BMW and M Power Owners

MoRT489 · 20 Jan 2017 at 22:42

Thanks for the sarcasm guys... The car is full of sensors, more than likely it's a fault on the coolant level sensor than an actual reduction in coolant levels (particularly as it's happened twice on startup and not since). Forgive me for not being immediately responsive but if it was critical it would put the car into limp mode :rolleyes:

, it's my wife's car and it's dark when I get home from work so not really optimal conditions to check it, I'll take a look this weekend in daylight. I've been told by the BMW garage in the past to ignore warnings if they don't repeat so what am I supposed to think?! FFS

mrk · 20 Jan 2017 at 23:01

If a BMW garage told you to ignore a warning that randomly pops up one day, then they're no garage anyone sensible should be having work done at.

A warning came up because an issue has arisen. You could invest in a diagnostic cable and a smartphone app to read the exact modules/sensors that triggered it to fault find the problem yourself before dropping it off at a reputable garage.

Coolant warnings should never be ignored. If there is a crack in the tank/pipework then there will be a loss of pressure triggering the warning at random intervals, not necessarily repeated at the same interval on each startup.

First and foremost you should have course check the coolant level, it's super easy and illustrated on the floating stick when you open the cap, making sure to take note of how tight (or loose) the cap itself is, because a loose cap will also trigger a warning due to loss of pressure in the system.

[TW]Fox · 20 Jan 2017 at 23:02

MoRT489 said:
Thanks for the sarcasm guys... The car is full of sensors, more than likely it's a fault on the coolant level sensor than an actual reduction in coolant levels (particularly as it's happened twice on startup and not since). Forgive me for not being immediately responsive but if it was critical it would put the car into limp mode , it's my wife's car and it's dark when I get home from work so not really optimal conditions to check it, I'll take a look this weekend in daylight. I've been told by the BMW garage in the past to ignore warnings if they don't repeat so what am I supposed to think?! FFS

Just check the coolant level, it takes seconds. Open bonnet and remove cap with engine cold.

It's unlikely to be a dodgy sensor, I suspect the level is at or below minimum.

MoRT489 · 20 Jan 2017 at 23:10

Unfortunately there is only one BMW garage here, but as mentioned I shall check it in daylight tomorrow.

pepsilol · 21 Jan 2017 at 06:03

MoRT489 said:
Thanks for the sarcasm guys... The car is full of sensors, more than likely it's a fault on the coolant level sensor than an actual reduction in coolant levels (particularly as it's happened twice on startup and not since). Forgive me for not being immediately responsive but if it was critical it would put the car into limp mode , it's my wife's car and it's dark when I get home from work so not really optimal conditions to check it, I'll take a look this weekend in daylight. I've been told by the BMW garage in the past to ignore warnings if they don't repeat so what am I supposed to think?! FFS

Lol, too dark to check coolant level

Dis86 · 21 Jan 2017 at 08:35

pepsilol said:
Lol, too dark to check coolant level

Dammit, why doesn't this torch light anything up?

[TW]Fox · 21 Jan 2017 at 08:47

Also how was it dark at 13:33?

pepsilol · 21 Jan 2017 at 10:13

Also lol at it not being critical cause the car hasn't gone into limp mode

Is this guy actually for real?

kirkster · 21 Jan 2017 at 19:19

[TW]Fox;30419327 said:
I think what this story does is highlight that the 250 quid excess is false economy and makes you question whether to claim. Go for £100 at renewal

That's what I am going to do. £100 excess is a nice sweet spot.

MoRT489 · 22 Jan 2017 at 00:53

pepsilol said:
Also lol at it not being critical cause the car hasn't gone into limp mode

Is this guy actually for real?

You never have more important things to do when you get home, like looking after kids, more work? After 10pm -2*C, think I'll wait till the weekend thanks. Level is in fact below minimum so I'll top it up at the earliest opportunity.

Dis86 · 22 Jan 2017 at 01:04

MoRT489 said:
You never have more important things to do when you get home, like looking after kids, more work? After 10pm -2*C, think I'll wait till the weekend thanks. Level is in fact below minimum so I'll top it up at the earliest opportunity.

I'd think my wife.and.kids are using that vehicle so I want it to be in roadworthy condition so that they aren't harmed if something fails or stranded if it breaks.down.

Rather than 'its a little bit cold so I'll risk it'.

MoRT489 · 22 Jan 2017 at 01:07

Car has been driven 14 miles since the first warning popped up, it's not going to explode. The nearest BMW dealer is further than that for most people. Will be into the dealer tomorrow to grab a bottle of coolant. Mountain out of a molehill much :rolleyes:

grudas · 22 Jan 2017 at 01:12

Well to be fair coolant is quite a big deal when it comes to engine and it's operation. You're not talking about a light bulb here. If you're low on it then it must've went somewhere and you might have a leak.

