Problems with BMW 5 Series diesel from 2008: High fuel consumption, rough engine running and failed DPF regeneration

Hello friends, my old 2008 BMW 5 Series Diesel has been causing problems recently and I'm at a bit of a loss. When accelerating, there is a lot of smoke coming out of the exhaust, the check engine light is constantly on, the performance is significantly down, the engine is running very rough and the DPF regeneration is not working. In addition, fuel consumption is high. Is the culprit perhaps too low a differential pressure in the diesel particulate filter? Do you have any experience of this and can you give me tips on what I should check? It would be most interesting to know how your garage has solved this problem. Thanks in advance for your help!

(Translated from German)

4 comment(s)

Hi, I happened to have a very similar problem with my 2006 BMW 3 series model, so not far off from your 5 series. I would describe myself as someone with some experience in car maintenance, so I'm not a complete novice, but I'm not a fully fledged mechanic either. I went to my garage and it turned out that the diesel particulate filter (DPF) was faulty. In fact, many of the symptoms you describe are classic for DPF failure, including increased smoke, rough engine running and poor performance. I had a bill of a whopping 1550 euros for a part and labor replacement. It wasn't a cheap fix, but it definitely solved the problem and since then my BMW has been running like new. As for your car, it would be helpful if you could give me more information about your specific model. Then I can try to give you more specific advice. Hope this helps!

(Translated from German)

Thanks for the quick reply! My model is a 530d Touring. I'm now at 234589 km mileage and had the last service just under 10,000 km ago. I was really hoping that it wasn't the DPF, as replacing it is really expensive... But if that solves the problem, I'll have to bite the bullet. Thanks again for the tip!

(Translated from German)

No problem, you're welcome! So with your 530d Touring with this mileage, it could well be the DPF. As you've already said, changing it is really expensive. But repairing or cleaning the DPF may also help. Perhaps you should have it checked at your garage before you decide to replace it completely. It might also be worth checking whether the differential pressure sensor is working correctly. If it is providing incorrect readings, this can also lead to a lack of regeneration. In the end, you only have two options: Cleaning or a costly replacement. Hope this helps you!

(Translated from German)

Hey, thanks for the further advice! I will have the DPF cleaned and the differential pressure sensor checked. Hopefully that will cost less than a complete DPF replacement. And if that doesn't help, then I'll have to bite the bullet. At the end of the day, a well-functioning car is important to me. I really appreciate your help, thanks again!

(Translated from German)

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