Help Diagnosing P115D/290900 Code
Discussion
I've been getting a very intermittent engine light on my My 2013 F30 320D ED which started to appear about two months ago (car has done 89k miles). I took the car to the local independent (non BMW) who scanned for codes, the codes were reset and I went away to see if they would reappear.
A week later the light hadn't come back on but I took the car back in to see if the code had been logged again, (we were going on holiday so didn't want to take the car with an undiagnosed fault) the same error was logged. I booked the car in for further examination, but in the meantime, about another week later the engine light came on.
Once in the garage my indie found a split pipe on the EGR system and also replaced the dirty air filter. This seemed to have done the trick but two weeks later the light came on again! I took it back in and they said it would be the EGR valve that was faulty.
A new EGR was fitted but after 600 miles and two weeks later the light came on again.
The light usually comes on every two weeks (regardless of miles traveled) and either goes off later in the same day or the next. It has always come on when chugging along at 30mph, coincidentally, in the same village! There's not loss of power or economy, no exhaust smells etc in the cabin and the engine runs fine. The cooler (and I assume EGR valve) was replaced two years under recall so I don't think it will be clogged, I've done 20k in those two years? The EGR which was replaced was fairly clean. No loss of coolant from the reservoir.
The car is going back on Thursday but I wondered if anyone here has had a similar experience so I can give the indie a few pointers. I've suggested they look for further leaks in the system, anything else?
A week later the light hadn't come back on but I took the car back in to see if the code had been logged again, (we were going on holiday so didn't want to take the car with an undiagnosed fault) the same error was logged. I booked the car in for further examination, but in the meantime, about another week later the engine light came on.
Once in the garage my indie found a split pipe on the EGR system and also replaced the dirty air filter. This seemed to have done the trick but two weeks later the light came on again! I took it back in and they said it would be the EGR valve that was faulty.
A new EGR was fitted but after 600 miles and two weeks later the light came on again.
The light usually comes on every two weeks (regardless of miles traveled) and either goes off later in the same day or the next. It has always come on when chugging along at 30mph, coincidentally, in the same village! There's not loss of power or economy, no exhaust smells etc in the cabin and the engine runs fine. The cooler (and I assume EGR valve) was replaced two years under recall so I don't think it will be clogged, I've done 20k in those two years? The EGR which was replaced was fairly clean. No loss of coolant from the reservoir.
The car is going back on Thursday but I wondered if anyone here has had a similar experience so I can give the indie a few pointers. I've suggested they look for further leaks in the system, anything else?
Edited by _Hoppers on Tuesday 17th September 16:57
It might be, and not low level of oil but internal oil loss. When I see 290900 code after the egr cooler recall that usually means only one thing. Try to find someone with Ista and run air mass test. That will show you the level of sooting of ur egr cooler.
Think you have no oil loss otherwise you would have some info on the dashboard to top it up.
I had my cooler replaced 3 times since the recall in 2020. All three under the warranty. Last time not even 3 weeks ago. Done by BMW dealer, cooler was sooted in spite of there was no coolant loss. The level of coolant hasn't moved even 1mm in my reservoir. Apparently the soot on the fins was confirmed with borescope.
Anyway, do that test before you start replacing any other parts and google 290900 recall.
Good luck
Think you have no oil loss otherwise you would have some info on the dashboard to top it up.
I had my cooler replaced 3 times since the recall in 2020. All three under the warranty. Last time not even 3 weeks ago. Done by BMW dealer, cooler was sooted in spite of there was no coolant loss. The level of coolant hasn't moved even 1mm in my reservoir. Apparently the soot on the fins was confirmed with borescope.
Anyway, do that test before you start replacing any other parts and google 290900 recall.
Good luck
Edited by ms1984 on Wednesday 18th September 22:53
Edited by ms1984 on Wednesday 18th September 23:10
Cheers for the info. I've never checked the oil level, the car has always had a oil change every 9k so I assumed it would be ok? The only car I've owned which has needed a top up was a Honda!
When I first took the car in to the indie they didn't touch the Valve/Cooler, they said it looked quite new and could still be under warranty. It was, although BMW said only the cooler would be covered. I had the option then to take it to BMW but didn't, that might have been a mistake?! At the time I assumed the valve/cooler would be ok as they were less than two years old. When the indie replaced the valve I assume they could have put a scope in the cooler to check for soot?
Anyway the car is now at the garage, I've mentioned what you said so we'll see. Looks like all the 'savings' in car tax over the years is paying for this!?
When I first took the car in to the indie they didn't touch the Valve/Cooler, they said it looked quite new and could still be under warranty. It was, although BMW said only the cooler would be covered. I had the option then to take it to BMW but didn't, that might have been a mistake?! At the time I assumed the valve/cooler would be ok as they were less than two years old. When the indie replaced the valve I assume they could have put a scope in the cooler to check for soot?
Anyway the car is now at the garage, I've mentioned what you said so we'll see. Looks like all the 'savings' in car tax over the years is paying for this!?
Hope that's the issue in your case. I had my intake manifold professionally cleaned, walnut blast, all intake pipes cleaned and checked, new cooler on top and still nothing. Not to mention new turbo, pcv valve and and dpf clean. 3 years struggling with 290900, 4 different BMW dealers in two different countries, multiple BMW specialists and nothing. What is the best thing, not a single error code during this time apart from 290900 (using Ista).
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