[insanecoder]

Checked mine last nite cause you folks got me worried again..
after loosening the cap a few turns, the sweet sound of fffffffffffft pressure relief
and all levels were still at or slightly below max
I think if you check your engine after an hour after being parked
and you dont hear that pressure relief when opening your cap
and notice low coolant levels
maybe you should consider a trip to the dealership for a new cap

[CruzM3]

Originally Posted by kern417

people keep posting this but how does that make sense? if your oil was low after 4000 miles, would you just assume that they didn't fill it all the way at the factory? not to mention multiple people in here have had to get it topped off more than once.

It makes perfect sense if you think about the procedure for filling coolant you usually have to fill it to max, run the engine up to temp and then check it again after the engine cools off. Sometimes it takes more than one cycle of doing that before you don't see the coolant level dropping anymore. I doubt they are taking the time to do it more than once at the factory and so some, myself included are needing a top off and then it's good. I never said this applies to those that are seeing a coolant loss after topping it off more than once. In that case I say see the dealer.

[kern417]

Originally Posted by Cruz28/40

It makes perfect sense if you think about the procedure for filling coolant you usually have to fill it to max, run the engine up to temp and then check it again after the engine cools off. Sometimes it takes more than one cycle of doing that before you don't see the coolant level dropping anymore. I doubt they are taking the time to do it more than once at the factory and so some, myself included are needing a top off and then it's good. I never said this applies to those that are seeing a coolant loss after topping it off more than once. In that case I say see the dealer.

you can't just say you "doubt" they do that. the implications are significant. you'd have cars overheating, blowing radiators/radiator hoses, blowing head gaskets...you just can't assume an oem would give you a vehicle with that risk up in the air.

that being said, the procedure you mentioned may be how you fill it up in your driveway for cheap, but OEMs use a vacuum filling tool to push coolant past the thermostat and make sure the system is full at the factory. most if not all sell the tool to dealerships and they fill your coolant the same way.

[CruzM3]

Originally Posted by kern417

you can't just say you "doubt" they do that. the implications are significant. you'd have cars overheating, blowing radiators/radiator hoses, blowing head gaskets...you just can't assume an oem would give you a vehicle with that risk up in the air.

that being said, the procedure you mentioned may be how you fill it up in your driveway for cheap, but OEMs use a vacuum filling tool to push coolant past the thermostat and make sure the system is full at the factory. most if not all sell the tool to dealerships and they fill your coolant the same way.

Ok, I say that I doubt that because they don't have the time to run every build serveral times. Talk to your dealer or for quick reference check out a factory video on YouTube and you'll see what I mean. They fill up all the liquids, test the engine... everything checks out then they move it out. Customer gets the car after everything is settled and puts some miles on it and then it's not unthinkable that the whole system didn't get enough fliud from the factory so it ends up showing low after miles are put on it.

[jparnes1]

Originally Posted by kern417

you can't just say you "doubt" they do that. the implications are significant. you'd have cars overheating, blowing radiators/radiator hoses, blowing head gaskets...you just can't assume an oem would give you a vehicle with that risk up in the air.

that being said, the procedure you mentioned may be how you fill it up in your driveway for cheap, but OEMs use a vacuum filling tool to push coolant past the thermostat and make sure the system is full at the factory. most if not all sell the tool to dealerships and they fill your coolant the same way.

Not only that, but the TIS instructs you to run the bleed cycle to further purge air, if any, left in the system.

[kern417]

Originally Posted by Cruz28/40

Ok, I say that I doubt that because they don't have the time to run every build serveral times. Talk to your dealer or for quick reference check out a factory video on YouTube and you'll see what I mean. They fill up all the liquids, test the engine... everything checks out then they move it out. Customer gets the car after everything is settled and puts some miles on it and then it's not unthinkable that the whole system didn't get enough fliud from the factory so it ends up showing low after miles are put on it.

it really is. i don't hear about it being an issue for any other model/brand, so it doesn't make sense to assume that any fluid that the engine needs to run properly would be low from the factory. and if it was, it would be be known within the first 1000 miles of driving the car.

not to mention that bmw has engineers that focus on reducing warranty spending, and they view all of these simple fill ups as an expense that should be avoided. so no one on their end is writing this off as something that can be expected.

what does make sense to me is that bmw created a new engine with a new cooling system and one of the parts has a design/manufacturing flaw that becomes obvious within the first year.

