Antifreeze low, according to my wife

[ekimv65]

So my wife calls and says the car wont heat properly and the car says its low on antifreeze. I check the antifreeze and it was a little low, I fill it and seems to be fixed.

Two days later I am looking at my brand new garage floor in what appears to be oil from (must be the AC compressor) because its clear and seeping into the concrete.

I stop at an indi, he tells me the AC compressors lines are shot and we need new ones. This makes sense, its a 2009 with 165K and some stuff is needed to maintained. The cost seems a bit high even for an indi... $650 for the hoses.. Does that seem high? He said it would be $2000 for a compressor...

Do I need to find a new indi?

Thanks all.

[ard]

Dude...who knows what the truth is. Between your wife making declarations; you not understanding the indy; the indy knowing he has someone who will believe anything; it is impossible to venture a guess as to what is really wrong.

Its like some retarded game of telephone with really expensive consequences....

[14thbmw]

How long have you owned this X5?

The low antifreeze is probably normal and nothing to be concerned about. If it really gets low you'll get a warning on the dash.

The "won't heat properly" could just be your vent settings - might have cool air being directed to the dash vents and warm air to the feet, for example, which could cause someone to conclude it isn't putting out heat. Easy enough to check settings in iDrive.

The oil could be the compressor. I've never had one go bad, but I hear others have. I trust my indy, so if he told me that I'd probably let him do the work. But I might get the car good and warmed up, then turn the AC on full blast and full cold setting to see if it works. If it doesn't put out some cold (and I see you're in WI and winter is two weeks away), then something is wrong. If you don't trust your indy, ask around at the BMW club for a new shop.

[Doug Huffman]

Get a second opinion from an automotive HVAC shop. I believe BMW still uses piston compressors that must be loaded frequently in order to oil the shaft seal. My VW compressor was a scroll-type still functioning perfectly after 13 years.

Heating? My X5 has an 1000 watt electric heater service until the engine has excess heat for the cabin.

[jfoj]

Three options:

1. New mechanic
2. New vehicle
3. New wife

Pick one.

But seriously, make sure the vent settings are correct as well.

It took me for ever to find these in the iDrive, but they are also just above the heated seat buttons as well. If someone hits the vent control instead of the heated seats this can cause problems.

Also make sure the vent setting temperature as well as position is correct.

This is one of the crazy things that iDrive way over complicates.

As for antifreeze/coolant level checks, I think they need to be performed at 68F ambient otherwise the coolant contacts too much and you may set the level too high at say 32F ambient.

I also know things like washer fluid and coolant level get confused.

The icon pops in the dash, but the description pops up on the bottom of the iDrive display.

[Davidf]

Highly unlikely that a/c hoses are shot on any 2009 vehicle. So, no it does not make sense. Clear fluid can be from several sources. Get under the car and look. And, For sure get a second oppinion.

[slowlanemcvane]

What David said. And what Doug said. Take the car to a vehicular HVAC specialist, have them pressure-test and leak-test the system. If the HVAC checks out, it might be worth also having a pressure test performed on the cooling system on the car. If the car has been losing coolant, it's possible that the heater core is depleted, which affects the ability of the heater to put out heat. That means identifying the source of the leak and replacing any failed components. Trust me on this, having owned several BMWs over my lifetime (E46s, E53s, E70s) none of them seem to have particularly robust cooling systems, and there are a seemingly endless source of leak points and fragile plastic nipples and hose couplers and o-rings, all of which seem particularly susceptible to heat-related decay.

Clear fluid can be AC fluid, brake fluid, or engine coolant (which the BMW fluid looks clear in small enough quantities, since it's not the more common Green/Gold/Orange).

[ekimv65]

I appreciate everyone's time to reply, it is a new Indy to me, Ive always used the BMW stealer. This was the first (maybe only attempt) time outside the dealer. I refilled the coolant (glycol) and that seemed fine. Glycol will not stain concrete, it is some sort of oil. Someone mentioned it should not be leaking on a 2009, I would agree, it seemed odd to me as well. The cost of the hoses seemed exorbitant as well.

Someone mentioned to do a blow down pressure test on the radiator. I did do that for an hour and it held PSI fine. The only other place that could be going is through the head gasket but I did the technical test and smelled the exhaust and it did not smell sweet, I dont think is burning it.

I am going to put the car up and ramps and see what it looks like under there, I dont trust this indy yet and want to make sure im not getting screwed.

Thanks again all! Ive owned four X5's and they have all been very good to me, 150K on all of them with minimal expenses, I know ive been lucky, just hoping to continue the good luck streak.

[ard]

can the AC blow cold if the AC hoses are shot???????????

[Doug Huffman]

Hi ya neighbor. I'm making a run Tuesday to your neck of the woods, to the De Pere Cellcom store. The reason is to have their SIM installed in my iPad Pro, but I need to run my 35d hard for a DPF regeneration.