 Take heed late-model BMW owners -- BMW’s plastic radiators are lying in wait ready to cause you grief -- I HAD TO BUY A NEW ENGINE!
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From the Roadfly E38 Lounge and E34 Lounge, I was aware of the apparent all-too-common failure of BMW’s plastic radiators on these and possibly, other models. I even had purchased a replacement radiator for my ‘97 740i from Zygmunt Motors even though the 7 was still under the 100,000 mile Certified Previously-Owned (CPO) warranty. I intended to install the radiator sometime this summer after the warranty expired. Too bad I waited, because I could have saved myself $10,000, over 3 months of downtime on my 7 and 4500 miles of wasted travel between Colorado and Utah. Here’s what happened to me due to good intentions (but a bad decision) on my part, inadequate diagnosis by a BMW dealer, and cheap, plastic parts used by BMW...
On the 1st weekend in May 2003, we left our home in Utah with our 740i which had 97,200 miles on it and 2 months remaining on the CPO warranty. I was at the top of 11,990 ft. high Loveland Pass in Colorado, on my way to instruct at the Rocky Mountain Chapter Spring Driving School when suddenly, I saw coolant flowing over the hood. I knew immediately what had happened -- the plastic extension of the radiator which is the connection for the upper radiator hose broke, spewing coolant all over the engine compartment.
I was able to reconnect the hose and clamp it, but there was no lip on the connection to prevent the hose from blowing off under pressure. So I added about a gallon of water that I was carrying, put the radiator cap on loosely and decided that I could save a warrany tow and limp down the 6500 ft. into Denver if the coolant temperature did not rise much above normal. So I coasted down Loveland Pass and into Georgetown with the engine off except for a total of about 30 seconds to pick up speed on I-70. At Georgetown, I added several gallons of water and topped off the coolant at 2 other stops on the way down the mountain to the BMW dealership (Ralph Schomp BMW) in Littleton, a Denver suburb.
I was careful not to put much of a load on the engine and noted that the temperature gauge never got much above the normal range. Other than the initial “CHECK COOLANT LEVEL” warning, I never had any indication of any troubles -- until I exited the interstate and stopped for a traffic light. UH OH, there’s a “LOW OIL PRESSURE” warning. Oops! I pulled the car over and called BMW Roadside Assistance for a tow. The hose was still connected, but in retrospect, the engine must have been very hot.
At the BMW garage, we started the engine and noted that one or more hydraulic lifters was making noise. Also, coolant had entered the left headlight assembly. I left the car to be repaired and to be picked up later in the week. The dealer ended up replacing the radiator, headlight assembly, hydraulic lifters, oil pressure sensor and several of the coils which were either damaged by heat or contaminated by coolant. The dealer claimed to have done leak-down tests and said the car was good to go.
My wife and I started on the 600 mile trip for home in southern Utah going west on I-70. Fortunately we were in a 2-car convoy with the '95 540i M-sport that we bought to replace the 740i before we knew the 7's engine would have to be replaced. About 200 miles out of Denver in the middle of a rainstorm at dusk, a heater hose let loose and the 7er dumped all of it’s coolant in a huge cloud. We called for another tow to take the 740i back to the same dealer in Denver and eventually continued home in our other car the next day. We got a call on May 13th that the 7 was fixed.
We picked up the 740i June 7th during our next trip to Colorado. The dealer had replaced the heater hose and another ignition coil, but had they addressed the reason it blew? I became concerned that there was excessive pressure in the cooling system due to a leaking head gasket -- or worse, the heads might be warped and the bottom end of the engine may have also suffered. So I had an independent shop (Autotek) do a test for the presence of exhaust gas in the coolant. Yep, the 7 failed this test:
“Engine Diagnostic Time found That The Vehicle Has Internal Leakage Due to Failed Block Test.”
So I returned to the dealer and showed them this test result. Surprisingly, they claimed that they had never heard of such a test and had done other tests which showed that all was OK with the engine. (I even bought a "Block Tester Kit" from NAPA that I never had the opportunity to use.) So again we drove off with the 7, hoping, expecting and trusting that it was fixed.
For a couple of days while still in Colorado, I checked the coolant. The level seemed OK, but each morning when I opened the radiator cap, I noticed that there was significant pressure in the system. Where was this pressure coming from? With a cold engine each morning, there should not have been any residual pressure. Something was still not right!
Then on June 10th the “Check Engine Light” came on. Too bad we can no longer read the engine codes. So OK, BMW -- a third tow back to the same dealer. I described the unusual pressure buildup to the dealer, but they only replaced another failed ignition coil and both timing cover gaskets which were leaking oil after the 1st repair. We picked up the car on June 16th and would you believe it -- as I pulled out of the dealership, the “CHECK COOLANT LEVEL” warning appeared! I was very upset and totally disgusted.
