[runwild]

I have a 2006 BMW 330i E90....im not sure if all e90's arent equipped with engine temp guage but im searching for something to tell me my engine temp since i got the car and its non existent to me at least....i dont like to rev up my engine until i no for a fact my car is warmed up....well My question is are we just supposed to feel out the car and realize when to step on it or is there a guage or something im not seeing!!!

[R608]

Possibly through some hidden menus (I recall a discussion about it a while back, but not even sure if it was here or another forum). Otherwise, the only way I'm aware of to try to determine engine temp on the naturally-aspirated cars is to check the oil level through the menus. It has to be fairly well warmed up for that to display a reading, though I can only guess at how close to normal operating temperature that really works out to be. Clunky? Yes. After a while, I got used to doing it, and it was no big deal. After a while longer, I grew familiar enough with how long the engine takes to warm up during the different seasons that I go more by approximate driving time. Why they omitted the standard coolant temp gauge is beyond me, though. I do miss it.

[Braumin]

There is no gauge. You will get a warning if the temp gets too high. I thought that was weird too when I got my 335 because my last bmw had the temp gauge, and now I have an oil temp gauge.

Anyway you can still access the temp through the hidden onboard computer menu:


Here is a site which lists all of the hidden menu codes:
http://e90.wetpaint.com/page/BC+hidd...us/revision/37

[runwild]

Originally Posted by R608

Possibly through some hidden menus (I recall a discussion about it a while back, but not even sure if it was here or another forum). Otherwise, the only way I'm aware of to try to determine engine temp on the naturally-aspirated cars is to check the oil level through the menus. It has to be fairly well warmed up for that to display a reading, though I can only guess at how close to normal operating temperature that really works out to be. Clunky? Yes. After a while, I got used to doing it, and it was no big deal. After a while longer, I grew familiar enough with how long the engine takes to warm up during the different seasons that I go more by approximate driving time. Why they omitted the standard coolant temp gauge is beyond me, though. I do miss it.

yea i noticed that the oil will not read correctly until the car is fully warmed up too sometimes it will tel me its unreadable if the engine is too cold....smart thinking but liek u said i just like my temp guage on the side im so used to seeing it for so many years in all my other cars

[runwild]

Originally Posted by Braumin

There is no gauge. You will get a warning if the temp gets too high. I thought that was weird too when I got my 335 because my last bmw had the temp gauge, and now I have an oil temp gauge.

Anyway you can still access the temp through the hidden onboard computer menu:


Here is a site which lists all of the hidden menu codes:
http://e90.wetpaint.com/page/BC+hidd...us/revision/37

thanks for the reply but my e90 dash read out looks different than that one does in the video....must be a newer model and its showing kilometers so most likely from europe where im almost positive their computers work diff from ours....ive held down the odometer before and it has never brought to any type of code list like that but i will check out that codes website that may be useful....thanks

[mxchris727]

Originally Posted by runwild

thanks for the reply but my e90 dash read out looks different than that one does in the video....must be a newer model and its showing kilometers so most likely from europe where im almost positive their computers work diff from ours....ive held down the odometer before and it has never brought to any type of code list like that but i will check out that codes website that may be useful....thanks

It will. You have to hold it down for at least 10-15 seconds no matter what appears on the screen.

[blingman]

Wondering if anyone added their own temp gauge. I would try if I had help location the temp sensor and tapping the wire.

[m@rco]

There are many threads about this topic. In brief, BMW decided to omit the water temperature gauge because the water temperature is not kept constant in order to increase efficiency under various driving conditions. There would be tons of people bringing in their car to the dealership complaining about a fluctuation temperature gauge...
You engine is fully warmed up after about 10 miles of driving. I wouldn't rely on the oil level check. Think about it this way: how much energy does it cost to heat up a couple of hundreds pounds of steel, aluminum, and couple quarts of oil from ambient to say 180F? At least half a gallon of gas, about the amount burned over 10 miles of driving...

[bsamoul]

I can tell how warm my engine is by how it drives in automatic. The more responsive and smoother it is, the warmer mine is.

[runwild]

Originally Posted by m@rco

There are many threads about this topic. In brief, BMW decided to omit the water temperature gauge because the water temperature is not kept constant in order to increase efficiency under various driving conditions. There would be tons of people bringing in their car to the dealership complaining about a fluctuation temperature gauge...
You engine is fully warmed up after about 10 miles of driving. I wouldn't rely on the oil level check. Think about it this way: how much energy does it cost to heat up a couple of hundreds pounds of steel, aluminum, and couple quarts of oil from ambient to say 180F? At least half a gallon of gas, about the amount burned over 10 miles of driving...

i was just curious as to why they didnt put the guage in the car but i guess this answered my question....honestly i just go by how the car feels i always take it slow for the first 5-10 mins and never go past 3000 rpms and never do i just start it and pull off unless im in a major rush....

[Efthreeoh]

So back in the day, before the fancy electric waterpumps, and when the 3-series had a water temp gauge, the BMW Owner's manual explicitly stated to keep the engine revs under a specific RPM until the temp gauge needle got out of the "blue" area of the gauge scale. My E30 owner's manual said to keep the engine revs at or below 3,000 RPM until the needle got out of the blue zone on the gauge. When the needle jumped out of the blue zone was about the same time the car would start to make heat.

I have followed this same practice with my E90 N52 and have a perfectly running engine after 194,000 miles.

[R608]

m@rco -- Point taken, but I'm more comfortable with the oil level check approach over going strictly by mileage because the latter doesn't account for ambient temperature. It's inherently going to take everything longer to warm up if it's starting at 10°F than 90°F.

Efthreeoh -- I do tend to go partially by engine sound and gearbox feel during the cooler months also. These engines do sound a bit course when they're cold. The heat method is a good point also (at least for colder weather). I'd forgotten about that.

194K miles? Nice!

If BMW doesn't want the temp gauge due to concerns over fluctuations leading to unwarranted concern by customers, I'd say implement the same type of variable redline indicator on the tach that the M cars have had for years. It's a great idea. They should use it more universally.

[The X Men]

The newer BMW have a oil temp gauge which is a bit more useful.

[runwild]

I agree with r608...it would be nice if they implemented that M style temperature gauge on all BMW vehicles

[e92oholic]

Originally Posted by runwild

I agree with r608...it would be nice if they implemented that M style temperature gauge on all BMW vehicles

My old 545 had something like that. Little hash marks around the RPM gauge that moved as the car warmed up. It was nice seeing my car was a 6MT. I was surprised when the 335 didn't.

[FNG]

Originally Posted by bsamoul

I can tell how warm my engine is by how it drives in automatic. The more responsive and smoother it is, the warmer mine is.

That has nothing to do with engine temp. The rough/less responsiveness is cause by the cold start function where the ECU tells the engine to run rich to get the catalytic convertors up to operating temp faster.

[JamesM3M5]

Originally Posted by FNG

That has nothing to do with engine temp. The rough/less responsiveness is cause by the cold start function where the ECU tells the engine to run rich to get the catalytic convertors up to operating temp faster.

That's not necessarily true. The hotter the engine is, up to a certain point of course, the more efficient and powerful it is. Once you exceed a given temperature, though, power drops due to excessive cylinder head temperature. It's different for different engines, but an engine up to operating temp runs better not just because of cold start programming. True cold start typically only takes place for 10-60 seconds, anyway.