Engine Coolant Low

myshirt

Just got a warning on the car to the above effect.

It's Sunday afternoon, I'm 40miles from home.

Am I ok to drive for a bit, or what should I do, don't want to cause engine damage!

Elvis_Presley

Stop at the next petrol station and buy some if you're worried.

Kenny Logins

Throw some water in there, let it cool a bit first.

greasepalm

if its a vw audi you can see the level in expansion tank and more than likely just under the min when float sends message low coolant,safe to drive then but keep an eye on temp guage as that tells when your hot,if you need to top up open slowly as its hot and pressurized.

myshirt

It's an 08 5series.

Alanstrainor

myshirt wrote: »

Just got a warning on the car to the above effect.

It's Sunday afternoon, I'm 40miles from home.

Am I ok to drive for a bit, or what should I do, don't want to cause engine damage!

It depends. You may be leaking coolant, and there's no way for us to know how catastrophic it is without looking. I would be wary, but the car will tell you if it is overheating also.

Be careful checking levels etc. You can only check the coolant level when the car is cold.

myshirt

What would be a temporary solution?
Will I let it cool for 20 minutes and put in a 100ml water? Anything really just until I get to a garage to determine if it's a leak etc

brembo26

myshirt wrote: »

What would be a temporary solution?
Will I let it cool for 20 minutes and put in a 100ml water? Anything really just until I get to a garage to determine if it's a leak etc

Yes you could pull in somewhere and park up for 20 mins. Check the expansion tank and see how much is missing. Top it up as required, but before you pull away check where the car was parked and see if there is any liquid on the ground.

If there is no liquid visible keep a good eye on the temp gauge and the coolant light. If the light goes off after filling and then comes on again I would be inclined to investigate what the problem is before going any further.

myshirt

Completely empty.

Just bought a one size fits all coolant, it's all they had. What's the mix ratio for my car does anyone know? And do I need to flush this tomorrow or is coolant just coolant and all the same.

Feel like an idiot!

ian87

What colour is it?

myshirt

ian87 wrote: »

What colour is it?

Blue

Alanstrainor

myshirt wrote: »

Completely empty.

Just bought a one size fits all coolant, it's all they had. What's the mix ratio for my car does anyone know? And do I need to flush this tomorrow or is coolant just coolant and all the same.

Feel like an idiot!

Is the coolant premixed? If not, just follow the instructions on the bottle.

BMWs are very particular about coolant and you should only use BMW spec coolant, but since you're in a jam, it really doesn't matter. You mechanic will flush it when it's in for repair.

ian87

You'll be fine with that.

mickdw

myshirt wrote: »

Completely empty.

Just bought a one size fits all coolant, it's all they had. What's the mix ratio for my car does anyone know? And do I need to flush this tomorrow or is coolant just coolant and all the same.

Feel like an idiot!

no need to feel like an idiot. Id say the car dumped the coolant fairly fast if you only just got the warning. That being the case there is nothing you should have done.

Supergurrier

Top it up with H2O

visual

Dont waste money on a unknown type coolant.

Top up with water and fill up a couple of bottles
drive it easy watching temp gauge

if it over heats you will damage the engine.

You mechanic can sort it out tomorrow after he fixed the leak he'll be doing coolant change anyway

myshirt

Well, topped it up anyway, it took about 700mil, being a 50:50 mix, so maybe it wasn't bone dry/empty.

Could it have been the recent hot weather and my use of the air conditioning?

Anyway, no visable leak. Warning light went off. No temperature guage on the car menu that I can see...

The coolant was Q8 Oils, blue, says on bottle suitable for all engines, including diesel turbo charged. Should I book it in to flush it to be safe? Particularly given it only took 700mil. So is likely now mixed with whatever was there before it. The coolant expansion tank is not opaque, so I could only look in with cap off, and looked empty.

Alanstrainor

myshirt wrote: »

Well, topped it up anyway, it took about 700mil, being a 50:50 mix, so maybe it wasn't bone dry/empty.

Could it have been the recent hot weather and my use of the air conditioning?

Anyway, no visable leak. Warning light went off. No temperature guage on the car menu that I can see...

The coolant was Q8 Oils, blue, says on bottle suitable for all engines, including diesel turbo charged. Should I book it in to flush it to be safe? Particularly given it only took 700mil. So is likely now mixed with whatever was there before it. The coolant expansion tank is not opaque, so I could only look in with cap off, and looked empty.

