6 Unmistakable Signs your BMW Thermostat is failing
The cooling systems have a major role in keeping your engine in good condition and working properly. But if the cooling system issues occur, then it can lead to heavy damage to engine. One of the common failures of cooling system is due to thermostat issue. So it is very important to know whether your thermostat is actually failing or not. In this article, you will know about the signs of a failing thermostat in BMW.
What is a thermostat?
Thermostat is a part of cooling system. Its work is to control the flow of coolant from reservoir to the engine. It opens and closes, adjusting the flow of coolant and makes sure your engine gets required amount of coolant. So by this process, it makes the engine to be in minimum operating temperature. Coolant prevents overheating of engine but too much coolant can affect the good performance of engine, so thermostat makes the engine to avoid such problem.
How do you know that your thermostat is failing?
Overheating of engine
As you know that thermostat allows the coolant to the engine. If there is some problem in thermostat then it will get stuck in the closed position blocking the coolant to pass to the engine. Due to lack of coolant in the engine would lead to overheating the engine. You can know if your engine is overheating or not by looking at the temperature gauge, if the pointer rises towards the H then the engine might be overheating.
Unusual noises from engine
Strange noises due to overheating of engine occur and the main cause of overheating is the lack of coolant. The sounds are like gurgling, rumbling and boiling sound from the engine and radiator.
Coolant leakage
Mainly a wrong installation of thermostat causes this symptom the thermostat fails completely and the coolant leaks on the mounting surface in the car.
Inefficient engine
When the thermostat is stuck in the open position, then the engine begins to run inefficiently, because high amount of coolant make the engine temperature lower than normal.
Rust
The thermostat get corroded and rusted more likely after failure due to which you will find the rusts under the hood of your car. This is a very god sign of failing thermostat.
Temperature inside the cabin changes
You will find the temperature in the cabin suddenly rises and then falls after sometime. This sudden change in temperature can be caused due to a failing thermostat.
How to get rid of bad thermostat?
Before repairing and replacing the thermostat, you need to be sure if your thermostat is failing or not. To be confirmed, you have to test the thermostat.
1. The radiator cap is removed while the engine is made to idle and then the coolant flow is checked. The coolant should not flow while the engine has not warmed up. But if the coolant flows, then the thermostat might have got stuck to open mode.
2. Wait for 10–20 minutes and then check the coolant flow again; if the coolant is still not flowing but the temperature gauge reading is rising, then the thermostat might have got stuck to closed mode.
3. To check the temperature, get a thermometer and check the temperature at the engine block and the upper radiator hose. It is made while the engine is idling. You have to wait for 5 minutes and then again check the temperatures of both components. This should be done three times and all the readings are noted
If the temperature at both engine and the upper radiator hose is rising then there is no issue with the thermostat and the coolant. If the temperature of both remains same then be sure that the thermostat is in open position, if the temperature at the radiator hose remains same but the pointer at temperature gauge is rising and then be sure that the thermostat is in closed position. If you are getting the signs even while the thermostat is in good condition, then there must be some other issues and you can get your car checked at service centers.
If your thermostat is bad, then you have to replace it, but before replacing it you have to flush out the coolant from your car and put new coolant and then you can replace the thermostat safely. So whenever you have to replace the thermostat, you have to change the coolant before it. The thermostat should be of good quality because they last for more time.
Conclusion
A good maintenance of cooling system and engine makes the engine to last forever and prevents problems like overheating. Mostly a bad coolant becomes the main reason behind the thermostat failure. So changing of coolant regularly should be done.
