[WhiteFury]

So I bought the car with 62k, there is 67k on there now. When I bought it I replaced the plugs, ignition coils calm and injectors.

Car runs like a champ. It was 10° a few weeks ago, then all of last week we were in the mid 50's. Yesterday we drastically drop to 10°!

I check my reservoir as a coolant warning came on in a yellow icon on The gauge cluster. I open the reservoir and steam came out and it was dry as a bone. I do not have any leaks in the garage, and I don't believe there's any coolant leaking in my oil as I would've seen it on the last oil change two days ago.

I don't smell any coolant either, and normally if you have a coolant leak in the engine somewhere you can smell it. I also am not burning any smoke out the exhaust the car runs clean and there's no burning smell. I assume if coolant was leaking into the combustion chamber it would be like any other car smoking and smell bad.

Is this normal? The cooling system works well and the car stays very cool all the time.

Is there any coolant that I can get at Autozone, or Walmart?

Thanks!

[Juiced46]

These cars will use coolant. If you see no visible leaks do not worry. It is normal for it to evaporate over time. Just top it off. I would use the BMW coolant and check the level and top off as necessary after every oil service.

[WhiteFury]

Originally Posted by Juiced46

These cars will use coolant. If you see no visible leaks do not worry. It is normal for it to evaporate over time. Just top it off. I would use the BMW coolant and check the level and top off as necessary after every oil service.

Thanks juice! I feel a little bit better now. LOL

[melloww22]

I can attest to this topped off a few times... The dealer sells it for 35 bucks...

[gotjnco]

dang it... yea its $35 ... i got the warning level for awhile... im nervous... im going to go grab a gallon at Shelly BMW

[mashimarho]

Normal. Top off required time to time.

[Jdub679]

Probably a rare occurrence, but I had a pinhole leak from my coolant reservoir shortly after I bought the car. Replaced under warranty.

[WhiteFury]

So my jack slipped while lowering my car and cracked the coolant crossover pipe that goes from the firewall on the driver side down around the radiator up the thermostat into the reservoir.

Costa hundred bucks for the part and was a fairly easy replacement. And it's complete.

However the coolant that was leaking was a lighter green color, and the coolant I just got from BMW is a medium to dark blue color what does this mean?

[tc535i]

Originally Posted by Juiced46

These cars will use coolant. If you see no visible leaks do not worry. It is normal for it to evaporate over time. Just top it off. I would use the BMW coolant and check the level and top off as necessary after every oil service.

Wtf

Cooling system is sealed, under very high pressure when it's hot. There is absolutely nowhere for coolant to evaporate, that makes zero sense. If coolant is escaping, you have a leak somewhere. Period.

[ronny214]

The coolant in these cars can sometimes leak slowly around the coolant cap. This is a known issue and I've had to fix on my car.

However, I've had two coolant issues. The second was a slow link around the plastic tanks of my radiator because BMW made them with weak sh*t.

As for the coolant color, BMW uses a blue coolant (iirc) and then there is a light green that you can use. It is the same exact thing, but BMW colors theirs differently.

[divisionbell77]

Originally Posted by tc535i

Wtf

Cooling system is sealed, under very high pressure when it's hot. There is absolutely nowhere for coolant to evaporate, that makes zero sense. If coolant is escaping, you have a leak somewhere. Period.

Per BMW mechanics, this is normal.

I top mine off about once every 16 months as the light comes on.

I have no leaks that I have been able to see.

[shadow191]

I've had to top coolant off a couple of times. But it happened 7-8 months apart, so probably not a leak. I do notice a lot of residue around the cap so maybe it's escaping from there under pressure.

[AdamN52]

I've topped mine up a few times in the past 2yrs. Maybe 0.5L in total?

I think some evaps past the cap, and some probably gets past the old oil filter housing gasket.

I've never seen any in the oil, so I'm not worried. Coolant is cheap.

[WhiteFury]

I have coolant in drips around the intercooler. On the splash guard I have little drips that buildup has anyone had a radiator leak before?

[ronny214]

Originally Posted by WhiteFury

I have coolant in drips around the intercooler. On the splash guard I have little drips that buildup has anyone had a radiator leak before?

*sigh* more than that. The tanks on either side of the radiator are plastic with cheap gaskets on them. If they slowly start leaking you are about 1-2 years away from a full radiator replace. I just had to deal with this. Went ahead and did a stock radiator because it has a 3 year mfg warranty on it, but if it happens again i'll get the stock replacement, sell it, and upgrade to an aftermarket. They are more sturdy.