[txusa03]

I need some help, does anyone know how to read/interpret the Diagnosis Control Unit function? As you might have heard on the news, we recently had to dealt with Hur Rita. I took my car and try to go away from Rita. On the way back, I ran into coolant problem with my e90. It was a nightmare. I took the car to a local dealership and they performed some tests through the Diagnosis Control Unit functions. See my photos of the result of this test. The local dealer told me I can still drive the car back to Houston based on this test and the car should be OK. I am now worried that there might be some seriously hidden problems as a result of this trip. Does anyone know what the result of the diagnosis is saying? What else should I get the dealer to check for? Should I get them to check the car thermostat? They are going to replace the electric water pump. Car back in Houston and is sitting in the shop waiting for the parts to arrive. Any comments/suggestions on what to do next as I wait?

[jrct9454]

Is there some reason you won't accept the dealer's diagnosis? Sounds reasonable to me - the water pump failed. The decision to make the water pump another electronic function was something I questioned from the get-go, but like the idiotic mandatory run-flat tires, very few other people seemed bothered.

Even better, they make you wait for the part - I predict this is the first of many such failures for E90 owners.

[txusa03]

I just want to understand what the diagnosis is really saying and how bad is this to the engine. I am not a mechanic so I do not understand what the print out results is saying. I know they are going to replace the water pumps but what else might have been wrong as a result of this.

[Broken1]

From what I can tell, is your water pump failed. The first orange warning was saying the car is getting warm...be carefull. The second orange warning is saying coolant level low or water pump failure...take to dealer. The third red sign is saying car temperature tooo hot. Turn off car now.

It seems from the reports that you didn't damage anything. The water pump will be replaced and everything will be fine.

[txusa03]

Originally Posted by Broken1

From what I can tell, is your water pump failed. The first orange warning was saying the car is getting warm...be carefull. The second orange warning is saying coolant level low or water pump failure...take to dealer. The third red sign is saying car temperature tooo hot. Turn off car now.

It seems from the reports that you didn't damage anything. The water pump will be replaced and everything will be fine.

Broken1, tht report was performed before I made the trip, dealer told me I can still drive it back home which is 200 miles away. I guess I should also get my dealer in Houston to run the same report then.

[btc]

Originally Posted by txusa03

I need some help, does anyone know how to read/interpret the Diagnosis Control Unit function? As you might have heard on the news, we recently had to dealt with Hur Rita. I took my car and try to go away from Rita. On the way back, I ran into coolant problem with my e90. It was a nightmare. I took the car to a local dealership and they performed some tests through the Diagnosis Control Unit functions. See my photos of the result of this test. The local dealer told me I can still drive the car back to Houston based on this test and the car should be OK. I am now worried that there might be some seriously hidden problems as a result of this trip. Does anyone know what the result of the diagnosis is saying? What else should I get the dealer to check for? Should I get them to check the car thermostat? They are going to replace the electric water pump. Car back in Houston and is sitting in the shop waiting for the parts to arrive. Any comments/suggestions on what to do next as I wait?

You should get them to check the thermostat. Thermostat could be the problem that it not sending the signal to the pump.

[Broken1]

The dealer told you to drive home with an over heating engine? OY! I would get your dealer to do a full check, see if you damaged anything. And maybe even email BMWNA and ask them what it all means and what course of action you should take!

[Broken1]

I didn't mean to sound so dramatic. I'm sure everything is fine with your car, these things are built strong! You should see some of the abuse my old(E46 325ti) car (which i sold to a friend) is getting - and there I was thinking I sold it to a good family...it makes me

[longtran]

ok, you got your car on sept 26? it already have problems? one thing i notice is your high miles in 2 days??? is that correct amundo?? sorry i am not a mechanic here. is there areason why you dont trust what the dealer told you?

[E90Fleet]

The fault codes in the cars memory show a problem with the electric water pump, hence why its must be replaced.

Keep us informed

[E90Fleet]

Originally Posted by jrct9454

Is there some reason you won't accept the dealer's diagnosis? Sounds reasonable to me - the water pump failed. The decision to make the water pump another electronic function was something I questioned from the get-go, but like the idiotic mandatory run-flat tires, very few other people seemed bothered.

Even better, they make you wait for the part - I predict this is the first of many such failures for E90 owners.

Whats wrong with the electric pumps ?

Ive seen many mechanical pumps on a number of makes fail at a much lower milage.


It would not be very realistic to have the multi-temperature engines without electric pumps.

[David328M-Sport]

Originally Posted by jrct9454

but like the idiotic mandatory run-flat tires, very few other people seemed bothered.

Even better, they make you wait for the part - I predict this is the first of many such failures for E90 owners.

I am very happy with my Pirelli run flats.

What is idiotic about run flats in your opinion please?

Why do you predict many failures for E90 owners? Is it too much technology for your liking?

Lastly, why if you are concerned about the E90 range, are you considering an E91?

