Engine temps fluctuations

[danielgmanm6]

All,

When in sport plus I've noticed the temp gauge needle fluctuating. I've never owed a BMW before. Is this normal? I have a 2013 with 19k miles. Trying to upload video. Not working.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/140j...w?usp=drivesdk

[cortega]

If I’m wrong when you select sport plus the thermostat opens to keep the engine cooler.

I did this test a few months ago, at idle after selecting sport plus the temps droped, see pics

[arucano]

If you have low oil temperatures engine is totally warmed up, it is probably a problem with the oil thermostat. The likelihood is that all the oil is being routed through the oil cooler.

[danielgmanm6]

Originally Posted by arucano

If you have low oil temperatures engine is totally warmed up, it is probably a problem with the oil thermostat. The likelihood is that all the oil is being routed through the oil cooler.

See that's the thing. It fluctuates but never goes out of normal range. It's fluctuates from 205 to 220ish never higher. I'll try in efficient mode to see if it does it. But you can literally watch it move. It's weird lol

[jporter396]

Mine has started doing this recently. Also have a small collamt leak as low coolant comes on every 1k after barely topping off . No issues. Mostly on freeway temp will bounce but never get too hot . Def not normal

[danielgmanm6]

Originally Posted by jporter396

Mine has started doing this recently. Also have a small collamt leak as low coolant comes on every 1k after barely topping off . No issues. Mostly on freeway temp will bounce but never get too hot . Def not normal

Yeah thats pretty much what happens to me. I've never got a warning of low coolant though. How much does your needle move. Mines like 5-10 degrees F but you can see it moving. Let me know if you ever get it figured out!

[danielgmanm6]

So just drove the car. Warmed it up in efficient mode. It hovered at the quarter mark (205 degrees F) fluctuated 5-10 degrees, never got over 215-220. Switched it over to sport plus and never went down or up. My understanding was sport plus feature provided additional cooling why M mode was on. Well, there's no leaks. No low coolant warning. And it's not hitting 250 degrees. Perhaps I'm just overly cautious. I'll prob bring it in just to be sure.

[JDMSteven]

Normal for slight movement in needle.

[Luftpost]

It is my understanding that Sport keeps the water pump running, really has nothing to do with the thermostat.

Have you invested in a OBD dongle and Bimmer Link? You can get a digital readout of temps and a whole lot more.

Another option is to get into the cluster and unlock it for similar info.

L

[danielgmanm6]

Originally Posted by Luftpost

It is my understanding that Sport keeps the water pump running, really has nothing to do with the thermostat.

Have you invested in a OBD dongle and Bimmer Link? You can get a digital readout of temps and a whole lot more.

Another option is to get into the cluster and unlock it for similar info.

L

I'm going to try that also. Just weird that 9 quarts of oil would fluctuate the needle like that lol

[danielgmanm6]

Update:

I took the wise advice of members and accessed the secret menu. My conclusion was the sport plus cooling feature works perfectly. It didn't impact oil temperatures on my drive. My drive was also pretty short and there was traffic unfortunately. I would like to see the sport plus cooling feature on a sustained highway drive. Anyway, without sport plus I had a coolant reading of 103 celcius and with Sport plus it was 85ish Celsius and a tad lower. Like i stated, oil temps were not affected in this short time. Maybe sport plus has to be engaged for a while to real the benefits. The swings in oil temps ranged from 93-98ish Celsius (199-208F) with the digital readings and the needle. I think possibly the needle is just very accurate and on most cars the needle just stays dead center idk. I'll attach some pictures, but I think everything is fine. Better safe than sorry I guess.

Ps. A part of me still finds it odd that 9 quarts of oil can fluctuate so quick. I think I'm just paranoid lol

[Kick 6]

My temps fluctuate like yours do with no adverse effects. On a long trip, I made up some time and pushed my car aggressively for several hours in M2. My temp stayed in its hotter setting the entire time with no issues but my tires were almost 140 degrees.

[danielgmanm6]

No codes btw

[maron]

Originally Posted by Luftpost

It is my understanding that Sport keeps the water pump running, really has nothing to do with the thermostat.

Have you invested in a OBD dongle and Bimmer Link? You can get a digital readout of temps and a whole lot more.

Another option is to get into the cluster and unlock it for similar info.

L

Control the target water temperature in each mode.
For example, sport mode is 95°C.
Therefore, the oil temperature will also drop.

[danielgmanm6]

Originally Posted by maron

Control the target water temperature in each mode.
For example, sport mode is 95°C.
Therefore, the oil temperature will also drop.

Try this link. Cause for worry, or everything normal? Thanks guys!

[arucano]

Fluctuation is probable a sign of the thermostat is not functioning smoothly. It could also be caused by a faulty temperature sensor, since the ECU sends the electrical opening signal based on the temperature it is reading.
I have checked my temperature behavior on my last outing and it was rock steady going up to about 205 and staying there. No fluctuations. (local ambient temp was 105F)

[danielgmanm6]

Originally Posted by arucano

Fluctuation is probable a sign of the thermostat is not functioning smoothly. It could also be caused by a faulty temperature sensor, since the ECU sends the electrical opening signal based on the temperature it is reading.
I have checked my temperature behavior on my last outing and it was rock steady going up to about 205 and staying there. No fluctuations. (local ambient temp was 105F)

That makes sense. I think it's a bad temperature sensor, do you think it's okay to leave it? I wonder if it's even necessary to get fixed. It seems like everything costs 3x because it's an M car. It's not showing any codes or errors fyi

[arucano]

I think it would be advisable to have properly diagnosed and fixed. If it fails completely it could result in a big bill. The ECU/Electrical part of the thermostat is only involved in the warmup phase so that would not be dangerous. If it is the thermostat sticking, that could overheat your engine very fast and if you miss that temperature rise you end up overheating the engine. If may or may not throw a code before it is about to fail but I am not 100% sure when it would trigger the code.

[danielgmanm6]

This is exactly what it's doing. Haven't seen any issues though. Other members have confirmed they changed out the thermostat and it didn't solve it. Other stated theirs have been doing it since new