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      05-31-2021, 04:49 PM   #23
ElenaI
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What can I say... To all the people that were saying you should have checked the coolant level...It was checked and added 3 days before the accident... Here it's a bit complicated to find parts and good mechanics since it s a fairly new car (in this part of Europe). I don't think it is normal to check the coolant level every 3 days if you have a car that is 2016+ ...There should be a warning system or something...I'll tell you what happened as soon as we get someone reliable here that won't reap us with their pricing... The official dealer here said just the diagnostics could be 500+ euros so it is a no no ... I know things can happen We were just expecting more from BMW that was advertised as one of the safest small SUV cars ( and as far as I can see many people would buy it for their teenage daughter for the same reason). If there is a sensor for windshield fluid I would assume that there is a sensor fro low coolant or at least engine failure that is about to happen ))
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      05-31-2021, 06:00 PM   #24
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ElenaI View Post
What can I say... To all the people that were saying you should have checked the coolant level...It was checked and added 3 days before the accident... Here it's a bit complicated to find parts and good mechanics since it s a fairly new car (in this part of Europe). I don't think it is normal to check the coolant level every 3 days if you have a car that is 2016+ ...There should be a warning system or something...I'll tell you what happened as soon as we get someone reliable here that won't reap us with their pricing... The official dealer here said just the diagnostics could be 500+ euros so it is a no no ... I know things can happen We were just expecting more from BMW that was advertised as one of the safest small SUV cars ( and as far as I can see many people would buy it for their teenage daughter for the same reason). If there is a sensor for windshield fluid I would assume that there is a sensor fro low coolant or at least engine failure that is about to happen ))
I agree. I expect more as well (this is my 5th BMW). I know the X1 is a cost-cutting BMW and they shave features to hit their price point. (i.e. only driver's side mirror is auto-dimming, no blind spot monitoring, etc.) but I'd expect there to be a coolant level sensor considering it's been a staple for BMW's for many years now.

In either case, I do want to say thank you for highlighting this issue... I checked my coolant yesterday and it too was dry / below the minimum mark.)
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      05-31-2021, 06:17 PM   #25
ElenaI
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[QUOTE=ZZZZ;27649778]I agree. I expect more as well (this is my 5th BMW). I know the X1 is a cost-cutting BMW and they shave features to hit their price point. (i.e. only driver's side mirror is auto-dimming, no blind spot monitoring, etc.) but I'd expect there to be a coolant level sensor considering it's been a staple for BMW's for many years now.

In either case, I do want to say thank you for highlighting this issue... I checked my coolant yesterday and it too was dry / below the minimum mark.)[/

Hugh? But how? Zzzz...
This is why i like forums... at least you can help someone else just by posting and sharing online your personal experience.
Funny thing is that our other car is a skoda citygo and it has coolant level warning https://www.dash-lights.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/skoda-citigo-dashboard-warning-lights-768x282.jpg
And I don't think there is a another car that has less features that that... it is a crippled version of VW up. It is uncomfortable, small ugly etc
BMW seriously was a different user experience lol
Still beautiful to me... it is hard to hate it
Will update this tread when i get more info...
thanks to everyone
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      06-11-2021, 12:31 PM   #26
ZZZZ
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I checked my coolant again today... empty. No sign of coolant on the floor, no smell of burning coolant, tail pipes aren't smoking. No warning lights. Engine temp on the dash says OK.

I think my x1 has the same issue as yours. I think the good news for you is it sounds like no one was trying to cover up an issue. I think the bad news is we both have no idea what's going on / what happened. Earliest date I can get it inspected and pressure tested is on the 22nd.
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      06-12-2021, 06:52 AM   #27
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@ZZZZ
Ugh that s what happened with our car before the accident. My advice would be not to use it before 22nd Please let me know what is happening to your x1. I m dying to know what will they say in both cases. I will update you / this thread as soon as i get more info.
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      06-22-2021, 05:05 AM   #28
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Any updates on the issue? Did you figure out for sure what the cause was?
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      06-22-2021, 08:02 AM   #29
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Still trying to find a good indie shop here... it s really complicated to find x1 parts here. Will get back as soon as someone starts working on it 😞
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      06-23-2021, 11:41 AM   #30
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I had it checked out yesterday. Pressure tested and leak tested both came back negative. No visible leaks either.

The cooling system on the X1 is quite complicated as there are a series of valves. It doesn't only cool the engine but also separate pipes to cool the turbocharger. (28i) It's also very important to use the OEM BMW coolant as some of the cheaper brands will literally burn out when cooling the turbocharger.

