2010 2011 BMW 5 Series Forum F10
BMW Garage BMW Meets Register Search Today's Posts Mark Forums Read
 

2010 2011 BMW 5 Series Forum F10 BMW 5-Series (F10) Forums General 5-Series Sedan and Wagon (F10 / F11) Forum Excessive Carbon on Exhaust Tips?
Post Reply
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread
      01-03-2012, 06:19 AM   #1
vdubturbo
Second Lieutenant
42
Rep
299
Posts

Drives: E90, E36, 997
Join Date: Nov 2011
Location: ATL

iTrader: (0)

Excessive Carbon on Exhaust Tips?

So this is part question and part story...

A few weeks ago I noticed what I would consider excessive carbon buildup on the decorative exhaust tips. In 1,200 miles, the BMW has more carbon on the chrome tips than my IS350 did in 28,000 miles. I happened to be at the dealer for something unrelated so I decided to pop my head into the service department and ask the question.

Being a new customer and having a new car, I do not have a service adviser assigned to me, so I just asked to speak to someone. Dude comes out and real nicely I ask if this condition is normal. His response killed me...

SA "What kind of fuel are you using?"

Me "Premium, all the time."

SA "Oh... well... you see, the engines in the 5-series are bigger than the engines in the 3 Series... and with the bigger engines you get higher performance. You see, carbon is a... well, you see there's a lot more combustion going on in those cylinders because they're bigger... bigger than most engines. All that combustion is going to cause carbon. It's because it's a high performance engine."

Me "I see"

SA "yeah, I mean, if you told me it was all over the back bumper I would say there's something wrong. But if it's just on the tips it's normal."

Me "Well it looks like crap"

SA "Yeah... uhhh, just use some cleaner on it. It'll come off."

At this point I'm so stunned by this completely uneducated and BS answer I kind of walk myself backwards out of the service area and get back in my car.

I don't know if the amount of buildup on the pipes is normal or not, but I would have liked someone to LOOK at it and provide an educated response. I mean, I'm not some boy racer in his 3-Series with cheesy mods. And here I was told I would get more respect from the dealer/service guys as a 5-Series owner. huh.


So I'll ask this crowd... is the carbon buildup on the pipes normal with such little mileage? I probably need to take a pic, but I'm at work right now.

Oh, and just because it's my New Years resolution to hold people accountable, I will be calling the service manager. And I will let you know it was Fairfax BMW in Virginia. Didn't get the SA's name.
Appreciate 0
      01-03-2012, 07:44 AM   #2
delvek
Major
delvek's Avatar
Germany
32
Rep
1,134
Posts

Drives: 2014 550i Msport
Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: Tampa, FL

iTrader: (0)

I feel your pain, not with the SA, but with the carbon buildup.

I have a special exhaust tip rag, lol, and is part of my weekly cleaning. I didnt clean it when I first got the car and after a few weeks it built up pretty bad and took some elbow grease to get it off. I only assumed it was normal, I am curious to see if anything intelligent comes out of your service department on this. Keep us posted.
__________________
2014 550i M-sport
Appreciate 0
      01-03-2012, 07:55 AM   #3
vdubturbo
Second Lieutenant
42
Rep
299
Posts

Drives: E90, E36, 997
Join Date: Nov 2011
Location: ATL

iTrader: (0)

Well, now that I know I'm not the only one I'll put some pressure on them to find out what's up. I'll keep you posted.

BTW, what are you using to clean it off? I was thinking some metal polish like NEVR-DULL?
Appreciate 0
      01-03-2012, 08:09 AM   #4
delvek
Major
delvek's Avatar
Germany
32
Rep
1,134
Posts

Drives: 2014 550i Msport
Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: Tampa, FL

iTrader: (0)

I try to use things that are more on the environmental friendly side to earth and my car.

I use the residuals in the bucket from washing my car with the Swissvax car wash.

Normally the soapy water in the bucket I use to wipe off my rims and the exhausts.

When I had my car detailed by Swissvax they put a special rim wax on and with just light soapy water the rims wipe clean.
__________________
2014 550i M-sport
Appreciate 0
      01-03-2012, 10:54 AM   #5
gatoman39
Major
gatoman39's Avatar
United_States
116
Rep
1,346
Posts

Drives: 2011 E92 335 M-Sport
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: LA

iTrader: (0)

Garage List
I don't know why you're getting so upset. The carbon buildup is completely normal and removes easily with a towel and some APC cleaner. wait till you get a load of the brake dust.
__________________
Appreciate 0
      01-03-2012, 12:02 PM   #6
vdubturbo
Second Lieutenant
42
Rep
299
Posts

Drives: E90, E36, 997
Join Date: Nov 2011
Location: ATL

iTrader: (0)

