Roaring Cooling Fan Under Hood/UPDATE

[overheadvalve]

2012 E70 X5 N55 41k miles. I have noticed the past few weeks the cooling fan under the hood coming on real loud then going quiet then real loud again. It's only in the 50 degree range outside here in Iowa right now so it's not at all hot out. In my search I have read posts from people with the same condition. Some say normal, some say water pump is on the way out. It seems that when I turn off the climate control system the fan does not do the loud roaring. Anyone have any ideas? Thanks.

Well the response from all of you was correct. Water pump. Damn! My Indy Tech did his best to try and diagnose anything else but the pump. Apparently when these things are on the way out it can be a bit confusing to diagnose other than the roaring fan as described above. Working with his Autologic Scanner he was getting steady (and correct) coolant temp but a engine temp changing up and down at 30 degree intervals. Crazy, and not possible. No codes or anything else like that were present. It seems that for some reason the DME was telling the car that coolant was ok but engine temp was not ok even though the pump was flowing but not at peak performance. He changed the coolant temp sensor while I crossed my fingers. Nope! Same reading. A new pump and thermostat, a bill for $1200.00 and all is well. A real bummer at 41K miles and my first engine related repair over 6 different BMW's.

[bmwx5er]

Originally Posted by overheadvalve

2012 E70 X5 N55 41k miles. I have noticed the past few weeks the cooling fan under the hood coming on real loud then going quiet then real loud again. It's only in the 50 degree range outside here in Iowa right now so it's not at all hot out. In my search I have read posts from people with the same condition. Some say normal, some say water pump is on the way out. It seems that when I turn off the climate control system the fan does not do the loud roaring. Anyone have any ideas? Thanks.

impending water pump failure.. get it fixed before it leaves you stranded on the side of the road.

[jandref321]

Originally Posted by bmwx5er

impending water pump failure.. get it fixed before it leaves you stranded on the side of the road.

X2 Luckily mine was under warranty when the fan started going crazy. Dealer confirmed it was the water pump and replaced the water pump, thermostat/housing, and flushed the fluid in the process. Made me so happy I paid for the extended warranty.

Edit: I'm surprised it's at such low mileage though. Maybe another issue, but BMW or and Indy can run the diagnostics. Or maybe carly for BMW?

[F06msportmia]

Originally Posted by bmwx5er

impending water pump failure.. get it fixed before it leaves you stranded on the side of the road.

Yup water pump and thermostat... same thing happened with mine. $800 later problem fixed.

[overheadvalve]

Originally Posted by e70msportmia

Yup water pump and thermostat... same thing happened with mine. $800 later problem fixed.

Thanks for the advice. Not sure it's what I wanted to hear though! What mileage were your cars at when this occurred?

[bmwx5er]

I've read reports of water pump failures with mileage in the early 20Ks. My friends 2013 X5 that he bought last month CPO at 34k miles left him stranded yesterday due to overheating - I suspect it's the water pump too. We'll know the diagnosis on Monday.

[F06msportmia]

Originally Posted by overheadvalve

Thanks for the advice. Not sure it's what I wanted to hear though! What mileage were your cars at when this occurred?

Trust me there is a lot you don't want hear with these pieces of crap that breakdown every other month... lucky that I'm handy and do most if not all maintenance myself.

The therm & pump were replaced around 60k. Good luck...

[overheadvalve]

Originally Posted by overheadvalve

2012 E70 X5 N55 41k miles. I have noticed the past few weeks the cooling fan under the hood coming on real loud then going quiet then real loud again. It's only in the 50 degree range outside here in Iowa right now so it's not at all hot out. In my search I have read posts from people with the same condition. Some say normal, some say water pump is on the way out. It seems that when I turn off the climate control system the fan does not do the loud roaring. Anyone have any ideas? Thanks.

Well the response from all of you was correct. Water pump. Damn! My Indy Tech did his best to try and diagnose anything else but the pump. Apparently when these things are on the way out it can be a bit confusing to diagnose other than the roaring fan as described above. Working with his Autologic Scanner he was getting steady (and correct) coolant temp but a engine temp changing up and down at 30 degree intervals. Crazy, and not possible. No codes or anything else like that were present. It seems that for some reason the DME was telling the car that coolant was ok but engine temp was not ok even though the pump was flowing but not at peak performance. He changed the coolant temp sensor while I crossed my fingers. Nope! Same reading. A new pump and thermostat, a bill for $1200.00 and all is well. A real bummer at 41K miles and my first engine related repair over 6 different BMW's.