In the past this dealership has treated me very well and their service has been very good. Also my family has been good to this dealership: I’ve purchased three BMWs from them, and my dad has purchased two, representing sales of about $180,000. Yes, they readily took in my 740i for repair under the CPO warranty. But unfortunately, this time their diagnosis and repair was incomplete and insufficient. I do not believe they adequately considered the implications of my description of pressure buildup and of the independent shop’s test showing exhaust gas in the coolant.
So I took my 740i to another dealership -- Co’s BMW Center in Ft. Collins, Colorado, to try to determine if there was still a problem. Their service manager, Kevin Bell, took the time to rig up a pressure gauge on the cooling system which he could read while driving the car. Sure enough, on an 80 mile trip the gauge showed excessive pressure in the cooling system, likely caused by a small leak from one of the cylinders. Time to pull the heads -- it was now June 19th. Unfortunately they were warped and even worse, the block was warped enough that even with milled heads and new gaskets, the engine might not be right.
Next step was to get the regional BMW NA representative, Mr. Claude Bruni, involved. After his investigation of the situation, he advised me on July 15th that BMW would take responsibility for the broken radiator, but not the engine damage; that was my problem due to my error in not having the car towed. Mr. Bruni explained that there must have been an air pocket in the head near the coolant temperature sensor and that BMW engines were not designed to operate without an antifreeze mixture under pressure to raise the boiling point of the coolant. This might have worked on a ‘60s Mustang, but not on today’s BMWs.
The price of a replacement (remanufactured) engine from BMW installed would be $12,700! Or I could slap the old engine together, or look for a used engine. (And then what? Hope it is OK? Dump it on someone? No way!) After an appeal to Mr. Bruni and mentioning that I am a long-term BMW enthusiast (this is my 7th BMW -- the 1st a 1968 2002 that I bought new: Turn Your Hymnals), original BMW CCA Webmaster, 325iX Registry Coordinator and all-around-good-guy, he offered to reduce the cost of a new engine by $1000. With the much-appreciated 15% parts discount for BMW CCA membership offered by Co’s BMW, the cost estimate came to $10,100. My 7 was otherwise in fantastic condition, but was it worth spending that much money on a car that Kelley Blue Book says is worth about $18,000?
After considering a lot of options and waiting for a final confirmation of the price, we decided to bite the bullet and put the 7 back on the road with a replacement engine. (Yes, I sold my remaining 325iX to help pay for it.) Co’s BMW replaced the engine, coolant expansion tank and coolant level sensor. We picked up the 740i in early August and made it home to Utah with our 2-car convoy. So far the 740i seems to be running fine. Thank you, Kevin and the rest of the crew at Co’s BMW for taking the time to track down and solve this problem.
Of course, I’m grateful that BMW NA did reduce my cost for the new engine by $1000. Apparently, BMW considers itself to be 10% responsible for the engine damage while I’m 90% responsible. What do you think? Is that reasonable? Perhaps. But the way I see it, this fiasco cost me $10,000 which I cannot write off as a loss. And although BMW did reduce the price of this engine, I'd expect that BMW still made money on this sale. And hey, will they make more money if they recondition and sell my returned engine to the next unfortunate guy who cooks an engine? You bet!
This 740i has been a mixed blessing. Yes, it is very comfortable driving on the open roads of Utah and Colorado. But it’s been one problem after another -- many of which are common, based on discussions on E38 websites. Other items repaired or replaced under the CPO warranty include: catalytic converters, thermostat, EGR/intake manifold plate and gaskets, noisy HVAC servo motors in the dash, leaking original windshield, noisy sunroof seal, power steering hose, A/C refrigerant temperature sensor, and camshaft sensor.
Was it worth $10,000 to me to get the 7 back on the road? How many other problems will I have? Ask me in 5 or 6 years. I have a T-shirt that says, “BMW -- Life is too short to be driving a Lexus!” Hmm -- the hassle and stress over the past 3 months certainly did nothing to lengthen our lives! Yes, I made an unfortunate decision: I should have called a tow truck to the top of Loveland Pass. However, a lot of grief suffered by all parties involved could have been prevented by a better radiator design for a very small cost on a car that originally sold for over $60,000.
BTW -- I provided copies of this text to both Ralph Schomp BMW and Co’s BMW Center for their review and comment and asked that they forward it to Mr. Bruni, offering to consider any comments they may have. I did not receive any input.