You can check it sooner with a quick start from cold and couple of revs up to 2.5-3k, but don't run it long, the engine heats up quickly. Get the coolant topped up, run the car a bit, and check it again once it's cooled down. I hope it's something obvious and easily found (and not leaking too fast!) To lose that much coolant, it's definitely going somewhere. If you do have a larger issue, then you can judge whether you can drive the car, what distance, and if the long trip would be worth the effort, or ok to drive that far. Find out yourself what you can, and go from there. I wouldn't think it could be worth travelling 4 hrs round trip just to check what might be a very minor issue. You could also e-mail Mike Miller, contact info is also in the Roundel, he might have additional specifics or sites to refer you to. You might try asking the dealer on specifics for checking the coolant, or, listed in the Roundel are the clubs technical reps, who have volunteered to respond to service questions Roundel lists their contact information. I can't tell you exactly how to interpret the float when you open the expansion tank cap, but hopefully the owner's manual details something there. If your coolant level is where it should be and there's no other evidence of major or minor leaks, could be something like an electrical glitch with the float, or something. Tap water can work, but it's preferable to use distilled water, which contains no impurities or minerals to contaminate your radiator and cooling system. Coolant is typically a 50-50 mix, coolant and water. Some coolants are pre-mixed, some are not. Should you need to top a car up with coolant in the future, keep in mind coolant is poisonous to animals, and are attracted to it by its smell and will drink it without knowing they're drinking something that could kill them (ie, contain the coolant properly and wipe up spills). Checking the coolant in the expansion tank, as mentioned, is most safely done with the engine cold. You can do a sniff test - pop the hood after driving the car, look around for leaks and see if you smell anything safest to do this with the engine off, you wouldn't want to lose your nose by snagging it in the fanblades, for instance, or, get killed by having your long scarf snag in spinning parts and choking you to death, or, well, you get the idea -). If you have a coolant leak, you may be able to smell coolant underhood, or possibly even in the car. I don't know about BMW's coolant, but coolant typically has a distinct sweet-ish smell. When you open the cap, if there's coolant in there, the float will pop up. See this link for what your expansion tank probably looks like (I chose a 2006 E90 with a production month early in 2006, you can start at the beginning of and choose your exact model) - the expansion tank is shown in the "Radiator" section. If your car has not been overheating or running hot (temp indicator at normal when driving and idling), and seems to be holding coolant (no obvious big leaks or out of coolant), it should be ok to drive. It might be obvious, but if the car won't hold coolant due to a major leak, you wouldn't want to drive it - the engine would overheat with disastrous and very expensive-to-repair consequences. Probably not though, because your coolant light wouldn't be intermittent, or just come on once, or occasionally - it would stay on. If you're so low on coolant that your expansion tank is empty, or, as best as you can tell, you don't have any coolant, that would indicate you have a major coolant leak. You can use to see a parts diagram to get an idea of where your expansion tank is so you know what to look for. E38 7's have a float with an indicator rod that pops up, so it will vary from model to model. Older BMW's, there was a line molded into the side of the tank. The expansion tank should have some means of assessing the proper coolant level. The coolant system pressurizes, and if you pop off your expansion tank cap after the car's been running and it's hot, you could scald yourself (so, don't scald yourself). These days, I wouldn't be surprised if BMW owner's manuals don't include any of that information.Ĭheck your coolant level with the car cold, engine off. Your owner's manual, presumably, would explain where to manually, visually, check your coolant level. I would start by popping the hood open, and checking your coolant level.
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