[riccis]

Hi,

I have a 320i GT which has presented the message "Regeneration of particle filter necessary". The onboard computer/manual gives instructions on how to resolve the issue which consists of driving around and where possible coming off the throttle. Despite some longish drive (in excess of 30mins) I have been unable to clear the error.

I took the vehicle in for a brake fluid change today and asked them to look at the issue also.

Before even looking at the vehicle the dealer stated the issue would not be covered under warranty (the vehicle is less than 3 yrs old so still has manufactures warranty) and was due to my driving profile which showed I was doing too short journeys. After some discussion, the dealer said that they would all the same investigate in case it might be a faulty sensor etc.

Upon collecting the dealer gave me some screen shots of, what I believe, is their computer to interrogate the vehicle. It didn't really say much but did have a message that "regeneration has been interrupted" and also said that the vehicle had the "incorrect control unit software".

When I queried this the dealer said that I had probably corrupted the software by not allowing the vehicle to complete the regeneration process. Frankly this all sounds like BS.

I have read somewhere, possibly on another forum, that someone else had suffered the same and the dealer simply "forced a regeneration" and cleared the error and this seemed to resolve the issue.

The dealer has said that I need to do a long drive like on a motorway and see if it clears the issue. This however seems to be contrary to what the computer/manual instructs. I'll do it anyway just to be able to say I've done it, but does anyone in the know about these vehicles have any advice to give me?

And how to deal with the situation as I feel that the dealer will simply want to charge to resolve the issue when frankly I don't feel I have driven the vehicle in any way that should be avoided?

I'm aware of diesel vehicles with DPF's having these kind of issues but not petrol engined vehicles.

Thanks in advance.

[Billfitz]

WTF is a particle filter?

[Ragnar The Redneck]

Originally Posted by Billfitz

WTF is a particle filter?

Particle filters are mainly used on diesel engines, but apparently BMW has started putting them on gas engines around 2018 or 2019 to comply with European environmental regulations.

I had to read, reread, and read again, as I thought something fishy was going on. Then I searched for BMW gas particle filters. I found lots of stuff about the Europeans getting such devices, and many "forced regenerations".

I did not, however, find any such way to regenerate it. I would assume that the car would dump a little more fuel than it needed so it would burn away the excess, much like the regeneration of a diesel particulate filter. If you do not drive the vehicle on trips for sufficient warm up, I would assume it is not getting hot enough to regenerate on its own.

Surprisingly, I found a BMW dealer in Nottingham (ironically, my surname, so they must be good), that has performed many such "forced regenerations".

I would take it out on a dual carriageway, take a little day trip somewhere nice, enjoy the day, and then travel back. See if the warning resets. If not, find another dealer.

Hope this helps.

[riccis]

Found the post I had read some time back: https://f30.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh....php?t=1618872

[Billfitz]

It took a lot of searching but I finally found this, buried within hundreds of references to diesel particulate filters:
https://www.bmwblog.com/2018/01/17/c...-filter-march/
That's all I was able to find. I can't find anything about forced regeneration for gas vehicles, though there's plenty with respect to diesels.
I'd try using an OBD diagnostic and repair tool to clear the error.