[psubmw]

I have a 2011 e90 with a leaking evaporator. I'm in the process of removing the dash to get to it. I haven't experienced any problems with heat and have only 68k miles, but my friendly mechanic suggested that I replace the heater core while I was in there.

Would this be wise, or kind of overkill? All my years of owning cars, I've never had to replace a heater core, although I have had to flush one once.

[kkasson]

If you're able to DIY the dash removal I'd probably skip the heater core. Heater core leaks seem extremely rare on the E90 so you should be fine. On some other makes where it's more common it would make a lot of sense, or if you were paying labor to remove the dash, but if you'd be able to do it again in the rare case it ended up leaking I think it's worth the risk to leave it as is.

[psubmw]

Thank you. I am doing the dash myself, though it's not fun. I'd love to hear what others think too, but I very much appreciate your response!

[Gohan335i7]

I would replace it , just because... Pretty sure a new one will work better, especially if it is getting up there in years.. but I replace things sometimes that don't need replacing, but since it is in the way & I might need to replace later, I just do it to get it out of the way... Preventaive Replacement I call it.

[psubmw]

I'm not even sure how much more work is necessary, although I do not look forward to the likely mess it would make if I were to proceed.

There's always the chance of replacing the working one with a new one with a small flaw that will leak, I suppose!

Or I could be replacing a soon to fail one while I'm in there.

All about the odds!