Some of the links on this page may link to our affiliates. Learn more about our affiliate policies.
Last Updated: November 25, 2023
Yup, that's me, you are probably wondering how I ended up with my 2015 BMW 535i xDrive and 2010 BMW 535 xDrive getting loaded on tow trucks. To get straight to the point, both of my BMWs overheated and had to get towed. Both pictures, were taken years apart, thankfully, but nevertheless, I learned quite a few things from the first experience that helped me on my second one. Also learned that while water pumps were notoriously failing on the N54 motors, BMW's brilliant minds decided to reuse the same water pump on the newer N55 motor powered vehicles.
Besides water pumps failing, there are a few other things that can cause such issues in BMWs and I will try to cover all of them to the best of my ability. After all, I faced these overheating issues now twice (as you can see above).
Both of the times were not pleasant, however, from the first time of dealing with this issue, I now immediately knew what to do and how to prevent my engine from getting damaged. Fortunately I got the warning signals not too far from home, so with a few stops to let the engine cool off, I was able to get home safe and sound without causing any damage to the engine.
The image of the iDrive displaying a BMW overheating warning light that states: "Engine temperature high: Drive moderately to cool engine. If temperature increases again, consult service center." Anytime I see this message pop up, I know that it will be about $1000 repair. Also, I know that my car was very dusty at the time of this taking place. I had my windows open and blasted heat for some time while driving on fairly dusty roads. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.
If you try to ignore it, it will turn into the message below.
If this happens to you, depending on the car that you have, it could regulate your gas pedal to the point where you cannot accelerate fast to prevent engine damage. Another thing that happened with my older 5-Series BMW, was that the engine kept cutting off, also to prevent damage. Lucky for me, this time, the speed limit where this happened was only 30 mph which allowed me to roll at the speeds that did not anger anyone behind me (first time I was on I-75 outside of Cleveland and long way from home).
When this message pops up, you should definitely pull over and let the engine cool off. If you have ways to go still, call a tow truck. Getting towed and not causing damage to your engine will be a much cheaper alternative to a new engine.
Since I have only dealt with the N54 and N55 engines overheating (the E60 535xi and F10 535i xDrive BMWs), my issues were the electric water pumps going out. They do not really give you a warning signal before they stop working. Although, this most recent one, gave me one signal; the fan was running really loud even when parked. Long story short, I did a few 0-60 pulls for the Dragy Review article and a video; next thing I know is my car's fan is running very loud.
Here is the list of most common symptoms of your BMW is overheating:
If you see that your car is overheating but you cannot safely pull over right away, you should drive moderately, turn off your AC and blast heat at the maximum setting. This tactic can help take away some of the heat from the engine which will allow you to travel to a safe location to pull off (hopefully).
Once you have pulled over, it is important to not try to open the radiator to check for coolant. You might get severely burned if you do. Let the car cool off before trying to check for coolant levels.
If you have a OBD-II scanner, you might see any of the following codes:
After getting my car fixed at the shop, I read the notes which stated that there was a 20A701 code that the mechanics found: "Engine coolant system motor speed coolant outside tolerance" if I was to read it word by word. You can see a more detailed explanation in the image above.
Since I wasn't very sure what was going on with my car and my temperature gauge seem to have been working fine, I kept pulling over and not letting the engine to go above 250 degrees Fahrenheit. Once I got to a safe location, I parked the car and called a tow truck.
While the BMW N54 and N55 engines are known for their performance, and N55 is known for its reliability, they can occasionally experience overheating issues. Some of the most common reasons for these engines to overheat include the following:
In addition to these common causes, other factors that may contribute to overheating in BMW N54 and N55 engines include:
Regular maintenance and inspection of your vehicle's cooling system can help prevent these issues and ensure optimal engine performance.
When purchasing my 2015 F10 535i, for some reason I had an illusion of the N55 powered car using a different water pump than its predecessor, however, I was very wrong. Seems like both the F10 535 and E60 535 use the same exact water pump, hence both fail just as frequent.