[STR8-6IX]

Originally Posted by High Flier

I had a low coolant light around 3000 miles, with some evidence of coolant leaking around the cap. May have been high pressure due to low coolant? The dealer topped it off and gave me some extra coolant to take home and top it off after the engine cooled down...yes it's lower when cooler. I do have to top it off every 1000 miles or so, but check it regularly now before the light come on.

Low coolant does not equate to higher pressure.

The difference between low and high mark on the reservoir is 250ml. The coolant light only comes on when you are over 3L low on coolant, meaning you neglected to check and top up coolant for far too long. Also, coolant level is only accurate when engine is cold so be sure to top up then.

[STR8-6IX]

Originally Posted by insanecoder

Checked mine last nite cause you folks got me worried again..
after loosening the cap a few turns, the sweet sound of fffffffffffft pressure relief
and all levels were still at or slightly below max
I think if you check your engine after an hour after being parked
and you dont hear that pressure relief when opening your cap
and notice low coolant levels
maybe you should consider a trip to the dealership for a new cap

You only get an accurate reading when the engine is cold. Coolant reads higher then actual when engine is warm.

My cap is 100% sealed, makes the pressure sound even an hour after opening the reservoir yet my car drinks coolant like an alcoholic. If there are no leaks and coolant is not being burnt due to a faulty head gasket, the only real culprit is your cap which usually should not be the case.

Looks like this will simply remain as a mystery..

[CruzM3]

Originally Posted by kern417

it really is. i don't hear about it being an issue for any other model/brand, so it doesn't make sense to assume that any fluid that the engine needs to run properly would be low from the factory. and if it was, it would be be known within the first 1000 miles of driving the car.

not to mention that bmw has engineers that focus on reducing warranty spending, and they view all of these simple fill ups as an expense that should be avoided. so no one on their end is writing this off as something that can be expected.

what does make sense to me is that bmw created a new engine with a new cooling system and one of the parts has a design/manufacturing flaw that becomes obvious within the first year.

Wonder if the any of the 140i or 240i cars have issues with the coolant and we'll have to wait and see about the 540. I'm not sure I would say design flaw until we see that large number of people are experiencing this. I would be interested in knowing how many have reported to dealers but I dunno if that can be found. I have only had to top mines off once as it went slightly below the min line and I had the dealer pressure test and all was good. I'll have to ask my German friend who has almost 50K on his 340ix if he's had to add coolant.

[kern417]

Originally Posted by Cruz28/40

Wonder if the any of the 140i or 240i cars have issues with the coolant and we'll have to wait and see about the 540. I'm not sure I would say design flaw until we see that large number of people are experiencing this. I would be interested in knowing how many have reported to dealers but I dunno if that can be found. I have only had to top mines off once as it went slightly below the min line and I had the dealer pressure test and all was good. I'll have to ask my German friend who has almost 50K on his 340ix if he's had to add coolant.

one of the links i posted is from the 2addicts forum. but i agree more likely a manufacturing flaw if it's the cap. the stuff isn't that difficult overall but imo someone is messing up.

[insanecoder]

Originally Posted by STR8-6IX

You only get an accurate reading when the engine is cold. Coolant reads higher then actual when engine is warm.

My cap is 100% sealed, makes the pressure sound even an hour after opening the reservoir yet my car drinks coolant like an alcoholic. If there are no leaks and coolant is not being burnt due to a faulty head gasket, the only real culprit is your cap which usually should not be the case.

Looks like this will simply remain as a mystery..