Dis86 · 22 Jan 2017 at 01:14

Hey, it's your engine and family! Do what you want. Just don't be surprised given your attitude to it if it craps out in the future leaving them stuck and you with a hefty repair bill.

MoRT489 · 22 Jan 2017 at 01:19

Perhaps I'm not giving this warning the attention it deserves (although the the car is sat on the driveway not going anywhere the last two days) but if the only way coolant can be low is due to a leak (which seems to be what is suggested) why doesn't the warning say take to nearest service immediately or pull over and drive nowhere until topped up? Genuine question, not looking for more snarky comments.

Vita · 22 Jan 2017 at 07:04

It's informing you that the coolant is low. Using common sense one would suggest to top it up. It's a information message, nothing more. If you need to understand further what it means look in your cars handbook I'm pretty sure they will have a defined version of what it means in there.

If it has gone somewhere then yes it could be due to a leak or something else.

Top it up and take it to a reputable garage to make sure it's not leaking, and that it isn't another problem.

[TW]Fox · 22 Jan 2017 at 08:58

MoRT489 said:
You never have more important things to do when you get home

You are vastly over-estimating the effort involved - it would have taken less time to flick the bonnet release, open the bonnet and glance at the level than it has taken you to make the posts on this thread about it. Then you'd have known for sure if there was a coolant problem with the car or a sensor issue.

Level is in fact below minimum so I'll top it up at the earliest opportunity.

It's under warranty, right? It needs booking in with the dealer as the coolant has presumably gone somewhere it shouldn't. Unlike oil it isn't something that needs routine top-ups every now and again.

Will be into the dealer tomorrow to grab a bottle of coolant. Mountain out of a molehill much

The car has a problem with the coolant system and needs to be checked by the dealer, IMHO. I'd go into the dealer to leave the car with them, not to purchase a bottle of coolant. They'll let it all back out again to fix the leak anyway I'd imagine..

Gaygle · 22 Jan 2017 at 12:48

MoRT489 said:
Perhaps I'm not giving this warning the attention it deserves (although the the car is sat on the driveway not going anywhere the last two days) but if the only way coolant can be low is due to a leak (which seems to be what is suggested) why doesn't the warning say take to nearest service immediately or pull over and drive nowhere until topped up? Genuine question, not looking for more snarky comments.

As Vita said - it's to let you know that the coolant has run low, this could be for a multitude of reasons and could indicate you have a very slow leakage or someone didn't top it up/bleed it properly when it last had a coolant change and it's just eeked below the minimum sensor line, or it could be gushing out which means your engine is seconds away from coming up with the "STOP ENGINE NOW" warning. Or it could have been a sensor fault

The point is no one on here is going to know which of these it is, and the only way to find out is to unscrew a cap and look how much coolant is left. This takes under 30 seconds to do and when you start saying "I've got a wife and kids so I've got better things to do than look at it" it just becomes even more silly. It's not like people were suggesting you do a coolant flush on your driveway at 10 o clock at night when it was snowing.

Anyway, as someone else has said - definitely don't bother with a bottle of antifreeze. Depending on how low the level was, I would buy some deionised water from Halfords for £3 and top it up. It'll probably need about 50-100ml if that to get it so the stick bobs out of the top again. From there I would keep an eye on it and if it comes up again, then to book it in.

MoRT489 · 22 Jan 2017 at 14:06

Thanks Gaygle and Fox for the sage advice. What's the chance of this happening to both my BMWs over the same 3 days?! The same warning has just popped up on the 330 too, will wait til the engine cools and check the level. I suppose it's possible it was topped up without sufficient ratio of water to antifreeze (both cars went in for service around the same time last year although not sure if coolant was done then as one was engine oil change the other was brakes and fluid) and could have frozen in there... It's not been below freezing here for the last 2 years so I suppose it's possible with it being -4*C overnight but I wouldn't have expected a BMW service centre to make that mistake. Time to book them both in!

UltimateBadger · 22 Jan 2017 at 15:24

Hello anonymous internet car friends. Yesterday I put a deposit down on a 2012 BMW M3 with competition pack. This is my first ever BMW and even German car. My faith until now has mainly been with our far eastern cousins. I know there are some marque enthusiasts on here with knowledge typically associated with those 'on the spectrum' and so I look forward to you answering my uninformed questions.

Car appears to be in good condition, some headlight condensation which I hope will clear, and a slight weep from the cam cover gasket on the left bank which I will get resolved asap. The only other slight issue is some scratching to the anti-glare coating on the nav screen. From what I can tell, all of these are common issues.

The engine is an absolute masterpiece.