Yesterday morning I noticed a small puddle of what appeared to be antifreeze under the passenger side front of my car. I removed the very front plastic shield under the radiator to find antifreeze leaked from the bottom of the support where the radiator sits, the far right corner on the passenger side. Are these e60's plagued with cooling system problems like my e39's? How can a 2006 with only 90,xxx miles already need a radiator? Is it possible there is a hose fitting or something that could cause a leak in this area? Thank Chris

 

I just had my coolant overflow/expansion tank replaced -- the radiator and hoses were fine, but the tank was cracked. Part was around $120 and labor around $200 at the dealer. I didn't look to see which side my tank is on, but it would be a possible source of coolant on the floor.

 

in 545i coolant tank is on passenger side. not sure about other models. my tank cracked at 80K. it could be this, or hoses, or radiator. you should have it checked. you don't want to drive with this and let your car overheat. that will cause more serious problems

 

Your best bet is to have the system pressure tested. Any decent independant shop an do it for a reasonable fee. I could be any of several items leaking. You can try looking for white residue around a lot of the cooling system components. The white residue is usually dried up coolant

 

Hey chris,

Sorry to hear of the problem. I too had a leak very similar to what you're describing - on the pass. side lower part of the radiator.

Not sure what 5er you drive but on my 545 I had a bad o-ring on a sensor located at the lower part of my radiator pass. side. My dealer told me these o-rings are notorious for failing, which btw they did not sell individually nor could I find it locally. So I had to buy a new sensor. I swapped the sensor out (very easy to do btw, simple R&R) and no leaks since. If you have an I6 then this sensor is still on the pass. side but located at the top of the radiator. Feel around this sensor and around and under the hose for any signs of fluid. What you can also do is try to trace back the leak from the bottom to its source if possible. Others have said it could be a cracked expansion tank (common) which is also on the pass. side. Could be a number of things but I'd check these two areas first. GL

 

Well it seems BMW did not wish to solve their cooling component failure issues. Radiators sell just as frequently for e60's as they do for e39's, big business for BMW parts sales. I still can't get over a 2006 already needing a new radiator. Well at least I'll get my car back later today with a new radiator. Chris

 

i just replaced the lower sensor and hose since coolant was leaking out of there on my 2004 530i. so far so good.