[stevers314]

Anyone know if clearing codes with bmwhat will reset this? I have about 400 mi left to get home.

[135i_vs_]

No, you have to add fluid.

[Narcosis]

Uhh, wha?

[335dFan]

Of course there may be something else wrong that simply adding fluid will not remedy. I believe this warning comes after the DDE compares the before and after sensors and determines the after NOx reading should have been lower, therefore it assumes the wrong fluid was used. If the sensor is bad then adding fluid may not work.

Pure speculation on my part.

[stevers314]

For the curious, it does not reset this condition. Dealer filled the DEF about 5k ago, so the quality of that fluid is on them. I suspect it's a nox sensor though. They have been throwing parts at a SCR related code since October.

Made it home, but now she just cranks her little heart out and won't fire (as expected). Getting towed to the dealer tomorrow morning and likely traded once the issue is fixed.

[135i_vs_]

Glad you made it home. How come you never filled up the Active Tank when you first got 999 to No Start? I always end up adding about 3 quarts in between service intervals.

[GreekboyD]

Originally Posted by 135i_vs_

Glad you made it home. How come you never filled up the Active Tank when you first got 999 to No Start? I always end up adding about 3 quarts in between service intervals.

I don't think the OP is having a low DEF level is low issue.

[joe_planet]

Dont shut off the motor

[grzes]

I got the same message today, 323km to go and my dealer is 750 km away. So do we know what that is?? I never had 999 km message, dealer was working on the car for last 3 months and clearing codes all the time so it is possible they cleared the original message but again, why it says incorrect fluid and not add fluid??? Please help

[Hoooper]

Its not a low def issue, its a fluid/sensor issue. My understanding of this is that there is no actual quality sensor for the DEF, but the DDE uses feedback from nox sensors to determine if the fluid is working. You likely have a bad nox sensor.

If you drive it to 0 miles/km left it will keep running until you turn it off, so if you drive to the dealer just drive it a bit, then fill up the fuel tank, and drive the rest of the way to the dealer and don't shut it off. Or have it towed I guess

[taibanl]

Originally Posted by Hoooper

Its not a low def issue, its a fluid/sensor issue. My understanding of this is that there is no actual quality sensor for the DEF, but the DDE uses feedback from nox sensors to determine if the fluid is working. You likely have a bad nox sensor.

If you drive it to 0 miles/km left it will keep running until you turn it off, so if you drive to the dealer just drive it a bit, then fill up the fuel tank, and drive the rest of the way to the dealer and don't shut it off. Or have it towed I guess

Correct

[stevers314]

Well for anyone who wants an update, here it is. Initially I suspected the rear NOX sensor as I've been dealing with a 4D16 (SCR inefficient) code for months now. They had previously cleaned/verified the nozzle & replaced the secondary cat ($1400).

I had it towed there the morning of 4/03 and just picked it up this morning 4/17. After a few calls with my SA (who i must mention is a great guy) they were basically at a point of playing pin the part on the bimmer based on what the diagnostic station told them. Below is a rundown of what had been replaced.

18307807206 - metering unit - $401
16197204623 - scr container (the tank) - $1,325
13628511665 - sensor for nox (pre) - $596
13628576471 - sensor for nox (post) - $489

Those prices are just ones i looked up online, I suspect that post sensor is what finally resolved the incorrect DEF issue. Throw in a guesstimate of 10h labor and this likely would have been north of $4k out of warranty.

The last two weeks i've spent numerous hours trying to come up with a replacement for the car. It's tough to trust it anymore and I take too many long trips. If this happened on my TO vermont instead of FROM, then I have no idea what I would be driving or how i would get home. It's a scary scenario to imagine given this entire nanny system is useless.

Hopefully in the next year I can dump the car while it's still under warranty. I really enjoyed the 528 loaner they gave me except for the weenie engine. A nicely optioned 2013+ 535i will probably be my next ride. Can't act on that yet as I'm still slightly upside down on the loan. If I do end up taking the risk of holding on to this thing, the SCR system will be getting tuned out.

[grzes]

Originally Posted by stevers314

Well for anyone who wants an update, here it is. Initially I suspected the rear NOX sensor as I've been dealing with a 4D16 (SCR inefficient) code for months now. They had previously cleaned/verified the nozzle & replaced the secondary cat ($1400).

I had it towed there the morning of 4/03 and just picked it up this morning 4/17. After a few calls with my SA (who i must mention is a great guy) they were basically at a point of playing pin the part on the bimmer based on what the diagnostic station told them. Below is a rundown of what had been replaced.

18307807206 - metering unit - $401
16197204623 - scr container (the tank) - $1,325
13628511665 - sensor for nox (pre) - $596
13628576471 - sensor for nox (post) - $489

Those prices are just ones i looked up online, I suspect that post sensor is what finally resolved the incorrect DEF issue. Throw in a guesstimate of 10h labor and this likely would have been north of $4k out of warranty.

The last two weeks i've spent numerous hours trying to come up with a replacement for the car. It's tough to trust it anymore and I take too many long trips. If this happened on my TO vermont instead of FROM, then I have no idea what I would be driving or how i would get home. It's a scary scenario to imagine given this entire nanny system is useless.

Hopefully in the next year I can dump the car while it's still under warranty. I really enjoyed the 528 loaner they gave me except for the weenie engine. A nicely optioned 2013+ 535i will probably be my next ride. Can't act on that yet as I'm still slightly upside down on the loan. If I do end up taking the risk of holding on to this thing, the SCR system will be getting tuned out.

