F15 X5 35d fuel filter change DIY Guide

[Mr.47]

The fuel filters in the F15 X5 35d, or any other BMW diesels, are supposed to changed every 20-30k miles per BMW maintenance, more or less these kinds of services often are neglected and never performed, its important to change these regularly to prevent potential contaminants from entering into the fuel system and damaging your fuel systems.

***Disclaimer, This is a DIY enthusiast guide not a replacement for professional guide, I'm not liable for damages or death follow this guide at your own risk***


So things you'll need

-Mahle Fuel filter @ $38 (Mahle is BMW OEM supplier for this part)
-Plies
-8mm to 12mm socket's
-2x 1/4in-5/8in hose clamp,
-Lots of Rag and a oil catch can



1) Once you safely lifted your car, i use a couple of ramps and drive my car on it, crawl under and look for something like this its right behind the metal looking stiffener plate, there will be, there will be 11X 8mm Screws remove them and the transmission cover will drop down...watch for sand dust and derbies.



2) Once you've dropped the transmission protective cover, there will be another cover on the left of you (see green arrrow) that needs to be removed, ther will be 6x 12mm plastic nut and 4x 8mm screws that is securing the left inner cover which your fuel filter tucked under, there will be some some fidgeting to remove this cover. You do not have to remove the Left outer cover (red X)



Here's the left inner cover removed


3) Once's the left inner cover is removed you'll have full access to fuel filter. The Fuel filter is held by (i cant remember exactly) 10 or 12mm bolts, onces you remove the bolt the clamps can be removed out of its hinge.





4) Next remove the front fuel filter clamps, if your filter hasn't been changed you'll have these special locking clamps. To remove find the end of the clamp and slide your screw driver and pry up and away from the locking tabs or if you're still confused use a big ass cutter pliers to assist in removal.



hose clamp removed


4c)Once hose is removed let filter hang down and drain into a oil pan.



4c)Keep the hose clean place it in a zip lock bag and set aside



5) Now that you have the front hose removed its time to slide out the 2 rubber mount on the filter.




6) Remove the rear heater element/hose unit from the back of the filter, pull the locking slide pin up, and use a screw drive and pry apart the heater element from the filter, be careful not to damage the plastic housing.



6a) Dont forget check/remove the stuck seal from the rear of the filter. Once its free from the line remove the old fuel filter and discard.



7) Reinstall the new fuel filter, slide new filter into its sponge holder and use some diesel to keep the rubber gasket in place



7b) Reinstall the heater element/feed line into the new filter, press it till it clicks in and slide in the locking pin between the notches on the filter housing.




OPTIONAL STEP: ISTA/D Fuel filter priming

NOTE: YOU MAY SKIP THIS STEP AND STILL COMPLETE EVEN IF YOU DON'T HAVE ISTA/D, FUEL SYSTEM WILL SELF PRIME IT SELF ON START UP.

If you have ista/D you may perform a fuel filter priming, tho this step is not really done in a dealer but it should aid in purging the fuel filter system from air and reduce your cranking time.

Note:Turning the ignition to ACC, locking and unlocking door will not turn on the fuel pump, the pump only turns on when starting the engine or DME detects fuel pressure is insufficient in the HPFP

I/D1. Connect ISTA/D and perform a >complete unit scan this will take 3-5 mins



I/D2. Once scan complete got to
>VEHICLE MANAGEMENT TAB>SERVICE FUNCTIONS>POWERTRAIN>Activating the suction jet pump transfer function>ABL Electronic fuel pump activation



I/D3. Once you open ABL function you'll see a screen like this, DO NOT HIT CONTINUE UNTIL YOU'RE ABSOLUTE READY, OR YOU'LL HAVE 20 SECONDS OF DIESEL SPRAYING EVERYWHERE!!



I/D3a) Now set up your drain setup appropriately so the fuel don't go everywhere, i use a hose and attach to the other end of the fuel filter and drain it into a catch can since my hose was short some craftiness is required




I/D4) Once you're absolutely ready, hit continue and the pump will run for 20 Seconds approximate ~1L of fuel will be dispensed...After this a question will appear stating that if the fuel pump worked, select the appropriate answer to question (yes it was working) and end ABL Function and your done with ISTA/D Portion.



8)Reinstall the rubber mounts on the filter



9) Slide on the new hose clamp and reinstall the front hose to the filter and snug tight the hose clamp.




10) Reinstall the filter mounting bracket and snug tight the 2x 12mm bolt



11) If you dont have ISTA/D and didnt prime the system the engine will self prime but it will take 1-2 start cycles before engine will kick over, only reason to do ISTA/D if you're me who's OCD and don't like long cranking.

