Bought a M240i today 🙂 used this info duing my checks of the car. Coolant was just a shade low as your one is here. De-ionised water and a trip to the dealer local to me to get the car up on ramps to verify everything about the car is OK next week, what a nice car and the engine is silky.
Very useful video, I will need to check now if both tanks have the right level and hopefully, the same blue coolant. Interesting to see that the right level is a line in the middle indicating that this is between min and max, useful inline pictures of the tanks in the video. Thanks
Thank you for the feedback! I can confirm that after the dealer flushed and refilled both tanks, they are now both blue and both between MIN and MAX marks on the indicator.
Clean the threads of the coolant tanks / caps of all the white residue. Then smear a tiny bit of grease on the tanks threads. Helps stop the leaks and the caps go on and off smoother :-)
Since you want to keep a record. 2018 440xi F32. Picked it up in April of 2020 with 8k miles on it. It had brown coolant in the secondary coolant tank. A local BMW shop that I know well has stated that this is common and the light brown coolant is coolant and it is nothing to worry about..
Nice one again. Thank you. I have been checking my coolant tanks once a fortnight and they needed to be topped up maybe once every 10 weeks each. Last weekend I managed to overfill the engine cooolant tank and by a margine, but still got the redundant liquid out. Just for the peace of mind. Over a year ago, I fitted mesh on the inside of the kidneys and the outside of the lower grilles to protect the radiators from leaves, stones and other sh*t getting inside and damaging them. OEM plastic stone guards are only in the middle and they do not overlap the whole height of the central big radiator, only the part behind the kidneys and the lower grill.
Hi Peter, you are right about the stone guards, I see the aftermarket intercooler radiators have stone guards that cover the entire face of the radiator. For BMW it was a retrofit, the initial cars did not have any stone guards. Did you start checking your coolant once a fortnight due to bad experience in the past with other cars?
@@NoBrainerTalk I found probably the same info like you, that the B58 is one coolant thirsty engine. Combine it with my OCD condition and there is your answer.
Just bought a 2019, g20, 330i. Drove it about 3000 km and the car lost about 1.5 liters of coolant. Took it to the Bmw dealership, they ran a pressure test, pressure is being lost but they can’t find any leaks. They sounded very surprised and told me they want to check next the air admission. They said there is a coolant circuit in there they want to take a look at and if there is the problem, they recommend changing the admission. I am from Romania and bought the car from a Bmw dealer in Germany, B&K in Kronberg it is the name. When I test drove the car, after less than 30 minutes of driving, the low coolant light came on. I told them about it and they said ok, we will check it. When I picked the car the next day, I asked them if they took care of it. They said yes, we added some water :)). I said I hope it was taken care of as I was getting ready to drive back home, over 2000 km away. Less than 300 km into my driving and the coolant light came on again. I stopped at a gas station, bought the blue coolant and added it to the car. Only the main coolant reservoir showed low. Please give me an advice. I bought this car with a problem it seems and I feel cheated..
Hi there, it's understandable to feel cheated from what you describe, it sounds to me that the seller likely knew the car had a history of coolant loss. Did the seller offer any warranty? Is there manufacturer's warranty on the car? I understand you have taken the car to your local BMW dealer in Romania with all receipts and history, and you are trying to get it fixed. They will follow a process of identifying where the coolant is going, through pressurisation and monitoring. If there are no external leaks (e.g. from damaged radiator), there may be internal leaks (coolant getting into engine oil, etc). But for the time being get it checked out at your local dealer, find out if any repairs are under manufacturer's warranty from your local dealer, and if not I suggest an attempt to get refund for your costs from the seller in Germany (if they offered warranty). Good luck and let us know how it goes.
@@NoBrainerTalk Thanks for your answer. The car was sold with no warranty and the manufacturer’s warranty was only for 2 years. Being a 2019 model, warranty has expired. The car only has 60.000 kms..I am now waiting for the Bmw service to receive the necessary tool to remove the admission and see what they find in there. This is their next move. The car is a pleasure to drive and I hope they fix it. I am only using the car in town for short drives and avoided long, out of town trips until this issue gets sorted out. The water temperature never rose and the oil looks fine. It looks like the coolant is lost internally. At least 1.5 liters of coolant were poured into the car in the last 3000 km, and I hope all this lost coolant is not causing severe damage to the engine 😔. Thanks again for your help!
@@MitreDima Hi, BMW (at least recently) offers 4 year warranty in some markets (the extended warranty is now 7 years). I think double-check if it is still under manufacturer's warranty.
@@NoBrainerTalk I checked with the local dealer and I was told the car only had 2 years warranty. I was surprised to hear this, I knew from advertisements about the 4 years warranty cars get in general and I even mentioned there at the dealership that many japanese cars come with 4 years of warranty..
nice video, I had now idea why there were two caps for coolant ...and had the exact situation you described, main was low, but the smaller one wasn't, thanks
My coolant reservoir tank was replaced at 60k miles. My radiator blew on the driver side at the top at 80k miles. Good luck with this engine. My advice. Run the AC when it's 85° or hotter so the fan runs. Good luck. They need the old radiators that are all aluminum with the cap on the top. These new systems with the radiator overflow tank are getting hot. The old system the overflow tank never got hot. The hot water from the engine would enter the top of the radiator. Run all the way down to the bottom go back in the engine. These new systems run sideways but that means it goes straight across in just a couple rows of the radiator instead of going through all the rows of the radiator like the old systems. The coolant should zig zag all the way down the radiator or it should zig zag top to bottom all the way across the radiator but the rows run horizontal. If you have a sideways radiator make the rows up and down. These engineers today are stupid or they do it on purpose so eventually the engine dies sooner. My Toyota has a 15 year old radiator. This BMW that's supposed to be better last 6 years and other stuff in the coolant system is also breaking
This helps a lot, I knew the radiator overflow, but had no clue about the turbo expansion reservoir. it’s very low because I think it’s leaking somewhere due to fluid slashing in the engine and I need to figure out where.👍🏾
Just went to go check mines and both were very dark almost like oil car only has 27k miles, car coolant was also very low the turbo coolant level was fine. Thanks for the video.
Oh, at first I thought there is oil going into the coolant (can happen e.g. if gaskets or seals fail). However if the intercooler coolant (independent system) is the same dark colour as the engine coolant, then it might not be the case of oil contamination. In any case, I'm sorry to hear that you are having coolant issues. I think alot of us are surprised these are not being picked up at the scheduled service of the car. I hope the issues are checked and resolved quickly and without any great cost.
Just wanted to add to my previous comments. I changed to a new cap and it was a lot easier to unscrew compared to the original (like in your video, I needed both hands and a lot of effort), plus I stopped losing coolant over time. I suspect once the cap is tight/hard to unscrew, its out of shape and leaking slowly thru the cap. With the new cap, once the car is slightly cool, its an easy one hand job. The old cap took 2 arms and a lot of cursing.
After I took the car to the dealer to flush the coolant in both tanks, the caps were noticeably easier to turn. I believe the improvement in turning the cap is due to the dealer cleaning an accumulation of residue on the cap's internal threads. Replacing the caps with new will have the same result of having clean threads. The caps have become slightly harder to turn since the flush but still nowhere near as bad as they were when I made this video. Let me know if yours also become harder to turn over time. If they don't then it strongly supports replacement of cap over cleaning threads of the old cap.
@@NoBrainerTalk Its been about 6 months, still easy to turn. I had cleaned the old cap before, there was no sign of residue but it was tough as heck to turn. I have the old cap on my desk, looking at it, it looks almost brand new. Before I bought the new cap, I cleaned the old cap and applied lithium grease on the threads, it made it easier to turn but was still really really tough. I was really sweating and cursing.
I got my 240 less than 2 months ago. No coolant warning but wanted to check as I know the B58 can drink this stuff. Small tank is at the perfect between max/min but the main tank is definitely below the min level and almost looks dirty in a way. No white residue around any of the caps but once the main cap clicks into the locked position it can actually still freely wiggle around which I don't think is normal. Going to get it booked in for some new coolant and a replacement cap - I assume it should come under my 12 month warranty (at least the replacement cap)?
Thanks, the car has been at the dealer until today, and both coolants were flushed. I'm sure the bled the system afterwards, but I'll do a visual check of the tank levels tomorrow.
@@NoBrainerTalk So any news? do the liquids have to be the same? I've mine from the factory which are light blue on the bigger tank and transparent on the smaller one.
@@lodovicomanildo4718 Hey there, I checked the tanks after a week of the flush and they were both spot on between the max and minimum. I checked them again yesterday and the engine coolant is at the minimum level with some white residue outside the cap (intercooler coolant looks good). So either the bleeding was not properly done, or I believe some coolant loss occurred from the cap. I will be buying some blue coolant on Monday and bringing the engine coolant back to correct level. Both liquids should be BMW approved coolant, which is blue (or green or magenta if it's the HT-12). There's some information that HT-12 can be mixed with the blue coolant (G48) but actually I don't know what the resulting colour would be (the colours are simply additives, they may cancel each other out to look clear).
Very interesting. Is there any way we can find out what this fluid is? BMW coolant would be blue or green, so whatever this fluid is, we can conclude at least that it is not a normal BMW coolant. Personally, I believe it would not make sense for the BMW factory to fill the intercooler system with non BMW coolant, surely they have tons of the stuff in stock constantly. Is this a lower spec coolant due to the lower temperatures of the intercooler system? Is this maintenance error? Is this fluid used to flush build debris that remained in the system when it should have been emptied? Is this BMW coolant so deteriorated that it changed colour? The possibilities are endless.... :)
Same issue with my car. I had it from new and by 10000 miles, the i/c tank was looking clear while the main tank was bluish. Brought it back to BMW dealer and they flushed the i/c circuit and reported that it was still bluish coolant. For some reason, the i/c circuit tank just becomes 'clearer' over time.
Hmmm.... The i/c circuit is cooler than the engine circuit, so I doubt that it changes due to thermal effects... I'm struggling to think what else other than heat could change its colour to clear, i.e. cause the colour additive to break down, as contaminants should darken it. However, it's an interesting point: as I've just flushed mine and know for sure what it looks like now in the i/c expansion tank (fresh blue coolant looks slightly green against the yellow indicator) I'll monitor it and see if it changes colour.
@@NoBrainerTalk I have no idea too, I have heard other cars having the same issue as well. Either the factory diluted the i/c circuit too much or somehow the design of the circuit causes the coolant and water content to separate over time? Question : When you flushed the i/c circuit (i know it look clear when you extract from the tank), once everything is out, did it still look a bit blue or was it clear all the way?
@@keithw4920 Well, factory errors are known to happen. The i/c coolant was all light brown / olive colour as shown in the video. One more possibility is that green or magenta HT-12 coolant was used to top-up blue coolant, which might result in this strange olive colour when the color additives combine. I believe (but I'm not sure) that it's technically OK to mix the two coolants (blue and HT-12) although I would consult BMW manuals to confirm before doing so. Anyway, if it does change colour I will let the channel know! :)
I have an F30 with the intercooler coolant always being below low, not sure how to troubleshoot this, and the seller refuses to help me and says the car is fine as long as "there are no warning lights in the car". I need to somehow prove that my car has a leak, really frustrating.