UPDATE

[jandref321]

Glad you're back on the road...hate when money has to go to maintenance instead of upgrades. The good thing is that you can usually replace OE parts with upgraded parts when things go bad. I think the only thing cooling you could have done is a colder thermostat though so cooling is the exception.

[F06msportmia]

Originally Posted by overheadvalve

2012 E70 X5 N55 41k miles. I have noticed the past few weeks the cooling fan under the hood coming on real loud then going quiet then real loud again. It's only in the 50 degree range outside here in Iowa right now so it's not at all hot out. In my search I have read posts from people with the same condition. Some say normal, some say water pump is on the way out. It seems that when I turn off the climate control system the fan does not do the loud roaring. Anyone have any ideas? Thanks.

Well the response from all of you was correct. Water pump. Damn! My Indy Tech did his best to try and diagnose anything else but the pump. Apparently when these things are on the way out it can be a bit confusing to diagnose other than the roaring fan as described above. Working with his Autologic Scanner he was getting steady (and correct) coolant temp but a engine temp changing up and down at 30 degree intervals. Crazy, and not possible. No codes or anything else like that were present. It seems that for some reason the DME was telling the car that coolant was ok but engine temp was not ok even though the pump was flowing but not at peak performance. He changed the coolant temp sensor while I crossed my fingers. Nope! Same reading. A new pump and thermostat, a bill for $1200.00 and all is well. A real bummer at 41K miles and my first engine related repair over 6 different BMW's.

The real bummer was the $1200, it should have been $800.

The pump and thermostat and new coolant is $400 at whole sale price meaning what he paid. Than another $400 for labor that's fair.

Oh well, shop around for another indy for your next job.

[omgboost]

Where is your Indy? In NYC, there is no way you're getting those prices. Unless it's a shop that doesn't really specialize in BMWs and I'm skeptical about bringing my car to those.

[overheadvalve]

Simpson Motorsport, Iowa City Iowa. Long time BMW only Indy. All OEM BMW parts listed.

Thermostat: $132.55
Water Pump: $572.36
Coolant: $48.00
Pump bolt kit: $5.10

Replace water pump & thermostat/flush cooling system: $330.00
1 hour of diagnosis BEFORE replacing pump (actually about 3 hours) $110.00.

Total with tax: $1269.89
I'm quite sure I may have paid a bit much and I could have done it myself. I do most all of my repairs myself but time and correct diagnosis plus that colossal mess of dumping the entire coolant system made this the way to go for me on this problem.

[dc23]

new guy here. bought my 2013 X5 50i (CPO) with 33k miles 14 months ago. had my pump and thermostat replaced twice already - 48k miles today. We will see how long it lasts this time.

[overheadvalve]

Originally Posted by dc23

new guy here. bought my 2013 X5 50i (CPO) with 33k miles 14 months ago. had my pump and thermostat replaced twice already - 48k miles today. We will see how long it lasts this time.

WOW! Good luck with the second replacement. Who thought mixing water (coolant) and electricity in the same housing was a good idea?

[Ricky Bobby 16]

Had water pump failure and all coolant poured out, drove a little further than I would have liked to in this condition although -20 degree weather at the time. Discovered at same time that fan had started always running at insane high speed. I’ve changed water pump, thermostat/temp sensor and then the auxiliary water pump.
Still have the fan running very loud, high speed. Not sure where to go from here.

[zjuyyhu]

Originally Posted by Ricky Bobby 16

Had water pump failure and all coolant poured out, drove a little further than I would have liked to in this condition although -20 degree weather at the time. Discovered at same time that fan had started always running at insane high speed. I’ve changed water pump, thermostat/temp sensor and then the auxiliary water pump.
Still have the fan running very loud, high speed. Not sure where to go from here.

Did you change them yourself? I would recommend to do a complete diagnosis in your case.