[Dezil]

I dont drive my car all that much. When I got the message that said "incorrect exhaust fluid" I just assumed that it had gone bad, and crystalized since I have heard of that happening.

I took it to my local guy and he said that the first thing to do was drop the tank, and clean it out with distilled water, and rinse out the tank and put fresh DEF fluid in......so I did that. Worked fine for a few days. He said if that didnt work, the next step was taking the whole tank out and sending it to a place in canada that rebuilds the whole sensor and everything.

Today I called a friend who is a BMW only shop and knows these cars in an out. He said this is a common problem, and basically its a money hole. He said dont bother sending out the tank, most likely thats not the issue. There are tons of things it could be, and most likely I am looking at a few thousand bucks to get this taken care of. He did say that I can do a chip and retune it......but then I wont pass inspection.

I have already lost a ton of money on this car, is it time to just take a beating and unload it, or is there some other way to do this. I dont have thousands of dollars to throw at this thing, and I am not doing something that in the end wont allow me to pass inspection.

Please help.

[aaddam2]

should be free i believe check this bulletin

https://www.bmwcca.org/forum/index.p...sion-pdf.2746/

[Dezil]

I only have 104k on the car....THANK YOU SO MUCH for posting this. I will call them tomorrow.

I have tried reading posts on this, but its really above my knowledge level.

[AlpineX]

Originally Posted by Dezil

Today I called a friend who is a BMW only shop and knows these cars in an out. He said this is a common problem, and basically its a money hole. He said dont bother sending out the tank, most likely thats not the issue. There are tons of things it could be, and most likely I am looking at a few thousand bucks to get this taken care of.

If this is the case, any work the dealer does will not be covered. They are potentially going to want to or have to walk you through a few tests before coming to any conclusions, including testing the DEF you just put in, the spray pattern of the injector, and more. Your buddy is right, there are multiple failures that can give you an incorrect fluid dashboard warning. I think there are a few typical codes or code structures that can point to higher likeliness of active tank failure... but I havent had to cross that bridge, so others who have know better.

edit Also I think early cars had a "mixer" that was updated later to increase DEF efficiency, so they will check that if it applies.

[dmanb2b]

Originally Posted by Dezil

He did say that I can do a chip and retune it......but then I wont pass inspection.

pm me if you decide to tune

[Yozh]

Incorrect exhaust fluid warning has nothing to do with any of the known urea tank failures. What was done to flush the tanks is correct and one of the first things to do. Didn’t have to remove it though. Can fill and drain without removing. Next is to remove urea nozzle and clean that. Easy.

[floydarogers]

As Yozh says, usually this is not the result of a DEF tank component failure.
Use the forum's Search function to read through the posts that have detailed multiple instances of this problem: the Search term 4d16 will find all of them (and many that don't meet your criteria, unfortunately.)

For instance: http://www.e90post.com/forums/showth...highlight=4d16

[Dezil]

I called BMW and YES there is a recall on the DEF systems for the 2009 diesel powered cars BUT the month my car was produced was not part of that group so BMW will not recall it.

Sounds like total BS but ok.....

They did tell me that they extended the warranty period for all diesel cars for the SCR tank and components to 125k miles......mine only has 104. They told me I need to call the dealership and have them test it. IF the scr system is bad, then all repairs are covered at no charge. If it is not the scr system, then I need to pay the dealer $150 for a diagnostic test.

I really dont feel like I have a choice. The car is almost worthless as it is. Everyone says trade it in, but I do not want or need another car.

I called my buddy that owns the BMW shop and he said given my symptoms, there is a very good chance that it IS the SCR system, and he suggested I take it to the dealer and have them diagnose it.

[floydarogers]

Try this with your VIN

http://www.bmw-rp.com/production/isg...nsf/submit.xsp

It should tell you if one of the warranty repairs is available to your car.

[Dezil]

I dont have my VIN on me right now, but I have a feeling it will be the same things that BMW told me when I was on the phone with them.

My issue is I am getting conflicting information on if the SCR tank assembly ( I believe thats where the sensor is ) failure would cause this kind of problem.

Im not really educated on these newer diesels with the emissions systems on them. I am used to working on big trucks, and generators, so I am out of my league.

[aaddam2]

i would say roll the dice with the diagnostic, because I would say it will be free with warranty, or at least you save yourself fiddle fartting around trying to figure it out and then learn exactly what it is. and then you can fix it on your own.

or you could possibly just code it out and forget your SCR and DEF tank exists all together lol.

[fsd350]

your car car is not worthless, especially if you live in an area not emission testing

[Dezil]

Well I had an appointment at the dealer for the diagnosis, but this recent cold weather has me jelled up. I added some diesel 911 and I am waiting, hopefully the next few days will be warmer.

I have tried making inquiries to try and sell the car, and its nothing but low ballers and people who want something for nothing. I really loved this car, but I am so beyond frustrated with it. I have owned it for 3 years, and have put 5,000 miles on it because its at the shop more than its at my house.

[meterengineer]

Is the emissions tuning something that an individual can do? I am past the extended warranty with mileage with 143,000.

[335stoner]

Originally Posted by meterengineer

Is the emissions tuning something that an individual can do? I am past the extended warranty with mileage with 143,000.

yes

[Quest3300]

Originally Posted by meterengineer

Is the emissions tuning something that an individual can do? I am past the extended warranty with mileage with 143,000.

Did you do the emissions tuning or were you able to solve the problem?