Got the dreaded "increased emissions" light...

[PunjabiM3]

Well I was driving to work this morning and out of nowhere I got the increased emissions warning and now the "service engine soon" light is on the dash. Aside from this the car seems normal. Recently I had the car reprogrammed at BMW Tucson for the OEM alarm. Aside from this no other changes have been done. I have been running the Fabspeed high flow cats and resonated x-pipe since August and have around 7k miles on the setup. This is the first time I have gotten any sort of error message. I am planning on running to the auto parts store at lunch and grabbing the Equus 3030 code reader; I also called BMW Tucson and have an appointment for tomorrow afternoon. Any suggestions before taking it to the dealer? I am worried they will give me shit about the cats...thoughts are greatly appreciated!

[PunjabiM3]

Oh btw I have been running on stock software.

[Fen335i]

sorry, I don't have any good advice to offer since I don't have the xpipe yet. Sorry that happenned...I'm surprised it took 7,000 miles for the first CEL to appear though. It seems most folks w/the Fabspeed HFC's had their CEL go off much sooner. Are you going to "clear" the code yourself? I hear it's not that hard to do...you just need the right tool that you can get at just about any parts store. I might think about holding off on the dealer visit....they might hassle you a bit. I guess it depends on who you are dealing with..some guys are cool and some aren't.

[tightie]

Don't waste your time at the dealer.. You know what that means?


Time for a supercharger!










Wait, I mean time to get a ECU tune.

[Raz@Gintani]

^^

Yah a Tune will fix all your problems, plus give you some nice gains.

[tinpot]

Originally Posted by PunjabiM3

I have been running the Fabspeed high flow cats and resonated x-pipe since August and have around 7k miles on the setup.

I'm running Fabspeed x-pipe and HFC's and received my first CEL at 7,000 miles. I took my car to my local shop and the shop cleared the CEL. I refuse to take my car to the dealer unless I absolutely have to

[edlin303]

Could the dealer potentially give you flack for issues other than related to the exhaust? I assumed if I added an exhaust I would just void that portion of the warranty, but if they could give me a hard time about other aspects of the warranty I would have to rethink the exhaust.

I assume a tune would be more likely to affect your warranty, wouldn't it?

As for bringing it to the dealer for the CEL, it seems unlikely they would want to clear that since you caused it yourself with the mods.

I know one of the techs at the dealer, so I will see if I can get his email and ask him how BMW of Tucson is about that sort of thing.

[GT3 Tim]

I would NOT take it to the dealer with HFC's on there.

I would get a code reader and verify it is just a high reading from the O2 sensor (which it probably is). If so, there is nothing the dealer can do for you except note on your record that you modified the car! lol

Irregardless, I would NOT take it in with the HFC's on there!!!! You are just asking for trouble.

If you need a fix, you will probably have to go with an aftermarket tune or get some of those deleters (?) (or other O2 simulator) as sold with the Akra system.

That's my $.02 worth.

[FStop7]

Don't take it to the dealer unless you know exactly who you are dealing with and that they will not give you trouble.

Just buy a cheap code scanner and clear the code when it comes up.

[PunjabiM3]

Alright guys went out and purchased the 3030 Innova over lunch and just scanned the car for codes. Here is what it shows:

01/04 P0420 Freeze Frame
02/04 P0430
03/04 P0420 Pending
04/04 P0430 Pending

When I look in the back of the book P0420 = catalyst system efficiency below threshold (bank 1) and P0430 is the same except it is bank 2. I am guessing this is being triggered by the post cat O2 sensors? Advise please? I am guessing clear the codes and if the problem comes back maybe get software or a supercharger?

[GT3 Tim]

Sounds like the post-cat O2 sensors to me too. It is probably just that the cats are not quite as efficient as the stockers. I wouldn't fret too much about it.

Either replace stock cats, get a software fix (tune), live with it, etc, etc. Nothing else can really be done...and certainly nothing the dealer can do except install your stock cats!

[audioMeth]

buy a bavarian technic cable and do it yourself.

http://www.bavariantechnic.com/

[FStop7]

Originally Posted by nuespeedgti

buy a bavarian technic cable and do it yourself.

http://www.bavariantechnic.com/

BavTech cable is great if you want to do data logging and stuff, but if all you want is to reset the CEL caused by no cats then it's overkill.

[J08M3]

it will clear itself after a few hundred miles.... mine just did again. It lasted almost 500 miles this time and just cleared itself again finally. You really don't need to worry about it unless it happens right before you're going for an inspection.

[JuniorDee]

I cleared mine with a code scanner, however, it took the powerchip stage 2 before it stayed out.

[M3 996]

Originally Posted by PunjabiM3

Oh btw I have been running on stock software.

Well, here is your problem...

[RAWPOWR]

I have the active auto exhaust and x pipe with hfc and powerchip stage 1. Got the tune and x pipe about 3 months ago...got rear ended so the car was down for about 2 months. Probably drove on the tune a couple hundred miles before the accident and recently after getting it back maybe 1,000 miles (estimating) and the emissions light is now on. Sholdn't the tune have prevented this? Does anyone know if it will correct itself somehow or should I just get it retuned again?

I have noticed the car has been smelling more and I was thinking it has something to due with the new cold weather change here in so cal. Or maybe I was never used to the x pipe and tuen seeing how my car ws down for 2 months.

Any thoughts?

[onefastman]

So does the cel affect performance?

[M3Alpine]

Originally Posted by RAWPOWR

I have the active auto exhaust and x pipe with hfc and powerchip stage 1. Got the tune and x pipe about 3 months ago...got rear ended so the car was down for about 2 months. Probably drove on the tune a couple hundred miles before the accident and recently after getting it back maybe 1,000 miles (estimating) and the emissions light is now on. Sholdn't the tune have prevented this? Does anyone know if it will correct itself somehow or should I just get it retuned again?

I have noticed the car has been smelling more and I was thinking it has something to due with the new cold weather change here in so cal. Or maybe I was never used to the x pipe and tuen seeing how my car ws down for 2 months.

Any thoughts?

i believe its only the stage 2 tune that gets rid of the cel.

[M3Alpine]

Originally Posted by onefastman

So does the cel affect performance?

No.....increased emissions will not effect performance

[Labrada_Exoticz]

I definitely wouldn't take it to the dealer like that.

Out of curiosity, do your high flow cats also have the extended o2 sensors?

[TMR]

I have a few friends that had the fabspeed exhaust on their 997T's and all got CE lights. That got fixed after they went with a diff system. I think fabspeed uses cheap china cats.