BMW X5 EGR delete
Coolant going missing with no leak to find, white smoke on a cold start, then limp mode. On a six-cylinder X5 that is the EGR cooler. Mobile software delete at your location, £220.
Call 0161 694 7331. We come to you within a 40-mile radius of Eccles.
For off-road and track use only.
How the EGR fails on an X5
The cooler leaks first. On the N57 and B57 six-cylinders, and the N47 and B47 in the 25d, the EGR cooler is a water-cooled heat exchanger sitting in the exhaust gas path, and with age and mileage it cracks internally. Coolant seeps into the intake and burns off in the cylinders. The first sign is the expansion tank: down a little every fortnight, no puddle, no wet hose. Then grey or white smoke on a cold start, then the engine management light with P0401 or P0402 stored, and on a car left too long, limp mode. It is the failure behind BMW's 2018 EGR cooler recall; whether a given X5 was in scope is a question for the DVSA database.
The valve sticks second. Short runs never get the intake hot enough to burn deposits off, so the valve fouls with carbon, the ECU sees a flow figure it cannot reconcile and logs P0401, P0402 or P0404, with no coolant loss at all. On the older E53 and early E70 M57 the same two faults appear in the same order, only later in the car's life.
X5 engines covered
X5 E53 3.0d, 2001 to 2006
The M57 six-cylinder. Cooler failure on high-mileage cars, valve sticking with carbon.
X5 E70 3.0d, 30d and 40d, 2007 to 2013
The M57 in the early 3.0d, then the N57 in the 30d and twin-turbo 40d. The N57 is the recall-era cooler.
X5 F15 25d, 30d, 40d and M50d, 2013 to 2018
The 25d ran the N47 four-cylinder to 2015 and the B47 after it. The 30d, 40d and M50d are all N57. The cooler is the fault on every one.
X5 G05 30d, 40d and M50d, 2018 onward
All B57 six-cylinder. The 40i is petrol and not covered. Newer engine, shorter record, same remap.
See BMW EGR delete for the rest of the range, or call 0161 694 7331 to confirm a variant not listed.
What the delete does to that fault
The delete answers both failures. The ECU stops commanding the EGR valve, so a valve stuck with carbon can no longer produce the flow error that puts the X5 into limp mode, and there is nothing left to log a P0400-series code against. The EGR circuit is closed in software, so exhaust gas stops passing through the cooler, and a cooler that has been weeping coolant into the intake stops being fed. Where a later B47 has a second, low-pressure loop, it is handled the same way. Valve, cooler and pipework stay on the engine and stop being used. Codes cleared, and the remap is permanent.
Is it definitely the EGR?
Three things help us confirm it on the phone. The exact codes from a code reader. Whether the coolant is dropping without a visible leak. The smoke: colour, and whether it is only on a cold start. If coolant has been entering the engine for months, the delete stops further ingress but does not undo damage already done, and we will say so on the day rather than remap a car that needs something else first. If a DPF light is on as well, both are handled in the same visit for £445: see DPF and EGR delete.
Questions X5 owners ask
Is it definitely the EGR, or could it be something else on an X5?
My X5 has been losing coolant. Will the delete stop it?
Does the delete cover the EGR cooler on the X5 as well as the valve?
Will the fault codes come back on the X5 after the delete?
Other BMW models we cover
Pick your model:
Call 0161 694 7331 with your X5's engine and the fault codes you have, and we will confirm the fix and a time.
£220, we come to you anywhere within a 40-mile radius of Eccles, no call-out charge, no strip-down, and the car stays where it is. For off-road and track use only.