[D_o_S]

Hi,

I got the low coolant warning light yesterday, after I spun out from a drift (closed course). I stopped the car, switched it off, then started again, and the light went away. Through the hidden OBD menu, I checked water temp, it was 103 C while drifting and like 93 C when going home. Since other cars run at 90 or so C, I thought this was normal, and the low level light might have been caused by a splash of fluid.

Yesterday, I bought some coolant from BMW. Today, I went to fill it up, I opened the cap, heard nothing (pressure coming out or so), and after I unscrewed the cap, the dipstick was below the min mark. I filled it up so the dipstick is level with the top of the threads.

Now, is it normal to have to refill the coolant? The coolant was changed at my last service, 5/2011. I track the car here and there. The system should be closed though, so I'm guessing I have a leak? I also drive the car at high altitudes (this year like 2 months at altitudes higher than 1000 m above sea level - 3300 ft), not sure if that makes a difference.

Or has anyone had to top up the coolant without a leak? I'm just wondering if I should go to the dealer and INSIST they find something, or just let it be...

It doesn't bother me much when I'm in the city, but imagine having a leaky hose, that would let loose on me in the middle of nowhere - I'd rather prevent that...

On the other hand, going to the dealer isn't exactly around the corner - I go to Germany, which is like a 3 hour drive from my place, so I'd rather get there and insist, than just say "take a look, perhaps, uh, maybe..."

Thanks.

[Professor///M]

Oddly enough I suddenly had no coolant in my 2007. The indicator just went on one day.

I refilled with the mix of fluid and water and didn't have the problem again. I was so scared I had a leak though, that I kept a bottle of coolant in the back of my car for a few months

[mike3000fl]

It supposedly is a sealed system but at the same time I have heard that it is not. I believe the consensus is that it should not lose fluid. I do know that our expansion tank is under pressure which is different to many cars where the expansion tank is a plastic bottle like the wiper fluid (flip cap and all).

I top mine up every other month or so, not much loss, dipstick is just a bit lower.

[Malapropism]

I had the same issue after some spirited driving in my '11 e92 335xi. Went to the dealer and they topped it off and haven't had a problem since

http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=598451

[Potty_Pants]

topped it off once in 5 years ... only 30k miles on it thought... also possible the dealer topped it off once a year.. but id wager they are lazy and never looked.

topping off no big deal... filling a gal every couple of months... cause for concern.

ppp

[CJ421]

My coolant light came on at 7k miles, first cold morning of the year basically and my car was parked on a slight angle.
It took not even a few oz. I have a feeling if I drove around for a bit, the light would have turned off.

But it's not unusual to get a coolant light in a 335i.

Enjoy the car.

[08Bwags]

Had a 530i and a 745i and filling the coolant became a once a year thing. Don't know where it goes but all I know is both engines eat up coolant so it needed to be filled.

[Bamaben]

must be normal for bmw's. i've had the system pressure checked at the dealer which they said was ok, so did my indy shop and I still have to add about a cup of coolant every 3 or 4 months or so. my indy shop said that bmws tend to evaporate the water out of the system, not so much the coolant, so when you top it off to use just water.. I still top mine with a 50/50.

[Wires]

The coolant system *should* be a closed system. They used to be designed with a pressure bypass that if the coolant gets too hot and there is too much pressure in the system, it will blow the extra coolant into the holding tank. When it cools, it sucks it back. My GM truck has the tank intergrated fully, with the cap on the tank being the pressure cap. Not sure how the 3-series is though (I'd assume the latter).

That being said, I have had to add coolant once to my car at about the 40k km mark. Mind you, I've never checked it, so who knows if it was even at the top when I took delivery.

[John 070]

I've never even checked mine in 5+ years. I hope there's still some in there. Time flies, I haven't driven my car in 4 or 5 weeks now. I'm even getting lazy with the battery tender (wanted to use it cuz the battery is 2 mos. old)....

[Tom K.]

Originally Posted by Bamaben

must be normal for bmw's. i've had the system pressure checked at the dealer which they said was ok, so did my indy shop and I still have to add about a cup of coolant every 3 or 4 months or so. my indy shop said that bmws tend to evaporate the water out of the system, not so much the coolant, so when you top it off to use just water.. I still top mine with a 50/50.

For a contrary experience, I've only had to add coolant once to a BMW in over 10 years which includes 5 cars with a total of more than 200,000 miles.

I once got a coolant warning after parking my Z4 on an incline, but it was fine on level ground.

Tom

[Bamaben]

Originally Posted by Tom K.

For a contrary experience, I've only had to add coolant once to a BMW in over 10 years which includes 5 cars with a total of more than 200,000 miles.

I once got a coolant warning after parking my Z4 on an incline, but it was fine on level ground.

Tom

what you've said it doesn't confirm that your cars didn't lose coolant. you've only averaged 40k miles per car, so I can see not having to add coolant in those miles. Cars can lose a liter or more before the low coolant warning comes on, so not triggering a low coolant warning doesn't mean it doesn't lose coolant. Sounds like you just don't check it considering when you got a warning you just parked it level so the warning would go away.
my point is that losing coolant isn't the sign of a problem if it doesn't lose too much.

[CirrusSR22]

I've got 215,000 miles on my E36 and I have to top off the coolant maybe once every couple months, but that's mostly just in the winter months. Basically no more than one cup's worth. Been doing this for many years and i have no clue where it goes. No external leaks and no signs of a bad head gasket (I've done used oil anaylsis'). I now just consider it normal.

