[Dylan86]

The little plastic screw on the top of the reservoirs can be responsible as well. Had mine replaced at about 20k kms due to occasional "seepage". Finally, the light had come on and I replaced the screw, topped up about 1L of coolant, and haven't had any losses, since, with a hot summer and track duty. At 40k kms, today, no more coolant loss. Definitely not concerned about consumption through the combustion chamber, that's just not even a concern, of mine, on a BMW.

[stevenvillatoro]

Yesterday, my service department told me that high coolant usage...

(1) is normal, per BMW's cooling system requirements,
(2) typically needs topping off at ~5-6K miles but sometimes sooner,
(3) will vary considerably based on driving circumstances,
(4) is sometimes found to be low after the initial factory fill, and
(5) is topped off free of charge at the dealer, when required.

(I'm just the messenger.)

[Dylan86]

^^ I'd think a decent amount of time would be required to pass, before all of the "bleeding" of excess air in the system happens. Good point, especially with two aux. coolers as well, and for the WAIC on the B58. You have a knowledgeable service department! How they should all be, imo. Some come up with the dumbest reasons for coolant loss, but won't go there.

[wdc330i]

I recently went in for a scheduled oil change and they topped off the coolant without asking. There must be a TSB to check it/fill it.

[Ron Jeffries]

It’s usually the done thing to check all fluids, though, so one cannot conclude that anything suspicious is going on.

[TajoMan]

Originally Posted by stevenvillatoro

Yesterday, my service department told me that high coolant usage...

(1) is normal, per BMW's cooling system requirements,
(2) typically needs topping off at ~5-6K miles but sometimes sooner,
(3) will vary considerably based on driving circumstances,
(4) is sometimes found to be low after the initial factory fill, and
(5) is topped off free of charge at the dealer, when required.

(I'm just the messenger.)

Is there any way to sue them or do something about that kind of BS? (especially about #1)
How can they be so irresponsible of what they say?

[Outrun]

Originally Posted by stevenvillatoro

Yesterday, my service department told me that high coolant usage...

(1) is normal, per BMW's cooling system requirements,
(2) typically needs topping off at ~5-6K miles but sometimes sooner,
(3) will vary considerably based on driving circumstances,
(4) is sometimes found to be low after the initial factory fill, and
(5) is topped off free of charge at the dealer, when required.

(I'm just the messenger.)

That's interesting, when I spoke the service manager I specifically asked whether the coolant loss could be due to driving circumstances and he emphatically said driving style or circumstances would not cause coolant loss. He also told me that they always "top off" the coolant when a car comes in for routine service, if it's needed. I don't buy that this is "normal"...seems like a defect somewhere, obviously not affecting most cars but apparently not an uncommon problem either.

I also find it interesting that based on my experience and other forum members, if the coolant loss happens it seems to occur when the car has 20k miles or less. I haven't really seen anyone one here report having such issues at higher mileages.

Also, my car has the N55 engine, so it isn't just the B58 engine that has this problem.

[stevenvillatoro]

Originally Posted by Outrun

... based on my experience and other forum members, if the coolant loss happens it seems to occur when the car has 20k miles or less. I haven't really seen anyone one here report having such issues at higher mileages.

My low-coolant light went on at under 500 total miles, i.e., a nearly-new car, indicating that driving/usage was not a likely cause.

Taking into consideration the sub-20K-mile theory, could the factory be routinely under-filling the coolants to varying degrees, either by intention or sloppiness? You'd hope/think that fluids would be checked at the VPC and/or dealer, however.

Alternately, might there be any inherently greater rate of coolant usage when new?? Hard to imagine that possibility.

I wonder (out on a limb here), based on my low mileage circumstance, whether BMW might've narrowed the sensitivity of the low-coolant warning for the 2018 model year. Possibly to preclude related warranty issues?

My last conjecture: I wonder if coolant issues are equally common on 4- and 6-cyl. models, and among other Series', also?

A poll to quantify low-coolant occurrence vs. non-occurrence, mileage, and model would be interesting.

[Bibopp]

Go to the unlock menu to see the coolant temp when driving, you will note that collant temp goes until 120°C so it's normal to have to do a top off sometimes.

[Ron Jeffries]

What, please, is the "unlock menu"?

[TajoMan]

Originally Posted by Bibopp

Go to the unlock menu to see the coolant temp when driving, you will note that collant temp goes until 120°C so it's normal to have to do a top off sometimes.