700ml is quite a lot to be honest. Best get it looked at and figure out why it was losing so much coolant. Generally speaking the coolant will have to come out if any substantial parts have to be replaced, so I wouldn't worry too much about the flush as it will most likely happen as due course.

biko

Just a general note - just plain tap water is fine in a bind. No need to buy antifreeze.
Get a couple bottles too just in case you need to top up down the road.
Mech will hopefully find the cause and fix it, and also flush water and fill with correct coolant mix.

myshirt

Should the car not ever drop that low on coolant?

biko

All coolant will escape over time but a rapid loss points to a leak somewhere.

brembo26

No thats a fair bit alright. When was the last time you checked it before the light came on?

myshirt

Checked it about 3 months ago, I know really should check it monthly. It was just below the max. No visable sign of a leak. Really bad run of luck with this f#cking car

greasepalm

think bmws are like that money money money,plastic failure common on this year ,rad and any housings been of plastic go weak and brittle and leak,tomorrow morning look under car for drips/stains and recheck levels daily when cold.
hot weather car needs checking more ,surprised no temp guage there.

coylemj

myshirt wrote: »

Checked it about 3 months ago, I know really should check it monthly. It was just below the max. No visable sign of a leak. Really bad run of luck with this f#cking car

If you went from just below the max to the warning light in 3 months, you have a leak.

There is a low coolant sensor in most expansion tanks, there is in mine anyway so I don't bother checking it. The only time I saw the light come on was a few days after a service a few years ago where they had flushed the coolant. I figured that it must have been air trapped in the radiator which finally bubbled up to the tank and lowered the level so I topped it up with a 1/4 pint of water and kept an eye on the temperature gauge for any sign of trouble but that fixed it.

Agree with earlier poster that I wouldn't bother buying antifreeze if there's a leak since the solution will involve draining the system, you'd have been as well off saving money and topping up with plain water. It's hardly likely to freeze up at this time of the year!

myshirt

Well I went and got it sorted today, done a pressure test, no leaks, filled it up with coolant and off you go...

Very quick...

Still don't feel right though, weren't you all saying it shouldn't have lost that level of coolant at all at all...

Anyway, cheers for the advice guys! And it is the blue coolant for that BMW engine!

mickdw

myshirt wrote: »

Well I went and got it sorted today, done a pressure test, no leaks, filled it up with coolant and off you go...

Very quick...

Still don't feel right though, weren't you all saying it shouldn't have lost that level of coolant at all at all...

Anyway, cheers for the advice guys! And it is the blue coolant for that BMW engine!

I wouldn't be convinced that all is well.
Keep a very close eye on it over the next few days / weeks.
The coolant went somewhere and will likely do the same again.

myshirt

Pressure test a waste of time really so..

I'll keep any eye on it every few days.

jca

myshirt wrote: »

Pressure test a waste of time really so..

I'll keep any eye on it every few days.

Have you checked the engine oil for contamination?

myshirt

jca wrote: »

Have you checked the engine oil for contamination?

Engine oil is fine, at the right level, of the right colour. Beyond that, no, haven't checked. I presented the problem to the mechanic to the best of my ability, so I'm depending on him to guide me through the issue. This is his profession. It's not mine. That was the idea of going to him. What he done was pressure test and flush.

mickdw

myshirt wrote: »

Pressure test a waste of time really so..

I'll keep any eye on it every few days.

Well it replicates the pressure that the engine operates at but it does not replicate temperature.
You could well have an issue with head gasket

myshirt

My mechanic is likely sh!t so?

biko

myshirt wrote: »

Well I went and got it sorted today, done a pressure test, no leaks, filled it up with coolant and off you go...

You know what is not tested during a pressure test?
The cap, a known source of coolant evaporating when they get old and can't hold tight like before.
A new cap is about a tenner depending on brand.

jca

biko wrote: »

You know what is not tested during a pressure test?
The cap, a known source of coolant evaporating when they get old and can't hold tight like before.
A new cap is about a tenner depending on brand.

If the cap was bad you would see staining on the expansion bottle. Just keep an eye on it over the next few weeks. It could be fine.

greasepalm

if someone came into us saying lost water we would have a good look for stains first if none do a sniff test for head gasket and if ok pressure test system,burnt antifreeze has a sweet taste on throat so you will know there is a leak somewhere.
had a merc in rad cap gone when squeezing hoses water shoots out of overflow onto chassis and he is getting cap as we are doing his non cooling fan lol.