Pollen and Microfilter Twin Pack in OE Supplier

A service item: both filters, because on most of these chassis there are two and only one gets changed.

We are an independent parts supplier. We are not BMW AG or MINI, we are not appointed by them, and BMW and MINI are their trademarks. What we sell are parts that fit those cars, described as such. Every listing states the chassis codes and engine codes it fits, the production date range, which quality tier you are buying, the labour time the job actually takes, and whether the part needs coding to the car before it will work. Where a part is only made in plastic by the factory and fails because it is plastic, we say so and we offer the metal one.

Specification and fitment

• Fits: 1 Series E87 F20 F40, 3 Series E90 E91 E92 E93 F30 F31 G20, 4 Series F32 F33 F36, 5 Series E60 F10 G30, X1 X3 X5, Mini Hatch and Countryman
• Engine: chosen above where the part is engine specific. Filters and plugs differ between the four and six cylinder engines and between the naturally aspirated and turbo versions. These cars change mid production, sometimes twice in a model year, and two cars built four months apart can take different parts. Send us the last seven digits of your VIN with the order and we check the part against the build record before anything is dispatched. It takes us two minutes and it is the difference between a part that fits and a return.
• Production dates: 2004 to 2022 depending on chassis
• Quality: made by the firm that supplies the vehicle manufacturer, in that firm's own box rather than a dealer box. Identical part, identical line, no dealer margin, and this is what we would fit ourselves
• Part number: cross referenced to the original equipment number for your VIN and confirmed before dispatch. We do not publish a single number against a listing that covers several build variants, because that is how people order the wrong part
• The failure this addresses: a service interval, or the symptom the part causes when it is past it: a flat spot from a drifting air mass meter, a misfire from a tired coil, a squeal from a worn tensioner
• Labour time: fifteen minutes to an hour and a half depending on the item
• Coding: none required. Fit it and drive
• Also needed: O rings and crush washers where they apply, and they are in the kit rather than sold separately
• Torque: the plastic oil filter housing cap is torqued to 25 newton metres and not a grunt more. Overtightening it cracks the cap, and it is the commonest self inflicted oil leak on these cars
• Weight: approximately 0.6 kilograms
• Warranty: two years or 24,000 miles, whichever comes first
• Oil specification: BMW Longlife 04, 01 or 17FE depending on engine and year. They are not interchangeable and the wrong one in a diesel with a particulate filter shortens the filter's life a great deal
• Intervals: the car's own condition based servicing is optimistic on a car doing short journeys. We would halve the oil interval on a town car and we would say so even though it costs us a sale of nothing
• Washable filters: we do not stock oiled cotton panel filters, because the oil migrates onto the hot film air mass meter and ruins it
• Twin filters: several of these chassis have two cabin filters and only one usually gets changed. Ours are sold as a pair

What arrives

• the part as described
• every O ring, washer and seal the job needs
• the correct grade of oil or fluid where the kit includes it
• a torque figure card

Fitting

Fifteen minutes to an hour and a half. The one thing worth saying twice is the oil filter housing cap: 25 newton metres, with a torque wrench, because cracking it is the commonest self inflicted oil leak on these cars and it happens on the bench rather than on the road.

Which version to buy

Service parts are where OE supplier makes the clearest case. The filter in the dealer box and the filter in the manufacturer's own box come off the same line, and the difference is thirty per cent. Genuine boxed is worth it only where a warranty or a main dealer history depends on it. Four words get used loosely in this trade and they mean different things. Genuine means in the manufacturer's box with their part number on it. OE means the same part from the firm that actually makes it, in that firm's box, usually 30 to 40 per cent cheaper. Aftermarket means somebody else's version, which is sometimes as good and sometimes not. Remanufactured means a core stripped, measured and rebuilt to specification, which is not the same as cleaned. Every listing here says which of the four you are looking at.