N55 Engine Air Filter Replacement
Every N55 has an engine air filter in a box in the engine bay, and BMW lists no special tool for changing it. The catch is buying the right filter.
5 filtersFive different BMW numbers across the N55 cars. Find your car in the table, not in a how-to.
The F30 how-to trap
One parts vendor's F30 air filter how-to is written for the four-cylinder N20, not your 335i. It links 13 71 8 511 668 as the F30 filter, and BMW's catalog lists that number as an N20 part. Don't use it on an N55.
Which filter your car takes
135i and 335i, E-seriesBMW 13 71 7 599 285E82, E88 135i. E90, E92, E93 335i, built from March 2010.Hengst E1461L $33.99 →
F30 335i, F32 F33 F36 435iBMW 13 71 7 602 643M Sport: 13 71 8 616 909Two numbers. BMW's catalog lists the first with no condition and the second for cars with the M Sport package. The Hengst is the first, the Mann is the second. Not sure which yours is? Send us your VIN and we'll send yours.
F34 335i GT, F22 F23 M235iBMW 13 71 8 616 909The same number as the M Sport one in the F30 row.Mann C 27 051 $33.99 →
Everything elseBMW 13 71 7 571 355F07 535i GT, F01 F02 740i and 740Li (July 2012 to May 2015), F25 X3 35i, F26 X4 35i, E70 X5 35i, E71 X6 35i, F15 X5 35i, F16 X6 35i.Mann C 28 125 $22.99 →
US cars only, and not the ActiveHybrids.
How often
What BMW givesBMW's US service chart counts the air filter in oil services. F-series built before July 2013: about 45,000 miles. Built from July 2013: about 50,000 miles (a later version of the chart says about 40,000 for the F22, F23 and F30 to F36). M2 and X4 M40i: about 30,000 miles. For the E82, E88, E90, E92, E93, E70 and E71 we found no US figure, so go by your car's service reminder.
Shop rule of thumb, not BMW'sOne parts vendor says look at it every oil change and swap it every third one. An owner site says 15,000 to 30,000 miles. Those are their rules, not BMW's.
What you need
Hand toolsBMW lists none. A driver that fits your lid screws, and a clean rag. F33 and F87 also need whatever fits the strut brace.
Torque toolOne that reads small values in Nm. The lid screws and the pipe clamp are 2.5 and 3 Nm.
Engine off and cooled down. Keep the clean side clean. BMW has you wipe both halves of the box out from the inside before the new element goes in. Do that, and don't let anything drop into the clean-air pipe: it leads to the engine.
Out in this order
- Strut braceF33 and F87 only. Off first.
- Pipe clampMost cars: loosen the clamp on the clean-air pipe.
- Lid fastenersScrews, retainers or, on F33 and F87, two clamps.
- Upper halfLift it off.
- Old elementOut. Wipe both halves.new element
Torque
Lid screws, upper half to lower half2.5 Nm
Clean-air pipe clamp3 Nm
Air mass meter on the pipe, only if it came off2 Nm
Out
- F33 and F87: strut brace off first. BMW's steps for those two cars start there.
-
Release the clamp on the clean-air pipe (BMW's steps for most cars).
Figure 2The airbox cover with its hose clamp and spring clips circled. Generic layout: yours may differ. - Open the box. Take out the lid screws. Some cars have retainers in a line instead: release them and fold the lid forward and up. On the F33 and F87, BMW says release two clamps and lift the lid slightly. BMW's data doesn't say which other car is which, so look at yours, or send us your VIN and we'll send yours.
-
Element out. Note how it sits first.
Figure 3The air filter element sitting in its open housing. Generic layout: yours may differ. - Wipe both halves from the inside, as BMW does.
In
- New element in the way the old one sat. Check its number against the table.
- Lid down flat, seated all the way round before any screw or clamp goes on. Shop tip, not BMW's.
- Lid screws to 2.5 Nm, or close the retainers or clamps.
- Pipe clamp to 3 Nm.
- F33 and F87: brace back on. Its torque isn't on this page: send us your VIN and we'll send yours.
- Reset the reminder, below.
Reset the air filter reminder
If your service list has an air filter item, reset it after the job. BMW's in-car steps, written for the speedometer display:
- Ignition on, engine off. On a push-button F-series car, owners say that means Start/Stop without your foot on the brake.
- Hold the trip reset button about 10 seconds, until the first service item shows.
- Step to the air filter item with short presses of the stalk button.
- Hold about 3 seconds until Reset? shows, then about 3 seconds again to confirm.
The 80 percent rule. In the car, BMW only lets you reset an item once it is under 80 percent available, with no Check Control message and the date right. Above that you get a reset lock, and only a shop's BMW diagnosis tool clears it. Owners (not BMW) say F-series cars work the same way, but the buttons sit in different places.
Where people mess it up
- Wrong filter. Five numbers, and the F30, F32, F33 and F36 pick between two. A number from a four-cylinder F30 how-to is the wrong part.
- Lid not seated. Same shop tip: flat on the lower half all the way round before anything is tightened.
- Debris in the clean side. A screw, leaf or dirt dropped into the clean-air pipe or the lid side. Wipe the halves from the inside and keep the pipe opening clear.
- Cranking the screws by feel. 2.5 Nm is light.
- Skipping the brace step on an F33 or F87. BMW takes it off first.
- Skipping the reset. If your car has an air filter item, the reminder stays on.
More N55 basics: cabin filter and brake fluid flush.
Steps, torque values and part rules come from BMW's repair instructions for the N55 air filter element (main group 13) and BMW's US service chart, with owner and forum experience labeled where we use it. Part numbers come from BMW's parts catalog up to 2020. Check yours by VIN.
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