Car Overheating Warning

[jinda]

So I was driving on Saturday and on a stoplight, the LCD screen showed "engine overheating" message warning and the car began running weak. I managed to just crawl into a parking lot to turn the engine off.

But the weird thing is the instrument cluster oil temp gauge is showing normal temp level.

I opened the hood and there seem to be no signs of overheating. Unlike any real overheating cars where you can feel its unusually hot when popping up the hood.

I restarted the car and the warning is gone and managed to drive home. The only other thing I noticed is this loud humming sound like the fan is working so hard that I can hear it from inside the cabin.

Is this the thermostat detecting its overheating even if its not?

I was able to get an appointment in the service center tomorrow morning but just want to get some ideas on what this could be. TIA!

[jinda]

Brought my car to BMW but they wont cover the repair. Brought it there after reading somewhere here that some people out of warranty got the dealer to cover it.

Anyway, I brought it to my indy instead and they will submit a quote to my extended warranty provider if they will cover. If not then I have to pay it at least from indy should be too much.

[AK_Wes]

Originally Posted by jinda

Brought my car to BMW but they wont cover the repair. Brought it there after reading somewhere here that some people out of warranty got the dealer to cover it.

Anyway, I brought it to my indy instead and they will submit a quote to my extended warranty provider if they will cover. If not then I have to pay it at least from indy should be too much.

What are they saying the repair is? Thermostat?

If the repair is the replacing a malfunctioning thermostat it should be covered under a 10 year / 120k mile warranty I believe.

[RXeckless]

Originally Posted by jinda

So I was driving on Saturday and on a stoplight, the LCD screen showed "engine overheating" message warning and the car began running weak. I managed to just crawl into a parking lot to turn the engine off.

But the weird thing is the instrument cluster oil temp gauge is showing normal temp level.

I opened the hood and there seem to be no signs of overheating. Unlike any real overheating cars where you can feel its unusually hot when popping up the hood.

I restarted the car and the warning is gone and managed to drive home. The only other thing I noticed is this loud humming sound like the fan is working so hard that I can hear it from inside the cabin.

Is this the thermostat detecting its overheating even if its not?

I was able to get an appointment in the service center tomorrow morning but just want to get some ideas on what this could be. TIA!

The humming noise may be the water pump is failing!

Our thermostats fail open by design so a failing thermostat should not cause over-heating. Did you check the coolant reservoir? is it full? Did the car throw a code of any kind?

I just recently had my thermostat fail and it was covered under warranty, and believe the water pump is a known issue and also covered under a special extended warranty.

[AK_Wes]

Originally Posted by RXeckless

The humming noise may be the water pump is failing!

Our thermostats fail open by design so a failing thermostat should not cause over-heating. Did you check the coolant reservoir? is it full? Did the car throw a code of any kind?

I just recently had my thermostat fail and it was covered under warranty, and believe the water pump is a known issue and also covered under a special extended warranty.

Good to know on the Water Pump!!! I didn't know they had a special extended warranty for that as well. I'm bringing mine into the dealership tomorrow morning, as I currently have the Service Engine Soon light on and after hooking up my OBDII scanner it is throwing the following code: P0597 "Thermostat Heater Control Circuit / Open"

Thinking my only issue is the thermostat being stuck open, so I'm hoping it is covered for repairs!

[Turbod]

As stated before if your thermostat is stuck open it won't overheat unless you're just really low on coolant. It is the waterpumps job to circulate the fluid and these are known to fail on the N55. I haven't spent any time reading up on the N20 but I would assume it is also an electric waterpump.

[RXeckless]

Originally Posted by AK_Wes

Good to know on the Water Pump!!! I didn't know they had a special extended warranty for that as well. I'm bringing mine into the dealership tomorrow morning, as I currently have the Service Engine Soon light on and after hooking up my OBDII scanner it is throwing the following code: P0597 "Thermostat Heater Control Circuit / Open"

Thinking my only issue is the thermostat being stuck open, so I'm hoping it is covered for repairs!

Personally I emailed BMW with my VIN, mileage, code so I had some sort of documentation that it was covered to give a copy to the dealer. If your problem is in fact the thermostat the diagnostic will be covered as well. Good Luck

[AK_Wes]

Originally Posted by RXeckless

Personally I emailed BMW with my VIN, mileage, code so I had some sort of documentation that it was covered to give a copy to the dealer. If your problem is in fact the thermostat the diagnostic will be covered as well. Good Luck

Thanks for the reply!

BMW and the stealership service department fully covered the diagnostic fee ($139) and the thermostat replacement under the extended warranty. Guessing it would have been close to $750 total cost if it wasn't covered under warranty. 2015 BMW X1 with 42k miles....

[SharpAndCunning]

Originally Posted by AK_Wes

Thanks for the reply!

BMW and the stealership service department fully covered the diagnostic fee ($139) and the thermostat replacement under the extended warranty. Guessing it would have been close to $750 total cost if it wasn't covered under warranty. 2015 BMW X1 with 42k miles....

Was this an extended warranty you bought when you bought the car, or is this an extended warranty like the footwell module?