3rd strand and 3rd tow in 3 years

[MalcolmV8]

My wife and I love driving BMW's but man does it wear you down with the constant problems and things breaking. The worst are the ones that leave you helpless on the side of the road. We picked this 2012 up with only 12k miles and like every other BMW we've had they just fall apart non stop.

Latest casualty. Water pump. 2nd time around too. The first one failed at just 40k miles stranding my wife on a busy highway. Replacement failed just 11k miles later at 51k. Luckily not a busy interstate and was able to pull off ASAP right as the car just shuts itself off.

it amazes me how BMW has no coolant gauge or normal way to view coolant temp. There's no warning or any signs of anything wrong till you have a sudden reduction of power and about 15 seconds before the car will completely turn off.
I walked her through that stupid "secret" menu process with the odometer reset button, get to the code, add it up, enter the password etc. Took like 5 minutes as she was a little confused about what I was trying to get her to do. By the time we got to it I'm sure the car had cooled a little but it said 114C. Fans were on full blast and once we got the car home and cool I see it's full of coolant. Yup water pump died again.

To the best of my knowledge there's no improvements or other options on water pumps? OEM is either Continental or Pierburg I believe. First pump that died in the car was the Continental style with the plastic top housing. I tried the all metal Pierburg next which is supposably more reliable of the two. So much for that. Dead in 11k miles.

Any other options or ideas? I'll likely get a new Continental back in and just sell this thing lol.

Malcolm

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My understanding is the water pumps were fixed, the electronics would go bad with use and heat. They resolved whatever was needed and they've been good since. It's like the same water pump for every car the company made in that time frame. I'm sure that's not exactly true but it was a common one.

There's a chance you got an old inventory part, or another issue happened. Or the same issue again but not normally. Usually it's swap once and good forever.

Selling the car is up to you of course. I wouldn't be deterred by the water pump. I love the size, steering feel, 6-speed, easy tuneability, and etc. I'm not sure what I'd replace it with, this side of a Porsche, that would be as fun to drive. And that's why I own mine.

[MalcolmV8]

I don't know about this fix once and forget. I've had this on my old 335xi too. Stranded, towed These water pumps are a huge issue.

The most recent pump I put on was from here:

https://oembimmerparts.com/products/...632426-upgrade

They seem like a large legit places that wouldn't likely have send me old junk but you never know. The nice thing is it failed so soon it's under waranty so I'll have minimal hardware, coolant costs and just my labor and time.

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Originally Posted by MalcolmV8

I don't know about this fix once and forget. I've had this on my old 335xi too. Stranded, towed These water pumps are a huge issue.

Agreed they are an issue. But did you fix the 335 a 2nd time? If not then not sure what that has to do with fix once / forget.

Generally speaking super few people do it a 2nd time. The new versions tend to work.

There's a chance too that you have a different issue altogether. Wiring for example.

[MalcolmV8]

I did not replace the 335 water pump a second time. After an injector got stuck open, radiator o-rings went out, window regulator failed, valve cover cracked, oil housing o-rings and all the usual bmw stuff and a ton of other stuff I just got tired of fixing it all and sold it.

I've watched quite a few bmw techs on youtube and they say these pumps go out around 50 to 60k miles and should be replaced every 40k as preventative maintenance. I'm not a BMW tech so I can't comment to the validity of the issue.
I can just say my experience is with them failing. I mean it is an electric motor, it's not like they have an infinite life span. I would have expected more than 11k miles though on a brand new OEM replacement.

[iminhell1]

I put about 120k on my factory pump. It's gone through far more abuse than your road cars have. It did eventually fail and I had to get a tow. But I knew this was a failure point when i bought the car used, I did my research and I was willing to deal with it. Those who bought new didn't have that luxury.

I would say that the premature pump failure is not the fault of the pump. It fails because it's been run too much as it's trying to do it's part to make up for other parts of the cooling system that are not pulling their weight ... for instance, a radiator that's littered with bent fins and dirt/debris cluttering it ability to let air pass.

[Lucky1]

I've only been stranded once in the car in almost 15 years and it was because the starter failed. There were warning signs. Had a bit of anxiety about the pump but it luckily gave me warning before it failed. Other issues were plugs etc that can happen on any car.

Random grenade things like VANOS bolts possibly coming loose scare me more now than anything else because unless you wrench yourself how will you know you're getting close and will it be game over if it happens? But I try not to let it get to me. I enjoy the car enough and don't care to spend money to replace it. If you're less married to the brand/platform lots of more reliable options I'm sure but doubt any are fully completely trouble free. Non-grenade break/fixes I just take in stride.

