I only said it could be the particulate filter burning off symtoms of which are burning smell and slight temporay loss of power.

Not sure you should see a warning light.

"Engine Malfunction - Reduced Power," can indicate dozens of different problems.

Smoke on starting in the morning from centre of the vehicle is almost certainly the fuel burning heater if the ambient temp is 5C or less.

:iagree:
But I think this thread may be mixing two different issues. The normal diesel particulate burn off which the manual says can produce lower performance/smoke and the possibly more serious "Engine Malfunction - Reduced Power," message which may be due to a number of things, including a low pressure fuel pump malfunction.

Funf Dreisig

Well, I did read that section on the diesel particulate filter and the symptoms were the same. The Engine Malfunction message wasn't part of that little excerpt, so I'm hoping there is something underlying that will get fixed. Will report back on what the dealer does when it goes in on Monday. I just hope the message is stored in the car computer, as I can't find it in Check Control anymore.

As others have said, there are a lot of things that can trigger that warning, but, FWIW, I seem to recall a post or two which indicated they got that message a few times prior to fuel pump failure.

Well, it is now at the dealership but they do not know what the problem is. We've had our X5 for ~100 days, yet it has been in the shop for 15 (and counting...) days. I've grown to like the E90 loaners way more than our X5 now.

Mine did the same thing right before the fuel pump failed.

The normal emission procedures do not produce warnings.
Most U.S. dealers don't have a clue when it comes to diesels.

I had the same warning within first 200 miles. It happened when I was passing someone and the RPM went over 3500, so I figured it was just warning me to keep it below 3500 RPM for the first 1200 miles. It hasn't happened since, I am now well passed the 1200 miles and I have rev the engine near red line a couple of times.