DPF Replace/Renew Options (E92 330D)

Burned_Alive

Burned_Alive

Burned_Alive

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My March 2007 E92 330D M Sport has just rolled over 177k miles and this week I got the amber particle filter warning, so I now need to decide what to do as I believe that means the DPF is now 70% blocked.

I have no intention of paying for a replacement DPF part, so I believe my options are to remove DPF and remap or have the existing DPF cleaned and maybe the sensors replaced.

I quite like the idea of removing and remap, but don't want any hassle with MOTs. As I understand it the DPF on my car was a cost option at the time and was only a standard part from Sept 2007, so I don't believe I'm required to have one, but not sure how to confirm this.

Thoughts? What would everyone recommend?
 
Fairly sure the rule is any DPF fitted as standard must be present and not tampered with, the grey area is your car where the DPF was an option, I’d imagine the tester will just see it’s there and assume it was a standard fit item, meaning it’s come from the factory with it which it has of course, I doubt it being an option would get you off the hook failure wise if you removed and remapped it, the tester will be looking for signs of removal or tampering.

Have you tried an Italian tune up? High ish constant speed in 3rd gear for a good few miles, you may be pleasantly surprised and see that light go out.
 
Would a forced regen not fix this? I blocked my DPF up and caused a DPF warning light when i drove my car for about 2-3k miles in limp mode due to having no time to fix another issue (it wont regen in limp mode) - a forced regen with the dealer computer cleared it out and its been fine ever since (15-20k miles ago?)
 
I think he means it's 70% blocked after a regen, DPFs have a lifespan each time it regens it doesn't totally clear it out. Almost 180k is pretty good going, a DPF on a car that has done a lot of short trips will barely make it past 100k before needing either replaced or removed and cleaned out in a kiln/reverse flushed.

I would look into getting it cleaned out off the car, 3rd party DPFs are pretty cheap but I am not sure how long these would last compared to OEM.
 
I have assumed, based on the lifespan, that the car has been regenerating normally through my use as I do 70 miles a day on the motorway.

Am I better off checking in with the dealer first? I was presuming that they would just try and replace it at £1200+.
 
Burned_Alive said:
I have assumed, based on the lifespan, that the car has been regenerating normally through my use as I do 70 miles a day on the motorway.

Am I better off checking in with the dealer first? I was presuming that they would just try and replace it at £1200+.
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I can only comment on my (Merc) situation, but the dealer computer (STAR) was able to give an accurate diagnosis of the exact health of the DPF, force regens, everything. Its worth checking with a garage with a dealer computer i would have thought?
 
There are many mobile DPF cleaning companies out there which don't charge much and certainly nowhere near the £1200 a dealer will ask for for replacing it. A good cleaning company will scan all the codes, check for any underlying issues and repair them before cleaning the DPF

I wouldn't trust third party DPF filters - from what i've read many of them don't fit well and won't last long.
 
Removing a DPF makes the car stink to high heaven. I know from experience. Also adds the chance of smoke, which is a MOT fail anyway.

The DPF cleaning people in my area (Hinckley) charge approx £300 and get it pretty much clean
 
wedrum said:
You need to find a friendly mot guy.
Get it mapped out
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Don't do this, not least the garage risks being struck off. It happens. That and the car will produce more soot out of the exhaust which is also an MOT failure now. Grab a DPF clean, grab a session on INPA or NCS and check the DPF stats.
 
I think I’d be tempted to replace the DPF and sell the car as it might go some way to help offset the mileage. Remapping a car with 177k wouldn’t fill me with confidence especially if you’re the kind of guy to take the economically route to serving and preventative maintenance.
 
Why not just replace the DPF. It wont be much more expensive that a remap and delete. Just dont buy a genuine BMW one.
 
jigger said:
I think I’d be tempted to replace the DPF and sell the car as it might go some way to help offset the mileage. Remapping a car with 177k wouldn’t fill me with confidence especially if you’re the kind of guy to take the economically route to serving and preventative maintenance.
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The car has a full BMW service history and has been under BMW warranty from new, so no concerns there. The car is probably only worth around £3k now (maybe less, i haven't looked recently), so fitting a £1500 part to it doesn't make a lot of sense really.

I'm going to look at getting the existing DPF cleaned and see how I get on.
 
It’s relatively inexpensive to have the DPF cleaned. I remember a local garage removing a high mileage DPF, weighing it, putting it back on and cleaning it, then removing it and weighing it again, the anecdotal results were that the cleaning removed a reasonable amount of carbon by weight. While you raise a valid point about the cars value, if it does the job, then given it’s relatively low residual value and the cost to replace it, a few hundred to clean it doesn’t seem that bad if it gets you another few years.
 
Burned_Alive said:
The car has a full BMW service history and has been under BMW warranty from new, so no concerns there. The car is probably only worth around £3k now (maybe less, i haven't looked recently), so fitting a £1500 part to it doesn't make a lot of sense really.

I'm going to look at getting the existing DPF cleaned and see how I get on.
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Sounds like a good example of the marque, throw a few quid at it and carry on enjoying it would be my advice.

Changing the car is going to cost far more than a replacement DPF imo even if you go genuine BMW if you think about it.

If other than this issue your happy with it, why change? If £1500 gives you another few years without major issue - and given it’s a FSH warranty backed example, why wouldn’t it - I’d say it’s money well spent.

It’s a gamble for sure, but it’s a gamble on a known prospect whereas it’s replacement - unless new - is an unknown prospect....
 
That's where I would be with it. Bang the pattern part on it for under £500 and not have to worry about it again. If you got 177k out of the first DPF you will get at least half that out of the pattern part. Clean the EGR valve at the same time and the car should be fine for a good while more.
 
Dandle said:
That's where I would be with it. Bang the pattern part on it for under £500 and not have to worry about it again. If you got 177k out of the first DPF you will get at least half that out of the pattern part. Clean the EGR valve at the same time and the car should be fine for a good while more.
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I would also check for any other fault codes or boost leaks etc as quite often a clogged DPF can be a symptom of another problem and you can kill the new one fast.
 
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