Increased emissions warning!?! - Page 2

Ti-Cip · 19th April 2012, 22:59

mine just came back on yesterday.. this is the 3rd time in less than 6 months that i've had this warning come on.. it is getting annoying!! and of course,, both times before i brought it in for the "fix"...

Mark Carson · 20th April 2012, 10:03

I had both sides go out one after the other during the first year of ownership on my 2010 M6. BMW replaced the O2 sensors (on the exhaust cats) under warranty. While the car reports possible loss of power, I could not tell any difference (even after they were replaced). Aftermarket exhaust only becomes an issue if you replace the headers/primary cats AFAIK. Most exhaust mods people do are section 3 (mufflers only) or sections 2 & 3 all of which are after the primary cats. So, unless you have removed the primary cats (in the header assembly), don't let BMW claim that your aftermarket exhaust is to blame. Good luck.

Ti-Cip · 18th June 2012, 18:20

so now i am getting very frustrated and upset!! this is like the 4-5 time now that this code has popped up!! my m6 is less than 2 years old and has around 3500 miles on it!!
plus bought it brand new!!!
how annoying!!

built240 · 19th June 2012, 07:56

Think it could be the gas cap?

Ti-Cip · 19th June 2012, 08:32

i wish and hope it's that simple,, i've read that before, but evdrytime i've brought it in there are fault codes that show bad components that need to be replaced.. no code so far saying bad gas cap..

CatsFan · 25th July 2012, 19:16

I got this warning last night as well as a check engine light. Just dropped my car off at the dealer. I have removed my charcoal filters. Does anyone know if the dealer could use this as a reason not to fix my problem?

Jackson1019 · 25th July 2012, 19:35

After I had my Esienmann installed I got the same warning (increased emission). It only stayed on for a day and I haven't seen it come back on since and it has been about 2 weeks. I think it could of been that because of the exhaust it was recognizing more back pressure but once it got used to the new exhaust I haven't seen it come up or had any problems.

Some thing you could try is disconnect your battery and leave it disconnected for about an hour.

I did this and the light still came back on when I started it up an hour later. The next day however when I started it up to go to work in the morning it was perfect, no warning. I pressed the check button and it said All Systems OK!

Hope this helps!

Anthony

Mark Carson · 25th July 2012, 19:46

Quote:

Originally Posted by CatsFan

I got this warning last night as well as a check engine light. Just dropped my car off at the dealer. I have removed my charcoal filters. Does anyone know if the dealer could use this as a reason not to fix my problem?

No, they should fix it without regard to you missing charcoal filters.

The increased emission light is often because of the O2 sensor on the exhaust cat failing.

CatsFan · 25th July 2012, 20:07

Thank you so much for the reply, Mark. I feel much better now. I have read quite a few threads about this issue, but couldn't find a definitive answer about the charcoal filters. It seems that o2 sensors are the most common issue. I checked my gas cap twice, and I always fill up at the same Shell station with 93 so that shouldn't be an issue.

I will report back what the resolution is to my problem. Hope I get my car back for the weekend!

Mark Carson · 25th July 2012, 21:13

I guess with your screen name you won't be getting an exhaust upgrade with the catalytic converters removed. Otherwise your name would have to be "CatlessFan", ha ha.

Can't say for sure that "Increased Emissions" is the O2 sensor, but that happened (separately) to both my right and left sensors within the first year of ownership (of a new 2010). And we have seen posts by others with the same thing. So this is common. But that fault can be associated with other things too.

In any event, it is not a charcoal filter issue. The reason being that they are only installed on U.S. cars. Other countries don't even have charcoal filters. They are only there to pass a California emission test (and it is only a cold start issue). BMW decided not to have a 49 state version and an California version (which has been done in the past), so all U.S. S85 V10 cars are them even though legally most of us don't need them.

Besides, if your dealership gives a hard time (and they won't because they won't even open the airboxes), you can always offer to have them put the charcoal filters back in. And the fault won't go away, proving it was not the filters.