F10 Coolant Smell from Vents, Gurgling behind Vents and Slow Coolant Leak Issue

[Manii]

Hi Everyone,

New to the forum here and i thank everyone in advance for there input. I have a 2013 535i with 61k miles. I bought this car exactly 1 year ago.
This past december i started noticing a coolant smell coming from the Vents, i made nothing of it and continued driving. Few Days later, the Low Coolant warning came up. I checked the levels and couldnt even see fluid by the high/low. I ordered some original BMW Coolant and added it in, it took 1 whole red party cup (diluted with water). Once i put it the warning went away but then the next day i heard gurgling/sloshing sounds coming from behind the vents, i was pretty sure that it must be the coolant. The sound would come and go and the smell would linger but would be stronger at times.

Fast forward to today and im putttng in coolant about every 2-3 weeks, always takes 1 red party cups worth. The gurgling still comes and goes but the smell stays. Not sure if this is related but the windshield washer fluid finishes rather quickly, so weird.
My research and intuition suggests that the Heater Core might have a small leak. Did anyone ever have a simialar issue with their f10? Im thinking of selling this and buying a new car but I really don't want to get rid of it since it runs perfectly fine. Any help is much appreciated.

[f10_M550i]

Hi Everyone,

New to the forum here and i thank everyone in advance for there input. I have a 2013 535i with 61k miles. I bought this car exactly 1 year ago.
This past december i started noticing a coolant smell coming from the Vents, i made nothing of it and continued driving. Few Days later, the Low Coolant warning came up. I checked the levels and couldnt even see fluid by the high/low. I ordered some original BMW Coolant and added it in, it took 1 whole red party cup (diluted with water). Once i put it the warning went away but then the next day i heard gurgling/sloshing sounds coming from behind the vents, i was pretty sure that it must be the coolant. The sound would come and go and the smell would linger but would be stronger at times.

Fast forward to today and im putttng in coolant about every 2-3 weeks, always takes 1 red party cups worth. The gurgling still comes and goes but the smell stays. Not sure if this is related but the windshield washer fluid finishes rather quickly, so weird.
My research and intuition suggests that the Heater Core might have a small leak. Did anyone ever have a simialar issue with their f10? Im thinking of selling this and buying a new car but I really don't want to get rid of it since it runs perfectly fine. Any help is much appreciated.

The heat exchanger is in the AC compartment in the dash. Heated coolant flows through the heat exchanger which gives you hot air to blow inside the cabin. Sounds like you have a leak somewhere. Note: If your car has a turbo, I would def get this fixed asap. The turbo also relies on coolant to keep it cooled down.

[White94RX]

You need to have a coolant system pressure test performed. The leak could be anywhere. Heater core is possible, but I've never seen it on an F10. It's possible coolant is dripping on something hot, and that's what you smell. The gurgling noise behind the dash could just be air in the system.

Any signs of moisture in the vehicle? Condensation? What about dripping on the ground from underneath?

[jclausen]

Get it inspected don't fool around with the cooling system

[nucipete]

Hope this helps,

Hi Everyone,

New to the forum here and i thank everyone in advance for there input. I have a 2013 535i with 61k miles. I bought this car exactly 1 year ago.
This past december i started noticing a coolant smell coming from the Vents, i made nothing of it and continued driving. Few Days later, the Low Coolant warning came up. I checked the levels and couldnt even see fluid by the high/low. I ordered some original BMW Coolant and added it in, it took 1 whole red party cup (diluted with water). Once i put it the warning went away but then the next day i heard gurgling/sloshing sounds coming from behind the vents, i was pretty sure that it must be the coolant. The sound would come and go and the smell would linger but would be stronger at times.

Fast forward to today and im putttng in coolant about every 2-3 weeks, always takes 1 red party cups worth. The gurgling still comes and goes but the smell stays. Not sure if this is related but the windshield washer fluid finishes rather quickly, so weird.
My research and intuition suggests that the Heater Core might have a small leak. Did anyone ever have a simialar issue with their f10? Im thinking of selling this and buying a new car but I really don't want to get rid of it since it runs perfectly fine. Any help is much appreciated.