Coolant Low Indicator
 

This morning when I started her up I got the check coolant level warning, should I just top it off and not worry about it or should I bring it in for service? BTW it has 80K on it.

Are there any leaks in the system? If there are you need to have the leak fixed simply adding more coolant will not fix the problem.

If there are no leaks anywhere mix 50:50 coolant and distilled water and add.

I havent seen any leaks and this is the first time this warning has come up so I will just top it off. I wonder where the coolant went?

i had that too a few days ago, just added literally half a cup of distilled water....not sure where it goes...prob the climate changing

just keep an eye on it because at that mileage the intake can leak coolant internally into the engine, so if water keeps disappearing with no explanation or external leaks it could be the valley pan issue. Other sources for leaks at that age / mileage are the water pump, aux water pump / heater control valve, expansion tank, upper radiator hose, and water cooled alternator on the V8 models. Look for possible leaks around those items.

That said - probably just the climate changing or something - I added about a cup of distilled to my system just last week, although no warning light had come on or anything - it just looked a little low to me. I hadn't checked it in a while.

I was thinking it was the climate because it just started to get colder here.

Worst case, any leaks in the rear?, could be the valley pan gasket.

Had that happen to my wife's e39 and it was simply the float in the radiator sticking down. I freed it up and the light went off. Not sure if the x5 has the same setup or not, worth a check though.

ya - same thing on the E53. It's in the expansion tank btw, not the radiator - there is no cap on the radiator.

You are right, I stand corrected.