Loosing coolant at an alarming rate!
 

On the second day of owning my X5 the coolant level warning was activated, no big deal I though as I had no idea how long it had been since the previous owner had topped it up. So I proceeded to top up and it took about 2 litres to get it to max level. :thumbup:

All ok I thought but then within 2 days and not many miles the coolant level warning light was back on, it again took almost 2 litres to fill up. At this point I obviously felt the need to investigate further. There was no water in the oil and no steam from the exhausts but I did then notice a steady drip coming from the centre of the underside of the car. :confused:

On closer inspection it looks like coolant is dripping from a small outlet pipe (see link to video), is this normal and if so what is it for? I have checked the liquid and it is definitely coolant dripping out. :dunno:

X5 Coolant Leak? - YouTube

Any advice will be appreciated.

Thats not coolant, thats a condensation hose. I am assuming you had the A/C on, that is the drip tube.

It would help if you told us what kind of X5 you had. Please put the info in your sig as I have done.

I thought exactly that but I caught the liquid in a bowl and it is blue in colour (the same as my coolant) so is definitely coolant! :dunno:

Sorry, vehicle details now added to my sig. :D

Alright, have you checked all your upper hoses? What about the expansion tank? Look under the X and look at the Bell housing where the tranny meet the flywheel. Do you see and burnt coolant on there?

I would pull the plastic shield off the front and see if you can get a better view. On the passenger side you have the heater control valve and SEVERAL lines that could be leaking. The water cooled altenator is also in the passenger side, although that is most likely not it. It could be the valley pan under the intake as well. Just start at the hoses and work your way in.

Pretty X5, wish mine looked that nice!

(But I cant complain, rescued it for 1k)

Are there two evaporator drains? My x has one on the driver's side that drips onto the front driveshaft...
Never looked for a second.

But, that looks to be coming from inside the drain, only way for that to happen is leaking heater core.

Heater control valve, water manifold, and heater manifold are on the drivers side. Alternator on the M62 is also on the drivers side of the block. Passenger side has A/C compressor.

And that is true, it is rare, but if coolant is in the drain line, heater core might be cracked. I would check everything else first. Start with the easiest, then move to the hardest.