Quote:
Originally Posted by gatoman39 View Post
I don't know why you're getting so upset. The carbon buildup is completely normal and removes easily with a towel and some APC cleaner. wait till you get a load of the brake dust.
Oh, I'm not upset about the carbon. I was just curious. I was annoyed with the response I got from the SA.
Appreciate 0
      01-03-2012, 12:19 PM   #7
gatoman39
Major
gatoman39's Avatar
United_States
116
Rep
1,346
Posts

Drives: 2011 E92 335 M-Sport
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: LA

iTrader: (0)

Garage List
Quote:
Originally Posted by vdubturbo View Post
Oh, I'm not upset about the carbon. I was just curious. I was annoyed with the response I got from the SA.
Don't sweat that, odds are you know a lot more about your car than the dealer. I have been using MF towels and Optimum power clean to tips. Then mothers metal polish to make them shine and Menzerna Powerlock to keep them protected. (All of this while the tips are cold of course).
__________________
Appreciate 0
      01-03-2012, 12:28 PM   #8
delvek
Major
delvek's Avatar
Germany
32
Rep
1,134
Posts

Drives: 2014 550i Msport
Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: Tampa, FL

iTrader: (0)

Quote:
Originally Posted by gatoman39 View Post
Don't sweat that, odds are you know a lot more about your car than the dealer.
Sad but true. I imagine most SA's don't own BMW's so I would think the desire to truly know the car is not there like an owner/aficionado would.
__________________
2014 550i M-sport
Appreciate 0
      01-03-2012, 10:18 PM   #9
JAGD
Enlisted Member
4
Rep
34
Posts

Drives: 2011 535
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: st. louis

iTrader: (0)

I think the carbon buildup is also related to how high you rev it. When I use my 911 on track days and run it to red-line over and over, a tremendous amount of carbon gets deposited (along with dead bugs and pieces of rubber). My 535 is a 6 speed and probably sees higher revs than most. Anyway, for some reason the carbon comes off the Porsche tips a lot easier than the BMW although they are both chrome.
Appreciate 0
      01-03-2012, 10:24 PM   #10
MBlack78
Enlisted Member
United_States
5
Rep
31
Posts

Drives: 2006 Lexus GS300 AWD
Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: St. Louis

iTrader: (0)

Quote:
Originally Posted by vdubturbo View Post
Well, now that I know I'm not the only one I'll put some pressure on them to find out what's up. I'll keep you posted.

BTW, what are you using to clean it off? I was thinking some metal polish like NEVR-DULL?
I use a product called White Diamond and it works wonders. A really amazing product for this issue.
__________________
2011 F10 550i xdrive // Deep Sea Blue // Premium Package 2 // Sport Package // Convenience Package // Smartphone Integration // Sports Transmission
Appreciate 0
      06-28-2012, 03:28 PM   #11
dbs600
Colonel
266
Rep
2,247
Posts

Drives: 2011 750LXi Individual
Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: New York, NY

iTrader: (0)

I am experiencing this same exact problem; constant carbon / exhaust buildup on my chrome exhaust tips. And unfortunately, I haven't kept up with cleaning and now they're impossible to get clean.

Does anyone know how Nevr-Dull compares to White Diamond? And any other tips / tricks to share?

Thanks!
Appreciate 0
      06-28-2012, 03:44 PM   #12
konasunset
registered
konasunset's Avatar
United_States
6
Rep
87
Posts

Drives: 535i titanium silvr 1/11 build
Join Date: Feb 2011
Location: kona, big island, hawaii

iTrader: (0)

I noticed the same thing soon after I picked up my car and was told by my service manager that this was normal. It is easy to take care of with chrome polish and a rag. I don't think a special chrome polish is necessary. I used Turtle Wax that I happened to have around.
Appreciate 0
      06-28-2012, 09:29 PM   #13
DLerner
Private First Class
DLerner's Avatar
United_States
47
Rep
184
Posts

Drives: F10 535, X164 GL550
Join Date: May 2011
Location: VA USA

iTrader: (0)

Same issue - more carbon on my tips than any other car I've owned. Cannot for the life of me find anything that removes it fully including elbow grease. However, if this is one of my biggest gripes with the car after a year of ownership, I'm doing okay.
Appreciate 0
      06-29-2012, 09:04 AM   #14
The X Men
Colonel
99
Rep
2,323
Posts

Drives: 2013 X3 35i
Join Date: Mar 2012
Location: MA

iTrader: (0)

Quote:
Originally Posted by YodaSyrup View Post
Same issue - more carbon on my tips than any other car I've owned.
Its pretty common with direct injection cars.
Appreciate 0
Post Reply

Bookmarks

Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off



All times are GMT -5. The time now is 11:28 AM.




5post
Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.11
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions Inc.
1Addicts.com, BIMMERPOST.com, E90Post.com, F30Post.com, M3Post.com, ZPost.com, 5Post.com, 6Post.com, 7Post.com, XBimmers.com logo and trademark are properties of BIMMERPOST