I don't think there are any sensors that will trigger warning lights on the intercooler circuit. The loss of the intercooler coolant will affect performance, i.e. the air coming into the cylinders will be hotter and less dense (less O2) so the engine will have less performance, and also as one of the cooling circuits is ineffective, the engine will get warmer, and the ECU will reduce power to keep temps within limits. There's not even a fluid level sensor for the intercooler circuit. I think your dealer is full of crap. But let's not get ahead of ourselves. I expect you've done a general visual inspection for coolant loss and found no external evidence of leak. If that is the case check around the expansion tank for white residue (left over from evaporating coolant). There will be relatively small amounts of residue compared to how much coolant evaporated. Even if there is no residue, or it seems too little to be the case, buy a replacement expansion tank cap. Replace the cap and monitor, most of the time the cap is the root cause and replacement fixes the issue, so it's always worth a shot due to being cheap and easy to do. If the cap doesn't fix the issue, ask the dealer to leak check the intercooler coolant circuit. They will pressurize the system using a tool attached to the expansion tank, and leave it for a few hours to check it holds the pressure: if it doesn't then there is a leak somewhere. If it does hold pressure, and you already replaced the cap, and you still have coolant loss, then it's a rare internal loss, but take it one step at a time, start with the cap. Hope this helps.
@@NoBrainerTalk I filled the intercooler with about 1.5 liters of coolant and now it has stayed topped up for a few days just above max and is not moving down anymore. Same for the engine coolant, it has stayed between low and max for the past few days. So it might just have been that it was empty?. Regarding internal leakage, I did an oil change a few weeks back and there was no sign of internal leakage the oil was very black. I did a scan of the error codes of the car and this is what I got, not sure if they are related to the problem I described above. System Codes DME (Engine Digital Motor 213901 Electronics) Historical test Description Power management: Reduction or shutdown of individual electrical consumer Status: Intermittent DME (Engine-Coolant pump in low-temperature coolant circuit: Digital Motor 20A201 Electronics) Coolant loss detected Status: Intermittent ZGM (Central Gateway CD0487 Module) ZGM: Synchronization process for FlexRay failed Status: Intermittent ZGM (Central Gateway 801C20 Module) ZGM: Central fault memory full- no control-unit fault Status: Intermittent TCB (Combox Emergency 031786 Call) TCB: Functional limitation of Last State Call Status: Intermittent REM (Rear Electronic 804890 Module) Turn signal plausibility check failed: Function deactivated Status: Intermittent IHKA (Integrated Automatic 801224 Heating And A/C System) Air conditioning compressor: Shut-down due to excess pressure in refrigerant circuit Status: Intermittent
These are going to be so much fun to maintain 15 years down the road lol. Folks gonna be LS swapping these in the future because the chassis is so good.
Our few month old 440i seems to be loosing coolant somewhere externally. I can clearly smell it almost all the time, but can't see any trace of it. At around 6000 Km, I needed to add about 1/4 Liter coolant to the main reservoir. I keep checking in order to determine exact coolant use rate and then contact dealership.
I'm sorry to hear that, because any unresolved technical issue will reduce the enjoyment of the car, and if you have a B58 powered car, you want to enjoy it. Although I noted a few common places that coolant loss was reported, coolant can literally be lost anywhere in the system in which it circulates (at the intercooler, at the piping, etc). The best way to find it (if there's no obvious visible loss) is for the dealer to pressurise the system and leak check it. Good luck!
@@NoBrainerTalk Getting close to 4 years later at 50000 Km the cumulative coolant consumption was so far about 2 Liter. My understanding is that this is not much by any means for THIS engine. Having said that, almost every engine uses SOME coolant, regardless of how new or well maintained. This is because there is NO sealed system (both coolant recovery tank and expansion tank systems DO vent to the outside via pressure control. So every cooling system has a pressure CONTROL valve in the cap (not just for release) and as pressure builds up in the cooling system and the coolant level rises, some MOIST-air will escape. With this moist air goes the coolant and this DOES add up over time. So I consider 1 Liter for 50000 Km as completely normal. Indeed I asked and this this is what has been the experience of our fleet mechanic with nearly every fleet vehicle that we used. And on those fleet vehicles, I drove already over 2.5 Million Km for work.
good informative video. should i check after letting the engine sitting overnight? or should i start it in the morning, run it for a minute or 2 then turn off the engine and check?
You should check coolant levels when the engine is cold, so I would suggest to check it in the morning before driving. If it gets too warm (i.e. the coolant exceeds 100 deg C) it is dangerous to open the engine coolant cap, albeit this should need more than 2 mins to occur (depending on how you drive during those first 2 mins). It might not be dangerous to open the intercooler coolant cap as that is lower temperature, but no reason to check it separately. Be aware that the engine tries to warm itself up as fast as possible for fuel efficiency purposes, the heat management module will change the routing of coolant (for example none may pass through the radiators) until the engine gets up to temperature. In 2 mins the engine is likely to still be in the warmup phase and by not allowing the coolant to flow to certain components the level of coolant may change in the expansion tank. So this is why I recommend to check it before driving. If you've flushed the coolant and performed the bleeding procedure perfectly, you should still check the coolant levels after 2 or 3 days of driving (again in the morning) as the bleeding procedure may not clear out all the air and some minor topping up may be required even if the coolant was at the correct level. Hope this helps.
@@NoBrainerTalk thanks for your quick response. I topped up my main coolant tank this morning and when I checked my smaller inter cooler coolant tank, the coolant seemed to be almost clear with a brownish tint. I’ve never had any lights or warnings pop up so I’m not sure if I should just run it and hope for the best or somehow drain the coolant and put in the 50/50 bmw blue mix in?
@@jamesbaker8516 Did it look like the brownish liquid I found in my small tank (as shown in this video)? If yes, then personally I flushed it out and replaced with blue coolant in my car. If you don't know what the fluid is, you can't top it up if you need to (as you can't mix coolants of different properties). I believe you should ask the dealer or seller to explain the fluid (as both tanks should have BMW coolant), and if they can't explain what this brownish fluid is, proceed to flush and replace it with BMW approved coolant for peace of mind. As we don't know what this fluid is, it could still be some undocumented BMW approved coolant.
Just purchased a used 2020 M340i (B58). Both tanks are full and the coolant is the light brown (whiskey) color shown in this video. I do not know the full history but the car appears to have been serviced exclusively by BMW dealers and was a Certified Pre-Owned when I bought it. I wonder if it may have been factory filled with H-12 (Green) and topped off with G48 (blue) and if that could cause the color to change?
Thank you for sharing, in the comments others have also reported a brownish coolant in their intercooler coolant expansion tank, and we don't yet know why the colour is brownish. In your case, you are saying both tanks have coolant which is brownish. This is the first time anyone reported the brownish coolant in their engine coolant expansion tank, hence not normal, and needs to be addressed. The BMW dealership may be able to confirm to you, what coolant it is. Please do not accept statements from them such as "it's OK" or "it's normal", please request a confirmation of the Part Number of the brownish coolant, noting that it cannot be blue coolant or HT-12 coolant because they do not seem to turn brown. A flush and refill of the coolant seems to be required for your car unless the coolant P/N is confirmed by the dealer.
Bought a 2018 540i at 45,600mi and now at 53,850mi it’s evaporating the coolant in the big reservoir. Just got it topped up, and 2 weeks later (today) it’s bone dry in the bigger one.
I got the whole tank replaced by bmw dealership, it then exploded. I went in again and turns out the radiator was blown out from pressure. Got it replaced and topped up. 1 week later, (today) both tanks are below Minimum. Unreal
@@newonyt4216 Holy Moly, that's just terrible luck! OK, first comment is that both tanks being below minimum must have independent causes as they are two separate circuits. The only common cause I can think of would be incorrect bleeding procedure performed after flush and refill of both systems at the same time (so after a topup all should be OK theoretically). But the tank and radiator exploding could mean the coolant pressure went crazy high and the cap's overpressure relief mechanism did not function properly. Did they change the cap with the new tank, or just the tank (retain the old cap)? Who decided to change the tank, was there suspicion of leak from the tank? Was the cap replaced first and then after it did not fix the issue then the tank? As to why the coolant pressure went so high , this is obviously because the coolant temperature went very high, however the DME should have intervened to reduce engine power as soon as it understood it needs to protect the engine from overheating. Is your engine custom tuned or the DME bench hacked? Maybe your heat management module is malfunctioning and is stuck in the warm-up phase (where it tries to warm up the engine and restricts cooling as much as possible). A head gasket issue might add oil into your coolant, or coolant into your oil or it might lead to coolant being burnt off in the cylinders. Is there white smoke from the exhaust? Is the engine oil milky? Do the coolant expansion tanks have an odour of anything other than coolant? These are just some of my thoughts, obviously the issue should be troubleshooted by a qualified mechanic following BMW manuals. Please give an update when the issue is fixed.
@@NoBrainerTalk Hello. Yes, It has a stage 2 flash tune with a catless downpipe and air intake by Bms. It has no obvious issues until I check the tanks and after driving hard, they deplete. Normal driving seems fine. I’ve just topped up and check them frequently. Thanks for your help.
So same thing happened with me i flushed out coolant with vacuum but sane machine didn’t work on small coolant reservoir so now my one reservoir have blue coolant and one have green so can u tell me how to change coolant in small reservoir
There's no harm in each circuit having different coolant as they are independent although you should stick with the coolant from factory. There is a dedicated bleeding procedure for each circuit.
I recently bought a bmw m240i, today I checked the antifreeze tanks, the big one the liquid looks green but it lacks a little to be at its level, and the small one is at its correct level but is transparent in color. I would like to know if that is a problem and if you could advise me what to do or how to try to solve it.
@@emilianoamco1851 Hi there, the green coolant sounds to be genuine BMW HT-12 antifreeze. This is OK and is the latest coolant being used by BMW (for a very short time it was magenta colour but to avoid confusion / mixing with G30 antifreeze, the HT-12 became green). So green = good. Blue G48 antifreeze and green HT12 antifreeze are supposed to be intermixable, but if you can I suggest you topup with HT12. The transparent colour in the small expansion tank does not sound OK, but is a mystery. I had light brown fluid in my small expansion tank , but maybe it was clear like yours and it turned light brown through corrosion of the internal parts. Others have said it maybe started as blue coolant and degraded. I don't think blue coolant will degrade, especially in the low temperature circuit. I honestly don't believe BMW would be using non-BMW approved fluids at the factory. So perhaps this clear fluid (which is unlikely to be G48 blue coolant, or HT12 green coolant) is something BMW uses for new production. In my case it smelled like coolant so I am confident it was anti-freeze (now replaced with blue coolant). So I don't think it was anything else. As you don't know what coolant it is (the clear one), you don't know what to top it up with if it ever goes low. You cannot mix coolants of different properties. So to be safe, I suggest you have the intercooler circuit - the small tank - flushed and replaced with HT12 coolant in order to have green coolant in both your tanks.
@@emilianoamco1851 I could be wrong, but I think the intercooler circuit (i.e. not just the tank) holds 1 gallon or 3.8 litres of coolant (buy a 1-gallon HT-12 concentrate and you will have about half spare). You only need 2 litres of green HT-12 or blue G48 anti-freeze concentrate mixed with 2 litres of distilled water (total 4 litres of prepared coolant mix) to perform a full flush of the intercooler (small tank) circuit. You need to empty out all the unknown clear coolant (from the entire circuit including radiator/heat exchanger) and replace with 50/50 mix of BMW anti-freeze and distilled water, and perform a cooling system bleed. If you have anything left from the initial 4 litres, theoretically you can add it to the engine coolant circuit (the big expansion tank) so you can get the large tank just under max level. Let us know how it goes.
I took my 430i to the dealer to have the coolant drained and refilled with blue coolant due to having yellow coolant in both cooling circuits. To my surprise, the dealer only drained and filled the high temp cooling circuit. When I asked, the dealer mentioned there's a separate service for the low temp circuit (ac & intercooler). This could possibly explain why some people are seeing two different coolants in their cars...
Hi, so they did not drain the intercooler circuit because they believe it's OK. But did they advise what coolant is in the intercooler circuit? We need to know the details (Part number, designation, etc) so we can understand what the fluid is. My dealer here in Cyprus did not know what the different coolant was in the intercooler circuit and flushed it with blue coolant, so is that a mistake? Should I and others like me have something else in the intercooler circuit? Please see if you can find out the details for the different fluid.
