Have any of you guys have had any issues with coolant leak in your cars. I recently had our lower radiator hose start leaking and I was foolish enough to let my wife convince me to have the dealer fix it ($250! with labor, part cost approx $25-$30). I recently noticed that I was still getting a few spoons of coolant on my garage floor every morning (have the garage floor sealed so it's easy to notice). I took the car back to the dealer and they "think" it's the radiator. The SA advised that at 72k miles it's not uncommon for the radiator to start leaking. I was quoted $650 for the radiator change which included my 20% CCA discount on parts and labor.
I opted not to get the job done at the dealer and instead have decided to tackle it myself. I already bought the radiator and expansion tank but did not purchase the water pump ($500 at dealer). I plan to change the upper hose and serpentine belt while at it.

My question to you guys is:

How many here have had radiators fail at such low mileage?
Were any other items that failed ie expansion tank?
How do the waterpumps hold on these cars. I know E46's have waterpump issues but am trying to guage how good an E60 waterpump is.

If I was the one driving the car, I would feel safe taking chances but my wife uses the car for a 140+ mile commute to work 3 times a week and I am afraid that it will happen while she is driving in rain or snow and she will not pick up on it and destroy the engine. I do have AAA plus but don't want to deal with the hassle.

Please share your experiences on coolant leak issues. I promise to do a writeup with pictures as I tackle this.
Regards.
Raj

I'm also having the lower radiatior hose issue. Too lazy to replace it atm but I need to tackle it soon. I'll do it when I put in some HID fogs. I don't know if the M54 ever changed to metal wasserpump blades. I do recall reading about issues with the thermostat sticking and the housing cracking. They have since redesigned the part and it has a metal housing now.

Thanks Albert :). The waterpump is quite expensive so I might not do that for now. I will stop by teh dealer to see if the new pump is actually metal.

My radiator started to leak last year from around a sensor, but so far (knocking on wood) no other issues! :thumbsup:

How many miles do you have now? Model and Year?

Looking forward to your writeup.

I HAVE A 2006 530I AND I GOT THE SAME PROBLEM LAST YEAR. AND THEN I ONLY HAD ABOUT 33000 MILES.

Wow, I thought these were problems that only affected the E36 and E46. Haven't they learned anything from those cars??????

How about extending the cooling system issues to e32 and e38 I replaced radiators, overflow tanks, and hoses every 50K miles :(

BMW must be very aware the plastic cooling system parts are the most under-engineered components of their cars.

I guess they have no incentive to change as long as we keep buying their cars....

Car is a 2006 530i with 72k miles on it currently.
Raj