It is simply not true.
As long as coolant reservoir tank cap is properly sealed, coolant level does not go down.

Even if the cap is not 'perfect' (holds pressure to 12~14 psig, instead of perfect 15 psig), evaporation through cap is extremely small amount.
in that case, you may need to add 50 cc in 10 years.

[aerostar]

Originally Posted by amw896

B58 posts will hopefully not turn into the focus RS forums. Good luck fellas!

What's going on at the RS forums?


And I had my 235i for 3 years and I didn't ever have any coolant problems. Drove it 45k miles.

[amw896]

They've been using faulty head gaskets and engines are blowing up due to drinking coolant. Ford finally admitted to it and now they are issuing recalls.

They said it was not an issue for almost 2 years(ish). Sound familiar? Moral is, if you're drinking coolant, I'd be big time skeptical that it's normal.

My 235i hasn't lost a drop in almost 3 years. Fully tuned.

Originally Posted by aerostar

What's going on at the RS forums?


And I had my 235i for 3 years and I didn't ever have any coolant problems. Drove it 45k miles.

[Mr Carrots]

I'd hope that if there's an issue like that, that BMW would have quietly fixed it and my new engine doesn't suffer from excessive coolant drinking... really dont want to go through this bs again

I'll report back how much it's got through when I hit 5k miles

[Tpeterson]

Originally Posted by aerostar

What's going on at the RS forums?

This is a little hokie,but it explains the issue well.
And I had my 235i for 3 years and I didn't ever have any coolant problems. Drove it 45k miles.

[P2]

Originally Posted by stevenvillatoro

Yesterday, my service department told me that high coolant usage...

(1) is normal, per BMW's cooling system requirements,
(2) typically needs topping off at ~5-6K miles but sometimes sooner,
(3) will vary considerably based on driving circumstances,
(4) is sometimes found to be low after the initial factory fill, and
(5) is topped off free of charge at the dealer, when required.

(I'm just the messenger.)

I have generally found this true except after maybe 15-20k miles. I had to add several times on my e90. Checked for leaks with a pressure test and consumption with a oil analysis. Both negative.

[mcompact]

Originally Posted by P2

I have generally found this true except after maybe 15-20k miles. I had to add several times on my e90. Checked for leaks with a pressure test and consumption with a oil analysis. Both negative.

My 145k mile Club Sport has always used a bit of coolant, although UOAs came back negative for any coolant in the oil. Ditto for my 159k mile Mazdaspeed 3, which was still running great after eight years of ownership.

[AlpsRider]

All I have to say is that if coolant levels in a sealed system go down by more than tablespoons, the car is either leaking it or burning it. The latter is especially a cause for concern, cars rarely heal by themselves. Even if the levels stop dropping at some point, personally I would always wonder what happened.

[Outrun]

Originally Posted by AlpsRider

All I have to say is that if coolant levels in a sealed system go down by more than tablespoons, the car is either leaking it or burning it. The latter is especially a cause for concern, cars rarely heal by themselves. Even if the levels stop dropping at some point, personally I would always wonder what happened.

This was exactly my understanding of low coolant levels... this is my first BMW and it's only BMW service reps who claim this is "normal", so what do I know...although I've never had such a problem with coolant loss in any previous car I've owned.

It also seems that the coolant loss is some sort of all-or-none effect. There appears to be a critical time when it tends to occur, usually between 3k-20k miles based on the reports of other individuals on this board who had the same problem. If the car makes it through that period without coolant loss, then it seems it's very unlikely that coolant loss will occur in the future, as I haven't seen anyone post about losing coolant over 20k or so miles, unless they began loosing it earlier.

[stevenvillatoro]

Originally Posted by AlpsRider

All I have to say is that if coolant levels in a sealed system go down by more than tablespoons, the car is either leaking it or burning it.

It could be the case that many low-mileage cars - the ones that **seem** to be losing coolant - were under-filled from the factory. My coolant light came on at under 500 miles (from new) and needed over a cup of fluid to be added. No system fault could be found.

[F22_Matt]

My 2017 240i had the low coolant warning appear at around 8k miles. Took it to the BMW Service center for a top-off. Technician said it wasn't dangerously low but was down a tad. When I asked if it was normal for a new vehicle to lose coolant like that the reply was something like "well you know, wear and tear..."

[hichamaziz]

thank you for post