[GTFISH]

My independent mechanic diagnosised my 2010 335d CEL light and it needs a tank replacement. Car has 118k miles and the tank was replaced at 40k miles by the first owner. It is not within the VIN range of a recall or service bulletin. I have two questions.
1) Is there any way to get BMW to pay for the repair?
2) Is there a way to bypass the DEF and still pass Texas inspection rules?
Thanks in advance.
Greg

[BB_cuda]

No emission check on diesels in Texas.

[QUIKDZL]

I don't know the answers to your questions, but Xemodex will repair it for $500. http://xemodex.com/us/product/scr-co...eturn-for-bmw/

[Frediesel]

I had two tank-related codes (level sensor and temperature sensor). I cleaned the crystallized fluid on the outside of the tank and saw that it was almost empty in the process. I poured 2.5 gallons of def and codes/SES light went away. I was planning on going with Xemodex since they offer a lifetime warranty.

[335dwanted]

I think it is highly unlikely that you are going to get BMW to pay for any of this if that replacement tank is outside of the BMW 2 year parts warranty.

Being in TX, you are fairly free to sort this out however you like without any concern for inspections, but I don't believe there is any simple way to bypass the SCR/DEF system. I am fairly certain that you will need to reprogram your DDE to eliminate the SCR/DEF functionality so that you don't get the dreaded "no restart in 999 miles". So you will need to contact the handful of software tuners for our cars. All of the "on the shelf" tunes I have seen eliminate both the DPF and the SCR/DEF systems (some leave both the DPF and SCR/DEF functional, but I have never seen any leave just the DPF functional). If you want to leave the DPF functional, you could see if the Tuners were willing to help you out. If you are willing to eliminate the DPF as well there are a handful of Tuners to do this. Search on this forum under "alphabet delete" and you can read volumes about this. To cut to the chase, you will need to get a downpipe that replaces the DPF. You will also need to deal with the SCR Cat as it will eventually get clogged. Some are opening the SCR cat and "gutting" it (removing the substrate) and welding it back. Others are replacing the midpipe where the SCR Cat is.

If you remove they DPF and SCR/DEF systems you will have a somewhat smoky (dependent on Tune), somewhat smelly emissions noncompliant vehicle which should be substantially more powerful while also more fuel efficient.

EDIT: You don't mention which codes you had, however, if the problem is the temperature probe in the DEF tank there is a fairly easy and wildly inexpensive fix. You can search for that, the thread is relatively current.

Originally Posted by GTFISH

My independent mechanic diagnosised my 2010 335d CEL light and it needs a tank replacement. Car has 118k miles and the tank was replaced at 40k miles by the first owner. It is not within the VIN range of a recall or service bulletin. I have two questions.
1) Is there any way to get BMW to pay for the repair?
2) Is there a way to bypass the DEF and still pass Texas inspection rules?
Thanks in advance.
Greg

[GTFISH]

It isn't the emission check but the inspection that would cause the issue. Check engine light would cause it to fail.

Thanks for the help guys. Realized I haven't filled the tank in a while so that will be my next step and cross fingers the light goes away. Next is to verified the code and maybe it is the temperature sensor. I would appreciate a link for the thread. I did a quick search and didn't see it. Thanks again.

[335dwanted]

Originally Posted by GTFISH

It isn't the emission check but the inspection that would cause the issue. Check engine light would cause it to fail.

Thanks for the help guys. Realized I haven't filled the tank in a while so that will be my next step and cross fingers the light goes away. Next is to verified the code and maybe it is the temperature sensor. I would appreciate a link for the thread. I did a quick search and didn't see it. Thanks again.

http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1209238

[GTFISH]

Originally Posted by 335dwanted

http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1209238

Thank you!

[kbsilver]

Originally Posted by Frediesel

I had two tank-related codes (level sensor and temperature sensor). I cleaned the crystallized fluid on the outside of the tank and saw that it was almost empty in the process. I poured 2.5 gallons of def and codes/SES light went away. I was planning on going with Xemodex since they offer a lifetime warranty.

Does anyone know what causes the level sensor issue. There are no moving parts so is it just crystallized DEF in the tank? I had an SES for a tank level sensor, then a week later the xxx miles to no start came on. I added 1/2 gallon to the active tank and both went away.

I'm waiting for the low alert to come one again and I will add DEF to just the passive tank to test the transfer system. My car is a 2011, 77K miles, original DEF tank.

[Frediesel]

My thought was that the faulty sensor could not read that the DEF level was low nor read the temperature inside, but knew that something was off. I'm thinking the DEF level needs to be high enough to be read by the temperature sensor. I did not get the XXX miles to no start alert, but I think it should have been on. The DEF inside my tank was not crystallized.

[Hoooper]

Originally Posted by kbsilver

Does anyone know what causes the level sensor issue. There are no moving parts so is it just crystallized DEF in the tank? I had an SES for a tank level sensor, then a week later the xxx miles to no start came on. I added 1/2 gallon to the active tank and both went away.

I'm waiting for the low alert to come one again and I will add DEF to just the passive tank to test the transfer system. My car is a 2011, 77K miles, original DEF tank.

How does the level sensor measure tank fill level? I would guess it starts getting faults due to crystallization on whatever picks up the level, whether that be some electrical contacts, depth rod, etc.

[QUIKDZL]

The urea simply completes the electrical circuit between rods of different lengths. The reference rod is the longest (deepest) with empty, mid, and full being progressively shorter.

[Hoooper]

Originally Posted by QUIKDZL

The urea simply completes the electrical circuit between rods of different lengths. The reference rod is the longest (deepest) with empty, mid, and full being progressively shorter.

Presumably it looks for some specific continuity, at least to evaluate the condition of the rods? Otherwise the rod would have to get ridiculously crystallized for it to stop conducting altogether.

[QUIKDZL]

I'm sure there is a threshold voltage that denotes continuity, although I don't know what it is. But there is no attempt to evaluate rod condition or even urea quality. Just urea level in zones.

I agree that a heavy crystallization would be required to disrupt this circuit.

[kbsilver]

Originally Posted by QUIKDZL

I'm sure there is a threshold voltage that denotes continuity, although I don't know what it is. But there is no attempt to evaluate rod condition or even urea quality. Just urea level in zones.

I agree that a heavy crystallization would be required to disrupt this circuit.

A little guessing here... my level sensor fault may have been something like the high level sensor was detecting fluid, but the mid level sensor was not. This fails a simple logical test and would be declared as a fault.

[QUIKDZL]

You're right. Troubleshooting would entail measuring continuity across each probe to reference. Do this at the connector above the tank. Also check for dirty, loose, or broken connections.