12) Check for leaks before installing the covers.

13) Reinstall the acoustic cover reverse order hand tight all the screws and nut and you're done for the next 30k Miles.

[JonM]

Fantastic DIY, thank you for taking the time to post!

[sbinshihon]

Thanks, for the diy. Do you know if this is the same for 35i?

[Mr.47]

Originally Posted by sbinshihon

Thanks, for the diy. Do you know if this is the same for 35i?

The 35i has theirs submerged in the fuel tank with the fuel pump, you’ll need to drop the fuel tank In order to change it,

[BillK]

Excellent instructions for a job I must soon do. Thank you

[BillK]

I just finished mine, thanks for the write up, it helped. A couple little tips that I can add are
1) the actual filter is located very close to the front drivers side jacking point. The underbody panel has two “cutouts” where the filter is, that should give an idea of where it is.
2) there are lots of fasteners that need replacing, when you realize which panel (the one with the two cutouts) is the filter panel you can then remove all the fasteners holding that panel in. Some fasteners overlap with a larger, adjacent panel. Once you remove the fasteners from the filter panel, wiggle it and pull on it to see which fasteners overlap
3) when you reinstall the back and of the filter, it pops onto the heater. There is a notch and recess which must be aligned before doing this. It took me a couple tries before I noticed
4) the U shaped pin pulls out easy enough, but when reinstalling, it must straddle the “bridge” on the filter (pay attention to the orientation of the pin before removal). I spent about ten minutes struggling to reinsert this pin but it wouldn’t go back in. I tried it in the old filter and it slid in fine which confused me. Then I tried sliding it in straddling the portion of the filter which joins the gaps and it slid right in
5) when finished, I didn’t prime the system, I just pressed the start button once, as usual, and it took not more than 3 seconds cranking before starting up.

Other than that, it’s a simple job but I’m annoyed with bmw for not having an easy access panel for the filter removal

[MrTookies]

I think without those pictures I would have "never" been able to put that clip on correctly, or at least not as fast...I was quite frustrated lol. I kept trying to insert it in one of the slots rather that in both slots at the same time with the pin in the middle. Thanks!

[happydude]

Thanks to every here for contributing to this thread! Great information that helped me replace my fuel filter with ease. For those who had issues installing the heater element, the heater had slots that aligned with the slots on the fuel filter. I lined these up and then the pin slid right in.

Also for those wanting to replace the hose connector with the Oetiker style clamp here is the PN# 16121180240 (#8 in the realoem link below)

https://www.realoem.com/bmw/enUS/sho...diagId=16_0738

Edit:
Also I did not prime the fuel filter prior to starting the car. It cranked a few seconds, but started with "drivetrain malfunction" coming up on the screen and dash. Scanned and cleared the codes and drove about 60 miles and seems fine. The code said something like "low rail pressure" or something.

[KillFox91]

Not to hijack here, but is there an applicable thread for gasoline f15's?

I did of course search but it's pretty muddy with e70 and 5 series info on this subject.

Is the fuel pump accessible in the cabin like in previous models like e46? That was easy peasy.... hate to drop a tank for preventative maintenance on this. I'm only at 80k but if you've ever got stuck due to a fuel pump; you get a little Leary....

Great write up DIY by the OP here!

[happydude]

Originally Posted by KillFox91

Not to hijack here, but is there an applicable thread for gasoline f15's?

I did of course search but it's pretty muddy with e70 and 5 series info on this subject.

Is the fuel pump accessible in the cabin like in previous models like e46? That was easy peasy.... hate to drop a tank for preventative maintenance on this. I'm only at 80k but if you've ever got stuck due to a fuel pump; you get a little Leary....

Great write up DIY by the OP here!

Per Mr. 47’s comments above I believe the gas version has the filter in the tank. My understanding is since diesel is “dirtier” than gasoline the filter should be replaced every 30k miles. I’ve never replaced the fuel filters in my gassers as preventative since they were located in the tank.

[Localbrew]

Originally Posted by Mr.47

The 35i has theirs submerged in the fuel tank with the fuel pump, you’ll need to drop the fuel tank In order to change it,

Mr. 47 Nice write up thank you very much.

I'm curious what is this hard tube noted in the picture below:

[AlpineX]

Originally Posted by happydude

Per Mr. 47’s comments above I believe the gas version has the filter in the tank. My understanding is since diesel is “dirtier” than gasoline the filter should be replaced every 30k miles. I’ve never replaced the fuel filters in my gassers as preventative since they were located in the tank.

BMWs diesels fuel pressurizes to about 30,000psi, more than 10x its gasser counterpart. The purity is critical.

Nice write up.

