e8x electric waterpump failure poll...

[bnd]

Originally Posted by Greenarcher707

A little off topic but does the 135i engine run hot normally? Under normal driving my temp would go from mininum to about half way but never goes beyond. Is that about the way it usually is? Sorry, my first forced induction vehicle.

My pump just failed around 58,000 miles. I have a 2011 E88 N55. I replaced the thermostat and pump myself for around $400. Couple more replacement steps on convertible due to extra bracing under the car, but not bad. It's also a good opportunity to replace the diverter valve and vacuum line to the wastegate since you have more clearance and visibility.

For those who want to check coolant temps without buying anything. Google search BMW hidden menu(Think there's a thread on E90 post. I used this menu in the past for my E92 and assume it would work on our E8x cars. I'll test later, but here's a video for coolant.

[jlc45]

I realize there are lots of different ways to think about this.
BMW is a luxury brand, luxury costs more, every car has its weakness etc. etc. blah blah blah. But $1300 for a fricken water pump is ridiculous. Please don't tell me to "live and learn" LOL. Please tell me more about the design change. That alone tells you there was a problem with the design.
I have owned all sorts of cars / brands for over 50 years.
The fact is that "Japanese" brands generally do not have this sort of problem at low mileage. I have had cars with hundreds of thousands of kilometers on them with no serious repairs needed. I know that no comparisons are really valid. You pay your money and you take your chances.

[bobowar135]

As far as I know, the original unit, 112000 kms & still going strong. But I will admit that I am literally waiting for it to go bang.

[10"]

Originally Posted by bobowar135

As far as I know, the original unit, 112000 kms & still going strong. But I will admit that I am literally waiting for it to go bang.

Why would you wait for it to fail? Change it and relax. It will fail.

[zx10guy]

Originally Posted by jlc45

I realize there are lots of different ways to think about this.
BMW is a luxury brand, luxury costs more, every car has its weakness etc. etc. blah blah blah. But $1300 for a fricken water pump is ridiculous. Please don't tell me to "live and learn" LOL. Please tell me more about the design change. That alone tells you there was a problem with the design.
I have owned all sorts of cars / brands for over 50 years.
The fact is that "Japanese" brands generally do not have this sort of problem at low mileage. I have had cars with hundreds of thousands of kilometers on them with no serious repairs needed. I know that no comparisons are really valid. You pay your money and you take your chances.

Don't ever get involved in motorcycles. When the radiator finally failed on my 09 848 last year, I went to price one out. $1000 for a dinky tiny radiator. Every place I checked was charging that amount if I wanted new OE. And the failure I suffered was a known defect which Ducati fixed the model year after mine. Fortunately I was able to source a very good condition Fleabay one for $120.

[zx10guy]

Originally Posted by 10"

Why would you wait for it to fail? Change it and relax. It will fail.

Especially when these things fail, it can do so without warning and in a catastrophic manner stranding you on the side of the road.

[Edrift]

Ok so mine failed today.

2008 e88 135i with only 47400 km on it and full service history from BMW dealer.
Out of no where the engine temp warning shows up then the critical red alert shows up and car practically breaks down.
After a quick google i self diagnosed the pump failure as:
1. loud whirring sound from engine bay
2. over heating (duh)
3. no hot air coming out of heating vents

Got quoted $A1800 to fix it at a "My Car" mechanic near my house so given people have been paying around the $US1000 mark, i figured that was the reasonable going rate.

They will use OEM parts and replace the pump and thermostat.


I could've gone the route of DIY fixing it, but i would have to buy all the tools (inc. ramps) and it'd probably take me 5 times as long to do as a mechanic.

[bobowar135]

Originally Posted by 10"

Why would you wait for it to fail? Change it and relax. It will fail.

Yeah, I've been thinking about this. As a result a new pump and all-aluminium radiator are heading my way

New waterpump and thermostat fited a few days ago.

[Nimbus1951]

- 09/2013
- E82 135i
- N55.

Water pump just failed after around 85.000Km (about 53.000 US miles).

At first the car made the weird "radiator fan occasionally on" symptom. The BMW mechanic couldn't see anything wrong although he did experience the weird fan behaviour.

About a week later, on the highway, I got the big red warning flash of 'engine over heating'.
This time the BMW mechanic had no doubt and a fault code had also popped up.

Let's not mention the price... I'm from Denmark, so we're out of reach...


PS. the thermostat was not on stock... I wanted it replaced but couldn't wait for the delivery

[johnr265]

1M Coupe.Original owner.

