BMW535

My car is out of maintenace warranty. It has only 30K miles and dealer recomended to perform coolant flush. They want $275 for the flush. I know it is a easy job; however, I'm concerned bleeding the system correctly. These cars don't have temperature gage and it would be hard to know if the engine still has some air inside and its running a little hot. Any advise?

Persian_535i

BMW coolant is considered "lifetime" just like their transmission fluid, but I'd still do it every 4-5 years, it is pretty simple to drain it and refill it.
https://5series.net/forums/topic/114...1#entry1354290

KAF

Far too early for a coolant change, they are after your $$$

Persian_535i

I agree, I don't think it is a necessity to have it done. Most people still do recommend it be done every 4-5 years or 70-80k miles whichever comes first. I guess it is a matter of preference, but I still wouldn't pay the dealer near $300 to do it.

luigi524td

Way too pricey for the drain and refill. It's pretty easy to do and bleeding the system is described on a post here somewhere in DIYs. If you're concerned I'm sure a BMW-experienced indy can fix you up for less than 1/2 what the dealer quoted.

BTW, the term "flush" is tossed about a lot; in my opinion it was more applicable is the old days when cooling systems really got gunked up. Back then the practice was to drain the system, add corrosive chemicals to remove scale and sediments, flush with plain water, drain and refill with 50-50 mix.

Simply not (again in my experience) the case with todays cars, properly maintained, with the correct fluids. Today it's more like drain and refill ... indeed, adding flush chemicals might actually damage the sensors scattered throughout the internals of our engines.

rctmthouse

Agree with other members, too early to change the coolant but if you do want to do it, there is a DIY made by Rizbel in the DIY section. I changed mine when I replaced the pump and thermostat but all you need is one gallon of BMW coolant, may be 2 gallons of distiller water and around 1 hour of your free time.

BMW535

Thanks for all the input. The DIY I see is for the V8 engine. Is the I6 (N54) engine coolant bleeding the same? Has anyone done it that can give an input?