Thanks for the information, I am doing my back to the dealer trip (480 mil) tonight and let them deal with it, glad to have the warranty after seeing the prices you have posted. I know they have replaced few sensors already and NOX was one of them but they suspect the computer module which finally arrived so I think first they will replace that and see what happens, but I will print your response and have with with me just in case

[stevers314]

Originally Posted by grzes

Thanks for the information, I am doing my back to the dealer trip (480 mil) tonight and let them deal with it, glad to have the warranty after seeing the prices you have posted. I know they have replaced few sensors already and NOX was one of them but they suspect the computer module which finally arrived so I think first they will replace that and see what happens, but I will print your response and have with with me just in case

Good luck! At one point i thought they were going to have to replace the DDE. They cleared the condition after replacing the nozzle and it immediately came back. My SA said the incorrect DEF condition can only be reset once in the life of the car and they were dealing with some regional support person to find a way around it. I guess they did since no modules were replaced.

Comfort access was a lifesaver in my situation along with a wreck-it ralph sticker my daughter gave me before i hit the road. I put the sticker over the start/stop button as a reminder and would just let the car idle locked when i stopped at a rest area.

One thing i did notice after arriving home and turning the car off, it did fire right back up. There is likely a delay before it goes into full shutdown mode. The following morning though it just cranked and would not fire.

[grzes]

Originally Posted by stevers314

Good luck! At one point i thought they were going to have to replace the DDE. They cleared the condition after replacing the nozzle and it immediately came back. My SA said the incorrect DEF condition can only be reset once in the life of the car and they were dealing with some regional support person to find a way around it. I guess they did since no modules were replaced.

Comfort access was a lifesaver in my situation along with a wreck-it ralph sticker my daughter gave me before i hit the road. I put the sticker over the start/stop button as a reminder and would just let the car idle locked when i stopped at a rest area.

One thing i did notice after arriving home and turning the car off, it did fire right back up. There is likely a delay before it goes into full shutdown mode. The following morning though it just cranked and would not fire.

ha ha Yes, I have CA as well and made a yellow sticky for myself already (leave it and you drive, press it and you walk). Planned my trip so tomorrow AM i will arrive at the dealer and someone will meet me there, the dealer wants the car in the shop before we shut it off. I have been having issues with the car since December of last year so I am starting to get annoyed by this.

[joe_planet]

Hey fellas just got this warning in my x5 d. Dropping car off tomorrow. Will keep you posted.
I did get a cel prior to the warning. It was nox sensor related.

[grzes]

just a small update, before I started my trip back to the dealer I did re-filled both tanks with DEF solution as directed by the dealer so new and old fluids can mix, drove in the city for couple of days but message did not go way, after 150 - 200 miles on the highway the message went away and I was able to turn off the car and start it again (I did it only at the dealer), today go the call and was informed that I do have outstanding SCR recall (not sure if that is in any way connected or not but just want to share the info I got back from the dealer

[joe_planet]

So this is hilarious.. they reset the faults.. and they came back!! OMG!!! DUH!!!

They're going to replace one of the nox sensors and see what happens.

[joe_planet]

ok so they ended up updating all the software on every module in the car and the error went away...

[grzes]

Originally Posted by joe_planet

ok so they ended up updating all the software on every module in the car and the error went away...

lets just hope it will not come back

[felkj]

As a disclaimer I admit fault for buying a car from a private seller, the odd thing is, I test drove it with the seller (in Denver) for 25-30 min without any issues. 45 minutes after writing the check and leaving for my parents place (260 miles away) the incorrect DEF light came on and went straight to the "205 miles left" message vs 1000 or 500 miles. long story short...well sort of, 2 weeks later I am still stuck in western Nebraska at my parents place and the closest BMW shop is where I live in Omaha (250 miles). I've flushed the DEF system and replaced with BMW Def. let sleep ect..I'm losing sleep over how reckless and ridiculous this issue is.

From experiences; what part on the list of expensive parts would have the greatest chances of fixing this fault?

will a search in google yield correct info on recalls that may help ease some of the cost?

Is there anyway to file complaints on the government level?

[apexit4]

Originally Posted by felkj

As a disclaimer I admit fault for buying a car from a private seller, the odd thing is, I test drove it with the seller (in Denver) for 25-30 min without any issues. 45 minutes after writing the check and leaving for my parents place (260 miles away) the incorrect DEF light came on and went straight to the "205 miles left" message vs 1000 or 500 miles. long story short...well sort of, 2 weeks later I am still stuck in western Nebraska at my parents place and the closest BMW shop is where I live in Omaha (250 miles). I've flushed the DEF system and replaced with BMW Def. let sleep ect..I'm losing sleep over how reckless and ridiculous this issue is.

From experiences; what part on the list of expensive parts would have the greatest chances of fixing this fault?

will a search in google yield correct info on recalls that may help ease some of the cost?

Is there anyway to file complaints on the government level?

I would assume the best thing to do first is run a scan of the ECU for faults. No sense in throwing parts at it without doing a diagnostic scan first.

If you bought the car from a private party, I dont think you'll have much recourse if you file a claim or take the seller to small claims court. Have you tried reaching out to the seller to see if this is a new issue or if they've already tried to fix it in the past?