[hunginator]

Hello all,

Car is a 2012 BMW 535i xDrive (N55). It's at around 55,000kms or 34,000 miles.

I haven't driven the car in over a week and just turned it on and now I see a low engine coolant warning.

Is this common and should I be worried? Not sure if I should have car towed or if I can drive it to the dealer.

[Dandle]

If you pop the hood there is a reservoir with the coolant level in it. Why not look in there and see how low it is. If its only just dropped a little top it up and your good to go. If its empty then the coolant has gone somewhere and you will have to get someone to look at it.

[hunginator]

Hi Dandle,

Thanks for your advice. I popped the hood and looked in the coolant reservoir. It's well below the minimum marking but I can't really tell how low as it is dark in there. I shined a flashlight in there but it's still hard to see.

Do you think I should have it towed or can I drive it to the dealer?

[Dandle]

It's probably just dropped a little over time. Try topping it up with a little water (half a pint or so) it won't be enough to dilute the coolant so don't worry about that.

[belarus27]

Originally Posted by Dandle

It's probably just dropped a little over time. Try topping it up with a little water (half a pint or so) it won't be enough to dilute the coolant so don't worry about that.

distilled water*

[Dandle]

Tap water is fine. It's an internet myth you need distilled water in the coolant system, the system is sealed and never boils so the minerals in tap water aren't an issue. The coolant is designed to be used with tap water.

[hunginator]

Added some coolant to the max line while the engine was cold and the car seems to be fine. Hasn't thrown any warnings yet. *fingers crossed*

[Breach]

Originally Posted by Dandle

Tap water is fine. It's an internet myth you need distilled water in the coolant system, the system is sealed and never boils so the minerals in tap water aren't an issue. The coolant is designed to be used with tap water.

Though potable water is fine in most cases, water characteristics really vary in terms of mineral content, pH, hardness etc. Where I live the water is so hard that when I descale the water heater I literally remove one bucket of sediment. No way in heck I'd put that in my radiator.

To the OP I'd say to keep an eye out for leaks - in 5 years my coolant level had dropped by about 2 mm from the max total so I'd be wary.

[dadysev]

Originally Posted by hunginator

Hello all,

Car is a 2012 BMW 535i xDrive (N55). It's at around 55,000kms or 34,000 miles.

I haven't driven the car in over a week and just turned it on and now I see a low engine coolant warning.

Is this common and should I be worried? Not sure if I should have car towed or if I can drive it to the dealer.

if you have a 550 (n63) engine, have a look around the turbo lines right on the top for small leaks. You will need to lift up the engine cover.

[hunginator]

Ah, nope. I have the turbo inline 6 N55 motor.

I filled up coolant last week and the car hasn't given me any warnings. I'll be keeping an eye on it to make sure that there's actually nothing wrong w/ the car. *fingers crossed*

[STR8-6IX]

Originally Posted by hunginator

Ah, nope. I have the turbo inline 6 N55 motor.

I filled up coolant last week and the car hasn't given me any warnings. I'll be keeping an eye on it to make sure that there's actually nothing wrong w/ the car. *fingers crossed*

do you drive your car hard? both times i got the low coolant light, i was flooring it either the day before or literally 10 min prior to the light. just top up with bottled/distilled water, check the reservoir occasionally and you will be fine.

[hunginator]

Originally Posted by 6IX-F10-N52

do you drive your car hard? both times i got the low coolant light, i was flooring it either the day before or literally 10 min prior to the light. just top up with bottled/distilled water, check the reservoir occasionally and you will be fine.

Overall, not really. That's what my other car is for.

But naturally, I am quite aggressive with the throttle. I will feel the need to apply full throttle on a nice open stretch of road or during on-ramps at times... but nothing crazy. I also feel that it's better for my engine to breathe a little bit every now and then instead of having it sit at low RPM's too much.

[SchillerM]

Late to thread, keep an eye on it, our E90 N55 had a bad reservoir tank. CPO took care of it. Dealer made it sound like it is a fairly common issue, not sure if E90 and F10 share same parts.

Anyway, wipe down the reservoir and keep an eye on it, that's how I tracked it down.
Matt

[STR8-6IX]

Originally Posted by hunginator

Overall, not really. That's what my other car is for.

But naturally, I am quite aggressive with the throttle. I will feel the need to apply full throttle on a nice open stretch of road or during on-ramps at times... but nothing crazy. I also feel that it's better for my engine to breathe a little bit every now and then instead of having it sit at low RPM's too much.

if your engine is healthy then go right ahead

just watch the coolant level!! i was really low the other day.

[lsturbointeg]

Like everyone mentioned just keep an eye out for it. If it gets low again definitely schedule an appointment with your local BMW dealership and have it looked at.

[hunginator]

Hey everyone. Just checked my coolant while the engine was cold to see if it has dropped. The coolant was well below the minimum marking.

I had to add in coolant again to bring it up closer to the 'max' line. The last time I added in coolant was about a month ago.

This rate of loss of coolant does not seem normal. Anyone know what kind of problem I may be potentially dealing with? I'll be bringing the car into the dealer but just wondering if anyone can give me an idea of what's wrong beforehand.

[SchillerM]

As I mentioned before, look for signs of coolant, wipe clean and monitor. Ours was the reservoir itself, if I hadn't cleaned it I wouldn't have found it as it looked like it was messy from someone topping it off.

[Dandle]

As said above the coolant is going somewhere so look for signs of it leaking. It could be that the cap isn't sealing correctly allowing a small amount of evaporation but its impossible to tell without looking at the car.

[Dandle]

Originally Posted by Breach

Though potable water is fine in most cases, water characteristics really vary in terms of mineral content, pH, hardness etc. Where I live the water is so hard that when I descale the water heater I literally remove one bucket of sediment. No way in heck I'd put that in my radiator.

To the OP I'd say to keep an eye out for leaks - in 5 years my coolant level had dropped by about 2 mm from the max total so I'd be wary.

Your water heater has no inhibiting chemicals in it though to inhibit mineral deposit and constantly has a fresh supply of minerals delivered in the water that goes through it, just like a kettle. The sealed system in the car has coolant added to condition the water and to protect different metals that the coolant comes into contact with by stopping electrolysis. The coolant is designed to work with water from all over the world. If you ran the same coolant through you water heater all the time you wouldn't have the sediment then but obviously you wouldn't want to shower in it. So you cant really compare the two.