2003 BMW 3-Series Coolant Leak

Last weekend I met up with some friends, both of whom have BMW 3-series sedans (type E46). Upon arrival, one of them started leaving a puddle of coolant in the parking garage. Not good.

I could see it was dripping out from one side of the undertray, but the source was otherwise hidden. We filled the radiator with water and my friends took the car to the nearby BMW dealership where it was discovered the coolant expansion tank had developed a leak. 

The repair quote was $400 at a minimum to replace the tank, though it was unclear whether there were further issues since the car appeared to overheat somewhat on the way (I wasn't there). The videos below go into a more detail about this model's particular issue:

As an aside, the other friend's BMW also suffered a broken headlight the same day due to extremely windy weather combined with an unmanned shopping cart that made a beeline for his car. It was not a good day for Bimmers.

January Recall Roundup: Is Your Car On This List?

As of January 2011, certain units of the following vehicle models are under recall by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to address these potential issues:

• 2011 Cadillac Escalade, Escalade ESV, Escalade EXT, Chevrolet Avalanche, Colorado, Express, Silverado, Suburban, Tahoe, and GMC Canyon, Sierra, Yukon and Yukon XL vehicles for rear axle lock (p. 3).
• 1999-2003 Ford Windstar in certain states for lower control arm separation (p. 8).
• 2010 Honda Accord, CR-V for engine stall (p. 3).
• 2006-2009 Lexus IS models for fuel leakage (p. 8).
• 2006-2007 Lexus GS models for fuel leakage (p. 8).
• 2010-2011 Saab 9-3 for engine stall (p. 5).
• 2009-2010 Suzuki Grand Vitara equipped with 4 cylinder engines, certain 2011 Suzuki Grand Vitaras and certain 2010-2011 Suzuki SX4 vehicles for drive belt tension adjuster pulleys (p.15).
• 2011 Think City for seat belts and heater-defroster systems (p. 7).
• 2010 Volkswagen New Beetle, New Beetle Convertible for replacement due to noncompliance with crash test requirements (p. 9).

For details on any of the above recalls click here for the full report (PDF).

Cars Under Investigation

Automobiles that might be recalled pending a current engineering analysis are:

• 2002-2005 BMW 3 series sedans (E46)
• 2007 Chevy Tahoe and GMC Yukon
• 2001-2004 Ford Escape and Mazda Tribute
• 2002-2005 Ford Explorer and Mercury Mountaineer
• 2004-2006 Ford F150
• 2004-2005 Ford Freestar and Mercury Monterey
• 2002-2003 Ford Taurus and Mercury Sable (in Salt Belt states)
• 1999-2003 Ford Windster (in Salt Belt states)
• 1999-2003 GMC C/K pickups and SUVs (in Salt Belt states)
• 2003-2004 Infiniti M45
• 2003-2005 Infiniti Q45
• 
  
• 2007-2008 Kia Sorento
• 2001-2007 Volkswagen (VW) Passat

[Source: NHTSA]