NHTSA Complaint #10079183 — 1998 BMW 540I

ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:COOLING SYSTEM:RADIATOR ASSEMBLY issue reported to NHTSA

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Complaint Details

ODI Number	10079183
Vehicle	1998 BMW 540I
Component	ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:COOLING SYSTEM:RADIATOR ASSEMBLY
Date of Incident	May 2, 2004
Date Filed	July 2, 2004
Mileage	49,000 miles
Crash	No
Fire	No
Injuries	0
Deaths	0
Vehicle Towed	Yes
State	WA

Consumer Description

I WAS DRIVING DOWN A BUSY STREET ONE EVENING AND AS I CAME TO A LIGHT, SMOKE STARTED COMING OUT OF MY HOOD. FORTUNATELY IT WAS IN THE EVENING AND TRAFFIC WAS LIGHTER THAN USUAL. I PULLED INTO A PARKING LOT OFF THE SIDE OF THE ROAD. HAVING KNOWN OTHERS THAT THIS HAS HAPPENED TO, I FIRST CHECKED THE RADIATOR AND SURE ENOUGH, THERE WAS A LARGE CRACK DOWN THE SIDE OF THE HOUSING. I HAD THE CAR TOWED HOME AND PURCHASED A NEW RADIATOR FROM BMW OF SEATTLE THE FOLLOWING MORNING. THE NEW RADIATOR WAS ABOUT $200, A FEW HOURS OF MY OWN LABOR AND A FEW MORE HOURS DETAILING THE ENGINE PAY AND HEADLIGHTS WHICH HAD RADIATOR FLUID ALL OVER THEM. ALSO FROM THE EXPERIENCE OF OTHERS WHO OWN E39 BMW 540S, I FULLY EXPECT THIS TO HAPPEN AGAIN IN THE NEXT 50K MILES. I ALSO EXPECT THE EXPANSION TANK TO GO WITHIN THE NEXT FEW MONTHS. *AK

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