It was reliable until now

[itsTwigs]

Originally Posted by allinon72

If your first major repair on a BMW is $1400 at 71k, you are doing DAMN good.

Agreed not bashing the cars reliability. I just figured I'd let the people know what's happening on a high milage newer M.

[parabmw]

Reliability usually goes down with higher mileage.
Shouldn't be a big surprise

[G35POPPEDMYCHERRY]

Originally Posted by Jimmyraww

Might get an E92 so gasket replacements here I come.

why the switch? Sound?

also oil housing gasket will leak. and say goodbye to your window regulators.

car just leaks. also m3 rod bearings

[itsTwigs]

Originally Posted by G35POPPEDMYCHERRY

why the switch? Sound?

also oil housing gasket will leak. and say goodbye to your window regulators.

car just leaks. also m3 rod bearings

Sound 50% Steering Feel 50%

[icebiker]

Hey Jimmy thanks for the update. Can we assume that at 71k you haven't had to replace the charge cooler then?

[RoundelM3]

Originally Posted by Jimmyraww

I live in a vacation spot of florida so that probably has a lot to do with it. On top of that it really is a lot of labor on these cars just to get to what you want to work on.

Not for a coolant radiator. Very straightforward. If it takes them that long to replace a radiator, you probably want to do business elsewhere.

[itsTwigs]

Originally Posted by icebiker

Hey Jimmy thanks for the update. Can we assume that at 71k you haven't had to replace the charge cooler then?

No I haven't replaced those.

[kss]

Originally Posted by Tommy L Garage

You're comparing an appliance to a precision tool, which needs to be sharpened and properly maintained to function as best as possible

Yet, with the Lexus they had much more frequent maintenance intervals.... which. BMW should also be recommending.

[kss]

Originally Posted by parabmw

You cant compare a lexus with a high performance car like the M

Why not?? The old supras, NSX and 300ZX’s were performance cars and were pretty much bulletproof.

[itsTwigs]

This is the ticket I got right before the misfires starting happening. She goes into the shop tomorrow.

[LVI]

You should call around before you bend over like that. This is a sub $1k repair at other shops.

[parabmw]

Originally Posted by kss

Why not?? The old supras, NSX and 300ZX’s were performance cars and were pretty much bulletproof.

He mentioned lexus only. Not performance cars or IFS

[jmciver]

Originally Posted by Poiseuille

for every BMW I've owned the radiators have been a routine maintenance item secondary to crappy plastic tanks and hose nipples. 65k miles has been my interval. expansion tanks have been a complete crap shoot on every car but at a minimum they got changed with the radiator. ditto the thermostats and belt driven water pumps.
the thing you want to avoid is catastrophic coolant loss: you'll only get a minute or so to shut the motor off. maybe less.
so if you didn't overheat you're fine, change the radiator and tank, make a note to do it again at 130K miles and continue enjoying your very excellent car.
regarding that cost estimate: seems pretty steep to me though I've not had the experience yet with S55. maybe time to consider an Indy, especially for a job like this.

Just had my coolant expansion tank replaced under warranty at 45k+ miles. It had a nice and very slow "weep" right at the plastic weld between the top and bottom halves which left coolant residue around the entire circumference of the tank. I only happened to notice it during an oil change at 40k miles...

[Poiseuille]

Originally Posted by jmciver

Just had my coolant expansion tank replaced under warranty at 45k+ miles. It had a nice and very slow "weep" right at the plastic weld between the top and bottom halves which left coolant residue around the entire circumference of the tank. I only happened to notice it during an oil change at 40k miles...

to be fair to BMW the expansion tank issues may not always be their fault. on at least two of the tanks i've replaced in the last 20 years i suspected that coolant was added to the tanks while the motor was still warm, maybe even hot, by a tech during service. on one occasion i did in fact catch a tech doing that (M62 no less) to one of my cars. fortunately for me i saw him before he got the cap back on. this was at an Indy shop btw, and one that i still use.

now you'd think these tanks would be of sufficient quality that they could tolerate the pressure long enough for the overflow to do its job. they aren't.

the leaks when they occur are extremely thin hair lines almost impossible to see, sometimes on a seam but usually not. the spray in my experience is very fine and for some reason appears to be pulsatile. the most effective way to see them is with a strobe light, motor idling. the timing light you used on your 58 Chevy is perfect for this job.

[SYT_Shadow]

Originally Posted by G35POPPEDMYCHERRY

this thread lol. cant make anyone happy. go buy a s85 and report back

Reminds me a bit of people whining their car got a flat and somehow making this the car's fauit

Sounds like some people need to go buy a Civic

[jmciver]

Originally Posted by Poiseuille

to be fair to BMW the expansion tank issues may not always be their fault. on at least two of the tanks i've replaced in the last 20 years i suspected that coolant was added to the tanks while the motor was still warm, maybe even hot, by a tech during service. on one occasion i did in fact catch a tech doing that (M62 no less) to one of my cars. fortunately for me i saw him before he got the cap back on. this was at an Indy shop btw, and one that i still use.

now you'd think these tanks would be of sufficient quality that they could tolerate the pressure long enough for the overflow to do its job. they aren't.

the leaks when they occur are extremely thin hair lines almost impossible to see, sometimes on a seam but usually not. the spray in my experience is very fine and for some reason appears to be pulsatile. the most effective way to see them is with a strobe light, motor idling. the timing light you used on your 58 Chevy is perfect for this job.

In my case, the weeping was VERY slow. So slow that when I first noticed the dry coolant at the seem, I assumed it was some leftover, uncleaned spilled coolant from a previous coolant flush I had the dealer do. I wiped it away, and it came back a month or two later. After seeing it come back AND seeing a recent thread here where an S55 suffered a catastrophic expansion tank failure at the seem, I decided to take it to the dealer for a preventative warranty repair.

At first BMW NA was going to deny it since technically, my coolant system passed the pressure test (which I knew it would due to the very small nature of the leak). Apparently, a failed pressure test is the only way BMW NA will warranty repairs to most components in the cooling system, especially the expansion tank. But the dealer went to bat for me since it was clear the expansion tank was slowly weeping at the seems despite a passed pressure test.

[Poiseuille]

^^^ every single failed ex- tank I've had passed a pressure test.

[itsTwigs]

Misfires were due to a much needed walnut blast.

[theweebabySeamus]

Originally Posted by kss

Why not?? The old supras, NSX and 300ZX’s were performance cars and were pretty much bulletproof.

The cars you listed definitely had their share of issues. Also, bulletproof and reliable are totally different *terms.