E61 525d LCI particle filter

[rassi]

What is expected replacement intervals for these? Are they "lifetime" or service items? Looked at a 525d yesterday (2007 with 85K) where the DPF warning came up but performance was normal.

The dealer should take care of it but is this normal or an indication that one should maybe look at another car?

[Neil.D]

They are suppose to be lifetime but a lot of them are having to be changed. I put this down to cool running temps as the thermostats can easily fail. The coolant must reach 75c for the DPF to regenerate bit with a thermostat sticking open, they don't.
If the warning is coming on it means that a certain exhaust back pressure has been detected by the ECU but the DPF cannot regerate and burn off the clag it's collected.
If the dealer is going to sort it he will need to replace it, reset the warning but will need to check the running temp or it will need doing again very soon.

I just had my thermostat changed in my 535d and whereas the coolant temp would fluctuate somewhere between 73c and 79c it now sits between 86c and 93c.
People have been reporting DPF warnings coming on anywhere from 50k miles.

[rassi]

Thanks! Decided to walk away from this one, as there were other issues (e.g. serviced only every 35000 kilometres and corrosion on the window trim) but realised how nice an E61 LCI is!

Think I will expand the search to include the 535d, as I missed the power of my beloved E39 M5

[Neil.D]

That's the move I made - from M5 to 535d.

The E61 does have a nice solid and modern feel to it but of course it lacks the sparkle and edge of the M5 but there has to be compromise somewhere.

[p1tse]

Wish I can get some luck with finding an e61 535d

Lci dpf is suppose to be for life, pre lci are service marked 120k