A few days ago an "Engine Malfunction" light came on. When I restarted the car, it went off. Well I was looking under the hood just now and the engine seemed to be really hot. I checked the oil, that was fine, then I unscrewed the oil cap and steam began to pour out. Is this normal?

 

What oil is? grade?
I recommend go to Dealer or have a OBD-2 to diagnose the errors or see the Onboard.

then post your comments later.

 

Going to the dealer tomorrow morning for a laundry list of things to do. I could barely take the lid off it was so hot. Is this normal?

 

I see you are in the hot Florida!!! Yeah, go to the dealer and see. GL!

 

It's not unusual for the oil cap to be too hot to touch without gloves, or for some oil vapors to escape when it's opened if the car has been running at normal operating temps. If what you see is steam (water vapor) then I think the safe thing to do is to have your car towed to the dealer. (don't run your engine again to see if it repeats). If the vapor you saw rising out was a wisp then don't worry; if it was like fog, then don't restart the engine.

 

btw what kind of engine?

 

2005 545i

 

Good, I have the same..and i can tell you that the oil cap is hot and there's a wisp that comes out when you open it.

 

Wow,
thanks ljtx545i,
That is one less problem I have to worry about, at least i can drive to the dealership now..

 

Have you been messing with low octane or billy bob's cheap gas to keep fuel cost down.?