[DaleHeinz]

While driving home from work, my low coolant warning came on in my M240xi. After it cooled down, I filled it up with about 24oz of coolant before it was back up to the proper level. With only 11,000 miles, this seems like a bit much. I know I'll lose some water, even though it's a closed system, but this has me a little worried. Anyone else have similar issues? Going to have it check d out this week.

[RotorOver]

Originally Posted by DaleHeinz

While driving home from work, my low coolant warning came on in my M240xi. After it cooled down, I filled it up with about 24oz of coolant before it was back up to the proper level. With only 11,000 miles, this seems like a bit much. I know I'll lose some water, even though it's a closed system, but this has me a little worried. Anyone else have similar issues? Going to have it check d out this week.

Yes. The week I had my first scheduled service, the light came on a few days before at 10,991 miles. Apparently it's common with the B58. You will see that evident in the forums and I verified it with my service adviser. Apparently water evaporating as you mentioned. I started checking it more frequently since then.

[DaleHeinz]

Originally Posted by RotorOver

Yes. The week I had my first scheduled service, the light came on a few days before at 10,991 miles. Apparently it's common with the B58. You will see that evident in the forums and I verified it with my service adviser. Apparently water evaporating as you mentioned. I started checking it more frequently since then.

Cool. Glad it's not just me. It's been blisteringly hot in the D.C. area lately, so I can see how it would evaporate a little faster than normal in this heat and stop and go traffic. Guess I will be checking it a bit more often now.

Should I fill it back up with 1:1 still, or would 1:2 coolant to water be better since its losing water and that would help to keep it 1:1 through the summer?

[MarcoZandrini]

Use a 50/50 mix of BMW coolant and distilled water only. Adding water only decreases the coolant's ability to prevent corrosion.

[Lacessit]

My 230xi had the same issue, I ended up adding coolant twice. After the second instance it was due for the 10k mi service, when I took it in they replaced the water pump under warranty.

Keep an eye out.

[RotorOver]

Originally Posted by DaleHeinz

Cool. Glad it's not just me. It's been blisteringly hot in the D.C. area lately, so I can see how it would evaporate a little faster than normal in this heat and stop and go traffic. Guess I will be checking it a bit more often now.

Should I fill it back up with 1:1 still, or would 1:2 coolant to water be better since its losing water and that would help to keep it 1:1 through the summer?

That's a great question. The manual doesn't say. At the time I probably added 1:2 or so. My logic was if the water evaporated it wasn't losing coolant. But, I believe MarcoZandrini is correct, I should have added it at 50/50 according to the packaging.

[DaleHeinz]

Originally Posted by RotorOver

That's a great question. The manual doesn't say. At the time I probably added 1:2 or so. My logic was if the water evaporated it wasn't losing coolant. But, I believe MarcoZandrini is correct, I should have added it at 50/50 according to the packaging.

Yeah. Makes sense. I guess with the little I had to add, it wouldn't make a huge difference either way.

[crabu2]

I don't have this problem, but I've always added distilled water only when I've had this happen in other vehicles. I figure it's water evaporating, so that's what I add back in.

[mike@x-ph.com]

Probably water evaporating, that being said check for leaks

[xantdieselx]

Generally coolant to water ratio is 50:50. as neither straight coolant or water handles the job of dissipating heat very on their own. The correct mix can operate under pressure at temps well beyond the boiling point of plain water.

A couple of things to note here the system is pressurized and does allow for expansion and contraction within the system. This is the reason why you should check the level in the reservoir when it's cold. Also air can become trapped in the system and is vented through the release valve which is generally built into the reservoir cap.

With a new car a lot of times air is inadvertently trapped in the system during assembly. The air eventually works its way out which in turn drops the level of the coolant. Check out the B58 forum the same thing has plagued quite a few cars.

[ingleberg1]

Took my M240i in for a coolant warning at approx 6 months/2500 miles. They blamed it on the cool weather. Well now it's in the 100's in Texas, and the warning started coming up again. Dealer said they topped it off and ran a pressure test... and sent me home with a jug of coolant. Said that was all they could do. How is this acceptable for a $53k car?

[overcoil]

Originally Posted by ingleberg1

Took my M240i in for a coolant warning at approx 6 months/2500 miles. They blamed it on the cool weather. Well now it's in the 100's in Texas, and the warning started coming up again. Dealer said they topped it off and ran a pressure test... and sent me home with a jug of coolant. Said that was all they could do. How is this acceptable for a $53k car?

I would at least have stuck a new radiator cap on the thing

[XutvJet]

Originally Posted by xantdieselx

With a new car a lot of times air is inadvertently trapped in the system during assembly. The air eventually works its way out which in turn drops the level of the coolant. Check out the B58 forum the same thing has plagued quite a few cars.

True but that doesn't explain why many B58 owners are having to top off routinely, well after a few months ownership.