The plot thickens.. sheesh so its not just the cap ?
Then its maybe the same 335 egr issues
that or hopefully its not that cheap plastic waterpump

[XRAVE]

Had to fill up the tank twice before it stabilized at the max line. First fill was well below the min line, all in all I used ~750ml of distilled water. Not sure what that brings my ratio to.

I'll keep an eye on it. If it came full from factory, I'm losing ~125ml for every 1000 miles.

[hollandog]

topped up twice before at around 3000 and 5000 miles. now at 9800 miles coolant still at max. I guess like the other poster said it took couple top ups to fully flush the system.

[STR8-6IX]

Originally Posted by XRAVE

Had to fill up the tank twice before it stabilized at the max line. First fill was well below the min line, all in all I used ~750ml of distilled water. Not sure what that brings my ratio to.

I'll keep an eye on it. If it came full from factory, I'm losing ~125ml for every 1000 miles.

the system is about 6-7L. you're fine for now in terms of the ratio.

[Buzzo]

Had to top off around 9K and today again at 18K. Not enough coolant loss for the warning light to come on.

[BEAR-AvHistory]

If there is no sign of leakage could be as simple as they are not properly burping the engines to get all the air out of the system.

[x5mad]

Mine has had no coolant issues as of 7k km. I wonder if it's just the early cars. My build date is October 2016.

Do we have to mix with water? What would be pros cons of say filling with 100% coolant? Also the dealer told me tap water is fine and stated on the bottle. Any problems using tap water to mix?

[goj]

Originally Posted by x5mad

Mine has had no coolant issues as of 7k km. I wonder if it's just the early cars. My build date is October 2016.

Do we have to mix with water? What would be pros cons of say filling with 100% coolant? Also the dealer told me tap water is fine and stated on the bottle. Any problems using tap water to mix?

My first issue was at 7700 miles so you're not quite at that yet. Your best bet is to let it sit over night and open the cap and look at the indicators inside

[BLACK HAWK DOWN]

I've said this before and I'll say it again........if you're loosing coolant something is wrong! Once properly filled and purged you should never need any additional coolant in a street car no matter how hard you drive.
If you do need coolant something is leaking somewhere or the car is overheating at some point and venting (very abnormal for a street car)

I have owned street cars, race cars, street bikes and race bikes, I never had to add any coolimg system fluids unless the machine overheated or something was leaking(gasket, joint, seal, hose, radiator, etc.)

Aslo, with the suggestion about coolant concentration being an issue I find that very hard to believe since many race engines operate with water and water wetter, no coolant. They dont blow up or require constant addition of water.

I would say that if my bmw required frequent coolant top ups and they try to convince me that this is normal, i would be very pissed.

Sorry to all those that have this issue but this is just my take on it.

[kern417]

Originally Posted by x5mad

Mine has had no coolant issues as of 7k km. I wonder if it's just the early cars. My build date is October 2016.

Do we have to mix with water? What would be pros cons of say filling with 100% coolant? Also the dealer told me tap water is fine and stated on the bottle. Any problems using tap water to mix?

do not use tap and do not put 100% coolant. distilled water has the properties that make it work efficiently without damaging or corroding your cooling system. remember water is the primary working agent. Coolant just expands it's operating temp range (hence the name ANTI-FREEZE )

[XRAVE]

Update from my last post 3 months ago.

I had to add about ~300ml of distilled water again. I'm still loosing about 100-125ml a month. I'm going to take it this Friday to get it checked out because I've never seen anything like this. Inter-cooler tank has remained at max since day 1.

[bimmer456]

Originally Posted by XRAVE

Update from my last post 3 months ago.

I had to add about ~300ml of distilled water again. I'm still loosing about 100-125ml a month. I'm going to take it this Friday to get it checked out because I've never seen anything like this. Inter-cooler tank has remained at max since day 1.

I only had to add coolant the one time after the 1st service. Maybe it was underfilled at the factory, but haven't had to add anything since. Added coolant at 8K miles and now at 19K haven't added anything, maybe they topped it up at the last service.