[letsgosabres]

excellent write up thanks. I was successful with replacing the filter but I do not have the ISTA/D and therefore couldn't prime the system. My vehicle started right up after the new filter was installed but it only ran for 30 seconds then shut down. Now it won't start at all and the check engine light is on. I just ordered a foxwell scanner to find out what the erroe code is. Do you know where I can get this software and any cables necessary to hook up my laptop? I should have been more prepared before I started this project but that's a moot point now.

[Mr.47]

Originally Posted by letsgosabres

excellent write up thanks. I was successful with replacing the filter but I do not have the ISTA/D and therefore couldn't prime the system. My vehicle started right up after the new filter was installed but it only ran for 30 seconds then shut down. Now it won't start at all and the check engine light is on. I just ordered a foxwell scanner to find out what the erroe code is. Do you know where I can get this software and any cables necessary to hook up my laptop? I should have been more prepared before I started this project but that's a moot point now.

Try cycling the start/stop button 2-3 times without press the brakes while pausing 20 seconds in between with each cycle. Then try to start the vehicle, if it runs rev it up to 1500-2000 rpm for about 30 sec. If it doesn’t start do not reattempt your running a risk of running your pump dry and can cause damage.

[kooli9]

Excellent write up wish I'd seen it before I changed the filter.

Workshop guide didn't mention about priming

So I started and it ran for 30 secs and died.

I now have ista d.

Question is do I run the pump using ista d with the pipe off the fuel filter

Or is that no longer an option as there is probably air in the fuel rail?

[kooli9]

Originally Posted by kooli9

Excellent write up wish I'd seen it before I changed the filter.

Workshop guide didn't mention about priming

So I started and it ran for 30 secs and died.

I now have ista d.

Question is do I run the pump using ista d with the pipe off the fuel filter

Or is that no longer an option as there is probably air in the fuel rail?

Used ista to prime and after a long crank started and ran fine

[WVUBMWX5]

Thanks for the write up. I changed out my filter today with no issues at all following this.

Note: Instead of priming with ISTA, I just hooked up my hand vacuum pump and filled the filter as much as possible before connecting the hose to the filter. The engine started with no excessive cranking and never skipped a beat.

[mafatbhai]

This guide was very helpful to me.
Some suggestions for newbies like me..


the removal of panels, i have marked up the above image to show that removing those torx screws is not needed. Those other screws on that center panel has to come out just to loosen the center panel to allow the main filter panel to come out.

Also I did not have an option of turn on the suction pump in ISTA, instead there was a fuel bleed procedure and I did that and almost 2.5 gallons of diesel came out as it activated the pump for 3 minutes. I almost survived the diesel fuel spill on the floor. I was draining the filter in a 1 gal milk container using the hose setup described.

After doing the hose setup and priming the filter, I redid the fuel air bleed procedure after connecting the hose/connecting everything back. It ran the fuel pump for 3 minutes and it ran the engine at idle for 3 minutes. Engine cranked up like usual.

I had problem removing the Oetiker fuel line clamp, Use following video to understand how it works and ease the removal process.

Thanks again.

[discoboy1]

I read that priming is extremely important to prevent hpfp costly failures
air in system can damage HPFP.

[happydude]

Originally Posted by WVUBMWX5

Thanks for the write up. I changed out my filter today with no issues at all following this.

Note: Instead of priming with ISTA, I just hooked up my hand vacuum pump and filled the filter as much as possible before connecting the hose to the filter. The engine started with no excessive cranking and never skipped a beat.

Just completed this for the 2nd time. First time I did not prime and engine cranked a few times before starting and I had a drivetrain malfunction prompt on dash. This time I was going to prime but my ISTA+ did not seem to have the function for activating the fuel pump. I instead did as WVUBMWX5 and just used a Harbor Freight transfer pump and manually pumped diesel through the filter. Car started up as normal and no codes.

[mrrsharma@yahoo.com]

Great write up. You can see the panel that needs to be removed, there are cut outs to see the filter.

After it is installed, prime the engine thru insta, since the engine is self priming, no fuel will be wasted.

Make sure to have rough clothes on, no way not to get diesel on you, and boy does it stink!

Whole job took 1 hour, doing it for the first time. Probable doable in 30 minutes, do it the same time as an oil change to save time.

X5 started up maybe faster then normal after replacement and insta pump activation/ priming.

[compsyndrome]

I was able to change my filter easily. Thank you.
I ended up sucking some diesel out with a transfer pump too to fill up the new filter. It only took 1 extra second to crank up the engine.
The cover setup must not be the same in all models. I have a 2015 X5. I did not have to unscrew a single fastener off the transmission panel.