Coolant Loss

Qunadry · 09-16-2015, 07:36 AM

Started my 2012 135i yesterday and the yellow low coolant light came on. Called my dealer and they said some coolant loss was normal during hot weather. I brought my car in, they topped off the expansion tank and all appears to be okay. Is this really normal? My warranty expires next April and I do not want to pay for a coolant system repair after the warranty expires.

Ginger_Extract · 09-16-2015, 09:48 AM

The cooling system is sealed and pressurized, under normal operation it should not consume or lose coolant. Just keep an eye on it for the time being. These cars do love to chew up water pumps. How many miles on the car?

Qunadry · 09-16-2015, 01:25 PM

The car has 12,700 miles. I changed the coolant in April 2014 at 2 years as recommended by Mike Miller's (Roundel, Bimmer) Old School Maintenance recommendations. I'll get a free coolant change next April. I trust my service advisor, but not the dealership.

DJKapeesh · 09-22-2015, 10:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Qunadry

Started my 2012 135i yesterday and the yellow low coolant light came on. Called my dealer and they said some coolant loss was normal during hot weather. I brought my car in, they topped off the expansion tank and all appears to be okay. Is this really normal? My warranty expires next April and I do not want to pay for a coolant system repair after the warranty expires.

Same car year and model,

happened to me 6 months ago and my coolant reservoir was cracked and needed to be replaced. I had a warranty but my deposit was $500 and the repair/ replacement actually cost me $400

PopsnBurbles · 09-22-2015, 10:58 AM

19100 miles here and my car seems to be low on coolant. No warning lights but I checked and the tank looked dry.

Dackelone · 09-22-2015, 11:44 AM

Its normal to loose "some" coolant over the year. Hot turbos plus electric water pump to cool down said HOT turbos after you shut down the car. Also... some people see the thermostat or water leaking some coolant. You might want to drop the belly pan and have a look under the engine. It sits on the passenger side up front near the oil pan/engine block.

tjswarbrick · 10-20-2015, 02:40 PM

48k mi on mine. Just bought end of June with 45k.
My light came on ~ about a month ago - topped off after running it that way for 3 days with a quart or so.
Came on a couple weeks later. Immediately put in another pint or so.
Light flashed briefly again this morning on the way to work.
Looks like I'll be under the car Friday - oil change - so I'll check the reservoir for leaks and remove the lower cover to see if there's anything down there.
Anything else I should look at before bringing it to my indy shop to diagnose Real Problems?

BrokenVert · 10-20-2015, 03:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dackelone

Its normal to loose "some" coolant over the year. Hot turbos plus electric water pump to cool down said HOT turbos after you shut down the car. Also... some people see the thermostat or water leaking some coolant. You might want to drop the belly pan and have a look under the engine. It sits on the passenger side up front near the oil pan/engine block.

In addition to this, sometimes the cap on the expansion tank leaks when the coolant has to work hard. So keep an eye out there

tjswarbrick · 10-21-2015, 01:13 AM

Mine took another quart tonight.
There's some overspray/residue on the frame rail, control arm, and inlet plumbing around the coolant reservoir - and it looks like a 3/8" split near the top. So looks like that'll be getting looked at this weekend.

tjswarbrick · 10-21-2015, 01:11 PM

Called 2 shops. Both said it was normal so they would top off and re-pressurize.

When I got to work - 10 miles, mind you, after adding a quart and filling it to "full" just last night - the light came on again.
Opened the hood - heard bubbling, and saw it seeping - not from the cap, but out the top of the reservoir tank.
So I've got an appointment to get it taken care of Friday - it looks like I'll be getting the reservoir replaced (and full drain, flush, fill, pressurize.)

Have you had any further activity on yours - or did the top-off take care of it?