So either the engine is burning coolant or because it was a cheap aftermarket coolant used it's burning out. I'll get a flush and oem coolant put in next week.
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      06-23-2021, 03:32 PM   #31
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We bought the original one that one "vanished". Before buying we checked online and it was clear that with BMW you really have to use original or BMW recommended oil, coolant, etc we also used the most expensive diesel fuel available here.
Let me know what happens with the new coolant.
we bought this one from local dealer https://www.schmiedmann.com/en/bmw-x...3-19-2-211-191
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      06-24-2021, 10:13 PM   #32
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ElenaI View Post
We bought the original one that one "vanished". Before buying we checked online and it was clear that with BMW you really have to use original or BMW recommended oil, coolant, etc we also used the most expensive diesel fuel available here.
Let me know what happens with the new coolant.
we bought this one from local dealer https://www.schmiedmann.com/en/bmw-x...3-19-2-211-191
Did you put in only 1 bottle which would be 3L after 1:1 dilution?
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      08-08-2021, 02:37 PM   #33
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I've seen with my own eyes big bang, opened hood, much foam and white smoke/steam from mitsubishi engine bay on the highway)). Now I'm not surprised anything. Guess it was windshield washer fluid inside engine. Car was driven by madam, weather was with much snow sludge on the road.
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      08-08-2021, 06:05 PM   #34
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ElenaI View Post
We bought the original one that one "vanished". Before buying we checked online and it was clear that with BMW you really have to use original or BMW recommended oil, coolant, etc we also used the most expensive diesel fuel available here.
Let me know what happens with the new coolant.
we bought this one from local dealer https://www.schmiedmann.com/en/bmw-x...3-19-2-211-191
Barely had our CPO 2018 X1 for a week, so this got me thinking. Was your's CPO? I expect this doesn't particularly matter, we're going to get ours check out anyway.
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      08-08-2021, 11:02 PM   #35
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Out of curiosity did you put bmw coolant in or what?

How much did you put in?

Also did you add it while the car was on level ground?

Did you add it with the engine cold? (Cold coolant should not be added to a warm engine it can destroy gaskets.

My x1 is currently getting repaired after a small accident so I don't know what the min/max level looks like but if it's like my e82 it has a small floating stick that tells you when you are at min and max.


The expansion tank might now have any coolant but I am sure there is some in the bottom of the radiator. If there was "none" then holy sh*t you have a serious problem. In my e82 the coolant never crossed my mind in 5 years of ownership until a low coolant alarm went off and I just added about 100ml of distilled water.

What im trying to say is that these cars usually never leak coolant. For your car to be low on coolant in the winter should be cause for concern. If you put in a whole gallon of coolant I would be very wary of something being "wrong" as the car doesn't lose coolant normally.

When you added the coolant. Did you go through the bleeding procedure to remove air from the lines and radiator? I know that's done when you drain and fill coolant but if you were that low you probably needed to go through the bleed procedure.

I find it insane that the car doesn't have a low coolant sensor or alarm and this is news to me.

I have heard of the low oil sensor not working correctly and I think my sisters mini had a problem and the engine was destroyed because she had no oil and was not alerted.


I'm sorry to hear about your terrible experience and I hope you get everything sorted out
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      08-09-2021, 07:53 PM   #36
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Sorry I didn't update on this. So it turns out my car does NOT have a coolant leak even though it would be empty a week after I filled it up repeatedly. It's been good ever since my mechanic topped it up, so I asked him what he did.

Turns out I was filling the coolant wrong.

It's important to first understand that our engines have extremely complicated coolant runs. The coolant branches off in multiple lines and radiators in multiple loops to not only cool the engine but also the turbocharger and the heat exchanger for the cabin heat. If it gets very low it's possible some of those loops are also low and have air in them.

IF you fill the coolant reservoir with the engine cold and off some of those loops will be closed and while you think you've filled the reservoir it'll just disappear into one of the loops which is low and the reservoir will be empty again.

This is what he did (he's a bmw certified mechanic) . He had the engine cold. He opened the tank, then started the engine, turned the heater on Max, then filled the expansion tank to the fill line and waited a few mins for the coolant to circulate and air to bleed from all the different coolant runs. Then he closed the cap and it's been good since.

If your tank is showing full still then you probably don't have anything to worry about, but if you let the coolant drop very low then you can't just top it off with the engine off.

Hope this helps
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      08-09-2021, 08:29 PM   #37
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There are Youtube videos (just Google search) on the proper procedure for draining/flushing/filling coolant and bleeding air out of the radiator for BMW (also applies to other modern cars). Just in case, I check the coolant level over the next few days.

https://www.carcarekiosk.com/video/2.../flush_coolant

The X1 F48 coolant capacity is ~7 litres, so you should know if the radiator is not full.

I had suggested the air lock problem in post #18.

https://f48.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh...7&postcount=18
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      06-29-2023, 09:39 PM   #38
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ElenaI View Post
Still trying to find a good indie shop here... it s really complicated to find x1 parts here. Will get back as soon as someone starts working on it 😞
@ Elenal

Hello. Were you able to know what was the coolant problem with you BMW X1 ? I'm having the same problem. Can't see any coolant leaks but the coolant level keeps decreasing.
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