> Diesel in the US is a lot dirtier than in Europe. Sounds like bad fuel to me.


Why would diesel ever touch the Urea injection pump?

The EU has a 10ppm sulphur limit in process.

Not so good news on my X5 3.5d. The dealer has told me that the software update went smoothly as did the replacement of the sensor. I am not sure of the technical name of the sensor but I was told the one in question was in the turbochargers. The problem arose that when the original sensor was pulled for replacement it had oil on it. Not sure if it was engine oil or another type but either is not good. They are keeping the car to confer with BMW in trying to determine the cause of the oil. I have noticed no excessive drop in engine oil levels nor any smoke to indicate an oil leak. I will post again when a final diagnosis and fix is reached.

Good luck and keep us posted...

Craig

Got car back from dealer. Final diagnosis per BMW Service Tech support was a bad temperature sensor in the turbo assembly. I was allowed to look at all of the correspondence and emails back and forth and hopefully this will fix the issue.

What was diagnosis regarding the oil on the original sensor?

i wish you luck my brother. but i must say nothing you have said sounds good to me. a diesel motor runs on oil and oil pressure. if you have oil in your turbos you have a problem.

what seems to me to be happening is you have pressurized oil being forced past seals in the motor.

The final email from BMW Tech Support stated that some oil in the air intake of the diesel was normal, that the sensor was faulty and the car should be returned to me. I know turbos need oil to lubricate the bearings and this diagnosis seems strange but I did read the emails relating to my problems and that is what the local dealer was told by PUMA which I understand is worldwide BMW Tech Support. As I said earlier I have not noticed excessive oil usage of any type so we will see if the problem is fixed.

I believe small amount of oil found in the turbo chambers are typical. Since BMW turbo uses some of the air coming out of the cylinder and then forced back in via turbos, it's bound to have a little oil. As you break the engine in more and the seals begin to do their jobs, those air intake should have less and less oil. I wouldn't worry about it too much and start enjoying the car.

drive it like you stole it OP. better to break under warranty.

i went thru two Ford diesels in 4 years. traded the first one back in as i didn't want the downtime after 7 months of problems and broke the second one at 86k miles still under warranty. the head bolts stretch on those. i now have a five year old truck with a new top end and turbo. cost me $100 for the factory deductible. they had it back together in a week.