[dcat151]

I had the low coolant light come on once and had to top it up. There were no leaks. I've flushed and filled the system since (just as a part of regular preventative maintenance) and have not had any further issues with it.

[BMWFanatic2008]

Had the same thing around 15K, dealer topped it off for me. Haven't had any problems with it since then.

[E39hijinks]

lol @ the people who go to the dealer and buy coolant to top off.

waste. you can just top off with distilled water. but no... it has to be "coolant" you top off with.

fun fact for those who aren't too familiar with how cars work: you can run 100% distilled water in your cooling system.

However for colder climates, coolant lowers the freezing point and provides anti-corrosion properties for the aluminum it flows through.

But just to let you know, you aren't damaging your cars by topping off with distilled water.

As far as the coolant thing goes, my E46 and past E36 M have needed to be topped off every few months with about a cup of water. No leaks, no signs of mixing (also did Blackstone tests) nothing. These are with cars with fully rebuilt cooling systems too.

[mike3000fl]

Originally Posted by E39hijinks

lol @ the people who go to the dealer and buy coolant to top off.

waste. you can just top off with distilled water. but no... it has to be "coolant" you top off with.

fun fact for those who aren't too familiar with how cars work: you can run 100% distilled water in your cooling system.

However for colder climates, coolant lowers the freezing point and provides anti-corrosion properties for the aluminum it flows through.

But just to let you know, you aren't damaging your cars by topping off with distilled water.

As far as the coolant thing goes, my E46 and past E36 M have needed to be topped off every few months with about a cup of water. No leaks, no signs of mixing (also did Blackstone tests) nothing. These are with cars with fully rebuilt cooling systems too.

I thought that coolant also raises the boiling point.

[gunnerxq]

Originally Posted by mike3000fl

I thought that coolant also raises the boiling point.

It does I don't know why you wouldn't put it on.

[Cynthia_Lopez]

Hello,


I am writing to tell you about a new BREAKTHROUGH method for repairing a leaking Coolant Transfer Pipe in the BMW N62 V8 engine block using the BimmerFix Stint. The N62 V8 is a popular BMW engine that was used from 2002 thru 2010, in such fabulous vehicles as the BMW 735i, 740i, 745i, 750i & Li, 645Ci, 650i, 540i, 545i, 550i, and the X5 SUV.


Located deep inside of this BMW N62 engine is a Coolant Transfer Pipe, which carries antifreeze from the Water Pump to cooling chambers within the engine. However, the Front Seal on this Cooling Tube can fail in as little as 40,000 miles, and start leaking antifreeze from the engine block, through a weep hole in the Timing Chain Cover. When this happens, the car will lose antifreeze from the engine, and the engine will overheat.


In the past, this has been a very expensive repair because it required disassembly of the engine, in order to access the leaking Cooling Pipe Seal. The original method of replacing the crossover Coolant Transfer Pipe required the removal of the Timing Chain Cover. This repair could cost $6,000 or more at the BMW Dealer.


Then, an after-market Collapsible Coolant Pipe was developed to save time and money on this repair. This Collapsible Coolant Pipe method involves removing the Intake Manifold, cutting out the old Coolant Pipe and installing the after-market Collapsible Coolant Pipe. But even this method required many hours of shop labor and expensive parts and supplies. The repair bill for this method can still cost between $1,500.00 and $2,500.00 to remove the Intake Manifold, cut out the old Coolant Pipe and install the new Collapsible Coolant Pipe.


However, BimmerFix Products Co. has discovered a BREAKTHROUGH system to stop the leak! The BimmerFix method is much faster and less expensive than these old methods. This simple, yet durable and long lasting method inserts the BimmerFix Stint into the leaking crossover cooling tube, through the Timing Chain Cover. The thin aluminum sleeve creates a long lasting repair that is much easier and less expensive to install than the old repair methods.


The new BimmerFix Stint will stop the Coolant Pipe leak, and only requires the removal of the Water Pump. This new patent protected invention can save YOU or your customer’s time, hassle, and thousands of dollars. It works or your money back!


Save time and money! Take a look at www.BimmerFix.com.


Watch The Video! You will be glad you did!

Thanks for your time!


BimmerFix Products Co.


Tucson, Arizona, USA

[Dozhdbog]

Your writing style is much too sensationalist.

[mike3000fl]

Originally Posted by Cynthia_Lopez

Hello,


I am writing to tell you about a new BREAKTHROUGH method for repairing a leaking Coolant Transfer Pipe in the BMW N62 V8 engine block using the BimmerFix Stint.

The new BimmerFix Stint will stop the Coolant Pipe leak, and only requires the removal of the Water Pump. This new patent protected invention can save YOU or your customer’s time, hassle, and thousands of dollars. It works or your money back!

I believe the term you were looking for is "Stent" not "Stint", it comes from the medical world, where mesh tubes are inserted inside arteries and then expanded. This is used to stop them from becoming blocked.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stent Your product is basically a stent, a tube within a tube, inserted from within. A stint is something else entirely.

Besides stint being the wrong word, it is also a bad one. It does not instill faith in your product. Stint sounds very short term. A "career" is long term, a "job" is in the middle, a "stint" is something you did on the weekend for beer money, like "during summer i had a stint delivering pizza". Last thing I would want for a product designed to be a long term fix for my BMW engine, is to name it something associated with short term like "stint". Marketing fail.

So how long will it take to re-edit that video and change the product name?