BMW 318i - Coolant Consumption

D

DangerMouse

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I recently bought a 2001 BMW 318I. Never having previously owned a BMW I am surprised how frequently I have to refill the engine coolant - 1 litre about every 6 weeks. With previous cars I have never had to replace coolant, it has been something for the annual service.
I mentioned it to the BMW dealer and he said these engines operate at a high temperature. Should I take his word, is this normal? My gut feeling is telling me something else could be wrong with the engine.
 
without a doubt the head gasket is on the way out, common enough in the petrol Beemers.
 
Get it checked....a head gasket blowing is not a pretty site (or cheap one!!)
 
I had a 99 318 which gave endless trouble with coolant. I should have guessed something was up when there was a container of oil in the boot when I bought it. I put it down to the dodgy character that I bought it from - surprised you're having this trouble after buying from a BMW dealer though. I eventually insisted that they replace the car - got another 99 318 and had no coolant problems with it. Go back to the BMW dealer and insist they resolve the issue. It is not normal to fill coolant that frequently. If you don't get anywhere with them, you could try getting an independent motor assessor to confirm the fault. Failing all else you could try [broken link removed] who I assume your garage are members of.
 
I also had this problem with a 2000 BMW 318 and spent so much money on it over 2 years until I eventually got rid of it. The first garage that wasnt BMW failed to tell me that you have to release the air with a screw driver from the system before filling the coolant or else you falsely think it is full. It kept overheating blowing water pump and every part of the coolant system was replaced over the 2 years but the problem kept recurring. I would go back and insist they resolve it. I have a diesel 320 now and it is giving no problems. Good luck with it..
 
head gasket trouble for sure..... unless there is damaged pipes going into the radiator or coming out from it... Or else the radiator itself is damaged..
 
feefee said:
...The first garage that wasnt BMW failed to tell me that you have to release the air with a screw driver from the system before filling the coolant or else you falsely think it is full. ....
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Bleed nipple is located near the thermostat housing, can be tricky enough to bleed fully.
 
Whoa there clonboy & Louise2009!!!

Head Gasket trouble for sure ???? Excuse me ?

OP, there are a few things that can be wrong here, and the first thing to CHECK is for water in the oil (a result of the head gasket damage and one explanation of where the coolant is gone). Open the oil filler cap and look at the inside of the cap and if there's a white 'mayonnaise' type gunk there (a lot of it) then yes, you're probably looking at a new HG.
However, if there's oly a little hint of white, then that's normal in town cars driven low miles as water vapour can cause that too. Top up the coolant (while the engine is cold) and take it for a drive. Get the engine nice and hot, and check afterwards (when the engine has cooled down) for the deposits.

It could also be the water pump hoses leaking (very common) or a leaky rad (again, very common if water was used without coolant).
 
I had this problem on a 2000 316iSE - Problem was a leak in the radiator but got the FULL radiator replaced and serviced in BMW dealership for around 300euro incl. labour(I think!) Drove perfectly since, not a single problem and complete peace of mind.
 
I had the same issue on a 318 E46 - turned out to be the water expansion bottle (common enough apparently), €30 (i think) and changed it myself - Can you see water on your drive after its sitting a while?

X.
 
Hi Xabi, I can actually. Thanks for the tip off, I'll bring a list with me to the dealer and ask them to check these things out.
 
Just found this thread. Have a BMW 318i 2001 automatic. Coolant light started to come on a few weeks ago, kept topping it up whiile the light was coming on. My mechaninc put a sealant into the water bottle, after which I had to be lifted off the N11 when the whole bottle blew. Got the car back to the garage, picked it up this evening, mechanic showed me the old bottle and input section. But by the time I was half way home it had blown again, managed to get to my house but now I'm back to square1. Very frustating.
 
Mouldy said:
Just found this thread. Have a BMW 318i 2001 automatic. Coolant light started to come on a few weeks ago, kept topping it up whiile the light was coming on. My mechaninc put a sealant into the water bottle, after which I had to be lifted off the N11 when the whole bottle blew. Got the car back to the garage, picked it up this evening, mechanic showed me the old bottle and input section. But by the time I was half way home it had blown again, managed to get to my house but now I'm back to square1. Very frustating.
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Did you get the cap for the expansion bottle changed as well? If you did it looks like the head gasket has blown and combustion gasses from the engine are been blown into the cooling system and are over pressurising the cooling system.
 
I'm not a petrol head so I'm just aware that the coolant bottle was changed, alonmg with the input mechanism (what the bottle sits on). He didn't say anything about an expansion tank. The mechanic i'm using came highly recommnended by two people so I want to stick with him to get the problem sorted, I'm just really annoyed that after a lot of money in parts and labour my car is now in exactly the same condition as it was before I
brought it into him. any ideas on the cost of fixing the head gasket?
 
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