05-01-2024, 06:13 PM | #23 |
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One thing perhaps you can do is ask them to look at the underside of the engine after the pressure test is applied since the few drops of leaking coolant might show up somewhere. But again that could be concealed depending on where the leak is. I'm guessing they'll be happy to dig into the engine if you pay them but that can get costly quickly. A good SA will probably dissuade you from doing that. My SA even dissuaded me from changing other coolant hoses seeing as I was determined to do so after paying 1000 bucks in labor for a $100 part because he said there's just no way to know a hose is leaky until it leaks so I'd be wasting money.
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05-01-2024, 06:22 PM | #24 | |
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Your issue is right in your photo, and I say this from my own experience. If you look at the base of the cap, you will see the "crust". That's your leak. It's the small O ring on the underside of the cap that is leaking.
Again. My own 23 m550 is doing the same thing. I have 7500 miles on it. The solution so far, a VERY slight trace of super lube on all of the O rings on the underside of he cap. Take a small brush, clean all that crust off at the base of the fill neck and check it in 3 to 4 weeks. You'll see what I'm referring too. My dealer offered to replace the cap on mine and I'm not willing to take a 30 mine drive for that, so it will wait until the next service. The other dead giveaway, the coolant cryatalizes in the caps threads making it super tough to remove. Good luck, post back what you find. Quote:
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05-01-2024, 08:23 PM | #25 |
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Just hit 12k miles and got a low coolant warning this morning on my way to work. No warning on the way home. No visible leaks or coolant smell, engine compartment still looks brand new. I made an appointment for Friday anyway to have the dealer to check it out.
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05-01-2024, 08:44 PM | #27 |
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I’ve never had a low coolant warning on any car until my 540 and 550.
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05-01-2024, 08:51 PM | #28 | |
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Or it won’t come on again for years and they will have been right! I just would be concerned if this happens like 3-4 times in 12-18 months time and they keep going with evaporation. Basically, I’d just do what I actually did do. Let them be the experts and when it happened again, I made sure and pointed out it was the second time and they indeed found a leak that time around. I’ll say for my SA, to his credit, he never blew it off. The first time he gave it a once over and didn’t see anything so he said “let’s top it off and this will be our benchmark and if it happens again, we’ll assume there’s a leak somewhere we can’t see.” I thought that was fair enough. Having the support of the warranty helped, too.
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05-01-2024, 08:58 PM | #29 | |
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05-01-2024, 09:01 PM | #30 |
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And I’m guessing the engineers and QC people would love to fix it. I’d venture to guess it’s the accountants that want to leave it be. Which makes sense on a model they aren’t selling anymore. And the only group that will overpower the bean counters is the lawyers. Which apparently they finally did on the M5 and M8 because they have a stop sale over their leaky tanks.
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05-01-2024, 09:16 PM | #31 | |
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05-03-2024, 01:04 PM | #32 | |
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05-03-2024, 03:48 PM | #33 |
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I took my car to the dealer this morning to address a low coolant warning. After a pressure test, it was determined the water pump was leaking, a new one has been ordered. Only got 12k miles out of the original pump.
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05-03-2024, 08:50 PM | #34 |
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So I popped the hood today to find this. Coolant splashed all over...the cap area in particular looks bad. The cap itself was wet with coolant when I unscrewed it after it cooled down. I am hoping the cap is the main culprit. Ordered one from Advanced Auto Parts as he said he would be getting it to me by tomorrow morning. Will try it on and see if it solves the problem. Hopefully it does....
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05-06-2024, 05:24 PM | #35 | |
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--- Right or wrong, I'm not going to lie to not say that some of that super lube grease didn't make it on to the threads of the reservoir and the underside threads of the cap as well. My first warning and encounter of this issue happened at home so I had the strap wrench and time to fiddle with it and break it free. The last thing I want is to get a low coolant warning 100 miles from home and no way to get the GD cap off. Coating the threads makes sure that won't happen. |
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05-07-2024, 08:14 AM | #36 | |
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05-07-2024, 08:47 AM | #37 |
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Here's a pic of my reservoir cap that failed.
Got a new one from the dealership, which they had in stock for about $25 IIRC. I had to use a large set of channel locks to get the cap off. It was frozen from the dried up coolant. Problem solved.
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05-07-2024, 10:01 AM | #38 | |
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My dealer said they would replace it at the next service interval if I wanted it done. Of course they would not say " we've seen this before" but I got the vibe based on their conversation that they know it's a known issue. But since I used the lube on the O rings and on the threads of the cap and Reservoir neck I have not seen an issue. So I'm content to leave it at that. Attached is a photo of what I used. They make an "O ring" version as well but this is available at pretty much any hardware store. And like I said previously I only used a slight trace on it, not gobs of it that is going to drip down into the coolant. I cleaned up the top of the fill neck on the bottle and it the neck base. I pop the hood periodically to see if there is any residue there, but since the lube addition it's been almost nonexistent. |
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05-07-2024, 10:05 AM | #39 | |
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05-07-2024, 02:01 PM | #40 |
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It took channel locks to get my cap off and the coolant was down to min so I'm off to the dealer to get a new cap and coolant to mix. Will pick up some of this lube for the threads on the way. Hopefully that will solve the issue, at least in the near term.
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05-07-2024, 05:39 PM | #41 |
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Went out looking for Super Lube and couldn't find it in a local store but there are other options. Just be careful not to pick something that has additives that can prematurely degrade the plastic (Esters and polyglycols, graphite and molybdenum). That's where Super Lube is good. Their compatibility sheet lists either Excellent or Good compatibility with most plastics. There's one other place nearby that should have it and will try that tomorrow.
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05-09-2024, 10:09 AM | #42 |
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Thanks to NateM15 and HerkHealer . My cap area was looking very similar. Happy to report that I replaced it and see no tell tale signs for the last two days of any leaking coolant on top. The cap I used was a CarQuest cap from Advance Auto. For whatveer reason it is a much more snug fit than the original. The original cap has this slight bit extra space in front and looks a lot like HerkHealer 's pic. With the CarQuest cap that is not there. Keeping fingers crossed and hope this solves the problem...
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05-09-2024, 03:26 PM | #43 |
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My radiator had a leak, it was replaced. I was still getting coolant warning, come find out the sensor was defected, but it’s in the dispenser tank. Therefore, dispenser tank was replaced about 6 weeks ago, no issues since then.
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05-09-2024, 04:27 PM | #44 | |
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I had a very slow leak that seems to have gone away entirely after lubing the threads on the old cap. I just used some old Shimano bike lube I had lying around. It's clearly an issue with hard heat-cycled plastic that is causing pressure loss. New cap is not needed. I also removed my engine cover and may remove the foam insulation. I think the encapsulation of the engine causes the plastics to break down much faster than they should. |
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