[col127]

hey all,

was on my way to chicago on friday and suddenly saw a yellow engine temp light, immediately followed by a red engine overheating light. car went into a limp mode - i could sustain my speed but pulled over on the offramp.

we waited on the side of the road for about 10 minutes and proceeded to drive to chicago - light never came back on - but i noticed i could not upshift my gears in triptonic mode - but i can downshift my gears.

parked the car overnight - in the morning, i had a low coolant light go off. i couldn't bother with it as i was flying to california. i purchased some coolant from a BMW dealership here in california and am planning to pour it into the car when i get back to chicago. the tech i spoke to at california suggested i get it checked out - said the coolant has to be leaking from somewhere and thought it could be the water pump or theromomator potentially.

any idea what's wrong with my car? i have about 76k miles on it. been looking aroudn the forums and it seems it could be water pump/thermomator issue? how expensive is the fix ? not sure I want to drop 1k on a car that's only worth about 11k now...

my car has been really flawless to date - so wondering if it makes sense to get rid of it, or fix it and keep it. i don't want more expensive bills down the road with this. this car is typically driven around the city, very low mileage a year as my wife drives only 5miles to work daily.

thanks all!

[iDriveanXi]

I don't think you can transport coolant on a plane. At least I couldn't get it shipped to me via air from pelican parts. Check the oil and see if you see any mixing going on, it'll look muddy if so. That could indicate a head gasket issue. Hopefully you didn't warp the head by continuing to drive. Do you have any codes or check engine light? It seems water pump will give off codes when it's going out. Check the radiator for any punctures or damage. Check all hoses and the expansion tank for cracks. Good luck

[Efthreeoh]

It's most likely the water pump. Scan the car for codes.

[David0ff]

Originally Posted by Efthreeoh

It's most likely the water pump. Scan the car for codes.

unfortunately so

[GoRomeo]

you can buy the water pump and thermostat for about $400.00 if you DIY it, you can save about $600.00

[col127]

Hmmm - I don't know what I can do if I can't bring the coolant with me in my checked bags... My flight lands Sunday evening at 8:10pm in Chicago - all auto shops and dealers are closed. What coolant could I buy that would work with my BMW? Can you get it at gas stations? I live about 220km from Chicago and will need to drive my BMW that evening to get home.

Could I get something from Walmart?

I don't have a scanner but I'll see if I can get it scanned free.

[scanboy]

If the issue turns out to be water pump, you'll have to put new coolant in anyway, makes no sense to put BMW coolant just to drive home, walmart stuff might be fine just to get you home.

[col127]

got home safely from chicago (160 miles) - had a friend pick up some BMW coolant for my car. i checked the level and it was really low.

i scanned the car for error codes - it didn't show anything. car seems to be okay for now.

do you guys think i need to bring it in to the dealership? i'm not sure i'm going to fix it if it is the water pump/thermostat. i've called around and people have quoted me $1200 to fix. i also don't want to bring it into the dealership for them to tell me it's the water pump/thermostat.

[Efthreeoh]

Originally Posted by col127

got home safely from chicago (160 miles) - had a friend pick up some BMW coolant for my car. i checked the level and it was really low.

i scanned the car for error codes - it didn't show anything. car seems to be okay for now.

do you guys think i need to bring it in to the dealership? i'm not sure i'm going to fix it if it is the water pump/thermostat. i've called around and people have quoted me $1200 to fix. i also don't want to bring it into the dealership for them to tell me it's the water pump/thermostat.

Did you scan it with an OBDII scan tool, or a BMW scan tool? You need to scan it with a scan tool that reads BMW-specific trouble codes. Water pump failure codes do not show up on the OBD II system.