Hey everyone, it's been very interesting to read the comments and know that others are finding different colours of coolant in the coolant expansion tanks of their BMW. Perhaps we can collect data on this issue and take a more scientific approach. Please feel free to send me via email (nobrainertalk@gmail.com) photos of the fluid found and a little bit of information like which expansion tank it was (intercooler vs engine) and if the fluid was previously flushed or is confirmed to be blue coolant, etc. Please also mention which country you are in. If any pattern is found (for example it might be something BMW does when delivering cars to specific regions) then I'll share the data via a video. Just a suggestion. ☺
Hi, not really, you would have had to mix something into the coolant that destroyed its properties and led to major chemical reaction. Mixing two BMW approved coolants together (which is what I understood you are asking) won't do that.
Basically colour is just an indication to what freeze level it can withstand. There is no 'special' addition to any coolant. The big tank coolant of mine was very low with the blue coolant, I filled up with red one and it runs just fine, cools a lot better too again cause I saw before that oil temperature got longer to cool after driving sporty.
Before you comment I have to point out that I did run a test for leaks at the dealership and they didn't find one. I also said my coolant was low but after they ran the test they said coolant was at normal level but it was touching minimum when I checked it so they were wrong. Later I find out from my uncle who has his own garage that u need a cold engine to check that but when I got to dealership they checked it when I drove for almost 15 minutes already.
@@bradofwar5960 Hello, you said you mixed a red coolant in with your existing blue coolant, but there are two things I want to mention: did you check that they are intermixable (red coolant and BMW coolant) and did you check that the red coolant has the properties and specifications that BMW engines require? The colour is indeed an additive, and sometimes driven by commercial/marketing purposes, BMW chose to make their coolant blue. But the colour is not an indication of the freeze level a coolant can withstand, there is no international coolant colour scale for example. To ensure long term reliability of your engine, please make sure you have added coolant that has BMW approved specs and intermixable with existing blue coolant.
@@NoBrainerTalk sorry but I don't need sponsored crap about some coolant that should cope better because it's bmw 'approved' if I pour 50 dollars a bottle in that tank or 15 dollars a bottle it makes no difference, just some water with a colour. If in a emergency I would be dangerously low on coolant and I had not any with me it would even run on simple water for the time being.
I have read several comments. I don't see anyone mentioning that blue and green antifreeze with lots of water looks brown. I had an old car (e21) that i would put in random antifreeze and top if off with water every month or so. Looked watered down and brown. Never had a problem.
I believe you are taking abit of a risk by putting in "random" anti-freeze and topping it off with water every month (i.e. not having any control of the anti-freeze to water ratio). But it's your property and you can do whatever you like. Noted that you never had a problem, hope you never do! :)
@@JohnAltenburg Hehehe, I didn't notice the past tense.... :) yes indeed, so I guess when you buy a used car, it's good to do abit of proactive maintenance like flush the coolant.
OK - I will throw some light on at least some of this. The two tanks don't use a conventional gasket in the lids against which to seal but instead use an O-ring which forms a seal within the neck of each tank. This is an interference fit within the neck of the tank and the lids. It is a poor design and allows a certain amount of coolant to bypass the lids and evaporate. In turn, this results in the build-up of crusty deposits in and around the tank lids, threads and the O-ring seating. This means that when removing the lids, they are very tight. This is caused by friction from the deposits and the o-rings themselves knurling up under the action of unscrewing the lids and which results in damage to the O-rings, more leakage, more deposits and . . . more coolant loss. The remedy is to remove both caps, clean them scrupulously of all deposits, likewise the neck and threads of each tank. Now smear a VERY, VERY light film of SILICONE grease on the threads but MORE importantly, on the O-rings themselves. Do not leave gobs of grease on the parts but simply wipe off to leave a shine - repeat this periodically. You will find that a good-fitting O-ring will reduce but not eliminate coolant loss but more importantly, both lids will tighten up and undo silky smooth, right up to the retention click at the end when tightening - they should be super smooth - if grabby as they are in this video - your O-rings are being stretched, rucked up and damaged. Reference the intercooler coolant - it is the same stuff and should be the same colour . . . as indeed it is in my car. The reason it isn't is because a numpty has at some point or other simply topped up or even filled with ordinary water. The coolant in the I-C circuit should not discolour or change.
Very nicely written advice. Some remarks for the final part: For the colour of the coolant, adding distilled water should not change it from blue to brown I think, it might change it from dark blue to lighter blue surely. Also, the dealer insists they never interfered with the fluid in the tank, and I had certainly not touched it. So basically their position is that it came like this from the factory. I still have a sample of the fluid to send for analysis, but it remains a mystery to me..
@@NoBrainerTalk Absolutely agree that topping up with water should just “dilute” the intensity of the blue colouration but if the antifreeze concentration was very low because of a large “top-up”, it is possible the colour change could be caused by corrosion - I suspect this is unlikely but one thing I do know. . . . What the dealer says they’ve done to your car and what they’ve actually done are often not the same. Indeed, I’ve caught them out giving me BS so often in the past that I no longer trust them. If you had your car from new and it’s only a couple of years old, either it came from the factory with the wrong stuff in it or far more likely, an apprentice or trainee at your dealer did something to your car. Who knows, some clown could have filled it with a different antifreeze or even screen wash - all bets are off when it comes to dealers and telling porkies. Mine is a 2016 manual - now 5 yrs old and both reservoirs contain the same stuff and each is the same colour. To make sure, I just went out to my garage and sucked a small quantity into a syringe from both reservoirs not only were they identical in colour and colour “density” but both lids could be easily turned with little to no effort simply between thumb and forefinger throughout their entire range of travel. My car uses a small amount of coolant but it is not excessive. . . . totally down to this crappy lid design that just doesn’t fully seal. Make sure to use silicone grease (electrical grease is usually silicone). Ordinary grease is mineral based and will completely destroy the O-rings by causing them to swell up and that includes Vaseline etc etc - it must be silicone grease or nothing at all!!!!!!!!!!
@@ybliga Thanks again. I can say that the brownish fluid smells sweet like anti-freeze. I hope it's not brown due to corrosion.. I discovered it just after the first service so perhaps this is something that happened at the 1st service. The BMW approved dealer (BMW approved service centre) only sells BMWs so it's rather unlikely they would stock non BMW coolant. They do service Rolls Royces and Minis aswell, but Minis use blue coolant too (not sure about RR). Is there any brownish anti-freeze fluid used to service Minis or RR engines (RR and Minis after BMW ownership)?
@@NoBrainerTalk Franchised dealers do sometimes use non-OEM lubricants and fluid but I would expect a BMW agent to use their own brand stuff and given that Mini and RR are all part of the same group, I suspect they would come with the same from the factory. It’s a bizarre one for sure but if you’ve had the car from new, the coolant can only have got there from the factory or the dealer - my money is on the latter but heaven knows what happened - it really is most odd. I suspect you will never know and the stuff you have in it now will stay the same colour as in the main tank. I know someone else commented it changes colour over time in that tank but I simply don’t believe that - mine hasn’t in 5 yrs and nor is it about to.. As I said - very strange
@@ybliga Indeed, I also doubt it will change colour with time especially in the low temperature system. I did check recently and it's still good (blue). Will report on the channel if it does change!
Hey man, i saw the same thing in a used f30 330i that i was getting ready to purchase. Do you have any mire information on what might have happened? If it was something relatively normal? Has it happened again?
Still no idea what the brown intercooler expansion tank coolant was, others reported it aswell, noone has stated a Part Number for it, so I remain sceptical.
So I have a strange issue that might be related to your mystery coolant colour. I have an F10 M5 that had a new engine a couple of years back and to my surprise the charge cooler coolant is blue but the engine coolant is more like an olive green colour (like olive oil) was that similar to what you pulled from your engine? I’ve also heard people suggest bmw do use two different colour coolants intentionally in some cars possibly so they can easily see which coolant circuit is leaking (if it does leak).
Yes, I guess I could describe it as an olive oil colour (watered down though). Both the blue and brown liquids both smelled the same to me (i.e. it did smell like coolant). But as the dealer had no explanation, I had to make sure it was flushed. But what you say makes sense in a way, having a different colour would help in figuring out which coolant is being lost. However the only scenario this would help (in my mind) is if you had leaks under the main radiators (which are next to each other) and you wanted to know which of the two radiators is damaged and leaking (if you waited long enough you could see which tank level fell of course). As the systems are separate, then leaks elsewhere should be easy to link to a specific coolant reservoir, due to the location. Anyway, I really like the idea!
@@NoBrainerTalk well the plot thickens even more here as the new A90 Supra that shares the B58 engine comes with this same green looking coolant I believe - I think its BMW HT-12 coolant. The big mystery is why your and my car had it presumably from the factory as my local BMW dealer had no ideas why mine was green regardless of the fact it had a new engine. Mine certainly smells normal too and my coolant test seems to suggest it should protect ok too i.e. its not crazy watery. The engine in my M5 has the same two coolant circuits as well with the same setup that seemingly yours / had with blue in the intake cooling circuit and green in the engine cooling circuit. I wanted to top mine up but I'm still leaning towards just water as I can't be 100% it is BMW HT-12 coolant without seeing it diluted from other cars. I don't suppose you took pictures of the green stuff that came out of your car did you? Its hard to tell from the video if the colour completely matches mine.
@@NoBrainerTalk sorry for the spam, found this too which is interesting! facebook.com/fcpeuro/videos/the-blue-bmw-antifreeze-that-youve-come-to-know-and-love-is-gone-for-some-2019-a/475453093158072/
PLEASE, stop the music, or wind it down; it's too loud! 112C is not okay for best engine efficiency. It should stay between 85 and 90C for that. 112C loses power, but is slightly better for emissions.
Hi there, noted on the volume of background music. For the engine coolant, the temperature is likely to exceed 100 degrees C, and this is addressed by the pressurisation of the system (and to some degree the anti-freeze "additive") which increases the boiling point of the water in the coolant. This is why you should not open the expansion tank cap when the engine is hot, as removing the cap exposes the coolant to atmospheric pressure and the water which is already above 100 deg C will instantly boil. From what I saw the temperature of the coolant only goes down below 100 deg C when the engine is under heavy load and the heat management module configures to max cooling. In other circumstances it stabilizes at 110-113 deg C. To be fair I did not monitor coolant temperature after making this video and having the intercooler coolant flushed.. You are correct that lower intake air temperatures are preferable for engine power output and that higher engine temperatures are preferable for engine fuel efficiency (lower emissions). But in my humble opinion it's unlikely that engine coolant will stabilise to 85-90 deg C in steady cruise. I will however perform a test and check. :) I am planning to make another coolant video soon, with something new. But I appreciate this feedback as it's inspired me to experiment with modes and coolant temperatures.
@@NoBrainerTalk Do you know what the thermostat temperature setting is? as any system that is adequately engineered should be kept under control by the temperature value of the thermostat. Yes on the IAT (Intake Air Temp) try to keep it below 25C unless you are in a hot country where the OAT is above 25 anyway. If IAT goes above 25 and below 30C you lose 4% of engine power. Is the 50/50 coolant/water mix recommended by BMW? As every other engine operated in any temperate climate is usually 70/30 distilled water/coolant. Secondly is the BMW coolant, 2 or 5 year coolant?
@@Slaktrax Hi there, the 50/50 mix of anti-freeze and distilled water is required by BMW yes (it's also stated on the anti-freeze bottles/containers). BMW calls it a lifetime coolant, so BMW does not have any scheduled flush and replace period. Most BMW owners do plan on flushing the coolant at some point, very few people trust the "lifetime" claim from BMW. The B58 does not have a traditional thermostat, this typical system was replaced with an electrically operated heat management module. In contrast to a map controlled thermostat with expansion element, there is no direct physical connection to the coolant temperature for the B58 heat management module. The rotary valve in the heat management module is of course controlled by the DME using data from multiple sensors, so the B58 is more complex in this case.
