Adding coolant/anti-freeze (brand)

[bcredliner]

Originally Posted by trader4

Must be one fine tank if one overheating episode is a "near death experience". Is that what you call good engineering and specification
of components? And I based my opinion on the many failures reported
here, including as I said ones that fail at 50K, vehicles that have
gone through more than one, etc. None that I recall reported overheating
as the cause, BTW.

You ignore the point-you couldn't keep yourself from latching on to what others were reporting because you wanted to be able to say the tank is crap when your personal experience was your tank was fine after 175,000 miles. The appropriate post would have been to post that has not been your experience.

You also took what I said out of context. I said near death and not complete recovery which means the integrity of the tank is likely compromised by the excessive heat not that it will fail but that such circumstances shorten the life---overheating does that quickly, that is not a design or mfg. shortcoming. There are dash lights and temp gauge and other pre damage warnings that should be immediately heeded.

[bcredliner]

Originally Posted by trader4

Thank you for telling me what an "appropriate" post is. Are you going
to call for me to be censored again, because my opinion doesn't agree
with yours? I don't base my opinions on just my experience, but also
what I've seen many others report. I suppose you never do that, do you?
In this case, someone basically asked what was up with changing the
tank as PM. It told them that some people are doing that because the
tanks are a known problem. I guess I should have said, "my tank's
still OK, so no need to change yours." Of course, then that wouldn't
be the right answer either.

Regarding overheating screwing the tank, I just went by exactly what
you said. And I stand by what I said about that. If BMW tanks can
fail because of an overheating incident, then they surely aren't much
of a tank. Exactly how hot do you think a tank can get? It's 2015,
not 1950. BMW doesn't know about modern plastics? Good grief.

You are hopeless, simply completely hopeless.

I've never had or even suggested you be censored. However, I think it would be best if you were banned from the forum as a deliberately disruptive individual detrimental to and in violation of the rules and spirit of the forum.

It's unfortunate that you haven't considered the many many attempts offering helpful advice. I find it hard to accept that some people just don't have the capability to learn from their mistakes. It's depressing. I try to find logic in your actions. I want to believe you are young and you still could learn with more life experiences. Makes me feel better. Other than that, I hope you always live a long way away from me.

FYI-- I have never replaced a CV boot either.

[TiAgX5]

Joshdub, Classic BMW Plano, TX sells the coolant at the counter for that price!

[Joshdub]

I don't know what my closest dealer sells it for because all three are a half hour away and I'd rather just order stuff online unless I need it that day.

[crystalworks]

^I'd rather my tank blew than my cylinder head gasket...

But early failures do happen with the tanks. As with just about every automotive part, there will be early failures in a limited number of cases. We very rarely saw 50,000 mile failures at the shop... but VERY commonly saw 100 - 130,000 mile failures. At their cost, that is an acceptable life span in most people's eyes.

Like I said, people aren't going to sign in to a forum to say how many miles their original tank (or other parts) have on them. Only when something fails. Forums can give the illusion that there are an unacceptable amount of failures happening.

Now, as with most auto manufacturers, BMW has dropped the ball in the past. If an unacceptable failure rate is reached they redesign/re-engineer parts. That's the reason for the "ended" part numbers in realoem.

[Joshdub]

Originally Posted by trader4

They sure haven't done that with their window regulators, which are crap.
How about the CV joint boots? Aux fans?

[crystalworks]

Originally Posted by trader4

They sure haven't done that with their window regulators, which are crap.
How about the CV joint boots? Aux fans?

None of these parts mentioned had an unacceptable failure rate to BMW (or most owners). Probably a very minimal failure rate during the warranty period.

Again, window regulators fail on all types of vehicles. My buddy has done 2 on his C5 vette after a couple of years of ownership. At the shop we'd see them fail as early as 60,000 miles but usually 80,000 or so. Again, a part that can be replaced fairly easily/cheaply.

CV boots, I don't really have much experience with. Don't recall seeing any e53's come in for that. And I haven't had a problem with either of mine @ 120,000 miles and 95,000 miles respectively. So... they seem okay to me. Texas weather seems to be a little easier on boots though than northern country.

Aux fans... again didn't see one at the shop on an e53. Maybe one or two on e46's with highish mileage. And I've never replaced one in 16 years of BMW ownership over 10+ vehicles.

It sounds like you've just been unlucky with your e53 and are holding BMW responsible for your 10+ year old vehicle needing servicing? If you find these things so frustrating and unacceptable why put up with them? Serious question.

[jfoj]

[A B Able Truck]

While this thread has taken the road of no return to the original topic - and - I haven't read any posts about the window regulators, but I do have a friend that said he replaced two on his BMW. I also deal with electrical issues several times a week.
You need to consider -
As with any electrical issue, but especially an electrical component with a load. Electrical connections have a tendency to overheat and loose contact. A dealer is more likely to replace a window regulator then repair a connection. If you do the repair yourself, inspect the connections before just replacing the component.

[jfoj]

I know this is off the original topic, but somewhat on the topic at hand, window regulators.

I know the E46 sedans and wagons have problems, the coupes and convertibles rarely have have issues. Some of the problem is the glass sticking to the actual door glass guides and the upper channel/gasket when the car sits. Cleaning and maintenance can help keep the glass from sticking and will likely keep the window regulators alive.

It seems that the less a window is used, the more likely the regulator is to fail. I have been very lucky to only have 2 window regulator failures that I can recall in the last 25+ years.

One was on my 1996 Chevy Impala SS which I have given to my son, car has 50k miles on it. One of the nylon slides split, a very common problem on these models, replaced it with a nylon roller rather than a slide, I think a $10 ebay kit as I recall.

My most recent failure which I just resolved yesterday was on my daughters 2003 VW Beetle Convertible, the rear window regulator failed. We are original owners and this car is 12 years old. What happened is a plastic part where the 2 cables meet that raise and lower the window finally failed. Part of the plastic that held the end of one of the cables finally cracked and broke cause the cable to let go.

My point is window regulators fail on all makes and models for differing reasons. If you have a vehicle that is experiencing multiple failures, especially on the same window, something is WRONG. The failure needs be be analyzed and understood. Then some form of corrective measure needs to implemented.

Suggest you read this thread from E46Fantics about regulator failures and updated regulators. There is a lot of good info about everything from window tint causing problems to sticky and dirty window tracks as well as vehicles being subjected to a lot of heat and the window becoming glued to the gaskets/slides.

It's time to get serious about window regulators - E46Fanatics

I am not tying to feed the drama, just trying to point out some useful and factual information and before someone keep complaining about repeated problems, sometimes you need to stop an analyze what is really happening.