[HerkHealer]

So my brand new (to me) car was delivered yesterday, has been sitting in the garage since we had massive storms here all last night into the morning. Go out at 530pm to drive it for the FIRST time and I get a big warning label come up saying Coolant Level Low, fill up to prevent engine damage.

Read the manual. This engine has two coolant fill areas. Checked the front one, its full. Go to the rear one and cannot get the cap off. It feels like its ridiculously tight. After fighting it for about 15 minutes, i finally get the cap off. The level is low, but even more troubling the cap looked like it was cross threaded by someone. There is white powdery stuff inside the cap and around the threads (see pics). Its possible the white powdery stuff is crystalized coolant that made it up into the threads and acted like cement, but to me, the threads on the filler neck look ground down.

Do these cars/engines require frequent coolant refills ? I've never had any vehicle just use coolant without something bad going on. I'm hoping not, but someone screwed the cap up. I dont know what to do. Guess i'm calling the dealership i bought it from.

Uggghhhhhh......


-Mark

[SctsOut06]

Originally Posted by gladesteen

So my brand new (to me) car was delivered yesterday, has been sitting in the garage since we had massive storms here all last night into the morning. Go out at 530pm to drive it for the FIRST time and I get a big warning label come up saying Coolant Level Low, fill up to prevent engine damage.

Read the manual. This engine has two coolant fill areas. Checked the front one, its full. Go to the rear one and cannot get the cap off. It feels like its ridiculously tight. After fighting it for about 15 minutes, i finally get the cap off. The level is low, but even more troubling the cap looked like it was cross threaded by someone. There is white powdery stuff inside the cap and around the threads (see pics). Its possible the white powdery stuff is crystalized coolant that made it up into the threads and acted like cement, but to me, the threads on the filler neck look ground down.

Do these cars/engines require frequent coolant refills ? I've never had any vehicle just use coolant without something bad going on. I'm hoping not, but someone screwed the cap up. I dont know what to do. Guess i'm calling the dealership i bought it from.

Uggghhhhhh......


-Mark

Had a very similar issue with my new to me M550. Literally drove it twice and check engine light came on.

Turned out it was radiator blinds and in the process they notice the coolant lines were all cracked and corroded.

You could see it when you pull off the engine cover. It was all replaced under warranty and pretty quickly. Maybe same issue with yours?

Best of luck! I know how frustrating it is on a new vehicle.

[HerkHealer]

Thanks, I'm just hoping the filler neck threads arent screwed up.
The filler neck, as best I can tell, is directly molded and part of the whole tank assembly.

This car is only 2 yrs old and has 10k miles on it. Doesnt seem like it should be using up coolant already. I'm going to ask the dealership i bought the car from to send an emergency service person from Tulley BMW here in Nashua NH.
They are the #1 M Certified repair center in New England. Probably cost them some money to do that, but i dont care.

Mark

[Tk718]

Had a similar problem at around 13k, radiator had a small crack in it and was replaced under warranty.

[AP]

Look in the threads in this forum and you will see it's happened to quite a few of us , myself included

In my case it was the 2 reservoirs (yes there are 2)
Leak is very small and you can only notice it when you shine a torch inside engine compartment and see some residue on the metal work below. After time it will trigger the low coolant warning.
Hopefully still under warranty in which case get it done.

[Mach550]

That cap looks pretty nasty, previous owner probably had to top it off more than usual and did so before the engine was cool since its caked around the threads.

[HerkHealer]

Originally Posted by Mach550

That cap looks pretty nasty, previous owner probably had to top it off more than usual and did so before the engine was cool since its caked around the threads.

I'm thinking the same. I will have my local BMW Dealer here pull up history on it to see. What ticks me off is that i just got this car delivered from another dealership, 1.5 hours away from me, 2 days ago. It was the dealership owners car. But their techs didnt even check fluid levels before selling it to me ????

The good news is that i dont think the threads are screwed up. All that white stuff must have been coolant that somehow got stuck in the threads acting like cement.

[Qsilver7]

Originally Posted by gladesteen

Read the manual. This engine has two coolant fill areas. Checked the front one, its full. Go to the rear one and cannot get the cap off. It feels like its ridiculously tight. After fighting it for about 15 minutes, i finally get the cap off. The level is low...