09-16-2015, 07:36 AM	#1
Qunadry First Lieutenant 31 Rep 388 Posts Drives: 2012 135i Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Northeast iTrader: (0)	Coolant Loss Started my 2012 135i yesterday and the yellow low coolant light came on. Called my dealer and they said some coolant loss was normal during hot weather. I brought my car in, they topped off the expansion tank and all appears to be okay. Is this really normal? My warranty expires next April and I do not want to pay for a coolant system repair after the warranty expires.
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09-16-2015, 09:48 AM	#2
Ginger_Extract California-bound 385 Rep 1,480 Posts Drives: BMW 135i Join Date: Jan 2013 Location: Los Angeles, CA iTrader: (3)	The cooling system is sealed and pressurized, under normal operation it should not consume or lose coolant. Just keep an eye on it for the time being. These cars do love to chew up water pumps. How many miles on the car? __________________ Streets of Willow: 1:27.7 CW 11/15/15; 1:29.5 CCW 8/15/15 \|\|\|\| Autoclub Speedway ROVAL (CCW): 1.52.6 - 12/2/17 Willow Springs - Big Willow (CW): 1:35.8 - 3/31/18 \|\|\|\| Buttonwillow #13 (CW): 1:59.3 1/27/18 https://www.facebook.com/JakeStumphRacing \|\|\|\| http://www.youtube.com/user/RaceMeMZ3
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09-16-2015, 01:25 PM	#3
Qunadry First Lieutenant 31 Rep 388 Posts Drives: 2012 135i Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Northeast iTrader: (0)	The car has 12,700 miles. I changed the coolant in April 2014 at 2 years as recommended by Mike Miller's (Roundel, Bimmer) Old School Maintenance recommendations. I'll get a free coolant change next April. I trust my service advisor, but not the dealership.
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09-22-2015, 10:58 AM	#5
PopsnBurbles Captain 192 Rep 893 Posts Drives: 135is :) 192/586 Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: LA, CA iTrader: (4) Garage List 2013 BMW 135is Coup ... [10.00]	19100 miles here and my car seems to be low on coolant. No warning lights but I checked and the tank looked dry.
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09-22-2015, 11:44 AM	#6
Dackelone European Editor 10539 Rep 22,992 Posts Drives: N54 e82 Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Bayern, Germany iTrader: (1)	Its normal to loose "some" coolant over the year. Hot turbos plus electric water pump to cool down said HOT turbos after you shut down the car. Also... some people see the thermostat or water leaking some coolant. You might want to drop the belly pan and have a look under the engine. It sits on the passenger side up front near the oil pan/engine block. __________________ Dackel's European Delivery Museum Guide
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10-20-2015, 02:40 PM	#7
tjswarbrick <(O0=[][]=0O)> 741 Rep 1,187 Posts Drives: 2012 N55 E88 Join Date: Apr 2015 Location: Bay Area, CA iTrader: (1)	48k mi on mine. Just bought end of June with 45k. My light came on ~ about a month ago - topped off after running it that way for 3 days with a quart or so. Came on a couple weeks later. Immediately put in another pint or so. Light flashed briefly again this morning on the way to work. Looks like I'll be under the car Friday - oil change - so I'll check the reservoir for leaks and remove the lower cover to see if there's anything down there. Anything else I should look at before bringing it to my indy shop to diagnose Real Problems?
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10-21-2015, 01:13 AM	#9
tjswarbrick <(O0=[][]=0O)> 741 Rep 1,187 Posts Drives: 2012 N55 E88 Join Date: Apr 2015 Location: Bay Area, CA iTrader: (1)	Mine took another quart tonight. There's some overspray/residue on the frame rail, control arm, and inlet plumbing around the coolant reservoir - and it looks like a 3/8" split near the top. So looks like that'll be getting looked at this weekend.
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10-21-2015, 01:11 PM	#10
tjswarbrick <(O0=[][]=0O)> 741 Rep 1,187 Posts Drives: 2012 N55 E88 Join Date: Apr 2015 Location: Bay Area, CA iTrader: (1)	Called 2 shops. Both said it was normal so they would top off and re-pressurize. When I got to work - 10 miles, mind you, after adding a quart and filling it to "full" just last night - the light came on again. Opened the hood - heard bubbling, and saw it seeping - not from the cap, but out the top of the reservoir tank. So I've got an appointment to get it taken care of Friday - it looks like I'll be getting the reservoir replaced (and full drain, flush, fill, pressurize.) Have you had any further activity on yours - or did the top-off take care of it?
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