[mastarron]

Hello fellow e90Posters,

Took my car in for the;
1) PCV Valve Heater recall
2) Blower Motor Wiring

They "fixed" both, with the below part numbers;
PCV;
11-61-2-458-830 (quantity 1)
12-31-2-458-831 (quantity 1)
11-61-7-535-849 (quantity 2)
Blower Motor;
61-11-8-716-086

I picked my car up at the dealership at 7:15PM eastern, and drove a quarter mile to my office to wrap up some work. I left the office around 8PM for an 11-12 mile drive home. After getting on the the highway, I got the "Low Coolant" warning. I slowed down to about 30Mph, and called the dealership, unfortunately they were closed. I kept going at this 30Mph pace until I got home. Once I got home, I open the hood, and the two attached videos is what I see...

Im clueless to what exactly the PCV Valve Heater does, but its too coincidental, that their repair did not cause this issue. Im planning to send the service advisor an email shorlty, and will call them first thing in the morning. But I want to make sure they dont try to play me for a fool.

What are your thoughts guys? Can you help shed some light on this being caused by PCV?

Below are the two attached videos;
https://drive.google.com/drive/folde...t_kJA1uZZGwCGm



Sincerely,
Mastarron

[nsjames]

there should not have been anything needed to the cooling system, but it's entirely possible that someone disturbed a hose and cracked a plastic piece.

leak looks pretty severe, I wouldn't drive it.
It obviously didn't leak when you took it in, so it's probably not coincidental that someone was recently under the hood working and now you have a leak.

here's the instructions for the recall. You can see that they were working in the immediate area of the upper radiator hose.
https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/rcl/201...7V683-5875.pdf

look in those places for the leak. Especially at the radiator. If you lean on the hose heavy, you'll crack the neck at the radiator.

[mastarron]

Originally Posted by nsjames

there should not have been anything needed to the cooling system, but it's entirely possible that someone disturbed a hose and cracked a plastic piece.

leak looks pretty severe, I wouldn't drive it.
It obviously didn't leak when you took it in, so it's probably not coincidental that someone was recently under the hood working and now you have a leak.

here's the instructions for the recall. You can see that they were working in the immediate area of the upper radiator hose.
https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/rcl/201...7V683-5875.pdf

look in those places for the leak. Especially at the radiator. If you lean on the hose heavy, you'll crack the neck at the radiator.

Thanks James, Im going to go and take a look now... This is such a big annoyance, I hate dealing with the dealership... cheers

[mastarron]

So I couldnt do anything, I left my tools at my brothers last weekend when I helped him move. Goin to have to wait until tomorrow to speak with the service advisor, going to proactively call Corporate also see what they say. Either way this really sucks!

[bluewater328]

I don't mean to add to the conspiracy theory, but this happened to me less than a week after those two recalls as well. Indeed in the same exact area - had it towed to an indy as I didn't have time to diagnose completely and fix myself (9pm at night, middle of the work week). Upper hose connection area to the expansion tank hose. So the pieces are coming together that it might be a leaning/prying mechanic behind this.

[mastarron]

Originally Posted by bluewater328

I don't mean to add to the conspiracy theory, but this happened to me less than a week after those two recalls as well. Indeed in the same exact area - had it towed to an indy as I didn't have time to diagnose completely and fix myself (9pm at night, middle of the work week). Upper hose connection area to the expansion tank hose. So the pieces are coming together that it might be a leaning/prying mechanic behind this.

Do you remember what it took to fix it? What parts were used and how much the total cost was? Im working from home today to try and deal with this.

There is an indy shop about 5 miles from me that I really trust, and then there is the dealership about 12 miles from me that did the work. If the dealer would fix the issue, ill tow it to them, but if I end up having to pay for it, I would rather deal with the indy shop...

[bluewater328]

It was under $500 to fix. Worst part was that if I had time to look over it myself, it would have been under $150 for parts. It was just the expansion tank hose, and the mount to the upper radiator hose that were the main culprits. For the record, with those rectified, I've been driving a few months with no further issues and no indications of leaks, etc.

My engine bay looked just like yours, but it has to do with the pressure to that's sent through the system when something goes wrong. You have a bit more coolant that got pushed out the expansion tank cap, so check that too.

Do a pressure test once you've replaced parts to make sure everything is snug and safe. I didn't have the time during the week to run through all the steps and test (much less a garage that day to work on it), so while it sucked, the Insurance company paid for the tow, and I had a professional I trust replace parts and check the whole system (which was the majority of my cost in labor).

