F30 Radiator leaking on the very first day

[anuarman]

• Collected my first F30 on Thursday afternoon
• Immediately went for a spin to Putrajaya and back to KL
• Parked my at my office
• Left the car for about two 5 hours
• When I restart my car ..there was a warning "coolant low please top-up water at the earliest opportunity to avoid engine scalding"
• Called BMW mobile care.. the technican said it was normal for a new car just top it up with clean water...and top-up I did
• My baby F30 was fine on Friday
• Drove the car to Malacca and back on Saturday..total mileage done was about 500 k.m
• The next day the same warning signal appeared again
• I figured this is not normal and reported to BMW mobile care
• BMW sent a loader to collect the car and took it to the service centre
• The technician informed that there was defect in the radiator water tank
• According to him..In fact many units have exprienced the same problem and BMW have issued a nationwide recall
• I argued if that is the case why the hell you let my car out without replacing the radiator
• They replaced the radiator water tank eventually
• Now I'm worried that the above may have some negative affect on the engine in the long run
• Need your advice ..what would you do if this happens to you
• There are 2 more issues with regard to my F30 ..a) the engine is noisy b) From the cockpit I can hear like loose fan belt when the engine is slow
• According to the technican issue (a) is normal for F30 model due to its small engine size as compared to the earlier 3 series version ..meanwhile for issue (b) it is also normal as the noise was due to sound from turbo flapping..it will disappear when the speed increases
• I wanted to verify with other F30 but the technician said I must find another F30 which has run 500 k.m
• Due to the above experience now I rather sceptical with the technican explanation
• Appreciate F30 owners out there to give some advice and validate the technician explanation on issue (a) and (b)

Regards

 

[Volvos525i]

Welcome to the forum bro...
Please visit the newbies section for self intro...:top:

 

[Fredo]

Anuaraman bro,
care to share where did u purchase ur car from?
What variant?
In general yes, f30 engine is a littler noisier compared to the previous NA engine..
but it is rather subjective to what level is 'noisy' to u..
perhaps a comparison with the rest of our rusty jackets may clear ur doubt
Hopefully nothing major

 

[_M_]

Hi anuarman.. welcome to the forum.

My F30 also had the "top up coolant" msg. But it was a faulty sensor, and was replaced.

On the noise.. yes, the F30 4 cylinder engines r noisier compared to 6 cylinder engines. The engine clatter tend to reduce once its reached its operating temperature.

If u wanna know more, suggest u meet fellow members during the various member meet ups or Friday nite "TT" seasion.

Btw, which F30 is yours? In addition to introduction as advised by bro Volvos525i, u may want to list your car here:
http://www.bmwclubmalaysia.com/forums/showthread.php?48486-Rollcall-!!-Who-has-F30/page33

 

[splee]

IMHO the warning message is most likely due to a faulty sensor rather than anything else. Do you see puddle of water underneath your car after you parked for sometime? There should not be any long term effect on your engine as the car is designed to self protect and will not run if any important parameters is out of the normal range.

The F30 turbo engine is definitely noisier than a naturally aspirated engine. This is typical of a turbo engine. Not too worry.

 

[terry8]

It's bad quality control if they let out a brand new car in this condition - even claim it's a common problem - oh dear

 

[Chip Yoose]

Bad things does happened and unfortunately it happened to you! Irrespective the scale of the problem it is not a good start. Not all dealer technician know what is the caused of failure for every problem. And it is good if you could get a second opinion. You should ask for a Senior Technician to attend to you. They may have better experience and might provide you better solution! :wink:

 

[anuarman]

Thanks bro..will do

 

[Volvos525i]

Thanks bro anuarman its just a formality...
Hope setel ur prob soonest bro...

keta aku standet je...tak apa kan...

 

[anuarman]

Hi bro,
I bought it from BMW Jalan Tun Razak..previously known as Sapura Auto
It is sport version 320i
Feel a little bit better upon hearing of your explanation

 

[anuarman]

Hi bro splee,

Yup..there was puddle of water underneath the car...that was why I immediately called BMW ..Yeah I hope there will no long term effect on my engine....Thanks for the BMW technology..Had it not been the warning message I would have driven the car around with empty radiator water tank...dare not to imagine what would happen..

 

[Volvos525i]

Yup bro done wait longer better make ealier ok...

keta aku standet je...tak apa kan...

 

[jason]

Just to be clear the clatter from the N20 engine is due to the direct injectors and not the turbo.

Hope ur problems are solved soon.

 

[langatian]

Just to be clear the clatter from the N20 engine is due to the direct injectors and not the turbo.

Hope ur problems are solved soon.

maybe the clatter due to our fuel quality. EURO5 engine need to detuned with EURO2M fuel.

 

[omnimech]

maybe the clatter due to our fuel quality. EURO5 engine need to detuned with EURO2M fuel.

Are you talking about diesel ?

The petrol unit also suffers the same issue and we have RON98 here in Malaysia.

I doubt its a fuel quality but rather the design of the engine itself .

Doesnt really matter honestly. Gone are the days of the quiet revvy 6 cylinders :|

 

[lazzydogg]

The F30 turbo engine is definitely noisier than a naturally aspirated engine. This is typical of a turbo engine. Not too worry.

Not only that.... the made it noisier so that others can hear a UDM coming and be cautious...... yehaaaa

 

[_M_]

Not only that.... the made it noisier so that others can hear a UDM coming and be cautious...... yehaaaa

Hahaha.. yes, the acoustics is an integral part of the joyful package..:burnout:

 

[langatian]

Are you talking about diesel ?

The petrol unit also suffers the same issue and we have RON98 here in Malaysia.

I doubt its a fuel quality but rather the design of the engine itself .

Doesnt really matter honestly. Gone are the days of the quiet revvy 6 cylinders :|

both of fuel. like I said the petrol unit also suffer with our fuel quality and not to mention with our diesel.

 

[splee]

Guys, OT already. This topic is on radiator and not fuel quality. By the way, since our f30 is detuned for Ron 95 then if we put Ron 97 no use and a waste of money?

 

[omnimech]

Guys, OT already. This topic is on radiator and not fuel quality. By the way, since our f30 is detuned for Ron 95 then if we put Ron 97 no use and a waste of money?

Our cars are capable of taking minimum ron 92 .

At each higher ron level, the car ecu will adjust accordingly .. with lower rons, it will detune itself to avoid knocking.

This is one of the main reasons why tuning houses always show excessive horse power on their dyno graphs.. they are most likely running highest ron possible to push the car to its maximum potential.