Engine extremely hot after short drive. Ok or not?

C

Chasabi

Member
 West Yorkshire
Having owned a diesel Fabia vRS for the past 4 years I'm still not fully accustomed to performance petrol engines. I've only had my Zed for 5 days and my OCD is starting already :o

I've got the clutch chatter which from searching the forum seems to be nothing to worry about. What I can't find anything about is the engine bay temperature. Maybe it's normal?

The car seems to get up to temperature really quick. 5 minutes down the road and the needle is already in the middle. Is it normal for these engines to warm up so quick? After a 15 minute drive to a mate's house I cracked the bonnet so he could marvel at the straight 6 and I noticed how incredibly hot the engine was. I was surprised it was this hot from a 15 minute drive. The temperature gauge is normal and the oil level reports 3/4 full and "OK". Is it normal for these engines to get so hot?
 
Hi there

This is a bit subjective, but having recently moved from a golf GT diesel into a Z, I was also surprised by the heat from the engine bay but pretty certain this is normal. Now done 12k miles in mine and had inspection 2, with nothing to report. A friend and fellow member also showed me the same on his 30si after a short run.

Unless you have reason to believe false readings on the dash, I suspect this fine.

Sure more experienced/longer serving members will have input.
 
Chasabi said:
5 minutes down the road and the needle is already in the middle. Is it normal for these engines to warm up so quick?
Click to expand...

Yes, that's what the thermostat is there for and getting to operating temperature quickly shows it is working correctly. BMW temperate gauges should ALWAYS be bang in the middle. If it drops while cruising or tips over while in traffic, you have an issue.
 
You should also take into account the hot weather recently, I know for sure mine has been heating up in a very short period of time just cruising around due to the outside temps as well.

Takes a tiny bit longer to warm up on a colder day.
 
Hi,
The N52 does warm up really quick - It alters the valve timing during the initial warm up period to warm the Cat converters up and get them working quickly (Hence the relativley low emissions/tax and the slightly different noise from the engine during the first couple of minutes after a cold start).
Stu.
 
Yep Mine is up to temperature very quickly at the moment and then the needle stays in the middle.

Even after the engine has been off for a while and you open the bonnet it's surprisingly warm. Just moving mine about last night after getting in from work, the fan came on. I've never heard it before.

Am sure there's nothing to worry about Chasabi! :thumbsup:
 
When I picked her up I drove 200 miles back home and the needle never moved from the middle. I guess I'll not worry about it then.

Cheers for the replies. My OCD can rest for a while now.... until I notice something else!

On a slightly different note. Thought I'd check the oil level was ok considering how hot the engine was. Spent 20 minutes looking for the dipstick before I decided to Google it! :lol:
 
All completely normal. Wait until it rains on the bonnet and it starts steaming from the heat - worried the hell out of me first time I saw it :D

Just remember that the temperature you're seeing is coolant and not oil, it takes a few more miles for the oil to get up to temp.
 
Chasabi said:
When I picked her up I drove 200 miles back home and the needle never moved from the middle. I guess I'll not worry about it then.

Cheers for the replies. My OCD can rest for a while now.... until I notice something else!

On a slightly different note. Thought I'd check the oil level was ok considering how hot the engine was. Spent 20 minutes looking for the dipstick before I decided to Google it! :lol:
Click to expand...

I did that... but read the manual after 10 mins instead of googling it :p
 
Chasabi said:
When I picked her up I drove 200 miles back home and the needle never moved from the middle. I guess I'll not worry about it then.

Cheers for the replies. My OCD can rest for a while now.... until I notice something else!

On a slightly different note. Thought I'd check the oil level was ok considering how hot the engine was. Spent 20 minutes looking for the dipstick before I decided to Google it! :lol:
Click to expand...


I did the same! Stood there for ages trying to work it out before having to check the manual.
 
The M54 is just the same, heats up in about 30 seconds and stays hot for hours. They use them in the antarctic to provide emergency backup heat for the scientific communities in case the main systems fail, that's why you will occasionally see a Z4 or E46 being flown out there hanging under a helicopter.
 
Bing said:
All completely normal. Wait until it rains on the bonnet and it starts steaming from the heat - worried the hell out of me first time I saw it :D

Just remember that the temperature you're seeing is coolant and not oil, it takes a few more miles for the oil to get up to temp.
Click to expand...

:thumbsup: That happened to me!!

The engine does get very hot especially when the ambient temperature is up. The other day I put mine straight into the garage and closed it - went back in 20 mins later and it was an oven.

And as Ed Jedi said - BMW temp needles should be dead centre - any movement and there's an issue.
 
Not forgetting the electric thermostat and waterpump on the the N52.. I believe so there isn't actually any water flowing until it is close to running temp.
 
The oil temp is the important factor and on my 3.0l that can take 5 miles of gentle driving until it gets to temp.
 
The e89 has an oil temp gauge and that takes about 5miles to get to the proper running temp.
I would say ignore the water temp gauge when it shows normal and just wait til you've done five miles !

The oil will be nicely warmed by then.
 
///M's have an oil gauge.

Just us mere standard cars that are the poor relation with coolant :D
 
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