Diesel problems d3

Barrongreenback · Post by **Barrongreenback** » Tue Jan 29, 2019 7:53 pm

Does anyone know if the the 2006 Alpina d3 has a dpf fitted? I thought they never had one but my d3 doesnâ€™t seem to like certain fuel brands and throws the dpf light on. Confusing. Anyone else have similar problems

Ashok · Post by **Ashok** » Tue Jan 29, 2019 9:36 pm

yes there is a DPF and it needs replacing every 70k-100k miles - it's a Â£1000+ job sadly and removing it is an MOT fail

Post by **Charles** » Wed Jan 30, 2019 9:49 am

There was an article in last week's Autocar about DPFs, the difference between passive and active regeneration and the issues experienced by many owners. It also showcased a particular company - based west of London, I think, but I don't have the article in front of me - that removes DPFs to clean them, resulting in what is effectively a new DPF at significantly less cost than replacing it.

MickB3 · Post by **MickB3** » Wed Jan 30, 2019 10:54 am

I had the same trouble in November with the wife's X3 35d.
I had a forced re-gen and 2 bottles of Forte DPF cleaner and it has been fine since.
It has done 82,000 miles.

Arvi · Post by **Arvi** » Wed Jan 30, 2019 1:30 pm

I have a 2006 D3. When I bought it 6 years ago on 50000 miles, within a month the DPF light came on. I suspect whoever traded it in did so knowing the fault and having been told they need a new DPF.

Initially I (stupidly) went to BMW (the independant garage I purchased the car from was 120 miles away) so I thought taking it to a main dealer may help my warranty claim. They tried a force regen and changed the swirl flaps and glow plugs but fault remained. They advised I need a new DPF and Turbo.

After some research about DPFs I had the DPF cleaned by an independant BMW specialist and its been fine since, only requiring another forced regen following failed glow plugs a couple of years later and has bee fine since. Now at 100000 miles. A regular Italian tune up helps. 2500-3000 rpm motorward driving for around 40 minutes, though it the DPF light is on you'll need to get this sorted first otherwise the ECU will cut power.

I have only ever run it on Shell V Power, or BP Ultimate.

Another friend tried Redex Diesel cleaner in their Merc. It caused more issues then it solved.

glennlud · Post by **glennlud** » Wed Jan 30, 2019 2:01 pm

It is also very important that cooling water thermostats are operating.If not and the water temperture is not high enough.The dpf will not regenerate .

DonFlintoni · Post by **DonFlintoni** » Fri Feb 01, 2019 3:56 pm

I went down the route of aftermarket DPF after my original was beyond recovery 100000 miles. It was a cost saving exercise.

Suffice to say the car didnt like it and it blocked. It was replaced under warrant lke for like and teh same thing happened.

I got it changed out for a genuine replacement (Â£900 more) and, touch wood, its been fine.

I believe the oil level sensor can contribute to it not regenerating if its on the blink. There is no in-car fault code/warning for faulty level sensor. its only detected with a code reader.

also its apparently quite easy to burn out a level sensor if you do a DIY oil change. It the ignition stays on after the sump is drained the sensor can burn out as it has no oil to act as resistance.