The coolant that BMW uses until recently is called G-48 coolant. In North America this coolant is sold under the Zerex brand. Since Valvoline holds the rights to the formula in that region. In Europe it's sold under the Glysantin by BASF.(The developer of this formula). The new BMW coolant that is green is known as HT-12 or aftermarket version is known as G-64 by BASF. Volvo also switched to this coolant around late 2015. Before they had used the same G-48 coolant as BMW.
It looks like the bottom of the radiator is missing a couple of bolts that should go through those white grommets. Why else would it flop around like that?
Hi, I believe you mean the last part of the video where they are moving the auxiliary radiator. Actually they gained access to the radiator for cleaning that way, they didn't want to disturb the mesh I installed on the lower grille infront of the auxiliary radiator.
Thanks for the great video. I am having difficulty with opening the cap (the bigger one.) How were you able to open it? did it require much power to open it?
Hi, make sure the engine is cold when you open it. Yes indeed I encountered difficulty to open it. You may encounter some unexpected resistance turning the cap, this makes you think that you are doing something wrong. But keep turning it with force and eventually it will open (the force required will get easier). But again make sure the engine is cold, otherwise it may be pressurised and may expel hot liquid as some of the water element suddenly evaporates!
Hi, the genuine BMW Lifetime Coolant 18, Frostox HT-12 coolant comes in the form of: (a) 1.5L P/N 83195A42DF3 (b) 3.785L P/N 83192468442. (c) 5L P/N 83192466484. All advise that the preparation is 50% water and 50% coolant. The label of P/N 83192468442 advises that there is some variability possible (greater antifreeze to water ratio can be used on cold climates, up to a maximum 70%). I can find no genuine BMW anti-freeze that can be added into the system without being prepped with water. You may not have genuine BMW HT-12 coolant, in which case I cannot help with your question. :) Please kindly confirm the Part Number of the antifreeze you have so I can check further.
Im having issues with my 240i xdrive automatic. Just got a drivetrain malfunction error. Then, the next day, I got a coolant level low reading on my infotainment. I filled it, and I noticed it did have dried white deposits all around the cap and the threads as well. I'm taking it into the dealer in a day. I'll see what they say. Hopefully, this'll help someone in the same situation
@NoBrainer Talk so it ended up being my vanos solenoids. The coolent was just a coincidence. The b58 has a tendency to lose coolant, they told me. And that's also what I've been seeing online as well. Hope this can help others in the future 🙏
@@djsarandos8138 Thanks for the update and indeed occasional coolant loss is possibly the most reported issue on the B8. What was the issue with the vanos solenoids, and did they replace anything?
When I check the coolant level on the main tank in the mornings it is low but after driving it and checking again when it cools down, the level goes close to full. What’s the reason for this? I live in sf so it gets very cold during the night/early morning.
There are at least two possible reasons: One is that in the morning the engine and coolant are likely to be cooler than in the evening (even if you waited for the engine to cool down in the evening), and the fluid volume expands or contracts with temperature. The second reason is that the heat management module has four different configurations, opening and closing certain circuits depending on the mode and temperature, and there may be fluid level changes because of the Heat management module configuration. It could also be that the system needs to be pressurised in order for the fluid to escape pooling in certain areas, and when it is unpressurised it slowly flows back through gravity into these pocket areas (this is just a complete guess).
For normal driving I believe engine coolant should stabilize at roughly 110 degrees C. It will only get higher if the rate of heat generation exceeds rate of heat dissipation, which will be a cumulative effect after sustained high engine loads, or insufficient coolant in the system.
Hello! Nize Video and regards from Germany! I got an issue - my 2017 M140i loses Water from the main tank...I refield it (about 800ml) between min. and max. After a week now i saw 20-40ml lower level in the main Tank and the second tank for the intercooler which had Perfect filling is under min. now.. Do you have any ideas..?? Thanks for help!!🥸
Hi there, the first note is that the two coolant circuits (engine and intercooler) are completely independent and low coolant in both circuits cannot have the same root cause. Have a quick look at your filler caps to check for any obvious signs of leaks (white mineral deposits around the expansion tanks) and secure the caps well (continue tightening for a very brief moment even after the cap clicks into the final position). Have a look at your radiators including the small auxiliary radiator for any obvious signs of damage from which coolant can leak. Check your exhaust to see if there is any white smoke (signs of engine coolant leak via the turbocharger). If these superficial checks are all OK and the problem persists in either circuit then the affected circuit needs to be pressurised to check for leakage (the dealer will install a device on the expansion tank that will increase the pressure and leave it for several hours - if the pressure drops there is a leak somewhere). Some mechanics may also add a dye into the coolant and using fluorescent light try to find where it's leaking from if they cannot find a source through normal visual inspection. Most likely you had some coolant escape from the filler caps, which is a common experience. Hope this helps.
@@marvintrabandt711 Hi there, I understood that you are experiencing coolant loss, even after extensive troubleshooting. So if the mechanic pressurized the two systems and left it overnight and there was no leaks found the next day (pressure remained constant), then the most probable answer is the caps of the two tanks (the only things not installed during the pressure leak test). Some owners have had success by replacing the expansion tank caps with new. If nothing else has worked, replace the caps with new. If the problem continues after replacing the caps, then have the pressure test repeated by a different mechanic, as it's possible the test was not performed correctly. Hope this helps and Good luck!
I added music a long time ago, which I liked and I kinda started including music ever since. I always perform tests with and without the music before posting a new video. Is it possible it might be your speaker settings?
@@NoBrainerTalk I think people just prefer you not have any music or keep the music volume much lower. We’re all here to listen to what you have to say. :)
The space in the expansion tank which is not filled with coolant, probably is used for coolant expansion (when it gets very hot). If there is too much liquid coolant I would guess that under sustained high engine loads (where the heat is not being dissipated quickly enough) the expanded coolant or evaporated element of it can leak passed the cap.
Hi, the tank's cap has a pressure relief valve, so excess pressure will be released into the engine bay. The level of coolant in the tank varies I believe based on temperature (the coolant will occupy a greater volume when it's at 110 deg C compared to 10 deg C) and I also believe that as the heat management module changes cooling modes, the amount of fluid in the expansion tank can also slightly change as the various cooling paths are opened and closed. If the coolant in the system and also expansion tank is below minimum, the hotter that fluid will become (compared to normal levels) and the higher the pressure it will reach, hence the minimum quantity of coolant to maintain engine performance. The more fluid in the tank, the less space available for normal thermal expansion, hence the maximum level of coolant. Both too low and too much coolant will likely lead to the pressure relief valve to open. It's always best to keep coolant between the maximum and minimum indicators.
Hi there, the peak coolant is reportedly free of nitrites, phosphates and silicates. If this is true then theoretically it is not that dissimilar to the BMW spec coolant. However, we don't know what anti corrosive or anti scale additives are in there: BMW coolant is supposedly a lifetime coolant whereas the peak has a finite number of years guarantee so the difference may take years to show. I don't think you have any urgent issue to deal with, but for peace of mind I personally would perform a flush of whichever system was low, at the next scheduled service and refill with only one type of coolant. Unless there's any big difference in cost or for some reason it was unavailable, I would stick to the BMW coolant. Just my personal opinion.
@@NoBrainerTalk thanks, i ordered bmw coolant, its just my car is low right now im scared to drive around right now, i guess i will wait and return the peak
@@trapgodnah9022 Hi, which expansion tank was low? and how low? If the issue you are having is that the intercooler expansion tank is at minimum for example, there would still be a large amount of coolant in the low temperature system, and there would be no issue to continue driving the car. Even if max peak temperatures were reached more quickly with less coolant, the ECU is clever enough to reduce performance to lower temperatures. If it is just at minimum, you could just topup with distilled water, such small topup is unlikely to change the 50/50 mix by much. Also I should mention that many people will argue that you can operate your BMW with non-BWM coolant as long as it has the same specs, and there is no evidence that damage can be caused with such non-BMW coolant (although as I see it, a comparison would be needed after many years/miles of using alternative coolant). Just mentioning because I'm not sure it's the right decision to avoid driving completely, unless there is more significant loss of coolant.
@@trapgodnah9022 The bigger tank is the engine coolant, and also used as the turbocharger coolant. It's therefore the higher temperature system (the smaller tank is for the intercooler), and it will warm up more quickly with less coolant. The engine coolant expansion tank has a low coolant level sensor. If you had the warning light come on for low coolant, then I agree it's best not to drive until you bring the coolant to correct levels. If you found it low by checking visually but did not get the warning light, then I believe it's still above what is considered "too low" and below optimum, and it's best to avoid spirited sporty driving until you bring it to correct levels. I hope this information helps. I believe you are like me, and do not want to take any chances, so will wait to refill it before driving.
Bought a M240i today 🙂 used this info duing my checks of the car. Coolant was just a shade low as your one is here. De-ionised water and a trip to the dealer local to me to get the car up on ramps to verify everything about the car is OK next week, what a nice car and the engine is silky.
Very useful video, I will need to check now if both tanks have the right level and hopefully, the same blue coolant. Interesting to see that the right level is a line in the middle indicating that this is between min and max, useful inline pictures of the tanks in the video. Thanks
Thank you for the feedback! I can confirm that after the dealer flushed and refilled both tanks, they are now both blue and both between MIN and MAX marks on the indicator.
Clean the threads of the coolant tanks / caps of all the white residue. Then smear a tiny bit of grease on the tanks threads. Helps stop the leaks and the caps go on and off smoother :-)
Noted. There was not much white reside on the threads actually, I feel that the difficulty is likely to be a design feature.
Since you want to keep a record.
2018 440xi F32. Picked it up in April of 2020 with 8k miles on it. It had brown coolant in the secondary coolant tank. A local BMW shop that I know well has stated that this is common and the light brown coolant is coolant and it is nothing to worry about..
Noted!
Nice one again. Thank you.
I have been checking my coolant tanks once a fortnight and they needed to be topped up maybe once every 10 weeks each.
Last weekend I managed to overfill the engine cooolant tank and by a margine, but still got the redundant liquid out. Just for the peace of mind.
Over a year ago, I fitted mesh on the inside of the kidneys and the outside of the lower grilles to protect the radiators from leaves, stones and other sh*t getting inside and damaging them. OEM plastic stone guards are only in the middle and they do not overlap the whole height of the central big radiator, only the part behind the kidneys and the lower grill.
Hi Peter, you are right about the stone guards, I see the aftermarket intercooler radiators have stone guards that cover the entire face of the radiator. For BMW it was a retrofit, the initial cars did not have any stone guards. Did you start checking your coolant once a fortnight due to bad experience in the past with other cars?
@@NoBrainerTalk I found probably the same info like you, that the B58 is one coolant thirsty engine. Combine it with my OCD condition and there is your answer.
Just bought a 2019, g20, 330i. Drove it about 3000 km and the car lost about 1.5 liters of coolant. Took it to the Bmw dealership, they ran a pressure test, pressure is being lost but they can’t find any leaks. They sounded very surprised and told me they want to check next the air admission. They said there is a coolant circuit in there they want to take a look at and if there is the problem, they recommend changing the admission. I am from Romania and bought the car from a Bmw dealer in Germany, B&K in Kronberg it is the name. When I test drove the car, after less than 30 minutes of driving, the low coolant light came on. I told them about it and they said ok, we will check it. When I picked the car the next day, I asked them if they took care of it. They said yes, we added some water :)). I said I hope it was taken care of as I was getting ready to drive back home, over 2000 km away. Less than 300 km into my driving and the coolant light came on again. I stopped at a gas station, bought the blue coolant and added it to the car. Only the main coolant reservoir showed low. Please give me an advice. I bought this car with a problem it seems and I feel cheated..
