Help DPF problem....

[dave b]

Hi guys/girls
I have a problem which is probably my own fault but could do with some advice

05 "55" 330d 6sp man

during last few weeks with all the rubbish weather i have been doing a lot of 1-2 mile runs and now as the car is warming up the i-drive is coming up with particle filter failure "safe to continue journey bit take to stealer"
CC-ID 49

I have taken down the motorway approx 30 miles holding her at 4k to try and burn any cloggedness off but so far been unsuccessful

any ideas or anyone else had the same prob?

Cheers
Dave

[istiaquechoudhury]

i work on DPFs on other OEMs and you have one of two ways that the system works:

[1] when the message comes, driver cannot do anything and must trigger a "service" regen to be done by a dealer using a special tool.

OR

[2] This is level 1 of 2, so it can be regenerated in various someways. Some OEMs recommend a motorway journey, others with x amount of miles at x amount of RPM, but it all depends if its level 1 of 2 (recoverable by driver) or level 2 (recoverable by service regen).

Unfortunately the only way to find out is, ask the dealer what DTC/OBD code is set to request the driver to drive differently and what DTC/OBD code is set that it can only be recovered by a service regen.

[dave b]

cheers for the reply i will be calling the dealer later today and see what they say

[ihpj]

I have had to be mindful of the DPF in my E90 for precisely the reason you have just highlighted.

One thing I have done is, where I am mostly pottering around town, I will stick the car into say third and drive at 60MPH for a few miles (high revs) to help the DPF regenerate.

Hopfully you will have a nice enough Dealer and they will help you out FoC!

[dave b]

I have spoken to the dealer and I am taking the car in on Monday

They have said that they will stick it on the machine and check the fault codes etc and that they will if required launch a regeneration. They have advised that if they do that I will need to take her down the motorway and after that and see if it fixes it.

And FOC which is very nice of them too.

Just hope it works!!!!!!

[istiaquechoudhury]

dave b - i thought you might be joking around as my ex manager who worked with me on DPFs is also DAVE B lol

[dave b]

Well been to teh dealer and computer says filter blocked....

they set up a re generation and i have taken the car for a 70mile motorway journey

The light did come on during the journey and i have been advised to take it for a few more high rev runs and if it stays the same

replacement required

gutted!

Can anyone give me any opinions / experiences of having a 330D de-filtered (like de-cat)???

[ihpj]

Can anyone give me any opinions / experiences of having a 330D de-filtered (like de-cat)???

Don't think so as the system is integral. As for removing it completely, I guess it would be illegal - in the sense that your cars emissions would be too high - and hence why there exist Euro IV/V Emissions Standards.

To replace the DPF isn't going to be cheap...keep us posted.

[paulmc]

Can anyone give me any opinions / experiences of having a 330D de-filtered (like de-cat)???

Removing it will cause a warning to come up in your dash and maybe safe mode. Either replace the filter or write a new file to your ecu to remove the DPF. Most cost effective way would be, get a remap with the DPF delete included. That is what I am having done at the moment. Way cheaper than a new DPF and faster

[rigeng]

Can anyone give me any opinions / experiences of having a 330D de-filtered (like de-cat)???

Removing it will cause a warning to come up in your dash and maybe safe mode. Either replace the filter or write a new file to your ecu to remove the DPF. Most cost effective way would be, get a remap with the DPF delete included. That is what I am having done at the moment. Way cheaper than a new DPF and faster :D

I take it you are just going to have a custom made pipe replacing the DPF then. Look forward to reading about it on your web site soon.....

[paulmc]

my plan is 3" exhaust from turbo back, but yes maybe just do the DPF first and go from there

[gasmeter]

Hi

Not sure if this helps you

http://ecusafe.com/html/dpf___fap_removal.html

Looks like they may be overriding the code that reads the dpf sensor fooling the ecu into thinking it has one.


Peter

my plan is 3" exhaust from turbo back, but yes maybe just do the DPF first and go from there

[paulmc]

Yeah looks a good tool but you still need to read the ecu file, run ecu safe to remove the dpf, correct the Checksum ( no mention of it in the tool, granted most professional tools do checksum calculation on writing to the newer ecus) then write it back to the ecu.

All ecusafe does is make DPF, Top speed removal quicker / easier for the tuner. AND they can protect their file from copy shops.

[dave b]

update....

The dealer has read the fault codes "DPF Blocked"

They have done a regeneration and I have taken the car on two long motorway drives and still no joy...


