[Gsh083]

Hi Guys,

I'm new to BMW world as I never previously owned any bimmers.
Now I have 2010 F10 528i with 3.0L engine (N52) imported from Japan (left hand drive).
When I'm driving in city (in moderate or heavy traffic), I have noticed that Oil Temp gauge is sometimes slightly over 120C (maybe 121-122 C) and then it goes back to 119-120C.
When driving on highway however (at 120 kp/h) oil temp won't reach 120C, i guess because air passes through car with higher speed and generally engine breathes better.

As new one to BMWs I'm still not sure what is optimal operating temperature for this engine is. In Manual is says that if gauge is in the middle or on left means that everything is ok, but should be car running oil at 120C constantly in city, and is it ok that sometimes gauge goes over 120 even for short amount of time?

If you have any experience or knowledge, I'll be grateful to hear any advise from you.

additional information:
Coolant level is ok, engine oil is SAE 5w30 BMW Twin Turbo. Engine oil level is ok (almost full on e-level display).
No Fault codes or any warning lights on the dash.
Attached pictures for your reference.
Outside temp: 14-15 degree celcius
Engine milage: 145532 km (90429 miles).

[brad850csi]

My F11 N52B30 is also from Japan so should be basicalyl the same as your car.

Mine does basically the same thing as yours but not quite up to 120.

Yesterday the car was at normal operating temp for open road driving of being just past the 95C mark, so probably around 100C. There was a crash on the motorway and it took about 20 minutes to drive 4-5km with the speed never going above 20kmh. In that time the oil temp got up to being aimed at the 1 in the 120, so probably 110-115C. I don't think I've ever seen it that high before but as the engine doesn't have an external oil cooler it is fairly typical to see this sort of behavior in traffic. The outside temperature was 23C.

I don't know if there is a way to check the flow through the heat exchanger, but here is the link on Realoem.

https://www.realoem.com/bmw/enUS/sho...diagId=11_3753

By the way, yes the search result is for a 530i. The N52 engined cars were designated 530i by BMW but for some reason the Japanese market cars were badged as 528i. The N52B25 cars were 523i and the N47 diesels that were 520d everywhere else were called 523d.

[poverty.f10]

When I moved to liqui moly 5w-40 it dropped my oil temps by 15-20 degrees. How old is your coolant? How many miles on the engine oil? How many miles on the car?

[StradaRedlands]

Anecdotally F10s run a little cool, at least ones with the N52.
My 528i takes forever to get to 120C/250F.

[Gsh083]

Originally Posted by StradaRedlands

Anecdotally F10s run a little cool, at least ones with the N52.
My 528i takes forever to get to 120C/250F.

mine doesn't get to 120C quickly as well, but when it gets there it stays at 120C.
So just curious if it's normal or should I take it for diagnostics

[Gsh083]

Originally Posted by poverty.f10

When I moved to liqui moly 5w-40 it dropped my oil temps by 15-20 degrees. How old is your coolant? How many miles on the engine oil? How many miles on the car?

Not sure about coolant age to be honest.
I have recently changed engine oil, only 1250 miles on it and I went with BMW SAE 5w-30.
Car milage 90429
I'm considering switching to 5w40 Liqui moly for next oil change.

Before switching to liqui moly 5w-40 was your temp also at 120C ?

[Gsh083]

Originally Posted by brad850csi

My F11 N52B30 is also from Japan so should be basicalyl the same as your car.

Mine does basically the same thing as yours but not quite up to 120.

Yesterday the car was at normal operating temp for open road driving of being just past the 95C mark, so probably around 100C. There was a crash on the motorway and it took about 20 minutes to drive 4-5km with the speed never going above 20kmh. In that time the oil temp got up to being aimed at the 1 in the 120, so probably 110-115C. I don't think I've ever seen it that high before but as the engine doesn't have an external oil cooler it is fairly typical to see this sort of behavior in traffic. The outside temperature was 23C.

I don't know if there is a way to check the flow through the heat exchanger, but here is the link on Realoem.

https://www.realoem.com/bmw/enUS/sho...diagId=11_3753

By the way, yes the search result is for a 530i. The N52 engined cars were designated 530i by BMW but for some reason the Japanese market cars were badged as 528i. The N52B25 cars were 523i and the N47 diesels that were 520d everywhere else were called 523d.

Yeah, I got little confused with badging coz car said 528i on trunk and when i tried to decode vin, some websites say that it's 530 and some say it's 528

Thanks for reply and sharing the link.
I'm planning to observe little more and then if all stays same I'm probably going to check Thermostat & water pump.
No leaks visible from coolant hoses but will double-check that as well.

[StradaRedlands]

Originally Posted by Gsh083

mine doesn't get to 120C quickly as well, but when it gets there it stays at 120C.
So just curious if it's normal or should I take it for diagnostics

I think it's within the realm of normal

[Gsh083]

Originally Posted by StradaRedlands

I think it's within the realm of normal

Thanks mate