Hi there, it's understandable to feel cheated from what you describe, it sounds to me that the seller likely knew the car had a history of coolant loss. Did the seller offer any warranty? Is there manufacturer's warranty on the car? I understand you have taken the car to your local BMW dealer in Romania with all receipts and history, and you are trying to get it fixed. They will follow a process of identifying where the coolant is going, through pressurisation and monitoring. If there are no external leaks (e.g. from damaged radiator), there may be internal leaks (coolant getting into engine oil, etc). But for the time being get it checked out at your local dealer, find out if any repairs are under manufacturer's warranty from your local dealer, and if not I suggest an attempt to get refund for your costs from the seller in Germany (if they offered warranty). Good luck and let us know how it goes.
@@NoBrainerTalk Thanks for your answer. The car was sold with no warranty and the manufacturer’s warranty was only for 2 years. Being a 2019 model, warranty has expired. The car only has 60.000 kms..I am now waiting for the Bmw service to receive the necessary tool to remove the admission and see what they find in there. This is their next move. The car is a pleasure to drive and I hope they fix it. I am only using the car in town for short drives and avoided long, out of town trips until this issue gets sorted out. The water temperature never rose and the oil looks fine. It looks like the coolant is lost internally. At least 1.5 liters of coolant were poured into the car in the last 3000 km, and I hope all this lost coolant is not causing severe damage to the engine 😔. Thanks again for your help!
@@MitreDima Hi, BMW (at least recently) offers 4 year warranty in some markets (the extended warranty is now 7 years). I think double-check if it is still under manufacturer's warranty.
@@NoBrainerTalk I checked with the local dealer and I was told the car only had 2 years warranty. I was surprised to hear this, I knew from advertisements about the 4 years warranty cars get in general and I even mentioned there at the dealership that many japanese cars come with 4 years of warranty..
@@MitreDima I'm sorry to hear that, but thank you for checking. So has the cause of the coolant loss/consumption been identified?
nice video, I had now idea why there were two caps for coolant ...and had the exact situation you described, main was low, but the smaller one wasn't, thanks
Happy to have helped!
My coolant reservoir tank was replaced at 60k miles. My radiator blew on the driver side at the top at 80k miles. Good luck with this engine. My advice. Run the AC when it's 85° or hotter so the fan runs. Good luck. They need the old radiators that are all aluminum with the cap on the top. These new systems with the radiator overflow tank are getting hot. The old system the overflow tank never got hot. The hot water from the engine would enter the top of the radiator. Run all the way down to the bottom go back in the engine. These new systems run sideways but that means it goes straight across in just a couple rows of the radiator instead of going through all the rows of the radiator like the old systems. The coolant should zig zag all the way down the radiator or it should zig zag top to bottom all the way across the radiator but the rows run horizontal. If you have a sideways radiator make the rows up and down. These engineers today are stupid or they do it on purpose so eventually the engine dies sooner. My Toyota has a 15 year old radiator. This BMW that's supposed to be better last 6 years and other stuff in the coolant system is also breaking
This helps a lot, I knew the radiator overflow, but had no clue about the turbo expansion reservoir. it’s very low because I think it’s leaking somewhere due to fluid slashing in the engine and I need to figure out where.👍🏾
Good luck!
Just went to go check mines and both were very dark almost like oil car only has 27k miles, car coolant was also very low the turbo coolant level was fine. Thanks for the video.
Oh, at first I thought there is oil going into the coolant (can happen e.g. if gaskets or seals fail). However if the intercooler coolant (independent system) is the same dark colour as the engine coolant, then it might not be the case of oil contamination. In any case, I'm sorry to hear that you are having coolant issues. I think alot of us are surprised these are not being picked up at the scheduled service of the car. I hope the issues are checked and resolved quickly and without any great cost.
Uh oh. Blown turbo? Let's hope it's not the head gasket
The new coolant is green now...I think as of 2018
Yes, the green one is BMW's HT-12 coolant.
Just wanted to add to my previous comments. I changed to a new cap and it was a lot easier to unscrew compared to the original (like in your video, I needed both hands and a lot of effort), plus I stopped losing coolant over time. I suspect once the cap is tight/hard to unscrew, its out of shape and leaking slowly thru the cap. With the new cap, once the car is slightly cool, its an easy one hand job. The old cap took 2 arms and a lot of cursing.
After I took the car to the dealer to flush the coolant in both tanks, the caps were noticeably easier to turn. I believe the improvement in turning the cap is due to the dealer cleaning an accumulation of residue on the cap's internal threads. Replacing the caps with new will have the same result of having clean threads. The caps have become slightly harder to turn since the flush but still nowhere near as bad as they were when I made this video. Let me know if yours also become harder to turn over time. If they don't then it strongly supports replacement of cap over cleaning threads of the old cap.
@@NoBrainerTalk Its been about 6 months, still easy to turn. I had cleaned the old cap before, there was no sign of residue but it was tough as heck to turn. I have the old cap on my desk, looking at it, it looks almost brand new. Before I bought the new cap, I cleaned the old cap and applied lithium grease on the threads, it made it easier to turn but was still really really tough. I was really sweating and cursing.
@@keithw4920 Nice feedback Keith, I will eventually replace the caps aswell.
@@NoBrainerTalk Yeah if you are still losing coolant, I dare say its a good chance its the cap.
I got my 240 less than 2 months ago. No coolant warning but wanted to check as I know the B58 can drink this stuff. Small tank is at the perfect between max/min but the main tank is definitely below the min level and almost looks dirty in a way. No white residue around any of the caps but once the main cap clicks into the locked position it can actually still freely wiggle around which I don't think is normal. Going to get it booked in for some new coolant and a replacement cap - I assume it should come under my 12 month warranty (at least the replacement cap)?
hello, sorry for my English but I am French speaking. Did draining the fluid and adding new fluid solve the temperature problem?
I believe it was helpful to the issue, yes.
如果车正常的话，水温超110，但不缺少防冻液，也没出现高温警示；那么，换成新的防冻液能将水温降低至100度
nice video.. helpful tips, thanks.
but background music was too loud...
noted Jay
Try to bleed the coolant system it helped in my case. I haven't had to add any more coolant since I did that.
Thanks, the car has been at the dealer until today, and both coolants were flushed. I'm sure the bled the system afterwards, but I'll do a visual check of the tank levels tomorrow.
@@NoBrainerTalk So any news? do the liquids have to be the same? I've mine from the factory which are light blue on the bigger tank and transparent on the smaller one.
@@lodovicomanildo4718 Hey there, I checked the tanks after a week of the flush and they were both spot on between the max and minimum. I checked them again yesterday and the engine coolant is at the minimum level with some white residue outside the cap (intercooler coolant looks good). So either the bleeding was not properly done, or I believe some coolant loss occurred from the cap. I will be buying some blue coolant on Monday and bringing the engine coolant back to correct level. Both liquids should be BMW approved coolant, which is blue (or green or magenta if it's the HT-12). There's some information that HT-12 can be mixed with the blue coolant (G48) but actually I don't know what the resulting colour would be (the colours are simply additives, they may cancel each other out to look clear).
My bottom tank is also clear. I believe and speaking to others there new B58 was also clear coolant on bottom tank
Very interesting. Is there any way we can find out what this fluid is? BMW coolant would be blue or green, so whatever this fluid is, we can conclude at least that it is not a normal BMW coolant. Personally, I believe it would not make sense for the BMW factory to fill the intercooler system with non BMW coolant, surely they have tons of the stuff in stock constantly. Is this a lower spec coolant due to the lower temperatures of the intercooler system? Is this maintenance error? Is this fluid used to flush build debris that remained in the system when it should have been emptied? Is this BMW coolant so deteriorated that it changed colour? The possibilities are endless.... :)
Same issue with my car. I had it from new and by 10000 miles, the i/c tank was looking clear while the main tank was bluish. Brought it back to BMW dealer and they flushed the i/c circuit and reported that it was still bluish coolant. For some reason, the i/c circuit tank just becomes 'clearer' over time.
Hmmm.... The i/c circuit is cooler than the engine circuit, so I doubt that it changes due to thermal effects... I'm struggling to think what else other than heat could change its colour to clear, i.e. cause the colour additive to break down, as contaminants should darken it. However, it's an interesting point: as I've just flushed mine and know for sure what it looks like now in the i/c expansion tank (fresh blue coolant looks slightly green against the yellow indicator) I'll monitor it and see if it changes colour.
@@NoBrainerTalk I have no idea too, I have heard other cars having the same issue as well. Either the factory diluted the i/c circuit too much or somehow the design of the circuit causes the coolant and water content to separate over time? Question : When you flushed the i/c circuit (i know it look clear when you extract from the tank), once everything is out, did it still look a bit blue or was it clear all the way?
@@keithw4920 Well, factory errors are known to happen. The i/c coolant was all light brown / olive colour as shown in the video. One more possibility is that green or magenta HT-12 coolant was used to top-up blue coolant, which might result in this strange olive colour when the color additives combine. I believe (but I'm not sure) that it's technically OK to mix the two coolants (blue and HT-12) although I would consult BMW manuals to confirm before doing so. Anyway, if it does change colour I will let the channel know! :)
I have an F30 with the intercooler coolant always being below low, not sure how to troubleshoot this, and the seller refuses to help me and says the car is fine as long as "there are no warning lights in the car". I need to somehow prove that my car has a leak, really frustrating.
I don't think there are any sensors that will trigger warning lights on the intercooler circuit. The loss of the intercooler coolant will affect performance, i.e. the air coming into the cylinders will be hotter and less dense (less O2) so the engine will have less performance, and also as one of the cooling circuits is ineffective, the engine will get warmer, and the ECU will reduce power to keep temps within limits. There's not even a fluid level sensor for the intercooler circuit. I think your dealer is full of crap. But let's not get ahead of ourselves. I expect you've done a general visual inspection for coolant loss and found no external evidence of leak. If that is the case check around the expansion tank for white residue (left over from evaporating coolant). There will be relatively small amounts of residue compared to how much coolant evaporated. Even if there is no residue, or it seems too little to be the case, buy a replacement expansion tank cap. Replace the cap and monitor, most of the time the cap is the root cause and replacement fixes the issue, so it's always worth a shot due to being cheap and easy to do. If the cap doesn't fix the issue, ask the dealer to leak check the intercooler coolant circuit. They will pressurize the system using a tool attached to the expansion tank, and leave it for a few hours to check it holds the pressure: if it doesn't then there is a leak somewhere. If it does hold pressure, and you already replaced the cap, and you still have coolant loss, then it's a rare internal loss, but take it one step at a time, start with the cap. Hope this helps.
@@NoBrainerTalk I filled the intercooler with about 1.5 liters of coolant and now it has stayed topped up for a few days just above max and is not moving down anymore. Same for the engine coolant, it has stayed between low and max for the past few days.
So it might just have been that it was empty?. Regarding internal leakage, I did an oil change a few weeks back and there was no sign of internal leakage the oil was very black.
I did a scan of the error codes of the car and this is what I got, not sure if they are related to the problem I described above.
