Keeping the vehicle emissions lower is a common pursuit of every vehicle owner. In adherence to EPA emissions standards, manufacturers are going extra lengths to introduce newer technologies to reduce their car’s impact on environment and vehicle buyers and owners are expected to comply with the environmental safety laws. To make all newer vehicle models environment friendly, all cars have BlueTec technology fitted with Euro6 (which utilizes Adblue Diesel Exhaust Fluid into the exhaust gas stream to reduce NOX emissions) and comes as a standard now.

With nitrogen oxide emissions from diesel cars hitting the headlines in particular, Adblue is the answer to this particular problem. AdBlue is now being used in almost all of the diesel cars such as BMW, MB, VW, Audi etc to reduce the amount of these gases coming out of the exhaust pipe and lessen the impact on environment. Therefore, it is necessary that an adequate level of this fluid is always available in the exhaust system of your BMW to make your vehicle legally compliant on the road.

If you’re driving a newer BMW, chances are it already comes with AdBlue technology but even if you’re not  sure if your car has AdBlue technology and that it’ll need topping up at a certain point of time, your first sign will be when it’s running low and you get a warning flash up on your dashboard asking you to check “AdBlue Range” or “ Refill Adblue at workshop” and we suggest that you pay attention to these message instantly before they turn out to be more serious and intimates you when Adblue is about to reach zero level and deter you  from starting the car.

Usually in such cases, messages that appear on the cluster of your BMW are:

  • Engine Start Not Permitted (AdBlue Empty)
  • Check AdBlue No engine Start Possible in XXX miles/km.
  • AdBlue Fehlbefullung
  • AdBlue - falsche Flussigkeit.
  • Von Ihrem Servicepartner prufen lassen.

What is Adblue and what it does to your BMW?

AdBlue also known as Diesel Exhaust Fluid (DEF) is a urea and water based solution that is injected into the car’s exhaust system before harmful nitrogen oxide comes out of the tail pipe. When AdBlue is fed into the exhaust, it turns into ammonia and reacts with the nitrogen oxide gas produced by the combustion process to break it down into harmless nitrogen and oxygen. This whole process ensures that the volume of particles being emitted from your car is significantly reduced.

But the question is, what actually triggers these adblue related warning messages? Is it only adblue level or something else that might hinder the performance of your BMW car? So mostly, in event of appearance of these warnings, it’s the NOx sensor in SCR system that limits the number of miles driven and needs to be checked for its accuracy. Whenever this warning pops up, it means there is something bad with NOx sensor. It is a component within SCR – adblue system.  

Symptoms of NOX failure

Most likely chances of Nox failure are when:

  • Fuel efficiency is reduced
  • Excessive black smoke coming out from vehicle exhaust
  • Engine performance diminishes
  • Other SCR related codes appear

It is always recommended that before jumping to the conclusion and keep refilling Adblue without considering NOX for diagnosis, you perform a diagnostic run with OBD II scanner to find the possible fault codes. It could be NOx sensor itself or any of its damaged wiring causing this warning. Following diagnostic codes sit in when any of the mentioned symptoms are noticed.

2AC600 - SCR System efficiency: Efficiency too low in area 3

26F500 - SCR System efficiency: Efficiency too

More diagnostic trouble codes related to faulty Nitrogen oxide sensor

  • 2AEC Nitrogen Oxide Sensor Self Diagnostics
  • 2AF0; 2B05 nitric oxide sensor, heating
  • 2AF2; 2B06; 2B09 nitric oxide sensor, Lambda linear
  • 2AF4; 2B07; 2B0A NOx sensor, electrical
  • 2AF6; 2AFB; 2B0B nitric oxide sensor, Lambda binary
  • 2AF9 nox sensor, nox signal: coast mode check
  • 2EAE NOx sensor message missing (timeout)
  • 30D6 nitric oxide sensor, plausibility
  • 30D8 NOx sensor, Sensor damaged
  • 30DA NOx sensor, heating time
  • 30DC nitric oxide senor, heating
  • 30DE NOx sensor – Lambdaprobe before catalyst, Korrelation
  • 30E0 NOx sensor, Offset
  • 30E2 nitric oxide sensor, thrust test
  • 30E4 nitric oxide sensor, aging
  • 30E6 nitric oxide sensor, dynamics

Compatible BMW cars

  • 3 Series E90 LCI Facelift 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011
  • 3 Series E91 LCI Facelift 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011
  • 3 Series F30 LCI Facelift 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018
  • 3 Series F31 LCI Facelift 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018
  • 5 Series F07 GT LCI 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017
  • 5 Series F10 LCI Facelift 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016
  • 5 Series F11 LCI Facelift 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017
  • 7 Series F01 LCI Facelift 2013, 2014, 2015
  • X3 F25 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016
  • X5 E70 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010
  • X5 E70 LCI Facelift 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013
  • X5 F15 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018
  • X6 F16 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018

What to do when I find Adblue error?

After performing diagnosis, fix this error immediately within reasonable cost and convenience by replacing NOx sensor with a new one.  You can buy a repair kit only for the probe or a whole sensor including control unit to fix this error.

A simple replacement of NOx will do the job.  These error codes should ideally fade away with the successful replacement but if it doesn’t then you may need to clear the codes manually.

If you are tech-savvy, you can attempt on your own or you can take your BMW to a certified technician to do the job for you. Xenons4u does not only provide an expert service but also the required NOx sensor for any model of your BMW. Make sure that your BMW is always in ideal condition and law compliant when on road because once Adblue reaches to the Zero level, it will not let you start the car as well as you car will no more remain law compliant on the roads.

Available NOx sensors to order at xenons4u, part numbers from bmw and continental

  • 851166401 5WK96697
  • 758713001 5WK96621F
  • 758713005 5WK96621J
  • 858984401 5WK96697C
  • 758713005 5WK96621K
  • 758713002 5WK96621G
  • 759040204 5WK96650B
  • 851879101 5WK96699A
  • 759040204 5WK96650C
  • 857647101 5WK96699B
  • 758713003 5WK96621H
  • 857646901 5WK96697B
  • 858984601 5WK96699C
  • 851878901 5WK96697A
  • 851166601 5WK96699
  • 758712701 5WK96621E
  • 758232601 5WK96621D
  • 758051701 5WK96621C
  • 758712901 5WK96610G
  • 758051801 5WK96610D
  • 758712905 5WK96610K
  • 758712903 5WK96610L
  • 758712905 5WK96610L
  • 8594553 A2C38980400