Coolant leaked and took out power steering?
 

04 X5 3.0i, about 122000 miles.

I was driving on the road yesterday and suddenly saw white smoke came out of the car, I stopped right away and turned out that the white smoke is vaporized coolant liquid, steam.

I was very close to home when this happened and I grabbed some distilled water, added into the coolant tank, and drove it home slowly (to make sure the engine doesn't over heat)

One thing I noticed after this happened was that the power steering is gone, and I tried again today, the car would start up ok and is drivable(as long as I put some coolant in since it leaks away slowly) but the power steering is still gone.

I'm planning on taking the car to a mechanic soon but what do you guys think caused the power steering issue?

I have checked the power steering fluid and it's almost full, don't know how to check the pump but the pump was replaced two years ago and worked perfectly till the coolant leak occurred...



Also if anyone know a good mechanic shop in Houston area please PM me.

What's the reason for the coolant issue? Is your serpentine belt still there? If the belt broke, the coolant problem would have been because the waterpump isn't getting turned AND the fan also isn't spinning. That belt also drives the power steering and could be the cause of no power steering.
Don't drive without the belt or you could end up replacing the engine.
Figure out the cause for the belt breaking, fix that problem, replace the belt, and I'd recommend replacing the thermostat at the same time.

WHAT HE SAID. Your belt sounds like its gone. A cheap fix. I wouldn't drive the car more than 2 miles without a water pump running

It's actually surprising that BMW didn't put a sensor into the tension pulley on the accessory belts. That way you'd get a warning and wouldn't be very hard to do at all

Yup, checked and the belt is broken.

While the coolant problem is caused by the broken belt, I did find a minor leak on the coolant expansion tank as well.

I have never replaced the serpentine belt before, is this an easy fix? Or is it better to take the car to a shop so they can replace the belt and try to see what caused the belt to break? (I suspect is has something to do with the weather in Houston, it was around 90s a few days ago and suddenly dropped to 50-60 level)

Luckily there is a mechanic shop within a mile from my place, just have to keep watching the coolant temp on the way.

I'm just glad it's not something more serious and more expensive :D

It's an easy fix. The reason they break is because they are rubber. Rubber deteriorates over time. Depending on your DIY ability I would say it is one of the easier jobs to do in the engine bay if you want to get the part yourself.

BMW TIS - 11 28 010 Replacing alternator drive belt (M52 / S52 / M52TU / M54 / M56)

Remember that you have lost your alternator as well so you probably don't have too many starts left in the battery......