Dealer quoted £1350 just for parts

.. should have got an M3 with costs like that

Dont know what to do now!

[stant1man]

Dave, we are currently working on removal of these filters on all E9x and E6x models, perhaps in a week or two you'll have your solution.

[bryntech]

There was a chap on here a while back with a similar issue on a 535d, with nothing to loose, he removed the DPF and gutted it, by knocking the core out, he refitted it and said his car went like a rocket, no fault codes if I remember correctly.
Had a look for the post but can't find it.

[bryntech]

Found it:

Well the car is back and going like a rocket!!
Apparantly there are 2 sections of DPF one at the front and one in the middle. The front filter was completely coaked up so has now been carefully removed
Middle section has been cleaned with petrol and set on fire to burn of coke and re-assembled.
Car was still sluggish for about 100 miles then all of a sudden a ploom of smoke came out the back and it is now running better than ever.
Total cost was 5 hours labour at my mates garage (£200.00) and it sailed through an emmisions test as well

[stant1man]

Found it:

Well the car is back and going like a rocket!!
Apparantly there are 2 sections of DPF one at the front and one in the middle. The front filter was completely coaked up so has now been carefully removed
Middle section has been cleaned with petrol and set on fire to burn of coke and re-assembled.
Car was still sluggish for about 100 miles then all of a sudden a ploom of smoke came out the back and it is now running better than ever.
Total cost was 5 hours labour at my mates garage (£200.00) and it sailed through an emmisions test as well

The E6x 530d has a primary cat and the DPF is in the centre. Would be interesting to see the results of this on the E9x 330d, seems like an interesting science experiment Goggles and Aprons men!

The E9x 330d combines both the cat and the DPF in one can in the turbo downpipe

[dave b]

***Update***


Ok in relation to my DPF problem I was faced with 2 options either pay the £1207 that BMW had offered and get it fixed or cut my losses with the car trade it in / sell it etc. Neither of which I wanted to do as I love the car but £1207 is a lot of money.


Anyway I spoke to Stan @ Ecotune (stant1man) who I have to say has saved the day!

We discussed the pro’s and con’s of having the DPF removed and after some thought and a few emails later I decided it was going to be the better option.
So earlier on in the month I took the drive up to Scotland to see Stan and his two pals Cameron and Campbell. It was a 200 mile drive and I was greeted by Campbell and Cameron two cheerful guys who were busy working but took the time out to chat and even gave me a lift to the train station which was a short distance away. I arranged with Stan to leave my car with them a week as I was working and I didnt need it.
Stan regularly kept me updated with the progress on my car and due to the distance involved and my hectic schedule I ended up not being able to pick my car up for an extra few days.

So another half day on the train up to Scotland the day come.....

I have ended up with

2.5” 316 stainless steel DPF Off downpipe with sensor bosses and machined turbo fitting.
iFlash customer operated OBD2 programming tool
Stage 1 DPF Off 275hp software appx (Ecotune)
Stage 2 DPF Off 290hp software appx (Maxitune)


Stan took me out in the car and went through step by step how to remap my own car to either stage 1 or 2 with the programming tool which is a doddle to use! (will add some pics soon). Instantly the car felt completely different. I use a 330 for work too and my own car always felt more responsive than the work one but now! It needs to be driven to show what i mean just normal town bumbling about is even different the gradual accelaration is smoother it feels like a new car. Obviously I had a 200 mile journey home and although resisted the temptation to be stupid experimented coming off service slip roads etc joing motorways and the accelartion is outrageous my car now pulls like a space shuttle and im not kidding!

Although the jounerny home was mainly motorway (cruise cont on @ 70) it was busy, congestion and some stand still traffic I stopped off at 4 services as I was tired from coming off a night shift to pick my car up I was amazed to see 56.5mpg which i have never seen on my dash before. ( and my car is set at stage 2 at the moment).
The added bonus is that I do mainly bumble about and dont do a huge amount of mileage so choosing the DPF off mod means I wont be seeing the Diesel particle filter failure message in 12 months time saving me anothe £****.


I just want to say thanks to Stan for all his help and advice and pateince and would advise anyone worried about DPF probs or experiencing DPF prob to give him a call.

I have some pictures that I will add when i get chance.

[daveyboy467]

hiya,

good thread and info, but the major bit you missed if u dont mind me asking: how much did this cost?

also what mileage did your car have on it when this problem occurred?

thanks