BMW E87 118i N43 – Water pump issue? Error 2E85

[Michael777]

Hi everyone,
For about four months my car has been showing error 2E85 – Coolant Pump Missing. During that time everything seemed fine, the car didn’t overheat. When I tried the bleed procedure, I didn’t see a steady flow of coolant. Instead, it came in intervals, sometimes stronger, sometimes very weak. I’m not sure if that’s normal, but I read that the bleeding process should last about 15 minutes. In my case, it definitely didn’t last that long.
I didn’t pay much attention to it since the car wasn’t overheating. But last week, right after crossing the Austrian border, the car suddenly started overheating. At the same time of course, there was no warm air from the heater, and I couldn’t start the bleeding process anymore.
After the car sat for about three days, I tried again, and the pump started working intermittently for about 2 minutes. After that, I couldn’t get it to run again.
Could this be a failing water pump? I recently replaced a stuck thermostat.
Car: BMW E87 2009, N43 engine.
Thanks in advance for any advice!