I’m new here and hope someone has some ideas for me. Please forgive if this has already been discussed. I’ve done a search and didn’t find anything.
I have a 2006 Z4 and am having a problem with the temperature appearing to run hot. As far as I can remember, the gauge has always stayed at the 12:00 position. But for the past year, the gauge has been acting wonky by rising to the 1:00 position, then bouncing back to 12, then inching up to 2:00. As y’all know, at about the 2:15 position is the red zone.
It has not yet reached the red zone. But I drive around in terror of it doing so. This ONLY happens when the weather temperature is 92 degrees (Fahrenheit, because I’m in the US) and over, which is frequently in Texas.
There is a back story to this, but I don’t know if it’s relevant. But I’ve tried all kinds of things to resolve this issue. Our local BMW dealer is not very good. What they told me to do has not resolved the issue. Here’s what’s been done so far:
Replaced coolant cap
Replaced valve cover gasket
Replaced expansion tank and automatic trans cooler thermostat
Replaced coolant pump, thermostat, several coolant hoses
Sensors in the coolant system, which names I don’t know, have been replaced.
Any ideas? Is more info needed?
Temperature Gauge
Re: Temperature Gauge
Sadly, I haven’t received any replies on this.
But I’ll update anyway.
My car now starts overheating in cooler weather, rather than only very hot days.
I’ve taken it to yet another mechanic who specializes in European cars. The shop owner has an older Z4 that he has totally rebuilt, so he should be intimately familiar with them. They have many good reviews and ar described as “the best” in our area. They were very confident that they could diagnose and fix it.
So, in their investigation, they discovered that the coolant was aerated and bubbly. At first they thought the previous mechanic had put too much Dawn detergent in the coolant (BMW recommends a couple of drops), but when they flushed it, there as actually no detergent in it. So they flushed it and refilled it. Thinking it was fixed, they told me to come get it. It as about 86 degrees and the traffic was heavy, so I had to sit at several stop lights. Within about 15 minutes of driving away from the shop, the temperature gauge started rising in the same manner. When the needle started touching the red zone. I pulled over and had it towed back to the shop.
That was a couple of days ago. The mechanic says that once again, the coolant was bubbly. So somehow, air is getting into the system.
If anyone has any ideas, please let me know. My husband read that one thing that can cause air in the system is a blown head gasket, but my car doesn’t have the other symptoms.
But I’ll update anyway.
My car now starts overheating in cooler weather, rather than only very hot days.
I’ve taken it to yet another mechanic who specializes in European cars. The shop owner has an older Z4 that he has totally rebuilt, so he should be intimately familiar with them. They have many good reviews and ar described as “the best” in our area. They were very confident that they could diagnose and fix it.
So, in their investigation, they discovered that the coolant was aerated and bubbly. At first they thought the previous mechanic had put too much Dawn detergent in the coolant (BMW recommends a couple of drops), but when they flushed it, there as actually no detergent in it. So they flushed it and refilled it. Thinking it was fixed, they told me to come get it. It as about 86 degrees and the traffic was heavy, so I had to sit at several stop lights. Within about 15 minutes of driving away from the shop, the temperature gauge started rising in the same manner. When the needle started touching the red zone. I pulled over and had it towed back to the shop.
That was a couple of days ago. The mechanic says that once again, the coolant was bubbly. So somehow, air is getting into the system.
If anyone has any ideas, please let me know. My husband read that one thing that can cause air in the system is a blown head gasket, but my car doesn’t have the other symptoms.
Re: Temperature Gauge
Another update. My car is still with the mechanic. They’ve checked the head gasket and it’s fine. In fact, they said my engine is in great shape, almost like new with no wear. They did a pressure test and found no problems.
They are completely baffled. Meanwhile, my lovely 17 year old, garage-kept shiny red Z4 is sitting out in all kinds of weather. And I’m imagining all kinds of deterioration.
Somebody HELP!
They are completely baffled. Meanwhile, my lovely 17 year old, garage-kept shiny red Z4 is sitting out in all kinds of weather. And I’m imagining all kinds of deterioration.
Somebody HELP!
Re: Temperature Gauge
Ok, another update just in case someone somewhere is searching for a solution to the same problem I’ve been having.
I do have my car back and it is running fine right now with no overheating. Of course, it’s winter now, so it can’t truly be tested for an overheating problem. I didn’t have any problems with it last winter either, but the overheating started again as soon as the weather got hot this past summer.
Anyway, it was suggested to my husband by a mechanic at VW that perhaps there was an air pocket in the heater coil. He said to park it on a slope and let the bubble work its way out. My husband relayed this info to the mechanic. He did some research on it and saw that other people said the same thing.
So he flushed the system again, parked it on a slope and refilled the coolant. When he checked the next day, the coolant level was about a half a cup lower, so he turned the car to slope the other way and filled it again. The next day, it was, again, about a half a cup low, so he refilled it again. The system was checked again and again for leaks and there were none. So that tells us there WAS air in the system and it rose to the top and escaped because of the tilt, which left the coolant level low.
So now it is, hopefully, air free. I’m not altogether convinced that it is fixed. But am cautiously optimistic. I won’t know for certain until summer returns.
I do have my car back and it is running fine right now with no overheating. Of course, it’s winter now, so it can’t truly be tested for an overheating problem. I didn’t have any problems with it last winter either, but the overheating started again as soon as the weather got hot this past summer.
Anyway, it was suggested to my husband by a mechanic at VW that perhaps there was an air pocket in the heater coil. He said to park it on a slope and let the bubble work its way out. My husband relayed this info to the mechanic. He did some research on it and saw that other people said the same thing.
So he flushed the system again, parked it on a slope and refilled the coolant. When he checked the next day, the coolant level was about a half a cup lower, so he turned the car to slope the other way and filled it again. The next day, it was, again, about a half a cup low, so he refilled it again. The system was checked again and again for leaks and there were none. So that tells us there WAS air in the system and it rose to the top and escaped because of the tilt, which left the coolant level low.
So now it is, hopefully, air free. I’m not altogether convinced that it is fixed. But am cautiously optimistic. I won’t know for certain until summer returns.
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Juvvajuvva
- Joined: Sun 06 Nov, 2016 16:52
- Posts: 90
Re: Temperature Gauge
These engines and particularly e36 need to be bled with the nose elevated. I think the reason you have had little success getting replies is the level of traffic here these days sadly.
