I walked into the garage the other morning to crank up my 2011 335d and found a large puddle of urea fluid on the garage floor. My first thought was I must have damaged the tank from road debris although I didn't recall hitting any. Off to the dealer where no visible damage was noted. They didn't offer any explanation other than to say they "repaired" the malfunction by replacing the entire tank assembly. This was the second replacement. The tank was replaced three months ago to address a recall of the SCR valve. I was told this valve was in the tank and the only way to change it was to replace the tank. So now the urea tank has been replaced twice. Has anyone else experienced this problem with the urea tank? Love the 425lbs of torque but I'm frankly leery of the potential maintenance bills when the car is no longer under warranty.
The recall was because the heater units in the active tanks could possible fail and these tanks are not serviceable so the whole tank needs to be replaced. I have not seen one leak externally that much before. Did they replace the active tank or the passive tank, there are two in the vehicle? Yes the diesels do have a higher maintenance cost then other BMW's but they will last twice as long.
The fluid was under the rear of the car (at least 2 quarts on the garage floor) so they must have replaced the rear tank (passive?). I think the active tank is under the hood, right? Thanks for the info on the recall. I am guessing a vent became clogged. I also note the MPG has decreased substantially since this event. I plan to take it out on the highway this weekend and drive it a good 100 miles or so. I was able to clock 37 MPG before and now I am getting barely 27 MPG after about 25 miles of driving.
Sorry got your car confused with another since yours in a E90 not a E70 x5 so the tanks are one unit but internally are separated. Both of these are under the trunk of the vehicle. What could of happened since the replace is some trapped DEF fluid from the replacement found its way out (its a really messy job). I would take it back and ask them to make sure nothing is leaking. When DEF fluid drys it leaves a white crystal mess behind so it makes a leak easy to trace. The DEF system would have nothing to do with your MPG in the vehicle besides the extra weight added when it is full of fluid. Have you filled up at a different station then you normally do? Cetane has big influence on our diesels I would try adding a cetane booster to the tank and reset the MPG counter and see what you get then.
Thanks. I will look into cetane booster but my first concern will be what it will do to the car's warranty.
Cetane boost will do nothing to the vehicles warranty. For instance if a new diesel vehicle comes in and has bad fuel that vehicle's current issue would not be covered by warranty since BMW does not cover bad fuel concerns that falls on to the customer. But the cars warranty would still be in effect 4 year 50,000 miles. Hope that makes sense.
I wrote that after the urea tank replacement I noted a drop in MPG after refueling at my local military base where I suspect that the diesel may be brand x with low cetane values. I refueled at BP and I noticed an immediate improvement back to the 36 MPG that I used to see. I appreciate the advice to pay attention to cetane values.
Slightly of your tank issue but along the lines of the cetane issue, I've noted that biodiesel cause lower fuel mileage. I know BMW doesn't recommend biodiesel however in some geographical location it's hard to avoid. I my area we have Meijer stores that state "premium diesel" with up to 5% better fuel mileage,
My 2011 335d is back at the BMW dealer today. I found more UREA fluid under the car on the garage floor again on Sunday as I was getting ready to wash it. The Service Manager said that they would be replacing the UREA tank yet once again (this will be the third or fourth time - I am losing count quite frankly). I suggested that he might want to use a different technician and he said he would personally be inspecting the work. I have serious concerns for how this is all going to look on the vehicle's CarFax report when I go to sell it. I may need to talk to them about the BMW Buyback program. More to follow...
I could get that info for you just let me know the last 7 of the vin. What are you testing on the level sensors?