[1FUNCAR]

Originally Posted by ingleberg1

Took my M240i in for a coolant warning at approx 6 months/2500 miles. They blamed it on the cool weather. Well now it's in the 100's in Texas, and the warning started coming up again. Dealer said they topped it off and ran a pressure test... and sent me home with a jug of coolant. Said that was all they could do. How is this acceptable for a $53k car?

Not acceptable to me - and I don't even have my 240 yet. Where's the coolant going and why? Those are questions they should be answering, not just giving you a jug of coolant and sending you on your way.

[MDF164]

Originally Posted by 1FUNCAR

Not acceptable to me - and I don't even have my 240 yet. Where's the coolant going and why? Those are questions they should be answering, not just giving you a jug of coolant and sending you on your way.

+1

[XutvJet]

Originally Posted by 1FUNCAR

Not acceptable to me - and I don't even have my 240 yet. Where's the coolant going and why? Those are questions they should be answering, not just giving you a jug of coolant and sending you on your way.

People claim that it's shoddy expansion tank caps releasing water vapor but i think that's BS. Sure, some vapor will be lost, but not that much. My Japanese cars don't have air tight expansion tank caps and they do loose water from the coolant over time, but we're talking 1/2 cup every 6 months. B58 owners are reporting much larger losses. That's alarming.

Some B58 owners have had their turbos replaced because BMW said the coolant was leaking into the turbo turbine and being consumed. The B58's air to water intercooler, which is built into the intake manifold, is much like the S55's in the M3 and M4 and I've seen pictures of coolant leaking from the M3/M4 air to water incooler into the intake runners. That scary. Perhaps something similar is happening on the B58? I'm not trying to be alarmist but BMW's history with coolant systems it amusingly terrible.

[1FUNCAR]

Originally Posted by XutvJet

People claim that it's shoddy expansion tank caps releasing water vapor but i think that's BS. Sure, some vapor will be lost, but not that much. My Japanese cars don't have air tight expansion tank caps and they do loose water from the coolant over time, but we're talking 1/2 cup every 6 months. B58 owners are reporting much larger losses. That's alarming.

Some B58 owners have had their turbos replaced because BMW said the coolant was leaking into the turbo turbine and being consumed. The B58's air to water intercooler, which is built into the intake manifold, is much like the S55's in the M3 and M4 and I've seen pictures of coolant leaking from the M3/M4 air to water incooler into the intake runners. That scary. Perhaps something similar is happening on the B58? I'm not trying to be alarmist but BMW's history with coolant systems it amusingly terrible.

Great. Just great. Guess I should have bought another Asian car if I wanted reliability. I thought BMW had their shit together better than this.

[TajoMan]

Originally Posted by 1FUNCAR

Great. Just great. Guess I should have bought another Asian car if I wanted reliability. I thought BMW had their shit together better than this.

No need to worry too much.

It's most likely under filled from factory.
My coolant bottle was empty after about 8000 miles. Dealer filled it back up and the coolant level is not going down since.

Of course, it's still a problem if their factory fill is not well controlled.
But it's way better than leaking from somewhere.

Check the level every 2~3k miles after you (or dealer) topped it up.
If the coolant level still goes down, that's the time to worry.

[1FUNCAR]

Seems like it might be time for a poll. I read where Wards Automotive named the B58 as their top engine for 2017 so I would hope much of the mystery coolant loss is due to low fills at the factory. But it would be nice to get fresh feedback from B58 owners across all the different series of BMW's. Maybe something for the general board rather than just here on the 2 Series?

[1FUNCAR]

Originally Posted by TajoMan

No need to worry too much.

It's most likely under filled from factory.
My coolant bottle was empty after about 8000 miles. Dealer filled it back up and the coolant level is not going down since.

How long ago was that?

[TajoMan]

Originally Posted by 1FUNCAR

How long ago was that?

After top off, I drove about 4000 miles.
Coolant level did not go down at all. (I checked every 1000 miles or so)

If it was steadily consuming/leaking coolant, it should be half way down in the bottle by now.

So, I'm not worry too much about it.

Granted, there are more things to break in this cooling system.
(2 separate cooling circuits, 3 coolant pumps, so many heat exchangers...)
Yet, I don't see many complaints about turbo or engine issues regarding the cooling system. There are some, but not a lot.

That tells me if there is any cooling related issues, it is most likely manufacturing quality issues, not the fundamental design issue.

[dradernh]

Originally Posted by 1FUNCAR

Great. Just great. Guess I should have bought another Asian car if I wanted reliability. I thought BMW had their shit together better than this.

My experience is that in automobiles German quality is not like Asian quality. It could be, of course, but the manufacturers know that it isn't necessary because we'll buy them anyway.

Exceptions aside, BMW has a long history of significant issues with each model. I learned this almost 40 years ago with my E12 5 Series, which developed a warped head. That was a $2K repair, back when that was real money. Seems everyone but me knew that an E12 head would warp right around 60K - the shop I used knew it, and the used car dealer I eventually sold the car to certainly knew it. That car had an electrical issue that cost me $2K, too. For perspective, the car cost me $11K with 8K on it. Having been introduced to BMW "quality", my next purchase was an M6. Go figure.