See this file which some one posted here before. I don't buy it though because some of them cleared even though I was no where near the conditions, yet others take forever even when I tried. Anyway try that nmhc in this file

Sorry to revive this older topic, but experiencing similar issues with my 2010 X5.

Just got back from dealer and they claim the DPF filter needs to be replaced. Seems to me, the vehicle just can't do a regen to clear this out.

The specific questions I have are:

CEL is on and generic OBD II Reader throwing P14A7, which points to DPF. I assume just resetting this code will not force it to perform a regen?

Along with CEL, the DPF light comes on after about 5 minutes of driving with warning of reduced power. What exactly does this light tell me? (That regen cannot take place? regen will take place? system is at end of life and will not function anymore?, etc.). I assume this message is being triggered from the pressure sensors on the DPF mentioned in this thread.

Pressing "OK" makes DPF message go away until reappearing on next start.

OBD II reader also has a dashboard, reporting 140F engine temp during long hwy drive. Is this too low? It's possible that this isn't accurate. I specifically mentioned the thermostat and BMW said it wasn't an issue. Are they just reporting what their scan "DIDN"T" tell them, or is there something on their scan that can report the health of the thermostat?

With the "sacrificial hose" trick mentioned in this thread, must I use a specific tool (Rheingold, Carly, were mentioned) to specifically request a regen? Is resetting the error codes enough to trigger a regen using this method?

They suckered me out of a grand to fix glow plug module and a plug (I knew these were bad going in) to get down to only the emissions issues. So, I'd like to find a way to resolve this without dropping another 2K+ to replace the DPF.

Any other tricks to get regen to fire would be helpful.

Why not fine a "not a BMW dealer" who can remove and clean your DPF?


How many miles?

140F is 60C which is very low. Your thermostat is worn and that will make regens not happen. Too low temperatures also wear your glow plugs out as they stay on below 75 C

The dealers are idiots because they won't see a problem because their retarded software doesn't see it as a problem. The stupid car doesn't have a proper algorithm to see that a car that doesn't hit 70C+after a long period as an issue... you would think those idiots would watch for that but they only care about passing the short warranty period. Plus we don't have a freaking temperature gauge, so nobody knows until bigger issues crop up!
Garbage in, garbage out.

Fix the thermostat (waterpump too, not much more and it's on the same spot so labor) and then get it past 70 C/160F and if it doesn't regen, then look at the threads for the trick, which doesn't need Carly iirc.
You can see when a regen is happening by watching the exhaust gas temperature, or EGT in your obd scanner.

F to C. F-32, take that divide it by 1.8
C to F, Cx1.8, add 32 to that number

Carly can tell you how many successful regenerations have occurred, mileage at the last successful, average mileage interval, soot mass, differential pressure and much more. It costs money, though. I'm sure other devices can do so also. All of these parameters can let you know the state of the DPF and regeneration system. How many miles on your X5? I'd guess at a certain point, it just has to be replaced. 60k miles is way too early. 200k, it might just be time.

My thermostat started slowly failing. Quite quickly, glow plug 1 failed. At first, I could clear the CEL but then it became a hard fault. Later, cylinder 2 control circuit began to have issues. I replaced all of the glow plugs and the glow plug control module.

Thanks for the replies.

Vehicle has 105K on it. I suspected the thermostat all along. Of course the dealer wants to replace the DPF, because that's what the service tech tells them to do.

I brought it in to the dealer only because a previous recall visit flagged the NOx sensors as bad, and I recently found a communication that BMW NA extended the warranty for NOx sensors to 120K or 10 years. Of course this visit did not flag them as bad, and since their system didn't flag them, no warranty work can be done. I'm sure they'll fail at 120,001.

I cleared the codes and took it on a 2 hour hwy test drive last night and temp hovered in the 135F range (we have an 85mph speed limit on a local toll road here). Eventually, it threw a code for the the DPF filter and one for the thermostat not being to temp (P0128), plus the DPF filter message. That second code seems pretty telling that the thermostat is not right.

Will likely take it to my indie for the thremostat and water pump replace and go from there.

Update on my DPF issue...

It basically became undrivable. Every time I stepped on the gas, the engine malfunction light would come on due to the turbo not functioning correctly and probably the engine temperature. (Interestingly enough, it would downshift and RPMs would spike when this happened. Seems to me this is putting even more stress on the engine.)

So I took it into my indie and had them replace the thermostat and water pump. Again, I mentioned this to the dealer when I had it in and they said it wasn't an issue.

After repair, they didn't have time to take it for an extended drive, and said their software didn't have the ability to issue a regen request, but told me to drive it and bring it back if issues don't resolve. After I picked it up and drove it a few blocks, the Engine Malfunction light came on the first time I gave it some gas, throwing the Turbo Underboost error code (P0299), and then a couple minutes later the DPF filter message came on (P12A7). I drove for a couple more minutes and pulled over to check codes. Both the underboost and DPF codes logged in my OBD II software. I cleared the codes and proceeded to drive again. Since no lights came back on after about 15 minutes, I took it on the Highway for about 45 minutes and no lights came back on.

Monitoring it the entire time during the drive, the engine temp was now at a steady 190-200F (was 140F before repair) and exhaust temps stayed in the 700-800F range. It seemed to be running fairly well, but I couldn't tell if it was kicking into the regen cycle. After the test drive, I pulled over and let it sit for about 20 minutes and then drove again, with no CEL or DPF lights.

Knock on anything wooden, I have had about a half dozen starts since the test drive and no check engine lights. It seems to be giving me a little more power when stepping on the gas. I am assuming that either a regen ran, even though I couldn't tell, or the exhaust was now hot enough to start purging the DPF. It probably needs to run another regen cycle or two to get back to normal, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

So to all that suggested the Thermostat replacement, kudos! The dealer shrugged it off and just wanted to replace the DPF filter, which would have probably had me back in for another one in less that 6 months. Again, only took it to dealer to get potential warranty work done on the NOx sensors they suggested several months earlier, only to tell me it was no longer an issue.