Help coolant almost dry
 

Just when I was getting over the discovery that the engine oil of my car was almost dry, this morning I decide to look at the engine coolant compartment and the red stick is well below its minimum level. Once again I did not get any OBD warning indicators light up so it was just pure chance that I had a look. Since the stealer is closed over the weekend, BMW assistance told me add some water which I did! My car is a year old, is this normal? Should I have had a warning sign light up? Was adding water the right thing to do (doesnt it dilute additives in the coolant?). Really appreciate your help on this!!!

P.S. I just realized that I needed to add distilled water. The BMW assistance guy told me tap water would be fine, am I damaging something here? Man, this BMW experience has been nothing but stress, what a bummer!

Distilled water is preferred, but anything should be fine to get you through the weekend emergency since adding any liquid is better than having the radiator run dry. Just tell your dealer what happened and ask them to flush the system and replace it with 50/50 coolant/water mixture first chance you get. Relax...breathe :)

Phew, thanks, I feel better! If I am not mistaken, the so called additive in the coolant is antifreeze? And I guess it doesnt really matter if the mix is now more diluted as we are approaching summer and the weather has improved dramatically over here! Is that a correct reasoning?

anybody?

you are correct, coolant has anti-freeze so your engine and radiator doesn't split open from the water freezing in the winter.

distilled water is "cleaner" then tap water and has less chance of rust/deposit/corrode your radiator or engine. distilled water + water wetter is what we run in race cars and offers far better cooling ability then any coolant out there.

hold on... is there a stick to look at coolant? or it is the windshield washing fluid you looking at? btw~ I am running to my X

There is a "floating" stick under your coolant cap. Read your manual ;)

Sounds like you are stressing out to much on this. The level sensors are very sensitive but not so sensitive that a light will go off for minor low fluid levels. This would be annoying. Low fluid does not mean you are damaging anything, it’s simply a fluid level that is below the optimum level. When your light comes on the fluid is so low it has the potential to cause damage.

If your concerned you should get in the habit of checking fluids every other trip to fuel up. Every time is preferred.