System Codes DME (Engine Digital Motor 213901 Electronics) Historical test Description
Power management: Reduction or shutdown of individual electrical consumer
Status: Intermittent
DME (Engine-Coolant pump in low-temperature coolant circuit: Digital Motor 20A201
Electronics) Coolant loss detected
Status: Intermittent
ZGM (Central Gateway CD0487 Module)
ZGM: Synchronization process for FlexRay failed
Status: Intermittent
ZGM (Central Gateway 801C20 Module)
ZGM: Central fault memory full- no control-unit fault
Status: Intermittent
TCB (Combox Emergency 031786 Call)
TCB: Functional limitation of Last State Call
Status: Intermittent
REM (Rear Electronic 804890 Module)
Turn signal plausibility check failed: Function deactivated
Status: Intermittent
IHKA (Integrated Automatic 801224 Heating And A/C System)
Air conditioning compressor: Shut-down due to excess pressure in refrigerant circuit
Status: Intermittent
These are going to be so much fun to maintain 15 years down the road lol. Folks gonna be LS swapping these in the future because the chassis is so good.
Meet you here in 15 years to discuss.. :)
@@NoBrainerTalk there won't be yt by then
@@RK1FX Hehehe :)
You mean ruining them?
Our few month old 440i seems to be loosing coolant somewhere externally. I can clearly smell it almost all the time, but can't see any trace of it. At around 6000 Km, I needed to add about 1/4 Liter coolant to the main reservoir. I keep checking in order to determine exact coolant use rate and then contact dealership.
I'm sorry to hear that, because any unresolved technical issue will reduce the enjoyment of the car, and if you have a B58 powered car, you want to enjoy it. Although I noted a few common places that coolant loss was reported, coolant can literally be lost anywhere in the system in which it circulates (at the intercooler, at the piping, etc). The best way to find it (if there's no obvious visible loss) is for the dealer to pressurise the system and leak check it. Good luck!
@@NoBrainerTalk Getting close to 4 years later at 50000 Km the cumulative coolant consumption was so far about 2 Liter. My understanding is that this is not much by any means for THIS engine. Having said that, almost every engine uses SOME coolant, regardless of how new or well maintained. This is because there is NO sealed system (both coolant recovery tank and expansion tank systems DO vent to the outside via pressure control. So every cooling system has a pressure CONTROL valve in the cap (not just for release) and as pressure builds up in the cooling system and the coolant level rises, some MOIST-air will escape. With this moist air goes the coolant and this DOES add up over time. So I consider 1 Liter for 50000 Km as completely normal. Indeed I asked and this this is what has been the experience of our fleet mechanic with nearly every fleet vehicle that we used. And on those fleet vehicles, I drove already over 2.5 Million Km for work.
I took mine to the BMW dealership for coolant and they fill it with water. I was so piss.
Interesting, did you have low coolant warning, or was your expansion tank visually low on coolant?
good informative video. should i check after letting the engine sitting overnight? or should i start it in the morning, run it for a minute or 2 then turn off the engine and check?
You should check coolant levels when the engine is cold, so I would suggest to check it in the morning before driving. If it gets too warm (i.e. the coolant exceeds 100 deg C) it is dangerous to open the engine coolant cap, albeit this should need more than 2 mins to occur (depending on how you drive during those first 2 mins). It might not be dangerous to open the intercooler coolant cap as that is lower temperature, but no reason to check it separately. Be aware that the engine tries to warm itself up as fast as possible for fuel efficiency purposes, the heat management module will change the routing of coolant (for example none may pass through the radiators) until the engine gets up to temperature. In 2 mins the engine is likely to still be in the warmup phase and by not allowing the coolant to flow to certain components the level of coolant may change in the expansion tank. So this is why I recommend to check it before driving. If you've flushed the coolant and performed the bleeding procedure perfectly, you should still check the coolant levels after 2 or 3 days of driving (again in the morning) as the bleeding procedure may not clear out all the air and some minor topping up may be required even if the coolant was at the correct level. Hope this helps.
@@NoBrainerTalk thanks for your quick response. I topped up my main coolant tank this morning and when I checked my smaller inter cooler coolant tank, the coolant seemed to be almost clear with a brownish tint. I’ve never had any lights or warnings pop up so I’m not sure if I should just run it and hope for the best or somehow drain the coolant and put in the 50/50 bmw blue mix in?
And FYI it’s 2018 f36 first gen b58. Bought it a couple weeks ago and it’s not under any warranty
@@jamesbaker8516 Did it look like the brownish liquid I found in my small tank (as shown in this video)? If yes, then personally I flushed it out and replaced with blue coolant in my car. If you don't know what the fluid is, you can't top it up if you need to (as you can't mix coolants of different properties). I believe you should ask the dealer or seller to explain the fluid (as both tanks should have BMW coolant), and if they can't explain what this brownish fluid is, proceed to flush and replace it with BMW approved coolant for peace of mind. As we don't know what this fluid is, it could still be some undocumented BMW approved coolant.
Just purchased a used 2020 M340i (B58). Both tanks are full and the coolant is the light brown (whiskey) color shown in this video. I do not know the full history but the car appears to have been serviced exclusively by BMW dealers and was a Certified Pre-Owned when I bought it. I wonder if it may have been factory filled with H-12 (Green) and topped off with G48 (blue) and if that could cause the color to change?
Thank you for sharing, in the comments others have also reported a brownish coolant in their intercooler coolant expansion tank, and we don't yet know why the colour is brownish. In your case, you are saying both tanks have coolant which is brownish. This is the first time anyone reported the brownish coolant in their engine coolant expansion tank, hence not normal, and needs to be addressed. The BMW dealership may be able to confirm to you, what coolant it is. Please do not accept statements from them such as "it's OK" or "it's normal", please request a confirmation of the Part Number of the brownish coolant, noting that it cannot be blue coolant or HT-12 coolant because they do not seem to turn brown. A flush and refill of the coolant seems to be required for your car unless the coolant P/N is confirmed by the dealer.
Bought a 2018 540i at 45,600mi and now at 53,850mi it’s evaporating the coolant in the big reservoir. Just got it topped up, and 2 weeks later (today) it’s bone dry in the bigger one.
I believe the best advice available at the moment for this widely experienced issue is to buy a replacement cap for the large coolant expansion tank.
I got the whole tank replaced by bmw dealership, it then exploded. I went in again and turns out the radiator was blown out from pressure. Got it replaced and topped up. 1 week later, (today) both tanks are below Minimum. Unreal
@@newonyt4216 Holy Moly, that's just terrible luck! OK, first comment is that both tanks being below minimum must have independent causes as they are two separate circuits. The only common cause I can think of would be incorrect bleeding procedure performed after flush and refill of both systems at the same time (so after a topup all should be OK theoretically). But the tank and radiator exploding could mean the coolant pressure went crazy high and the cap's overpressure relief mechanism did not function properly. Did they change the cap with the new tank, or just the tank (retain the old cap)? Who decided to change the tank, was there suspicion of leak from the tank? Was the cap replaced first and then after it did not fix the issue then the tank? As to why the coolant pressure went so high , this is obviously because the coolant temperature went very high, however the DME should have intervened to reduce engine power as soon as it understood it needs to protect the engine from overheating. Is your engine custom tuned or the DME bench hacked? Maybe your heat management module is malfunctioning and is stuck in the warm-up phase (where it tries to warm up the engine and restricts cooling as much as possible). A head gasket issue might add oil into your coolant, or coolant into your oil or it might lead to coolant being burnt off in the cylinders. Is there white smoke from the exhaust? Is the engine oil milky? Do the coolant expansion tanks have an odour of anything other than coolant? These are just some of my thoughts, obviously the issue should be troubleshooted by a qualified mechanic following BMW manuals. Please give an update when the issue is fixed.
@@NoBrainerTalk Hello. Yes, It has a stage 2 flash tune with a catless downpipe and air intake by Bms. It has no obvious issues until I check the tanks and after driving hard, they deplete. Normal driving seems fine. I’ve just topped up and check them frequently. Thanks for your help.
@@newonyt4216 To me this sounds like some sort of head gasket issue, did you ever find out what it was?
So same thing happened with me i flushed out coolant with vacuum but sane machine didn’t work on small coolant reservoir so now my one reservoir have blue coolant and one have green so can u tell me how to change coolant in small reservoir
There's no harm in each circuit having different coolant as they are independent although you should stick with the coolant from factory. There is a dedicated bleeding procedure for each circuit.
Do you use some type of cleaning product to keep the engine cover and plastics oceans clean and black?
Personally I just use microfibre cloths and water.
我是用水和抹布跟刷子清洁机舱。，注意保护电路别进水
I recently bought a bmw m240i, today I checked the antifreeze tanks, the big one the liquid looks green but it lacks a little to be at its level, and the small one is at its correct level but is transparent in color. I would like to know if that is a problem and if you could advise me what to do or how to try to solve it.
I forgot to mention that my car is year 2017 and has 37,000 km. I'm from Mexico.
@@emilianoamco1851 Hi there, the green coolant sounds to be genuine BMW HT-12 antifreeze. This is OK and is the latest coolant being used by BMW (for a very short time it was magenta colour but to avoid confusion / mixing with G30 antifreeze, the HT-12 became green). So green = good. Blue G48 antifreeze and green HT12 antifreeze are supposed to be intermixable, but if you can I suggest you topup with HT12. The transparent colour in the small expansion tank does not sound OK, but is a mystery. I had light brown fluid in my small expansion tank , but maybe it was clear like yours and it turned light brown through corrosion of the internal parts. Others have said it maybe started as blue coolant and degraded. I don't think blue coolant will degrade, especially in the low temperature circuit. I honestly don't believe BMW would be using non-BMW approved fluids at the factory. So perhaps this clear fluid (which is unlikely to be G48 blue coolant, or HT12 green coolant) is something BMW uses for new production. In my case it smelled like coolant so I am confident it was anti-freeze (now replaced with blue coolant). So I don't think it was anything else. As you don't know what coolant it is (the clear one), you don't know what to top it up with if it ever goes low. You cannot mix coolants of different properties. So to be safe, I suggest you have the intercooler circuit - the small tank - flushed and replaced with HT12 coolant in order to have green coolant in both your tanks.
@@NoBrainerTalk I thank you infinitely for your answer, finally: Do you know how many liters of refrigerant it should contain?
@@emilianoamco1851 I could be wrong, but I think the intercooler circuit (i.e. not just the tank) holds 1 gallon or 3.8 litres of coolant (buy a 1-gallon HT-12 concentrate and you will have about half spare). You only need 2 litres of green HT-12 or blue G48 anti-freeze concentrate mixed with 2 litres of distilled water (total 4 litres of prepared coolant mix) to perform a full flush of the intercooler (small tank) circuit. You need to empty out all the unknown clear coolant (from the entire circuit including radiator/heat exchanger) and replace with 50/50 mix of BMW anti-freeze and distilled water, and perform a cooling system bleed. If you have anything left from the initial 4 litres, theoretically you can add it to the engine coolant circuit (the big expansion tank) so you can get the large tank just under max level. Let us know how it goes.
I took my 430i to the dealer to have the coolant drained and refilled with blue coolant due to having yellow coolant in both cooling circuits. To my surprise, the dealer only drained and filled the high temp cooling circuit. When I asked, the dealer mentioned there's a separate service for the low temp circuit (ac & intercooler). This could possibly explain why some people are seeing two different coolants in their cars...
Hi, so they did not drain the intercooler circuit because they believe it's OK. But did they advise what coolant is in the intercooler circuit? We need to know the details (Part number, designation, etc) so we can understand what the fluid is. My dealer here in Cyprus did not know what the different coolant was in the intercooler circuit and flushed it with blue coolant, so is that a mistake? Should I and others like me have something else in the intercooler circuit? Please see if you can find out the details for the different fluid.
Hey everyone, it's been very interesting to read the comments and know that others are finding different colours of coolant in the coolant expansion tanks of their BMW. Perhaps we can collect data on this issue and take a more scientific approach. Please feel free to send me via email (nobrainertalk@gmail.com) photos of the fluid found and a little bit of information like which expansion tank it was (intercooler vs engine) and if the fluid was previously flushed or is confirmed to be blue coolant, etc. Please also mention which country you are in. If any pattern is found (for example it might be something BMW does when delivering cars to specific regions) then I'll share the data via a video. Just a suggestion. ☺
Which B58 is this? Is this the B583001 or is that the one in the m240i?
