Morning Rod
Welcome to the Forum
Never had one of these to look at or play with so this is just me thinking out loud
1. White smoke, experience tells me it is either water vapour caused by condensation in the exhaust or as suggested possibly an engine breather fault. The key would be smell if it is breather related it will have a strong smell also breather issues normally manifest themselves after the engine has been ticking over for a while. Water vapour will have very little smell and clear quickly as the exhaust warms up.
2. You say a mechanic wants to investigate/correct a fuel tank pressure sensor fault? Logic tells me that a fuel delivery issue would cause either over fuelling (a strong smell of unburnt fuel) or very poor erratic running along with erratic performance/MPG. Have you had the issue investigated by a BMW Dealer or BMW Specialist? If this sensor issue is cleared, does it return straight away? On most models the fuel tank pressure sensor is faily easy to access test and change if needed.
BMW like many other manufacturers tend to aknowledge even possible Warranty issues faster in the USA due to the different legal system, while here in Europe as you have discovered things are very different.
Dave