Thanks jrct.

[txusa03]

Originally Posted by longtran

ok, you got your car on sept 26? it already have problems? one thing i notice is your high miles in 2 days??? is that correct amundo?? sorry i am not a mechanic here. is there areason why you dont trust what the dealer told you?

I have had the car for roughly 4 months now. Sept 26 is the day the car was brought in to have this problem checked. I drive alot as you can see with 8000+ miles. Not very comfortable w/the car overheating at 8000+ miles and I need a reliable car because I travels alot in the car. As you can see, the dealer never mention about the thermostat and there are members here who suggested that I should get the dealer to look at the thermostat also. I learned more about the car here than what I learn from those Service Advisor at BMW.

[txusa03]

Originally Posted by E90Fleet

Whats wrong with the electric pumps ?

It would not be very realistic to have the multi-temperature engines without electric pumps.

E90fleet, that is what I am trying to find out, what the heck went wrong w/ the eletric pump with only 8000+ miles?

Second, what do you mean when you say multi-temperature engines? Is that what the e90 engine is, it is a multi-temparature engine? why is it called multi-temperature?

BTW, dealer is having a difficult time locating an electric pump. They are on national back order, no dealer in the whole state of TX has the elec pump and dealer in neighboring states also does not have it. Look like i'll be driving the X3 loaner for a while.

[E90Fleet]

Originally Posted by txusa03

E90fleet, that is what I am trying to find out, what the heck went wrong w/ the eletric pump with only 8000+ miles?

Second, what do you mean when you say multi-temperature engines? Is that what the e90 engine is, it is a multi-temparature engine? why is it called multi-temperature?

BTW, dealer is having a difficult time locating an electric pump. They are on national back order, no dealer in the whole state of TX has the elec pump and dealer in neighboring states also does not have it. Look like i'll be driving the X3 loaner for a while.

Thge N52 engine in the E90 doesnt have one fixed operating temperature like most other engines. It Changes its temperature to suit the driving conditions. One temp is better for acceleration, another is better for cruise fuel consumption ect ect. Thats why you dont see a temperature guage, because it changes a lot.

The pump as with any ther part can have a fault, and unfortunately you are one of the few that have gotten a faulty one

Hope they find you a pump soon
Keep us updated

[jrct9454]

To David....

Taking them one at a time:

-The run-flats are a poor choice because they force you to replace the tire if damaged, and it WILL be damaged if you actually take advantage of the run-flat capability. It then costs you 30-50% more to replace, or better yet, 150% if you have to replace two, which is what will happen once you get a few miles, say 5-8k or so, and one has to go - the second tire on the same axle may have too much tread difference to allow safe use.

I have no problem with these as an OPTION. Forcing everyone to buy into this expensive solution to a non-problem is, well....idiotic.

-Look at the track record. BMW [and all of the Germans] have done pretty poorly at picking suppliers for electronic components. There are too many examples to list, but on a similar note to electronically controlled water pumps, how about the Siemens fan switches that had E46 cars going up in flames? Remember that one? I surely do. And the first set of replacement switches were also bad, so some owners wound up having to do it twice.

-Like everyone else in this forum, I like the way the car drives, and I want a wagon if possible. MB has pulled the C-wagon from our market, and Toyota decided to do the same thing with the new IS. That leaves the field right now to BMW and Audi [I find the A3 to be a very impressive package]. So sure, the E91 is still on my list, but I intend to wait to see how the early adapters fare. So far, it seems like a mixed bag:

-Great basic dynamics, good ride, fine engine performance
-Too many rattles and noises from some cars, plus the continued
unresolved issues about steering "shimmy" on others, has me
waiting and seeing. And yes, I am unhappy about the lack of
availability of a real spare tire or a place to put it.

In sum, I'm watching and waiting to see how it goes. The car I'm interested in [a wagon without the AWD hardware] won't be in our market for another 5-6 months anyway, so I have lots of time for others to debug the car and help me make up my mind.

[txusa03]

UPDATE, I got my car back this week and they replaced the elec water pump with a refurbished one. Hey, as long as it works (that is all I care and it is all covered by BMW-no charge). They ran the Diagnosis Control unit functions test and there is no more fault codes. Also I noticed that the engine does not take long to cool down at night when I park in my garage. Before with the old elec water pump, the engine takes a long time to cool down and the fan would still kick in after I shut down the engine. Not any more. I hope this is just an isolated incident and that no one else have to go through this sh*t like I did. I hope this refurbished unit will hold up for a long time for me as well.

[firstkill]

Glad to hear that your car is okay.
Im not sure about BMW warrenty.. but some of the other car companies offer a Vacation insurance type of thing. Like if your trip gets "altered" by your car breaking down... they will reimburse you for part of the expenses.

I know Audi and MB has it... not sure about bmw.


fk

[RichP]

Originally Posted by jrct9454

[I find the A3 to be a very impressive package].

and you are worried about BMW reliability!!