2011 X5 35i Overheating

[TechEnthusiast]

Hello all,

I have a 2011 X5 35i with 118,000 miles that I purchased new. It's always been dealer serviced but the cooling system is all original. Lately I've been noticing the fan has been louder than usual and has been coming on more often. It doesn't stay on for long but it'll go on even when I'm going around 35mph. Yesterday I got off the highway and was driving at 40mph around town and when I hit a red light, a warning came up on my nav screen. It said "coolant temperature hot, drive moderately until it decreases back to normal operating temperature. Get to dealer immediately if you see this warning again" - something like that. 1 minute later the warning came back on so I pulled over, waited 25 minutes, checked coolant level (which was fine), and then drove home. The warning didn't come back on again but the fan did at lower speeds, like it should, but it was very loud. To me it sounds like either a sensor or the thermostat. Any suggestions? Btw, the heat still works fine in my car.

Thanks

[BimmerBreaker]

The coolant is probably low. During different stages of operation the coolant will get hotter and expand more and thus read differently depending when it was checked. As such, it needs to be checked when cold; checking it after cooling off for a mere 25 minutes won't yield an accurate reading. Look at it tomorrow after sitting overnight.

[Robcast]

When that happened to my X5 the electric waterpump had failed.

[TechEnthusiast]

I connected an Autel scanner and got the death codes for the electric water pump. I'll be replacing the water pump (w/ bolts), and the thermostat. Has anyone done this themselves on their X5 on here? I've read and watched Bavarian's write up/video but that was on a RWD 3 series. I'm just worried about clearance and don't want to pull the radiator if I don't have to. I'll be pulling the RF wheel and inner fender liner.

[ptarditi]

You don't need to pull the radiator, but you do need to pull the electric fan. Just put a large piece of cardboard over the radiator to protect it. The e70 turbo motor is one of the harder to do. It helps if you can get your hands on a 1/4 in flexible drive to put a 6mm on. The e 90 rwd is the easiest of all the N5x motors to do.