X5 35d - Exhaust fluid

[darkside4.8]

Originally Posted by Craig

Just curious, are you running your car hard or towing? I've read, you will use more fluid in both cases. If not, something isn't right with your vehicle. I've had mine for a year and didn't need any fluid before my one year oil change.

Craig

nope. i'm told that short trip driving will do it, but that doesn't fly with me. i asked if this would be grounds to see if the car is somehow not functioning properly and i was told no.

[FunfDreisig]

Originally Posted by darkside4.8

am currently going through a fight with BMW NA over this fluid. Our 09 had it filled at 10k. now at 14k and need it again. it wont be covered. $227. .....

Originally Posted by darkside4.8

fluid plus two hours labor none of which is covered except once every 10k miles or once a year. i made it 4 months 4k miles. ....

How many gallons of DEF were on the paperwork for both of these DEF refills (i.e at 10k and at 14k)?

FWIW unless the passive tank was frozen when they put DEF in at 14k miles, BOTH of these DEF refills should have been at least 5-6 gals. If not, your dealer did not fill both tanks.

Funf Dreisig

[JCL]

Originally Posted by FunfDreisig

FWIW when our 35d requires it's first DEF 'fix' I will be spending the day at the dealer drinking lattes and eating cookies. I will require a conference with the tech about the details of exactly how the DEF was 'replenished' and how much DEF was used. I won't sign off on the warranty repair until the answer is at least 6 gals of DEF and the use of both fill orifices which I will have previously marked to assure that BOTH have at least been opened

Funf Dreisig

I admire your attention to detail. It shouldn't be necessary, but you do have a way of covering all of the bases.

[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

[Craig]

Originally Posted by darkside4.8

nope. i'm told that short trip driving will do it, but that doesn't fly with me. i asked if this would be grounds to see if the car is somehow not functioning properly and i was told no.

That's odd, most of my driving is short trips and mine went a year without needing a fill. If I had to fill mine all the time, I would get rid of it.

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