Drove 2 miles without coolant

Ohio Enthusiast · 11-01-2024, 02:29 PM

200 miles after flushing my coolant, the quick disconnect thermostat hose popped off, dumping most of the coolant from my 2011 335i E93. This happened 2 miles from home, a low coolant yellow warning came up, but nothing else (i.e. no engine temp lights or warnings). I didn't think this might be catastrophic coolant issue, so I finished the drive, about 5 minutes in the city. I didn't have an OBD reader on me so I don't know what was the coolant temp, but the oil temp gauge stayed around the normal 230-240 and didn't climb.
I put the thermostat hose back on (hopefully better than last time), filled around 1.75 gallons of 50:50 coolant and distilled water and ran the bleeding procedure twice (just to be sure). Car drives fine and there're no errors showing up. Oil temp gauge behaves as before. OBD reader shows coolant going up to 225 under load (which I understand is normal for the 335i). At least I got more coolant out than the flush that I only got 1.2 gallons out...

What are the chances that no damage was done? Anything I can do to check it out? Oil cap is clean.

germane · 12-02-2024, 09:13 PM

I had the same experience. Coolant was dripping and suddenly leaked bone dry with yellow warning. What is the current sitaution

Ohio Enthusiast · 12-02-2024, 10:13 PM

I'm almost a 1000 miles since the coolant loss, and the car appears fine.
I did notice my coolant reservoir leaking at the seam, but it might have been leaking before, I'm not sure. There is a possibility that there is overpressure of the coolant system due to head gasket failure from overheating, but I'm not seeing any other symptoms so I am hoping this is a coincidence. I replaced the coolant reservoir with a used one 300 miles ago and it's still tight.

germane · 01-09-2025, 11:03 AM

My indy mech reviewed the 328 xi and said that it is compressed, the whole system needs to be replaced. He said changing head gasket will not help. He priced a used E90 engine at for disassembly at about 2k.

Alternately, he recommended cleaning and resealing the vaccum through a chemical cleaning process. He said it may work but cannot gaurentee.

Any thoughts?

11-01-2024, 02:29 PM	#1
Ohio Enthusiast Private First Class 158 Rep 123 Posts Drives: '11 E93 335i, '18 BRZ Join Date: May 2024 Location: Dayton, OH iTrader: (0)	Drove 2 miles without coolant 200 miles after flushing my coolant, the quick disconnect thermostat hose popped off, dumping most of the coolant from my 2011 335i E93. This happened 2 miles from home, a low coolant yellow warning came up, but nothing else (i.e. no engine temp lights or warnings). I didn't think this might be catastrophic coolant issue, so I finished the drive, about 5 minutes in the city. I didn't have an OBD reader on me so I don't know what was the coolant temp, but the oil temp gauge stayed around the normal 230-240 and didn't climb. I put the thermostat hose back on (hopefully better than last time), filled around 1.75 gallons of 50:50 coolant and distilled water and ran the bleeding procedure twice (just to be sure). Car drives fine and there're no errors showing up. Oil temp gauge behaves as before. OBD reader shows coolant going up to 225 under load (which I understand is normal for the 335i). At least I got more coolant out than the flush that I only got 1.2 gallons out... What are the chances that no damage was done? Anything I can do to check it out? Oil cap is clean.
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12-02-2024, 09:13 PM	#2
germane New Member 0 Rep 12 Posts Drives: E90 Join Date: Dec 2024 Location: Washington iTrader: (0)	I had the same experience. Coolant was dripping and suddenly leaked bone dry with yellow warning. What is the current sitaution
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12-02-2024, 10:13 PM	#3
Ohio Enthusiast Private First Class 158 Rep 123 Posts Drives: '11 E93 335i, '18 BRZ Join Date: May 2024 Location: Dayton, OH iTrader: (0)	I'm almost a 1000 miles since the coolant loss, and the car appears fine. I did notice my coolant reservoir leaking at the seam, but it might have been leaking before, I'm not sure. There is a possibility that there is overpressure of the coolant system due to head gasket failure from overheating, but I'm not seeing any other symptoms so I am hoping this is a coincidence. I replaced the coolant reservoir with a used one 300 miles ago and it's still tight.
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01-09-2025, 11:03 AM	#4
germane New Member 0 Rep 12 Posts Drives: E90 Join Date: Dec 2024 Location: Washington iTrader: (0)	My indy mech reviewed the 328 xi and said that it is compressed, the whole system needs to be replaced. He said changing head gasket will not help. He priced a used E90 engine at for disassembly at about 2k. Alternately, he recommended cleaning and resealing the vaccum through a chemical cleaning process. He said it may work but cannot gaurentee. Any thoughts?
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