Hi, this is a B58B30M0 (yes the one in the M240i, although my car is the M140i).
Great video, lower the music next time. ;D
Noted for season 2. :)
Hi I have a question? The coolant mix problem can activate your check engine??
Hi, not really, you would have had to mix something into the coolant that destroyed its properties and led to major chemical reaction. Mixing two BMW approved coolants together (which is what I understood you are asking) won't do that.
@@NoBrainerTalk thank you brother
Brother the problem was exactly what you put in this video 🤦♂️ $600.00 here in Puerto Rico. My car is a 2017 430i grand coupe
Basically colour is just an indication to what freeze level it can withstand. There is no 'special' addition to any coolant. The big tank coolant of mine was very low with the blue coolant, I filled up with red one and it runs just fine, cools a lot better too again cause I saw before that oil temperature got longer to cool after driving sporty.
Before you comment I have to point out that I did run a test for leaks at the dealership and they didn't find one. I also said my coolant was low but after they ran the test they said coolant was at normal level but it was touching minimum when I checked it so they were wrong. Later I find out from my uncle who has his own garage that u need a cold engine to check that but when I got to dealership they checked it when I drove for almost 15 minutes already.
@@bradofwar5960 Hello, you said you mixed a red coolant in with your existing blue coolant, but there are two things I want to mention: did you check that they are intermixable (red coolant and BMW coolant) and did you check that the red coolant has the properties and specifications that BMW engines require? The colour is indeed an additive, and sometimes driven by commercial/marketing purposes, BMW chose to make their coolant blue. But the colour is not an indication of the freeze level a coolant can withstand, there is no international coolant colour scale for example. To ensure long term reliability of your engine, please make sure you have added coolant that has BMW approved specs and intermixable with existing blue coolant.
@@NoBrainerTalk sorry but I don't need sponsored crap about some coolant that should cope better because it's bmw 'approved' if I pour 50 dollars a bottle in that tank or 15 dollars a bottle it makes no difference, just some water with a colour. If in a emergency I would be dangerously low on coolant and I had not any with me it would even run on simple water for the time being.
@@bradofwar5960 :) It's your car, you can do whatever you want of course, personally I will stick to what BMW approves. Let us know how it goes.
I have read several comments. I don't see anyone mentioning that blue and green antifreeze with lots of water looks brown.
I had an old car (e21) that i would put in random antifreeze and top if off with water every month or so. Looked watered down and brown. Never had a problem.
I believe you are taking abit of a risk by putting in "random" anti-freeze and topping it off with water every month (i.e. not having any control of the anti-freeze to water ratio). But it's your property and you can do whatever you like. Noted that you never had a problem, hope you never do! :)
@@NoBrainerTalk I "had" a car. I was in high school. Later traded it in. And this is why it's always risky to buy a used car LOL
@@JohnAltenburg Hehehe, I didn't notice the past tense.... :) yes indeed, so I guess when you buy a used car, it's good to do abit of proactive maintenance like flush the coolant.
OK - I will throw some light on at least some of this. The two tanks don't use a conventional gasket in the lids against which to seal but instead use an O-ring which forms a seal within the neck of each tank. This is an interference fit within the neck of the tank and the lids. It is a poor design and allows a certain amount of coolant to bypass the lids and evaporate. In turn, this results in the build-up of crusty deposits in and around the tank lids, threads and the O-ring seating. This means that when removing the lids, they are very tight. This is caused by friction from the deposits and the o-rings themselves knurling up under the action of unscrewing the lids and which results in damage to the O-rings, more leakage, more deposits and . . . more coolant loss. The remedy is to remove both caps, clean them scrupulously of all deposits, likewise the neck and threads of each tank. Now smear a VERY, VERY light film of SILICONE grease on the threads but MORE importantly, on the O-rings themselves. Do not leave gobs of grease on the parts but simply wipe off to leave a shine - repeat this periodically. You will find that a good-fitting O-ring will reduce but not eliminate coolant loss but more importantly, both lids will tighten up and undo silky smooth, right up to the retention click at the end when tightening - they should be super smooth - if grabby as they are in this video - your O-rings are being stretched, rucked up and damaged. Reference the intercooler coolant - it is the same stuff and should be the same colour . . . as indeed it is in my car. The reason it isn't is because a numpty has at some point or other simply topped up or even filled with ordinary water. The coolant in the I-C circuit should not discolour or change.
Very nicely written advice. Some remarks for the final part: For the colour of the coolant, adding distilled water should not change it from blue to brown I think, it might change it from dark blue to lighter blue surely. Also, the dealer insists they never interfered with the fluid in the tank, and I had certainly not touched it. So basically their position is that it came like this from the factory. I still have a sample of the fluid to send for analysis, but it remains a mystery to me..
@@NoBrainerTalk Absolutely agree that topping up with water should just “dilute” the intensity of the blue colouration but if the antifreeze concentration was very low because of a large “top-up”, it is possible the colour change could be caused by corrosion - I suspect this is unlikely but one thing I do know. . . .
What the dealer says they’ve done to your car and what they’ve actually done are often not the same. Indeed, I’ve caught them out giving me BS so often in the past that I no longer trust them.
If you had your car from new and it’s only a couple of years old, either it came from the factory with the wrong stuff in it or far more likely, an apprentice or trainee at your dealer did something to your car. Who knows, some clown could have filled it with a different antifreeze or even screen wash - all bets are off when it comes to dealers and telling porkies.
Mine is a 2016 manual - now 5 yrs old and both reservoirs contain the same stuff and each is the same colour.
To make sure, I just went out to my garage and sucked a small quantity into a syringe from both reservoirs not only were they identical in colour and colour “density” but both lids could be easily turned with little to no effort simply between thumb and forefinger throughout their entire range of travel.
My car uses a small amount of coolant but it is not excessive. . . . totally down to this crappy lid design that just doesn’t fully seal.
Make sure to use silicone grease (electrical grease is usually silicone). Ordinary grease is mineral based and will completely destroy the O-rings by causing them to swell up and that includes Vaseline etc etc - it must be silicone grease or nothing at all!!!!!!!!!!
@@ybliga Thanks again. I can say that the brownish fluid smells sweet like anti-freeze. I hope it's not brown due to corrosion.. I discovered it just after the first service so perhaps this is something that happened at the 1st service. The BMW approved dealer (BMW approved service centre) only sells BMWs so it's rather unlikely they would stock non BMW coolant. They do service Rolls Royces and Minis aswell, but Minis use blue coolant too (not sure about RR). Is there any brownish anti-freeze fluid used to service Minis or RR engines (RR and Minis after BMW ownership)?
@@NoBrainerTalk Franchised dealers do sometimes use non-OEM lubricants and fluid but I would expect a BMW agent to use their own brand stuff and given that Mini and RR are all part of the same group, I suspect they would come with the same from the factory.
It’s a bizarre one for sure but if you’ve had the car from new, the coolant can only have got there from the factory or the dealer - my money is on the latter but heaven knows what happened - it really is most odd.
I suspect you will never know and the stuff you have in it now will stay the same colour as in the main tank.
I know someone else commented it changes colour over time in that tank but I simply don’t believe that - mine hasn’t in 5 yrs and nor is it about to..
As I said - very strange
@@ybliga Indeed, I also doubt it will change colour with time especially in the low temperature system. I did check recently and it's still good (blue). Will report on the channel if it does change!
Hey man, i saw the same thing in a used f30 330i that i was getting ready to purchase. Do you have any mire information on what might have happened? If it was something relatively normal? Has it happened again?
Still no idea what the brown intercooler expansion tank coolant was, others reported it aswell, noone has stated a Part Number for it, so I remain sceptical.
Liked your video but either tone down or cut the music as your commentary was not as good due the overpowering music soundtrack.... Thanks
Noted.
So I have a strange issue that might be related to your mystery coolant colour. I have an F10 M5 that had a new engine a couple of years back and to my surprise the charge cooler coolant is blue but the engine coolant is more like an olive green colour (like olive oil) was that similar to what you pulled from your engine? I’ve also heard people suggest bmw do use two different colour coolants intentionally in some cars possibly so they can easily see which coolant circuit is leaking (if it does leak).
Yes, I guess I could describe it as an olive oil colour (watered down though). Both the blue and brown liquids both smelled the same to me (i.e. it did smell like coolant). But as the dealer had no explanation, I had to make sure it was flushed. But what you say makes sense in a way, having a different colour would help in figuring out which coolant is being lost. However the only scenario this would help (in my mind) is if you had leaks under the main radiators (which are next to each other) and you wanted to know which of the two radiators is damaged and leaking (if you waited long enough you could see which tank level fell of course). As the systems are separate, then leaks elsewhere should be easy to link to a specific coolant reservoir, due to the location. Anyway, I really like the idea!
@@NoBrainerTalk well the plot thickens even more here as the new A90 Supra that shares the B58 engine comes with this same green looking coolant I believe - I think its BMW HT-12 coolant. The big mystery is why your and my car had it presumably from the factory as my local BMW dealer had no ideas why mine was green regardless of the fact it had a new engine. Mine certainly smells normal too and my coolant test seems to suggest it should protect ok too i.e. its not crazy watery. The engine in my M5 has the same two coolant circuits as well with the same setup that seemingly yours / had with blue in the intake cooling circuit and green in the engine cooling circuit. I wanted to top mine up but I'm still leaning towards just water as I can't be 100% it is BMW HT-12 coolant without seeing it diluted from other cars. I don't suppose you took pictures of the green stuff that came out of your car did you? Its hard to tell from the video if the colour completely matches mine.
If it helps job your memory: ibb.co/j3zNQkk
@@NoBrainerTalk also side note, if you spot coolant on the floor for instance or where it shouldn't be and its x colour you know where to start!
@@NoBrainerTalk sorry for the spam, found this too which is interesting! facebook.com/fcpeuro/videos/the-blue-bmw-antifreeze-that-youve-come-to-know-and-love-is-gone-for-some-2019-a/475453093158072/
PLEASE, stop the music, or wind it down; it's too loud! 112C is not okay for best engine efficiency. It should stay between 85 and 90C for that. 112C loses power, but is slightly better for emissions.
Hi there, noted on the volume of background music. For the engine coolant, the temperature is likely to exceed 100 degrees C, and this is addressed by the pressurisation of the system (and to some degree the anti-freeze "additive") which increases the boiling point of the water in the coolant. This is why you should not open the expansion tank cap when the engine is hot, as removing the cap exposes the coolant to atmospheric pressure and the water which is already above 100 deg C will instantly boil. From what I saw the temperature of the coolant only goes down below 100 deg C when the engine is under heavy load and the heat management module configures to max cooling. In other circumstances it stabilizes at 110-113 deg C. To be fair I did not monitor coolant temperature after making this video and having the intercooler coolant flushed.. You are correct that lower intake air temperatures are preferable for engine power output and that higher engine temperatures are preferable for engine fuel efficiency (lower emissions). But in my humble opinion it's unlikely that engine coolant will stabilise to 85-90 deg C in steady cruise. I will however perform a test and check. :) I am planning to make another coolant video soon, with something new. But I appreciate this feedback as it's inspired me to experiment with modes and coolant temperatures.
@@NoBrainerTalk Do you know what the thermostat temperature setting is? as any system that is adequately engineered should be kept under control by the temperature value of the thermostat.
Yes on the IAT (Intake Air Temp) try to keep it below 25C unless you are in a hot country where the OAT is above 25 anyway. If IAT goes above 25 and below 30C you lose 4% of engine power.
