Did I hurt something?

[phoenix127]

Recently my wifes 2008 535i displayed a low coolant level message. Rather than pull over she drove it home about ten minutes at highway speeds. The temperature was 35F and it was raining. Once she told me what had happened I examined the reservoir and found it EMPTY. Further examination revealed a hose on the bottom of the engine at the thermostat had fallen off. It had no spring wire keeper thingy. The keeper was not located in the plastic shield which should have caught it had the keeper somehow fallen off. At any rate I obtained a new wire keeper and reattached the hose, filled and bled the system. Car runs fine but i am sick at my stomach thinking of long term damage. Anyone have any idea what to look for and want to weigh in on whether the car is going to suffer from this incident? No other messages were displayed.

[jeremye30]

The long term damage would be from overheating. Overheating can cause the headgasket to weaken and possible blow out, or it could cause warping or cracking of the cylinder head or engine block. I would check the oil and check the coolant to see if any oil/coolant mixing is occuring. You could also do a compression test to see if there are any leaks in the headgasket or head.

[yeewiz]

change your oil now. assuming the car still is running, your oil has been subjected to abnormal high temps and needs to be replaced ASAP