Just an FYI...the other coolant reservoir (the one up front) is for the Charge Air/DME cooling circuit...it is low pressure and does NOT have a low level sensor. So if you do get a check coolant warning...it will be for the engine cooling circuit.

The n63 engine variants actually has 3 separate cooling circuits

1. engine cooling circuit (high pressure reservoir)
2. turbo charger cooling circuit
3. charge air/dme cooling circuit (has its own low pressure reservoir)

[HerkHealer]

I took the car into Tulley BMW in Nashua. They had me fill up the tank with water and drive it over. It took 3 bottles of water to fill up. Once there, they did a pressure test of both reservoirs and said it passed. I was happy and drove off.

Today was my FIRST time driving this car, so i dont know what to expect and not expect. One thing i definitely notice on starts is a strong smell of antifreeze through the vents. Eventually it goes away, but you can also smell it outside inside my garage.

The service guy told me these engines need a quart of antifreeze every 5k miles and usually some oil too. Doesnt sound right to me.

I drove the car around trying to get used to it. Some highway, some city/town. Different drive modes. After a few hours of still smelling antifreeze, I called the service guy back. He told me if did not go away over the weekend to bring it back Tuesday and they will give me a loaner to figure out whats going on.

[kosmokratur]

I bought a CPO M550 earlier this year. There was a persistent coolant smell after running it for a while; made my teen's eyes burn in fact.

A nearby dealer (claimed to) run a pressure test and found nothing wrong. Sus: they claimed to pressure test it but sent me out the door in under an hour.

The problem persisted and I took it to the dealer in Buffalo, NY. Their tech spotted the problem in minutes: numerous turbo coolant lines with minor leaks, and the leaked coolant had corrupted the heat exchanger located in the "v." Tech was a real pro and the problem hasn't come back in over 8K miles.

I think the first dealer just didn't want to "deal with it" for some reason and just wanted to send me on my way.

[AP]

Having to top up coolant just doesn't sound right to me, that implies there is a leak if even only a small one
I'm no mechanic but this is surely a sealed system ?

[HighlandPete]

Originally Posted by AP

Having to top up coolant just doesn't sound right to me, that implies there is a leak if even only a small one
I'm no mechanic but this is surely a sealed system ?

The caps themselves can be the issue. Looking at the OP's filler cap, definitely looks as if coolant has been escaping and dried on the cap. It uses 0-rings to hold the pressure, if dry and/or contaminated may not seal correctly.

[Joe-BMW33]

Similar here. I had to add a little coolant to the expansion tank on the driver side fender. I also had a tough time getting it off and had a little coolant dried powder. I cleaned it up. I also checked the front. I find BMWs floating indicator difficult to read. I added some to that too but pretty sure it didn't need any and it's over filled a tad.

I think the side tank is pretty common to need a touch every now and then.

[oilandgas]

I bought my 2020 M550 new. Ive twice had to top-up the coolant (as recent as today). Dealer inspected for leaks & didn't find any . They said its the water in the coolant that evapprates.

[MauiSteve]

Clean up both the cap and the reservoir threads really well with a microfiber and maybe a bit of silicone spray. Inspect the gaskets on the cap for wear. Fill with proper coolant.

[Norris83]

Originally Posted by gladesteen

So my brand new (to me) car was delivered yesterday, has been sitting in the garage since we had massive storms here all last night into the morning. Go out at 530pm to drive it for the FIRST time and I get a big warning label come up saying Coolant Level Low, fill up to prevent engine damage.

Read the manual. This engine has two coolant fill areas. Checked the front one, its full. Go to the rear one and cannot get the cap off. It feels like its ridiculously tight. After fighting it for about 15 minutes, i finally get the cap off. The level is low, but even more troubling the cap looked like it was cross threaded by someone. There is white powdery stuff inside the cap and around the threads (see pics). Its possible the white powdery stuff is crystalized coolant that made it up into the threads and acted like cement, but to me, the threads on the filler neck look ground down.

Do these cars/engines require frequent coolant refills ? I've never had any vehicle just use coolant without something bad going on. I'm hoping not, but someone screwed the cap up. I dont know what to do. Guess i'm calling the dealership i bought it from.

Uggghhhhhh......


