Unofficialbmw.com

[Eileen]

I have a cracked cylinder head. How can I get BMW to pay for part of the repair? I have a 2000 323i sedan with about 100K miles. The black plastic overflow container inside the radiator cracked and it overheated, melting the hose by the engine and all the water went out. There was no noticeable steam and the gauges did not register anything but normal - no noticeable change in temp gauge and no icon light for low radiator water.

The car stalled once, but was slowing to a stop uphill and had the low fuel light on. I called AAA and they came and started the car up and I was close to home so I brought it home, got gas the next day and drove it 18 miles the following day before it started slowing and then stalled. This time I had it towed to the independent repair shop and they thought it might be the fuel pump (since the gauges looked normal and drove it a mile to drop me off at home. By the time they got back to repair shop, the temp gauge started registering but still no red low radiator fluid icon light. When they checked the radiator they knew what happened and replaced the black plastic overflow container (which had a long crack in it) and refilled the water to test the car for the cracked head. Finally the red low radiator water icon came on, but it was too late. Turns out, according to my mechanic and according to the service manager at a BMW dealership, these black plastic containers crack in most BMW's of my car's age, yet they don't seem to be on a service listing to change at a certain age or mileage. Since BMW knows that plastic part cracks at a certain age and that that can then cause engine damage, and they don't replace them as part of a regular service, nor do they warn owners (I bought my car new) to look for that problem, I think they should pay part of the repair. I don't have the $5000 to fix it, so I'm wondering how I might convince BMW to pay for part of the repair. Can anyone advice me on how to have them pay for part of the repair? Also the BMW service manager I spoke with said that when that black plastic overflow container is replace, the radiators usually go out soon after, so I should replace that too. My independent mechanic says he's never heard of that. What do you think? Please help.

[PJK]

Hi Eileen,

Welcome to the forum.

I have an e36 so my experience may not be as applicabile as what you may get from an e46 person.

I sure hope that you can get BMW to cover at least part of this.

My experience with my BMWs is that the plastic tank on the hot side of the radiator is good for about 100 Kmiles. At that mileage you need to watch all of the plastic cooling system components. In addition to the radiator tanks that includes the thermostat housing and the coolant pump impeller. If you don't replace those parts at about 100K you need to drive with one eye on the temperature gauge. I hope e46s have them.

Phil

[edjack]

Ever since BMW went with plastic components in the cooling system, there've been a legion of failures such as yours. The E39 V8 suffers the most when it comes to cooling system maladies.

Good Luck getting anything out of BMW NA. They stonewall many unusual failures. A few E39 owners have tried to pierce the corporate veil, to no success.

The six cylinder engine will easily self-destruct when overheated.
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Ed BMW CCA member since 1987 (Nr. 62319).
'97 540i 6 speed Aspensilber over Aubergine interior.