[mastarron]

Originally Posted by bluewater328

It was under $500 to fix. Worst part was that if I had time to look over it myself, it would have been under $150 for parts. It was just the expansion tank hose, and the mount to the upper radiator hose that were the main culprits. For the record, with those rectified, I've been driving a few months with no further issues and no indications of leaks, etc.

My engine bay looked just like yours, but it has to do with the pressure to that's sent through the system when something goes wrong. You have a bit more coolant that got pushed out the expansion tank cap, so check that too.

Do a pressure test once you've replaced parts to make sure everything is snug and safe. I didn't have the time during the week to run through all the steps and test (much less a garage that day to work on it), so while it sucked, the Insurance company paid for the tow, and I had a professional I trust replace parts and check the whole system (which was the majority of my cost in labor).

Thanks for the response, Im going to hold off sending it to the dealer for now. I doubt they will own up to anything, or maybe it really is coincidental(doubt it).

Im going to get my tools back on Friday. Also, I will go and purchase a pressure tester. Fill up the system with coolant/water, and then see where the leak is coming from. Hopefully its not the expansion tank, but either way, I have my next steps to try and get this resolved.



edit;
What mileage were you at when yours went to crap? Im at 106k miles, and I never did a coolant flush. Its the only fluid flush I didnt do lol.

edit2;
I had my thermostat replaced under warranty around ~70k miles, so that would have involved a coolant flush, maybe not completely, but most of it.


Sincerely,
Rron

[bluewater328]

Originally Posted by mastarron

Thanks for the response, Im going to hold off sending it to the dealer for now. I doubt they will own up to anything, or maybe it really is coincidental(doubt it).

Im going to get my tools back on Friday. Also, I will go and purchase a pressure tester. Fill up the system with coolant/water, and then see where the leak is coming from. Hopefully its not the expansion tank, but either way, I have my next steps to try and get this resolved.



edit;
What mileage were you at when yours went to crap? Im at 106k miles, and I never did a coolant flush. Its the only fluid flush I didnt do lol.


Sincerely,
Rron

Mine was about 86k. I never got a red symbol, just the yellow warning one.

Make sure you flush the area with distilled water to wash away all the coolant.

I had a thermostat replaced in the past so coolant itself was only about 3 yrs old.

[mastarron]

Originally Posted by bluewater328

Mine was about 86k. I never got a red symbol, just the yellow warning one.

Make sure you flush the area with distilled water to wash away all the coolant.

I had a thermostat replaced in the past so coolant itself was only about 3 yrs old.

Hey bluewater,

I was able to get into my car on Saturday, but had to travel and have had minimal downtime to look into it.

I was able to locate the leak, but I dont have complete confidence that Im reading RealOEM correctly, so I wanted to run it by you. I have uploaded the image to my googleDrive And marked the leak in a red box and arrow. Its right by the clip, the hose is extremely brittle and clearly broken;

https://drive.google.com/drive/folde...t_kJA1uZZGwCGm

I believe the HOSE part number is 17127618510. I think I also need Hose Clamp 32411712735. Does that sounds right to you?



Sincerely,
mastarron

[nsjames]

you photo link doesn't work.

[mastarron]

Originally Posted by nsjames

you photo link doesn't work.

nsjames,

I fixed it, can you try now;

https://drive.google.com/drive/folde...t_kJA1uZZGwCGm

[nsjames]

if the other end of that goes to the expansion tank, you're correct I believe.

the hose clamp is an oetikier style, so unless you have to tool you won't be able to crimp it properly.
A worm clamp will suffice. better yet, a constant tension spring style clamp.

[bluewater328]

Originally Posted by mastarron

Hey bluewater,

I was able to get into my car on Saturday, but had to travel and have had minimal downtime to look into it.

I was able to locate the leak, but I dont have complete confidence that Im reading RealOEM correctly, so I wanted to run it by you. I have uploaded the image to my googleDrive And marked the leak in a red box and arrow. Its right by the clip, the hose is extremely brittle and clearly broken;

https://drive.google.com/drive/folde...t_kJA1uZZGwCGm

I believe the HOSE part number is 17127618510. I think I also need Hose Clamp 32411712735. Does that sounds right to you?



Sincerely,
mastarron

Thats the one. Go ahead and get the Rein or generic one, it wont be any worse than the BMW.

[mastarron]

I got the BMW coolant fluid and will 50/50 mix it with distilled water. The hose should be coming in tonight. Tonight or tomorrow night, Im planning to do the below steps;

1) Take out the existing broken hose, and put the new REIN one in. I will be careful in this process so that I dont break anything its connecting to. Ive seen some videos where other hoses were broken, so I will take my time.

