[BenDiem]

Greetings all,

I experienced the Low Coolant- Add Coolant warning light yesterday.
My ‘19 240ix was last serviced in March 2020. IIRC, my wife & I added an additional 6k miles since March 2020.
I added about half a bottle of anti-freeze mixed with water (32 oz?).

I’ve never noticed a leak on the ground & did not see any leak issues in the engine bay.

I can’t imagine that my car has used this amount of anti-freeze in nine months.
I’m thinking the dealer service tech failed to fill the tank completely or just forgot to look/top off the radiator?

Has anyone else experienced this large amount of anti-freeze loss?
What has been your experience with your radiators/anti-freeze levels?

TY/cheers,
B

[dradernh]

Originally Posted by BenDiem

Has anyone else experienced this large amount of anti-freeze loss?

What has been your experience with your radiators/anti-freeze levels?

1) I haven't had that issue, but coolant loss has been reported here by other members in the past.

2) The level was high in both reservoirs when I got my car and again after I had the coolant flushed by the dealer. In each case, and per Mike Miller's suggestion, I reduced the amount of coolant to between the Min and Max levels in both reservoirs.

I check both coolant levels three to four times a year, and the levels have remained where I've set them.

[Rick.Null]

Originally Posted by dradernh

1) I haven't had that issue, but coolant loss has been reported here by other members in the past.

2) The level was high in both reservoirs when I got my car and after I had the coolant flushed by the dealer. In each case, and per Mike Miller's suggestion, I reduced the amount of coolant to between the Mid and Max levels in both reservoirs.

I check both coolant levels three to four times a year, and the levels have remained where I've set them.

So what I remember from looking at various threads on this topic is that members who experienced coolant loss in the B58 experienced it only once, and then never after that.

Yes, it is as batshit insane as it sounds. It happens once early on in the vehicle's life. Happened to me as well last year. I have a 2018 M240xi convertible

[cristo]

That sounds like air redistributing from
an incompletely bled system from the
factory or from a flush.

[Shovelman]

My 2017 B46 needed a liter in 2019. Nothing since and no sign of a leak. 54,000 miles. Just keeping my fingers crossed.

Underfilled from the factory would be surprising but from a flush it could easily happen. Mine has not been flushed so that's not it.

[BenDiem]

Great feedback.
TY, all. Much appreciated!

Cheers & HNY all.

B

[Maynard]

Originally Posted by cristo

That sounds like air redistributing from
an incompletely bled system from the
factory or from a flush.

This is exactly what it is attributed to. Provided it really is a fairly isolated, early incident - if you keep losing fluid see your dealer. Especially likely after a flush or any parts replacement, since the system is such a PITA to properly fill/bleed, but apparently they even miss at the factory sometimes.

[xantdieselx]

My 19' M240i xDrive has 20k on it. Last service which was in July they filled the expansion tank. It was completely empty but definitely low. My last M235i, also xDrive, needed one top off in 45k miles. So far for me it's in line with the M235i as far as that goes. Keep an eye on it. I usually check mine every time I do an engine bay cleaning - every 3 washes or so.

[Shovelman]

My expectation is that the factory fill is good, no air left in the system. Then when the dealer made one of the free oil changes they did something that let in some air which burped out later. Maybe a quiet recall for a sensor or something.

[Maynard]

FWIW, I recently chanced across a section in TIS for new car checkout that might explain the occasional newer car with an apparent underfilling. The checkout protocol includes a warning to the effect that "coolant may appear overfilled - do not remove excess until you have driven the car and it will normalize". This might explain the sporadic occurrence of 'too low' if an occasional inattentive dealer makes that mistake and drains fluid off at delivery that was supposed to be left in place.