Is the 50/50 coolant/water mix recommended by BMW? As every other engine operated in any temperate climate is usually 70/30 distilled water/coolant.
Secondly is the BMW coolant, 2 or 5 year coolant?
@@Slaktrax Hi there, the 50/50 mix of anti-freeze and distilled water is required by BMW yes (it's also stated on the anti-freeze bottles/containers). BMW calls it a lifetime coolant, so BMW does not have any scheduled flush and replace period. Most BMW owners do plan on flushing the coolant at some point, very few people trust the "lifetime" claim from BMW. The B58 does not have a traditional thermostat, this typical system was replaced with an electrically operated heat management module. In contrast to a map controlled thermostat with expansion element, there is no direct physical connection to the coolant temperature for the B58 heat management module. The rotary valve in the heat management module is of course controlled by the DME using data from multiple sensors, so the B58 is more complex in this case.
The coolant that BMW uses until recently is called G-48 coolant. In North America this coolant is sold under the Zerex brand. Since Valvoline holds the rights to the formula in that region. In Europe it's sold under the Glysantin by BASF.(The developer of this formula). The new BMW coolant that is green is known as HT-12 or aftermarket version is known as G-64 by BASF. Volvo also switched to this coolant around late 2015. Before they had used the same G-48 coolant as BMW.
It looks like the bottom of the radiator is missing a couple of bolts that should go through those white grommets. Why else would it flop around like that?
Hi, I believe you mean the last part of the video where they are moving the auxiliary radiator. Actually they gained access to the radiator for cleaning that way, they didn't want to disturb the mesh I installed on the lower grille infront of the auxiliary radiator.
Thanks for the great video. I am having difficulty with opening the cap (the bigger one.) How were you able to open it? did it require much power to open it?
Hi, make sure the engine is cold when you open it. Yes indeed I encountered difficulty to open it. You may encounter some unexpected resistance turning the cap, this makes you think that you are doing something wrong. But keep turning it with force and eventually it will open (the force required will get easier). But again make sure the engine is cold, otherwise it may be pressurised and may expel hot liquid as some of the water element suddenly evaporates!
@@NoBrainerTalk Thanks so much for the quick response with a great tip. Happy new year!
I brought the green for my 2018 540i m package today do I need to add water or just put coolant in tank on the antifreeze it said no water needed
Hi, the genuine BMW Lifetime Coolant 18, Frostox HT-12 coolant comes in the form of:
(a) 1.5L P/N 83195A42DF3
(b) 3.785L P/N 83192468442.
(c) 5L P/N 83192466484.
All advise that the preparation is 50% water and 50% coolant.
The label of P/N 83192468442 advises that there is some variability possible (greater antifreeze to water ratio can be used on cold climates, up to a maximum 70%).
I can find no genuine BMW anti-freeze that can be added into the system without being prepped with water. You may not have genuine BMW HT-12 coolant, in which case I cannot help with your question. :) Please kindly confirm the Part Number of the antifreeze you have so I can check further.
Im having issues with my 240i xdrive automatic. Just got a drivetrain malfunction error. Then, the next day, I got a coolant level low reading on my infotainment. I filled it, and I noticed it did have dried white deposits all around the cap and the threads as well. I'm taking it into the dealer in a day. I'll see what they say. Hopefully, this'll help someone in the same situation
Hi I don't believe the drivetrain error is related to the subsequent low coolant level error, but please report back with an update. Good luck!
@NoBrainer Talk so it ended up being my vanos solenoids. The coolent was just a coincidence. The b58 has a tendency to lose coolant, they told me. And that's also what I've been seeing online as well. Hope this can help others in the future 🙏
@@djsarandos8138 Thanks for the update and indeed occasional coolant loss is possibly the most reported issue on the B8. What was the issue with the vanos solenoids, and did they replace anything?
@NoBrainer Talk I didn't ask cause my extended warranty covered, thankfully 🙏. But it would have been a hefty bill, I'm sure otherwise
@NoBrainer Talk and yeah, they replaced them
When I check the coolant level on the main tank in the mornings it is low but after driving it and checking again when it cools down, the level goes close to full. What’s the reason for this? I live in sf so it gets very cold during the night/early morning.
There are at least two possible reasons: One is that in the morning the engine and coolant are likely to be cooler than in the evening (even if you waited for the engine to cool down in the evening), and the fluid volume expands or contracts with temperature. The second reason is that the heat management module has four different configurations, opening and closing certain circuits depending on the mode and temperature, and there may be fluid level changes because of the Heat management module configuration. It could also be that the system needs to be pressurised in order for the fluid to escape pooling in certain areas, and when it is unpressurised it slowly flows back through gravity into these pocket areas (this is just a complete guess).
Salt deposits lol
If we overfill and it end up spilling, does that cause a burning smell ?
The water element will evaporate and I believe the anti-freeze element is more likely to smell sweet as it heats up.
What is ideal coolant temps?
For normal driving I believe engine coolant should stabilize at roughly 110 degrees C. It will only get higher if the rate of heat generation exceeds rate of heat dissipation, which will be a cumulative effect after sustained high engine loads, or insufficient coolant in the system.
Hello! Nize Video and regards from Germany!
I got an issue - my 2017 M140i loses Water from the main tank...I refield it (about 800ml) between min. and max. After a week now i saw 20-40ml lower level in the main Tank and the second tank for the intercooler which had Perfect filling is under min. now..
Do you have any ideas..??
Thanks for help!!🥸
Hi there, the first note is that the two coolant circuits (engine and intercooler) are completely independent and low coolant in both circuits cannot have the same root cause. Have a quick look at your filler caps to check for any obvious signs of leaks (white mineral deposits around the expansion tanks) and secure the caps well (continue tightening for a very brief moment even after the cap clicks into the final position). Have a look at your radiators including the small auxiliary radiator for any obvious signs of damage from which coolant can leak. Check your exhaust to see if there is any white smoke (signs of engine coolant leak via the turbocharger). If these superficial checks are all OK and the problem persists in either circuit then the affected circuit needs to be pressurised to check for leakage (the dealer will install a device on the expansion tank that will increase the pressure and leave it for several hours - if the pressure drops there is a leak somewhere). Some mechanics may also add a dye into the coolant and using fluorescent light try to find where it's leaking from if they cannot find a source through normal visual inspection. Most likely you had some coolant escape from the filler caps, which is a common experience. Hope this helps.
Hey - thanks mate! I tested all your points but no one get a Solution. the last month my engine had have no coolent lost...any ideas now?😂
@@marvintrabandt711 Hi there, I understood that you are experiencing coolant loss, even after extensive troubleshooting. So if the mechanic pressurized the two systems and left it overnight and there was no leaks found the next day (pressure remained constant), then the most probable answer is the caps of the two tanks (the only things not installed during the pressure leak test). Some owners have had success by replacing the expansion tank caps with new. If nothing else has worked, replace the caps with new. If the problem continues after replacing the caps, then have the pressure test repeated by a different mechanic, as it's possible the test was not performed correctly. Hope this helps and Good luck!
Awesome vid
background music is in the way
Noted, it seems some people have this issue with my videos and others don't. I will get to the bottom of it.
My coolant hose just burst...it's a bmw I guess, reliability is shyt
Why the music??? Makes it difficult to hear.
I added music a long time ago, which I liked and I kinda started including music ever since. I always perform tests with and without the music before posting a new video. Is it possible it might be your speaker settings?
@@NoBrainerTalk I think people just prefer you not have any music or keep the music volume much lower. We’re all here to listen to what you have to say. :)
@@acz88 Noted, more videos are definitely coming...
Do both coolant use the same coolant ? The blue one ?
Yes, the same BMW blue coolant/anti-freeze (in both tanks mixed 50/50 with distilled water).
Smh, BMW owners. It's blue, it's green, it's olive, it's magenta
What happens if there is too much coolant and someone ever takes it out?
The space in the expansion tank which is not filled with coolant, probably is used for coolant expansion (when it gets very hot). If there is too much liquid coolant I would guess that under sustained high engine loads (where the heat is not being dissipated quickly enough) the expanded coolant or evaporated element of it can leak passed the cap.
Shouldn't the tank automatically push out excess fluid over time?
Hi, the tank's cap has a pressure relief valve, so excess pressure will be released into the engine bay. The level of coolant in the tank varies I believe based on temperature (the coolant will occupy a greater volume when it's at 110 deg C compared to 10 deg C) and I also believe that as the heat management module changes cooling modes, the amount of fluid in the expansion tank can also slightly change as the various cooling paths are opened and closed. If the coolant in the system and also expansion tank is below minimum, the hotter that fluid will become (compared to normal levels) and the higher the pressure it will reach, hence the minimum quantity of coolant to maintain engine performance. The more fluid in the tank, the less space available for normal thermal expansion, hence the maximum level of coolant. Both too low and too much coolant will likely lead to the pressure relief valve to open. It's always best to keep coolant between the maximum and minimum indicators.
1 minute in the video stopped watching music/audio is terrible….
Noted with thanks. Others have reported dislike for the background music in some of my videos, so I took it into account for future videos.
Why water pumps don't have quick connects hoses
I'm sure the engineers have their reasons, which might also be meeting cost constraints..
Mine was a different colour too.
Noted. I would like to have more information, please feel free to email me photos of the fluid: nobrainertalk@gmail.com
music is too loud..
Noted and taken into account in Season 2 episodes.. :)
Music too loud !!!!!!!
Noted, it happens to some people, not sure why. Well noted though.
My coolant was low so i bought peak 50/50 for european cars, is this safe for my B58?
Hi there, the peak coolant is reportedly free of nitrites, phosphates and silicates. If this is true then theoretically it is not that dissimilar to the BMW spec coolant. However, we don't know what anti corrosive or anti scale additives are in there: BMW coolant is supposedly a lifetime coolant whereas the peak has a finite number of years guarantee so the difference may take years to show. I don't think you have any urgent issue to deal with, but for peace of mind I personally would perform a flush of whichever system was low, at the next scheduled service and refill with only one type of coolant. Unless there's any big difference in cost or for some reason it was unavailable, I would stick to the BMW coolant. Just my personal opinion.
@@NoBrainerTalk thanks, i ordered bmw coolant, its just my car is low right now im scared to drive around right now, i guess i will wait and return the peak
@@trapgodnah9022 Hi, which expansion tank was low? and how low? If the issue you are having is that the intercooler expansion tank is at minimum for example, there would still be a large amount of coolant in the low temperature system, and there would be no issue to continue driving the car. Even if max peak temperatures were reached more quickly with less coolant, the ECU is clever enough to reduce performance to lower temperatures. If it is just at minimum, you could just topup with distilled water, such small topup is unlikely to change the 50/50 mix by much. Also I should mention that many people will argue that you can operate your BMW with non-BWM coolant as long as it has the same specs, and there is no evidence that damage can be caused with such non-BMW coolant (although as I see it, a comparison would be needed after many years/miles of using alternative coolant). Just mentioning because I'm not sure it's the right decision to avoid driving completely, unless there is more significant loss of coolant.
@@NoBrainerTalk car does feel a little slower, the bigger tank was below minimum the small tank was good
@@trapgodnah9022 The bigger tank is the engine coolant, and also used as the turbocharger coolant. It's therefore the higher temperature system (the smaller tank is for the intercooler), and it will warm up more quickly with less coolant. The engine coolant expansion tank has a low coolant level sensor. If you had the warning light come on for low coolant, then I agree it's best not to drive until you bring the coolant to correct levels. If you found it low by checking visually but did not get the warning light, then I believe it's still above what is considered "too low" and below optimum, and it's best to avoid spirited sporty driving until you bring it to correct levels. I hope this information helps. I believe you are like me, and do not want to take any chances, so will wait to refill it before driving.
the effect you used on the video is bad
Hi, what effect do you mean?