The common maintenance for these water pump is a replacement maintenance at 60,000 miles. Mine broke down at 88K miles for the F10 and at 151k miles for the E60. Both repairs cost me between $1,000 and $1,200 and included thermostat replacement as well. BMW maintenance cost for these same services will be around the same, minus the tow truck cost. As you can tell by now, this maintenance item should not be ignored since it's unavoidable.
After shopping around for the best price when my E60 broke down, I realized that BMW dealership and smaller shops all offered very similar repair costs, even though BMW dealer was slightly more expensive. I would have taken the F10 to a BMW dealer if I didn't trust my independent mechanic so much. The shop that I took my car to is Jurgen Automotive Repair in Plymouth, MI. Jurgen and his crew never disappointed me or my car friends.
After shopping around for the best price when my E60 broke down, I realized that BMW dealership and smaller shops all offered very similar repair costs, even though BMW dealer was slightly more expensive. I would have taken the F10 to a BMW dealer if I didn't trust my independent mechanic so much. The shop that I took my car to is Jurgen Automotive Repair in Plymouth, MI. Jurgen and his crew never disappointed me or my car friends.
I would recommend anyone that has an out of warranty BMW to find yourself a very good small shop in your area. Dealers tend to not be the best go-to places for repairs and a lot of times overcharge and over-estimate things. Guys like Jurgen would tell you to stop bringing your car to his shop if nothing is wrong with it. Happened to me when I kept hearing some noise in my tires until I was finally told to get new tires, and ended up getting a set of Michelin CrossClimate2 which ended the weird road noises.
If you are one of the lucky ones to drive a BMW powered by a N55 or N54, then the water pump that you are looking for this one (partially plastic) or this one (full metal, the one I got). I was thinking about going for the OEM one, but then I remembered that it's the OEM water pump that keep letting me down, therefore going with a reputable after-market pump is a better idea, in my humble opinion. Also, do not forget to get the whole kit while you are at it. Usually when you get the water pump replaced, you should change the thermostat as well. Here are the things that you will need:
If not, then you can find the right water pump very quickly with the built in search engine inside of the ECS Tuning website. Also, do not forget to get the whole kit while you are at it. Usually when you get the water pump replaced, you should change the thermostat as well.
According to Repair Pal, the average cost for a BMW 535i Water Pump Replacement is between $1,029 and $1,282. This is spot on pricing since the last time I paid $1,150 which included: labor, parts, supplies, and taxes. The breakdown was as follows:
The E60 BMW water pump replacement cost was around $1000-ish but it happened a few years back when everything was much cheaper.
The answer is yes, you can do it yourself. I am not the most mechanically inclined person, and I was able to do it on the E60 5-series. The image above was taken after 2 hours of frustration trying to get my semi-big arm in-between all of the components of the BMW. This task will purely depend on the following:
To me it did not make a lot of sense to try to do it myself for the F10, although I've done it myself on the E60 a few years back. The time and resources needed to get this job done just didn't outweigh the dollar amount. However, everyone has a different situation that they are dealing with.
BMW overheating issues should not be taken lightly since ignoring these issues can result in damaging your engine. My wholehearted advise is for you to park the car and get it towed either to your garage (if you are mechanically inclined) or tow it to the shop of your choosing. The most common component of the cooling system that seems to notoriously fail on the N54 and N55 engine powered BMWs is the water pump. This repair is not the cheapest one, but water pumps on these cars need to get changed every 60k miles anyway. I hope you find this review helpful, and shoot me an email as always with any feedback.
Steven Dillon
Author
Steven is the founder and product tested for The Car Data, that has extensive knowledge in automotive industry. While most of his free time he participates in typical "car guy" activities, his passion for cars, data analytics, and tech, always has his looking for the next cool tool, software, trend, etc. to share with his audience on The Car Data or on his Instagram.
© 2023 The Car Data. All rights reserved.