics of the NOx reduction agent AUS 32 (aqueous urea solution) which is needed to operate converters with selective catalytic reduction, so-called SCR (Selective Catalytic Reduction) converters, in motor vehicles with diesel engines. SCR converters are particularly suitable for selectively reducing the nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions of diesel engines.

If you want to purchase DEF other than BMW, the Fleetguard product (a Cummins company) can be found at Cummins Distributor branches.
Pricing over the counter is:

1 Gallon - $6.04

2.5 Gallon - $17.40

5 Gallon - $30.25

It's been my opinion that if your dealer fills both tanks, 6.5 gallon total, you should be able to make it between oil change, and have BMW pay for your refil. However, I think that the early warning messages that several of us have seen is most likely do to only having the active tank filled at delivery, not the larger tank that would take the bulk of the fluid. It's unfortunate that there is no way to get iDrive to check on the DEF fluid level.

[FunfDreisig]

Originally Posted by Diesel Guy

Here's the scoop:...
If you want to purchase DEF other than BMW, the Fleetguard product (a Cummins company) can be found at Cummins Distributor branches.
Pricing over the counter is:
1 Gallon - $6.04
2.5 Gallon - $17.40
5 Gallon - $30.25.....

So a careful shade tree mechanic could do a complete 6.5gal DEF fill up, using the easier to handle 1 gal containers, for less than $50, including the funnel

BTW has anyone used one of the special BMW DEF bottles that screw onto the DEF orifice? Are they reusable? IOW can you refill one of these fancy bottles so that there was no reasonable chance of overfilling the tanks or spilling any DEF under the hood?

Funf Dreisig

[Craig]

Originally Posted by FunfDreisig

So a careful shade tree mechanic could do a complete 6.5gal DEF fill up, using the easier to handle 1 gal containers, for less than $50, including the funnel

BTW has anyone used one of the special BMW DEF bottles that screw onto the DEF orifice? Are they reusable? IOW can you refill one of these fancy bottles so that there was no reasonable chance of overfilling the tanks or spilling any DEF under the hood?

Funf Dreisig

The system has to be flushed and filled once a year. I don't think a shade tree mechanic will have the equipement.

Craig

[FunfDreisig]

Originally Posted by Craig

The system has to be flushed and filled once a year. I don't think a shade tree mechanic will have the equipement.

But the DEF 'flush and fill' service is supposed to be part of the 4 years of 'free' service with each oil change. IMO four years from now a DEF flush and fill will probably be part of the services offered by most jiffy lube type shops. Or at worst any BMW indie repair shop.

My point was that even if BMW didn't cover any DEF fill up between oil changes, the cost would not be very much for owners who were even a little bit handy with automotive maintenance and could count to 2

The pricing posted by Diesel Guy makes the BMW dealer that charged darkside4.8 over $200 to top up his DEF tank (probably singular) only 4k miles after supposedly 'flushing and filling' both tanks behavior even more egregious.

Funf Dreisig

[Craig]

Originally Posted by FunfDreisig

But the DEF 'flush and fill' service is supposed to be part of the 4 years of 'free' service with each oil change. IMO four years from now a DEF flush and fill will probably be part of the services offered by most jiffy lube type shops. Or at worst any BMW indie repair shop.

My point was that even if BMW didn't cover any DEF fill up between oil changes, the cost would not be very much for owners who were even a little bit handy with automotive maintenance and could count to 2

The pricing posted by Diesel Guy makes the BMW dealer that charged darkside4.8 over $200 to top up his DEF tank (probably singular) only 4k miles after supposedly 'flushing and filling' both tanks behavior even more egregious.

Funf Dreisig

Something doesn't sound right. I believe darkside, but I don't trust his dealer filled the tanks, or he has a leak, or another problem...

Craig

[BitXplant]

Originally Posted by FunfDreisig

So a careful shade tree mechanic could do a complete 6.5gal DEF fill up, using the easier to handle 1 gal containers, for less than $50, including the funnel

BTW has anyone used one of the special BMW DEF bottles that screw onto the DEF orifice? Are they reusable? IOW can you refill one of these fancy bottles so that there was no reasonable chance of overfilling the tanks or spilling any DEF under the hood?

Funf Dreisig

Funf,

Thanks for the input and having lived in Bitburg for a while your posting name made me laugh. To give back I stumbled upon a great tool for locating the AdBlue fluid when your out traveling. Go to FindAdBlue.com. It is a searchable site for stateside and overseas and will even break it down if they will service your X5, take credit cards, and more. Great site...now all I have to figure out where I can buy the oil for my X5, any suggestions?

I appreciate you,
Charles

[darkside4.8]

i'm going to re-check the paperwork and maybe go in and pop quiz the service manager and tech... see what reactions i get when i talk about not one but TWO tanks.
i love the amount of ideas that fly around regarding this, very helpful. this thread's info provides a great arsenal to use on the dealership.

[santo]

Being someone who is seriously looking into buying a diesel and doesn't own one yet, I'm wondering if someone can answer why a flush is needed if the passive tank is empty and the active tank is giving warnings. Why would you need to flush an empty tank? Since the active tank will be used first, what's the point of flushing this if you drive it daily? I can certainly understand if during oil change time, the active tank is not empty but only the active tank would need to be flushed, no?

This DEF fluid seems to be one more thing to worry about; especially from a potential purchaser from a moderately cold climate (Canada) who doesn't require this system due to government regulations.

Santo

[Penguin]

Originally Posted by santo

Why would you need to flush an empty tank? Santo

I suspect the passive tank does not empty completely, i.e., using a pump to transfer DEF from passive to active tank probably leaves a few dregs in the tank and line to the active tank.

So a flush may not be completely necessary, but is also probably a good practice.