[MalcolmV8]

Originally Posted by iminhell1

I would say that the premature pump failure is not the fault of the pump. It fails because it's been run too much as it's trying to do it's part to make up for other parts of the cooling system that are not pulling their weight ... for instance, a radiator that's littered with bent fins and dirt/debris cluttering it ability to let air pass.

That's a fair point. To the best I can tell everything else is working. I'm a car guy so even though my wife primarily drives this car I keep up on it. Radiator is in great shape, it's always clean like the rest of the engine bay. Now we do live in FL so it's pretty hot a lot of the time and the AC is on so the cooling system is going to get some good use. But that's what the car is made for. It's likey just one of those things, parts fail. It's unfortunate it happens a lot on BMWs.

I likely can't sell the car yet because my wife absolutely loves it. I recently got all issues squared away but when it rains it pours. She said just a few days prior the steering wheel started a nasty vibration while driving. I'll feel for myself when it's running again but wheels are on tight. Probably the steering rack or some sensor / electronic issue. My first thought was a partially seized brake caliper and a warped rotor but nothing's standing out as of yet. She said it's continous, not just when braking.
She said driver's side door touch sense lock/unlock failed and the transmission is doing that surge BS again when she comes to a stop. Clearing the DME of learned behavior was a temporary thing so I'll need to get the car in for the SIB 12 15 14 upgrade.
The AC doesn't cool right away either. It takes a bit to cool down. I had checked the cooling fan and it's working properly, even the really high speed you can hear inside the car. So it's likely lost some charge, or I hope it's that simple. Driver's side sun visor clip broke on it too. So that's flopping around and needs replacement / secured. It's never ending with these cars.

[Olgeezer1]

Wonder if the waterpump issue is mainly a 135 thing. Would make some sense with the much higher underhood temps. everything is working harder. Add in high ambient temps. and A/C use, perhaps the unit itself is underspec'd and can't cope. Just don't seem to see the same failure rate among the naturally aspirated cars ( knock on wood ).

[MalcolmV8]

Originally Posted by Olgeezer1

Wonder if the waterpump issue is mainly a 135 thing. Would make some sense with the much higher underhood temps. everything is working harder. Add in high ambient temps. and A/C use, perhaps the unit itself is underspec'd and can't cope. Just don't seem to see the same failure rate among the naturally aspirated cars ( knock on wood ).

My 3 series pumped died too but it was also a turbo model, TT actually and it was AWD. Honestly it was more cramped and tight than this little 135 is around the water pump. Definitely could be a factor. I had someone recommend I extend the water lines and remote mount the water pump to help with heat but that engine bay is so tiny it doesn't seem very feasible.

[JimD]

I ordered my 2009 128i convertible to get a manual transmission and not a lot of options. I got the sport suspension and walnut interior trim and that is all. It has about 115K miles and has been towed twice. Once the alternator failed. There were warning signs but the car totally freaked out and quit pretty fast. The other time was a sidewall split on a tire. If it had a spare that wouldn't have required a tow. I don't think this is bad at all for 13 years and well over 100K miles. I do not have any oil leaks, have not replaced anything but fluid in the cooling system and have mostly just done normal maintenance. I did have to replace one ignition coil, however, and both front wheel speed sensors. Brakes have been replaced once and the battery once. It has been a dependable vehicle for me.

Kind of off subject but we bought a "grandma car" once. It was years ago and I took a promotion but lost a company car. So we bought a very low mileage Dodge Aspen wagon. Powder blue with woodgrain. Slant 6 automatic. Pretty bad but my wife liked it. We had not had it long before it dropped a valve and needed the head rebuilt. It wasn't a bad car for us reliability wise but I have had other slant sixes that went twice the mileage without valve issues. I bring this up only to say sometimes cars that haven't been driven much can have unexpected issues - until you get some more normal wear on them. I think cars work best with regular use.

[MalcolmV8]

You've had great luck with that car, minus the two tows. All cars and brands have pros and cons, no doubt about that. I have quite a few cars, I like cars lol. For me personally BMWs have always been the high maintenance type constantly requiring attention. I have plenty other cars I've driven for many years and never ever needed a tow.

I got the water pump replaced and it's back on the road. Fingers crossed this one makes it longer than 11k miles lol.

[ejm3]

I also have needed 3 tows, though I've owned mine since new.
Once for water pump (50k miles).I
Then again shortly thereafter because they didn't put the radiator hose back on properly and the coolant leaked out (fixed no charge).
Then when the battery died. No warning on that either.

Other cars I've driven 150k+miles never needed a water pump, much less a tow.
If you own a BMW you better have AAA.