Overheating

[vamudzengi]

Hi, guys can you please help me understand this. I have a 2010 320i E90 which started giving me an overheating problem recently. Early this month (June 21), it flashed that red engine (or is coolant) temperature light, indicating that it could be overheating then I was towed to a mechanic. They replaced the radiator and some hoses around there. I drove the car for two weeks with no issues. My normal commute is about 120km a day, 60 in the morning and 60 at night. Then yesterday (23 June) I drove double this distance all the way to Pretoria from Brakpan. On my way back about 5km from home, that same light back came on and was towed again. Went back to the same garage, they said that they see nothing wrong with the car because everything is working as it should, the thermostat was opening, and water was circulating. This morning, I drove to the same 60km monitoring the temperature and it did a maximum of 108 °C and they said it normal. Back home the car has been parked for about an hour, I start it and it idles, the temperature rises to 81 °C and that light just came back on, and I am so confused because this did not happen when the car was at a higher temperature. I also recently serviced the car, changing plugs, oil, and other filters. What could be the problem here? I have read a few posts online which point to the water pump and while others say it could be a thermostat but the information there is also conflicting.
I took a video of what it does here. I have put a video here of what the car does.

 

[Spanky]

If you're not losing coolant my first guess would be an intermittent water pump issue of some sort.

 

[vamudzengi]

If you're not losing coolant my first guess would be an intermittent water pump issue of some sort.

Thank you, I hope it's an easy fix.

 

[RedlineRacer]

Are you losing coolant? If not then it might be a bad temperature sensor.

 

[vamudzengi]

Are you losing coolant? If not then it might be a bad temperature sensor.

Thanks, no coolant loss at all. There is some broken wire on what looks like that sensor.

 

[vamudzengi]

Are you losing coolant? If not then it might be a bad temperature sensor.

Thanks, no coolant loss at all. There is some broken wire on what looks like that sensor.

 

[brads7]

Thermostat?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[vamudzengi]

Thermostat?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Thanks, I will take back to the mech this week & hear what they say

 

[AllyA]

Bump for Update.

Was it resolved?

 

[vamudzengi]

Bump for Update.

Was it resolved?

The workshop still working on the vehicle. They say the coolant wasn't circulating so yesterday they replaced the thermostat (which was also on its way out) but it kept overheating. Today they managed to make the coolant circulate, don't know how though, but it sounds like there was something blocking it. They will change the water pump as well and monitor if the problem is still there.

 

[vamudzengi]

Bump for Update.

Was it resolved?

Head gasket they say.

Sent from my SM-A325F using Tapatalk

 

[AllyA]

Head gasket they say.

Sent from my SM-A325F using Tapatalk

No circulation sounds like water pump failure. Yes this can be intermittent as well. Consequential damage is head gasket failure.

I had a similar thing happen to me with my 2005 Ford Bantam. Car would overheat intermittently. Changed thermostat etc. Eventually mechanic figured out that there was no circulation which suggested water pump.

Anyways hope you are sorted.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[vamudzengi]

No circulation sounds like water pump failure. Yes this can be intermittent as well. Consequential damage is head gasket failure.

I had a similar thing happen to me with my 2005 Ford Bantam. Car would overheat intermittently. Changed thermostat etc. Eventually mechanic figured out that there was no circulation which suggested water pump.

Anyways hope you are sorted.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Yeah, I just wonder why the workshop didn't check that the first time I took the car to them. They only replaced the radiator & claimed everything else was fine.

Sent from my SM-A325F using Tapatalk

 

[AllyA]

Yeah, I just wonder why the workshop didn't check that the first time I took the car to them. They only replaced the radiator & claimed everything else was fine.

Sent from my SM-A325F using Tapatalk

Trial and error. At the consumers expense. Generally if you have had a few bouts of overheating it is taken for granted that the head gasket has failed consequently. The problem is the water pump doesn’t tell you that it is failing. The same applies to the thermostat. Only the heat gauge gives you an indication that something is wrong with the cooling system.

As a rule of thumb, it is good practice to replace the water pump once the car has reached a certain mileage. I remember VW replaced my water pump when they did the cam belt change on my GTI, as a means of proactive maintenance.

Other than that there is no way of knowing when the cooling system will fail.

Anyway keep us updated.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[vamudzengi]

So the car is back now. They changed the water pump and thermostat, then reconditioned the cylinder head. An expensive repair but car has a new issue.

Yesterday the sensor was writing INACTIVE when I tried to check the oil level & the car says it needs oil service even after they did everything. This morning the sensor seemed active but it was saying oil level is too low. So I'm returning it to the workshop.

Sent from my SM-A325F using Tapatalk

 

[AllyA]

So the car is back now. They changed the water pump and thermostat, then reconditioned the cylinder head. An expensive repair but car has a new issue.

Yesterday the sensor was writing INACTIVE when I tried to check the oil level & the car says it needs oil service even after they did everything. This morning the sensor seemed active but it was saying oil level is too low. So I'm returning it to the workshop.

Sent from my SM-A325F using Tapatalk

Perhaps something wasn’t connected correctly on the reinstall resulting in the sensor not reading properly?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[individj]

does this car not use an electric water pump? did they replace it?! If so with what?

 

[vamudzengi]

does this car not use an electric water pump? did they replace it?! If so with what?

This is the water pump & thermostat they took out.

Sent from my SM-A325F using Tapatalk

 

[shauwn]

Hell of a nice price for water pump though, is it new?

 

[vamudzengi]

Hell of a nice price for water pump though, is it new?

Yes, it's new. Even at BMW the pump is not that expensive for this car.

Sent from my SM-A325F using Tapatalk