52,000 mi.

Overheated, coolant backed up from the resevoir. Today's job is pump and thermostat replacement!

I think the reason why some fail at lower mileage is due to the number of heat cycles. That is, car gets up to temperature and shut off = 1 heat cycle.

By this metric, a single 10 mile drive puts just as much wear and tear on the pump as a 100 mile drive. This would explain why someone doing a lot of short trips have it fail at lower mileage while someone who does a lot of highway driving might have it last much longer. Just a theory. Wish me luck!

[SolidWater]

2013 135i M-Sport, Waterpump fail at 48,000 miles. Overheat warning, shut off car. Flat bed towed to BMW Park Ave and changed waterpump and thermostat.

Up side is they flashed the DCT for me to the new software and the lurch from stop issue that is common with DCT is now gone. Drives like a dream.

[Ursan]

I'll probably regret posting this, but my 2012 128 @ 118k miles is still on the original pump.

[TCDay]

I have a 2011 135i with unusually low km, only 50k. I’m getting the random overheat warning light, shut the car off, restart and drive away symptom. Could a thermostat cause this as well as the water pump? If it could be a thermostat I’d like to troubleshoot the problem before buying a $600 water pump. Thanks

[Afam28]

Originally Posted by TCDay

I have a 2011 135i with unusually low km, only 50k. I'm getting the random overheat warning light, shut the car off, restart and drive away symptom. Could a thermostat cause this as well as the water pump? If it could be a thermostat I'd like to troubleshoot the problem before buying a $600 water pump. Thanks

No coolant leaks?
Coolant levels good?
And codes present?
Fan run after you turn the car off?

Probably best to change waterpump and thermo at the same time I assume!

[TCDay]

There are no coolant leaks, no codes, the coolant level is perfect. I think the fan runs after I shut it off, I’ll have to listen more carefully about that. The only noticeable thing that happens is that every 20-30 minutes of driving the overheat warning comes on, yellow then red. I shut the car off then immediately re-start it and the warning goes away and everything seems normal for another 20-30 minutes. I don’t mind replacing everything if that’s what’s needed I’d just like to troubleshoot the problem fully before throwing parts at it.
Thanks for your help.

[Afam28]

Originally Posted by TCDay

There are no coolant leaks, no codes, the coolant level is perfect. I think the fan runs after I shut it off, I'll have to listen more carefully about that. The only noticeable thing that happens is that every 20-30 minutes of driving the overheat warning comes on, yellow then red. I shut the car off then immediately re-start it and the warning goes away and everything seems normal for another 20-30 minutes. I don't mind replacing everything if that's what's needed I'd just like to troubleshoot the problem fully before throwing parts at it.
Thanks for your help.

Sounds like a waterpump issue...
Could also be air in the system...
I don't know...
I'm sure someone more knowledgeable will chime in soon...

[nickgreer494]

-2008 135i n54
-failed at 62k miles
-replacement cost around $600 for parts and labor for both the water pump and thermostat
-no symptoms before it happened, was driving fine one day and failed the next day and I had to limp it home, driving like half a mile then shutting it off for 10 minutes and repeating.

[TCDay]

Thanks, I drove it again today and same thing. I checked the thermostat fuse in the DME box on the off chance but it was fine. So I guess I’m replacing the water pump and thermostat.

[Gray_Panther]

I hope it doesn't happen this year.....but '12 128i N51 with 58k miles and the waterpump is still good.

[Thunderguts]

2009 N52 with 81,000 miles and no sign of any problems. I just replaced mine last weekend since I needed to change my coolant and decided to do everything at once.

I'll take the pump apart this weekend and look for any sign of cracking on the impeller or wear to the brushes in the motor.

[wantmymoneyincash]

2013 135is with 128,000 miles. No overheating issues or signs of malfunction. However, I pulled the codes and received a 00377A "Engine cooling; coolant pump shutdown due to blockage"

Ordered the water pump, tstat, bolts, tstat hose and an aluminum flange. Got coolant ready too.

[fotontom]

Would appreciate some additional insight. Mine is a 2012 128i 'vert with 95K miles. i believe the WP is original. I've seen the replacement WP PN as 11-51-7-632-426 but Tischer shows 11-51-7-586-925 as the PN for a 128i.

The Tischer PN indicates a rebuilt unit, and the 11-51-7-632-426 PN seems to indicate 'new' although they are the same price.

Has there been a redesign or upgrade by any other manufacturer or rebuilder for the WP? If so, please indicate details. Thanks!