BMW E60 ( 2006) engine high temp warning

Transportation, Travel and Trips
1
This morning board computer in my car (BMW e60 ) displayed

!Engine temp high - please drive moderately.! it went off after 20 seconds.

This is a sign of worry to me - as I bought this car from Germany & Euro Garanty on it expired earlier this year unlike the 10 year swiss garanty.

Any ideas to deal with the issue before going to a garage - where they would tell me to pay them a fortune ( not being pessimistic but paranoid).

Thanks

2
What does the actual temprature gauge say?

3
check the oil and water levels.

4
Sounds like you were lucky as you only got a warning which later turned off. As far as I know, when the temp rises there are two warning stages where the first is the temperature is higher than normal and a warning is issued. The next level is the temperature is beyond safe operating limits and the engine should be switched off.

As you only reached the first warning I doubt that any damage has been done. First check the coolant level. If that is OK then the problem can be related to a faulty sensor, faulty thermostat, faulty water pump or a broken/faulty cooling fan or switch.

Go to the garage and get it checked. It may cost a bit but it's a lot cheaper than waiting for the engine to blow!

5
Coolant , oil level all ok.

There is no temp gauge available in E60.

Went to Garage the guy just opened the hood and said there is no leakage that is visible - he would need to check in detail might need 4-5 hours to find out what is wrong - that translates to about 800 chf.

The guy also told me to let the warning appear once more to get it checked , if I am not planning to go on a long trip.

This was a garage in Meilen ,ZH.

I have also heard about extending warranty - can I get that for 300 or so bucks and if something happens then it will be covered by that.

Any pointers for that, please??

6
Get a guarage to pressure chech the system, it's 5 minutes work, then you will know if there is a leak or not!

I think the warranty company will deny any claim, they will work out you bought the cover after you had a problem. Not sure how insurance fraud is delt with here, could be nasty!

7
open the oil cap, look at the cap's internal bit, the one facing the engine

if the oil in it looks dark brown, its ok

if it looks like coffee with some milk, then its bad news

8

not always.. if the car is just used for short drives then this can happen.

Trade: if you just leave the car to idle does the fan come on?

under what driving conditions did the warning occur - highway or in town?

9
There is a hidden menu for the E60 to access the KTMP(koolant temp). Go to any BMW message board and you will find the answer. You can actually monitor the koolant temp live. For your case, it could be that your thermostat was stuck closed, therefore the koolant temp was hight. If the car has close to 80k km, I won't be surprised that the thermostat is on its way out.

10
It is indeed hidden as for the nav and idrive, here is the pdf for M5 E60, should be the same....

11
Go to a BMW garage, connect the BMW diagnostic computer, and read the vehicle fault history. It will tell you a lot more in 10 minutes than looking around under the bonnet will.

These cars are super intelligent, with lots of diagnostic info.

BUT you need to have the original BMW diagnostic computer to read all of the info - so go to a proper authorized BMW dealer, or an independent BMW garage with the right equipment. Leave those small town garages alone.