timewa

Yesterday I was enjoying my ride on the A31 (German autobahn), riding along with a E65 and an E61 just nicely on the left lane.

When I left the highway, I saw a lot of white smoking coming from the grille. I parked, got out of the car and tried to see where it was coming from. It was clearly a leak, so I drove slowly to my parent's house which was nearby.

When I got there: No more smoke. I checked the engine temp in the instrument cluster menu: 86dC rock steady. Coolant fluid levels were all fine too.



Now today I drove home and noticed a strange smell and that my A/C was not working. So I'm pretty sure that the leakage that I saw was R134a, and that my A/C condenser is broken.

Take a look at the pic. Is that red circle showing the leak? Could it be that a stone hit the condenser while driving on the A31?

Does anyone recognise this?
Is it bad for the compressor if I keep on driving with such a leak?

I'll try to visit the dealership asap.

navin

Its not bad to drive with it but you have already lost all the compressed gas in the air system so they will probably have to replace the condenser and fill it with new compressed gas. I had this happen to one of my previous cars and it was not covered under warranty because it is not a mechanical fault and caused by road debris, your insurance will cover it though. GL with the repair.

pukka

There is no need for you to engage the A/C - it looks like you've busted the sealed circuit and lost all of the r314.
As long as you keep the A/C off the compressor will not run.

At a minimum, you are looking at paying to:

Removing parts necessary to get to the condenser.
Replacing the condenser.
Purging the system once sealed.
Replacing the R134 - probably somewhere between 1-2 liters.

For what its worth, an abject hard enough to crack a condenser could have done have done serious damage to a bumper or headlamp.

Hope it works out for you.

timewa

Thanks. I called the dealer yesterday and could bring the car the same day. Very good service. They had a 1-series loander standing ready for me.
Fortunately I won't have to pay any of this, I realise I'm lucky as it would probably cost between €500 and €800.

By the way, I like the 1-series! Ok, they're really small inside, but they're good fun and actually also good for longer trips.
I drove 500km with it today and it's no E60 but it's definitely a very solid and quiet car. I got the 118d, which is not ultra fast but it's smooth and sufficient for everyday use. Can't believe BMW also has these with the twin turbo 3l engine, those must be fast as hell.

E60Sim

Now that's service!

I've only driven the 116i, and I liked it. It was underpowered, and I think the 118d or 120d engine suits ?t very well :-)

timewa

Brought the car Tuesday evening, got it back on thursday afternoon with a brand new condenser. Fortunately I didn't have to pay anything. Excellent service (Smudde Enschede).

The loaner was a 118d, still with the old 122hp engine. Not underpowered, not fast either, but it's a smooth and quiet commonrail engine.
I drove ~450km with it with an average consumption of 5.1l/100km, mainly highway 120...150km/h. Impressive.

The new 118d has 143hp, the 120d has the same 177hp engine as the current 520d.

There's also the twin-turbo version of that engine with 204hp, a bit like a miniature 535d engine... That would be a perfect fit for an E60 but I don't think they'll do it. Probably BMW will use that engine on the F10 as a 525d replacement.