Water pump and/or thermostat issue

Bbb34 · 02-10-2018, 05:36 PM

Driving to a ski hill, so fairly but not bitterly cold (-8 Celisus, so 17 F).

After stopping to get my coffee I noticed engine fan was running just before I turned off the car but didn't really think much of it as I sometimes hear it after shutting off the car for few seconds.

AC was on, fan setting on "auto" with temperature set to fairly high, low 20s (Celsius). At one point fan started blowing cold air into the cabin, so I knew something was off.

I continued driving, but soon after "engine overheating, drive moderately" warning came on, followed by "limp mode" about 10-15 seconds later.
I pulled over immediately and temperature indeed was showing up higher than usual, but not really crazy high. Note that there are no crazy heavy climbs on this particular road, engine was barely over 2500 RPMs for most of the trip as roads were a bit snow covered, I was just cruising nicely. After I pulled over I could hear the fan turning on and off continuously every few seconds. Turned the car off, did quick google search, and all search results pointed to water pump and thermostat issue (for both N54 and N55 engines).

Started the car few minutes later, and warning indeed cleared on it's own. No issues with the way car drove or heat in the cabin. On arriving to the ski hill couple of minutes later, I could hear fan turning on and off as it was idling.

No issues on the drive back home (8 hours later), besides, again, fan coming on and off continuously during the drive.

Car has 116K km (about 72K miles) on odometer.

What do those of you with experience working on these cars think, thermostat and water pump issue or is there possibly more to it ? Is it easy to determine the issue based on looking up the codes that were thrown?

paul223 · 02-10-2018, 06:14 PM

Time to replace both, thermostat & water pump.

sammykinz · 02-10-2018, 08:39 PM

i agree, same symptoms happened to me and i replaced both

Trian · 02-12-2018, 05:28 AM

Same happened to me. My Indy also replaced a hose at the same time (at 98,000 miles).

Bbb34 · 02-12-2018, 08:31 AM

Thanks guys, car's at the shop already, they haven't looked at it, but said symptoms are pretty much pointing to water pump and thermostat.

In the meantime I get to enjoy Golf wagon TDI.

02-10-2018, 05:36 PM	#1
Bbb34 Major 731 Rep 1,472 Posts Drives: '11 535i 6sp. DHP/RWD Join Date: Jul 2014 Location: ON iTrader: (0)	Water pump and/or thermostat issue Driving to a ski hill, so fairly but not bitterly cold (-8 Celisus, so 17 F). After stopping to get my coffee I noticed engine fan was running just before I turned off the car but didn't really think much of it as I sometimes hear it after shutting off the car for few seconds. AC was on, fan setting on "auto" with temperature set to fairly high, low 20s (Celsius). At one point fan started blowing cold air into the cabin, so I knew something was off. I continued driving, but soon after "engine overheating, drive moderately" warning came on, followed by "limp mode" about 10-15 seconds later. I pulled over immediately and temperature indeed was showing up higher than usual, but not really crazy high. Note that there are no crazy heavy climbs on this particular road, engine was barely over 2500 RPMs for most of the trip as roads were a bit snow covered, I was just cruising nicely. After I pulled over I could hear the fan turning on and off continuously every few seconds. Turned the car off, did quick google search, and all search results pointed to water pump and thermostat issue (for both N54 and N55 engines). Started the car few minutes later, and warning indeed cleared on it's own. No issues with the way car drove or heat in the cabin. On arriving to the ski hill couple of minutes later, I could hear fan turning on and off as it was idling. No issues on the drive back home (8 hours later), besides, again, fan coming on and off continuously during the drive. Car has 116K km (about 72K miles) on odometer. What do those of you with experience working on these cars think, thermostat and water pump issue or is there possibly more to it ? Is it easy to determine the issue based on looking up the codes that were thrown?
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02-10-2018, 06:14 PM	#2
paul223 Major 411 Rep 1,126 Posts Drives: F10 Join Date: Dec 2013 Location: arkansas iTrader: (0)	Time to replace both, thermostat & water pump.
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02-10-2018, 08:39 PM	#3
sammykinz Private 10 Rep 60 Posts Drives: 535xi Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: ny iTrader: (0)	i agree, same symptoms happened to me and i replaced both
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02-12-2018, 05:28 AM	#4
Trian Second Lieutenant 79 Rep 264 Posts Drives: 2015 535i M-Sport Join Date: Sep 2015 Location: Victoria, B.C. iTrader: (0)	Same happened to me. My Indy also replaced a hose at the same time (at 98,000 miles).
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02-12-2018, 08:31 AM	#5
Bbb34 Major 731 Rep 1,472 Posts Drives: '11 535i 6sp. DHP/RWD Join Date: Jul 2014 Location: ON iTrader: (0)	Thanks guys, car's at the shop already, they haven't looked at it, but said symptoms are pretty much pointing to water pump and thermostat. In the meantime I get to enjoy Golf wagon TDI.
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