Dealer Advice?

[kamigawa120]

Hey Guys,

My Mom has a 2008 X5 si and recently just past over 50k miles,
now there is a problem with it, it makes a loud fan noise at the engine bay, both idle and on the road, my Prognosis is that there is something wrong
with the coolant or the engine thermometer or something.

I desperately need an advice from your experience,
Should i tell the Service adviser that there is either a coolant leak
(which i haven't seen yet), their might be a problem with the
engine thermometer?

Or

Should i sit tight and let them figure out what is wrong with it?

Thank you very much

[JCL]

I worked in a shop for years, and was a service manager after that (not BMW). When a customer came in and told us what the problem was, we ignored it. We listened to what the symptoms were. Nobody knows what it should sound like as much as the owner does. But if owners knew what the problem was, they wouldn't need trained mechanics. Sorry if that sounds arrogant, but customers doing self-diagnosis are actually pretty funny most of the time.

Describe the symptoms to the.dealer. What is the pitch of the noise, high or low? Does it vary with engine speed or road speed? Forward or reverse? Engine hot or cold? Specific rev ranges? Is the noise the problem, or a symptom of another problem? What else happens when it makes the noise? You get the idea.

If you are paying for the repair, ask for an investigation and quotation, don't sign a blank cheque work order. But let them do their investigation, and expect to pay for that diagnosis.

By the way, coolant doesn't make noise, so why would coolant be the problem? And there is no such thing as an engine thermometer. Thermostat, yes. And temperature sensors. But no thermometer.

Good luck.

[ard]

Originally Posted by JCL

I worked in a shop for years, and was a service manager after that (not BMW). When a customer came in and told us what the problem was, we ignored it. We listened to what the symptoms were. Nobody knows what it should sound like as much as the owner does. But if owners knew what the problem was, they wouldn't need trained mechanics. Sorry if that sounds arrogant, but customers doing self-diagnosis are actually pretty funny most of the time.

Describe the symptoms to the.dealer. What is the pitch of the noise, high or low? Does it vary with engine speed or road speed? Forward or reverse? Engine hot or cold? Specific rev ranges? Is the noise the problem, or a symptom of another problem? What else happens when it makes the noise? You get the idea.

If you are paying for the repair, ask for an investigation and quotation, don't sign a blank cheque work order. But let them do their investigation, and expect to pay for that diagnosis.

By the way, coolant doesn't make noise, so why would coolant be the problem? And there is no such thing as an engine thermometer. Thermostat, yes. And temperature sensors. But no thermometer.

Good luck.

100% agree.

Indeed if you need to ask US, you cannot hope to TELL a service advisor what is wrong!

And even when I know what the problem is, I'll respect the relationship and say 'looks like XYZ, but you guys are the expert so take a look'

Why would you suspect something to do with coolant or temperature? YOUR POST SAYS NOT A SINGLE WORD ABOUT SYMPTOMS RELATED TO TEMPERATURE!!!! I can think of a dozen things that make noise before I'd think of a coolant leak or thermostat issue.

Finally, I'd spend your efforts finding a good mechanic- NOT trying to pre-diagnose the issue!

GL

A