2) take out the bleeder screw on the expansion tank and fill it up with coolant and distiller water 50/50 mix. I will do it slowly so that the air bubbles escape through the bleeder screw. Then once all the air bubbles are out, I will close it with a new bleeder screw.

3) Im going to turn on the car and let it run for a few minutes while monitoring for leaks, etc(Im thinking 2-3 minutes). Im going to do this step before the coolant bleeder procedure because Im worried my battery might not be able to hold up, since the cars been off for ~2 weeks. If there are no issues after letting the car run for a few minutes and letting the battery charge. I will then do the ~12-minute coolant bleed process.

Do you guys see any issues with my logic? Are there any issues I might cause with this method?

I dont have a battery boost, and this is my only car. If you guys think this method poses issues to my car, I can have a friend come by next weekend and give me a battery boost if needed.

cheers,
mastarron

[Phyrexia]

There's a procedure you should follow to bleed the system. You shouldn't try to run the car before you do this.

Go down to step 17

https://www.e90post.com/forums/showt...hlight=coolant

[nsjames]

Originally Posted by Phyrexia

There's a procedure you should follow to bleed the system. You shouldn't try to run the car before you do this.

Go down to step 17

https://www.e90post.com/forums/showt...hlight=coolant

this.

if your battery is healthy you probably do't need a charger.
but it does run for like `10 minutes, so it may kill your battery if it's not tip top.

I'd rather kill the battery doing the bleed and need a jump start than start the motor with a fat air bubble in it and pop a head gasket.

[mastarron]

I took my time as much as i could, but could not take the clamp off without snapping the "nipple" from the upper radiator hose... I jsut went ahead and ordered that on ECStuning, should be in wednesday;

https://www.ecstuning.com/b-rein-par...127531579~ren/

I will do the bleed job as you guys suggested, hopefully my battery holds out. I will post an update when done(wednesday or thurday).


thanks guys,
mastarron

[mastarron]

Update,

First of all, getting the hose that attaches to the Radiator took me a solid two hours with one trip to the parts store. I pretty much had to slowly break/snap it off. There was no way it was coming out! I took two 10+ minute videos of me straight up struggling lol. However, after being patient and taking my time, I was finally able to get it off.

My battery held out during the bleeding, but the low battery warning did come on halfway through the bleeding process

However, it went through fine, and when it finished in about 12 minutes, I opened the Coolant reservoic, and it only dropped a tiny bit. I topped it off between Cold Min- and Max marker, and then started the car.

The car started fine, I took it for a nice drive, and it felt GREAT! However, when I brought it back, I noticed smoke coming from the radiator area. Could this be because of the dry coolant leak from the initial leak two weeks ago? It did leak a lot (1+ gallon)

I dont have a pressure tester and could not find one at advanced auto parts or Autozone. Im going to take it for another drive in a little bit, and then tomorrow morning I will check if the coolant marker dropped below where I left it off.


Cheers,
Mastarron

[nsjames]

says your in NYC, the steam could have simply been the leaked coolant evaporating in the cold.

keep an eye on the coolant level for the next few days, then check again at your next fill up.

[mastarron]

Originally Posted by nsjames

says your in NYC, the steam could have simply been the leaked coolant evaporating in the cold.

keep an eye on the coolant level for the next few days, then check again at your next fill up.

Hey nsjames,

I just drove to a deli to grab some food. I turned on obd torque app, and my engine is idling at 215.6f, this seems a bit high doesnt it? What are dangerous temp ranges to be in? This way i can keep an eye on it

[mastarron]

Update,

I took my car out for a drive on the highway, the car temp was between 195-215. I went up to 80mph, 1500-3500 RPM range. The car felt great, and the temperature was good. The last stretch of the highway, I probably hit it a little harder on the RPM, and it still felt great.

I pulled into the buildings indoor parking and left it idling, the temperature went to;

215.6
222.8 (started seeing a little smoke by the radiator)
224.6
226.4

After seeing 226.4, I immediately shutdown the car, as Im not sure if this is okay to be idling at this hot temperature.

Car is an 2011, 328i xDrive M-Sport.

What do you guys this is going on? Is this "normal" Do I need to give it more time? Or does something not seem right?

Ive uploaded the screenshots of OBD fusion with the engine temperature, and I have also uploaded the video I took by the deli with the smoke coming out. The "drops" on the engine bay in the video are from the rain, it was drizzling.

I checked the expansion tank, the hose that I replaced, and the upper radiator hose, they are all completely dry.

Google drive;
https://drive.google.com/drive/folde...t_kJA1uZZGwCGm