-Mark

I had a similar issue and it turned out to be turbochargers coolant lines. They replaced them with revised ones that are all stainless steel. The rubber ones had small leaks in all the fittings. They replaced them over a year ago and The coolant level hasn't moved down since.

[mffarrell]

I have the exact same problem with coolant cap thread residue, coolant smell, and having to top off main reservoir, since new I never had a coolant warning yet, as I only add about 12 oz.

I took it to the dealer and no problem found. I am thinking maybe the caps is bad. I soaked the cap in hot water, cleaned the threads and put a film of silicone spray on them

We will see how it goes.

[TreyWaters]

Originally Posted by kosmokratur

I bought a CPO M550 earlier this year. There was a persistent coolant smell after running it for a while; made my teen's eyes burn in fact.

A nearby dealer (claimed to) run a pressure test and found nothing wrong. Sus: they claimed to pressure test it but sent me out the door in under an hour.

The problem persisted and I took it to the dealer in Buffalo, NY. Their tech spotted the problem in minutes: numerous turbo coolant lines with minor leaks, and the leaked coolant had corrupted the heat exchanger located in the "v." Tech was a real pro and the problem hasn't come back in over 8K miles.

I think the first dealer just didn't want to "deal with it" for some reason and just wanted to send me on my way.

Exact same thing happened to me. I was getting coolant smell from the vents, then got the low coolant light. topped it off enough to get to the dealership. They stated that it's not uncommon to have to top off the coolant once in a while, but when I mentioned the coolant smell, they inspected and found the coolant lines needed to be replaced.

It's fairly easy to check - pop off the engine cover and shine a flashlight down into the middle of the V. If you see dried coolant - there are a couple of places it will pool up - you've got a leak. If this is your problem, get this done under warranty! Other threads indicate this is a $3-6k job out of pocket!

[Leindurstit]

I'll throw my hat into the "2020 M550i needing coolant top-up after low coolant warning" ring. Had the car since new in Feb 2020 and it threw the warning some time in May 2021 after an exceedingly hot day.

Similar powdered crustiness around the filler cap, but otherwise no obvious symptoms of a leak (no smells, residue, or puddles elsewhere.) Dealer seemed to be used to seeing this, attributing it to how brutally hot these cars can get, topped it up and sent it on its way. Not the most confidence-inspiring--never, ever had a car that required a regular coolant top-off.

[mffarrell]

Originally Posted by TreyWaters

Exact same thing happened to me. I was getting coolant smell from the vents, then got the low coolant light. topped it off enough to get to the dealership. They stated that it's not uncommon to have to top off the coolant once in a while, but when I mentioned the coolant smell, they inspected and found the coolant lines needed to be replaced.

It's fairly easy to check - pop off the engine cover and shine a flashlight down into the middle of the V. If you see dried coolant - there are a couple of places it will pool up - you've got a leak. If this is your problem, get this done under warranty! Other threads indicate this is a $3-6k job out of pocket!

What’s involved in removing the engine cover?

Thanks!

[mffarrell]

Originally Posted by gladesteen

I took the car into Tulley BMW in Nashua. They had me fill up the tank with water and drive it over. It took 3 bottles of water to fill up. Once there, they did a pressure test of both reservoirs and said it passed. I was happy and drove off.

Today was my FIRST time driving this car, so i dont know what to expect and not expect. One thing i definitely notice on starts is a strong smell of antifreeze through the vents. Eventually it goes away, but you can also smell it outside inside my garage.

The service guy told me these engines need a quart of antifreeze every 5k miles and usually some oil too. Doesnt sound right to me.

I drove the car around trying to get used to it. Some highway, some city/town. Different drive modes. After a few hours of still smelling antifreeze, I called the service guy back. He told me if did not go away over the weekend to bring it back Tuesday and they will give me a loaner to figure out whats going on.

Did you ever get this resolved?

[HerkHealer]

Originally Posted by mffarrell

Did you ever get this resolved?

Hi, the dealership I bought the car from paid for a brand new cap from Tulley BMW. I cleaned up all the dried up crud and put the new cap on 2 days ago. Took it for a long (30 mile) drive up and down Mt Manadnock here in NH. Fun drive. Lots of steep grades/corners etc.

Seems to be working out fine so far, but I've only driven it once. I'm really hoping it was just the cap. If the smell comes back, I will pull the cover off and look for the "V" area stains.

-Mark