Coolant level low

[Gonda]

Hi all,

I just had my 08 X5 3.0 leaked radiator replaced from an indy shop. Before radiator replacement, I got the message"Coolant level low" once, I kept put in distilled water so there was no more message displayed. But after replaced, I got the "Coolant level low" message displayed again and the tech said the coolant sensor reported wrong information and needed to be replaced as well. He has to order and it would take few days to get there.
My questions are:

Would it be true that the sensor went wrong or the shop did not do a good job?
Is there anything else I should ask the shop to do?

Thanks in advance for your help...

[3Series]

It's most likely the O-ring/washer in the sensor went bad. It's a 10cent piece of rubber and that's being generous. Unless you can match the exact O-ring/washer it's $50 for a new sensor. That was probably the cause of your original "leak" unless the tech really found a leak in the radiator.

The sensor just screws into the expansion tank and monitors the level of fluid. Your fluid just leaked through that hole.

[Price]

Originally Posted by Gonda

Is there anything else I should ask the shop to do?

Ask them if they did bleed the system and how.

[Gonda]

I came home after work and thought that I would try to bleed it after reading the bleeding steps on this site. After doing that, the message disappeared. I've been driving for the last two hours to see if anything happened, but everything is okay now. This shop was not doing a good job at all. They said they specialized in euro cars.

Thank you all for replying.

[joeku]

Cars are getting a lot more complex now. Even simple systems are getting all kinds of electronics. For example, electronics for water pumps, dynamic ride height adjustment, powered rear view mirrors - what kind of car had one of those 10 years ago? but those are just some of the things in an X5.

I can see how the mechanics at the dealerships have a head start against some independent shop because of how quickly technology in cars are changing. But, I'm sure there are lots of good independent mechanics can figure it out just seeing it once before. You just don't want to be the first guy who's bringing in a new car model that they haven't seen before.

I'd bet 50% of the mechanics shops claims they "specialize in foreign or European cars", but I don't even know if that has any meaning anymore.
It could simply mean that they own some specialty tools so they could work on more cars.

I recently went to a mechanic shop called "Joe's Foreign Car Mechanic". I later found out that the ownership had changed 3-4 years ago, Joe's long gone, but Phil, the new guy, left all the names and signs the same. Phil happens to be pretty competent, but it's totally arbitrary.